Michael Noonan
Ceist:71 Mr. Noonan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the contact he has had with his counterparts at EU and international level to curb the international drugs trade. [30395/03]
Vol. 577 No. 1
71 Mr. Noonan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the contact he has had with his counterparts at EU and international level to curb the international drugs trade. [30395/03]
Senior officials in my Department actively participate in efforts to curb the international drugs trade at both EU and international level.
At EU level, my Department engages actively in the EU horizontal drugs group, HDG, a senior level working group. The year 2004, as Ireland takes on the Presidency of the EU, will be an important one in the fight against the international drug trade. The EU Action Plan on Drugs 2000-2004 will conclude and the priorities for the new EU Strategy on Drugs 2005-2010 will be set. To this end, my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, will host a drugs strategy conference to set the priorities for the new strategy in May 2004.
In the past week, officials from my Department have participated in EU-third country troika meetings under the aegis of the HDG with the Balkans, Iran, Latin American and Caribbean Countries and the United States of America. These meetings focused inter alia on co-operation in the fight against the international drug trade.