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25 November 2016
79th MEETING OF PERMANENT CORRESPONDENTS
16 – 17 November 2016, Venice
List of decisions taken:
Reflections on the 2016 Symposium on NPS
 Permanent Correspondents welcomed the proposal by the Russian delegation to hold a seminar on NPS
prevention targeting young people in Moscow in 2017 as a follow up to the 2016 Symposium on NPS.
Executive Training on Drug Policy
 The topic for the 2017 Executive Training on Drug Policy is: ‘Integrating and adapting challenges caused by NPS
into existing demand reducing strategies’. The training components shall address challenges caused by NPS for
demand reduction strategies for prevention and early intervention, as well as risk reduction and treatment.
 The topic for the 2018 Executive Training is: ‘Evaluating the development, implementation and impact of drug
policy’.
Presentations by countries pursuing accession
 Permanent Correspondents welcomed Mexico’s request to accede to the Pompidou Group and the proposal to
jointly organise an activity on women’s well-being and consequences of drug use in 2017.
Interaction with civil society on drug policy issues
 The Permanent Correspondents adopted the Policy paper on government interaction with civil society on drug
policy issues: Principles, ways and means, opportunities and challenges.
Mid-term review by the Presidency
 Permanent Correspondents welcomed and endorsed the Presidency’s proposal to conduct a mid-term review of
Pompidou Group activities.
Activity planning 2017
1. For the following activities the mandates will be extended until 31 December 2017:

Effects and associated costs of drug control policies

Reviewing national regulations on opiate substitution

Cooperation with the Confidence Building Measures Programme

Elaborating a policy paper on human rights and drug policies
Dates and times for the 80th PC meeting
2. The 80th meeting of the Permanent Correspondents will take place on 22 - 23 May 2017 in Strasbourg, starting
at 14:30 h on the 22nd and ending on the 23rd at 18:00 h.
1.
Opening of the meeting
The meeting was opened by Mrs Lilly Ottesen, Chair of the Permanent Correspondents. She welcomed
Mrs Fatima El Omari as the new Permanent Correspondent for Morocco.
2.
Adoption of the agenda
3.
Adoption of the report of the 78th meeting
4. Report on the work of the Bureau
The Chair reported on the main items of discussion at the Bureau meeting. Permanent Correspondents
took note of the report from the Bureau meeting on 4 October 2016.
5. Reflections on the 2016 Symposium on NPS
The 2016 Pompidou Group Symposium on NPS took place in Venice, Italy, on 15 November 2016
preceding the 79th PC meeting, and was attended by over 80 participants. The Symposium was followed
by a reception during which the 2016 awards of the European Prevention Prize and the winning projects
were presented.
Permanent Correspondents agreed that the Symposium had been once a gain a success. There was
further agreement that the impulses generated at the symposium should be taken forward in future PG
activities.
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
Decision: Permanent Correspondents welcomed the proposal by the Russian delegation to
hold a seminar on NPS prevention targeting young people in Moscow in 2017 as a follow up
to the 2016 Symposium on NPS.
6. Implementation of the Work Programme
The Bureau members reported on the progress of work on activities under way since the 78th PC meeting.
Airports Group
Mr Tony Verachtert, Secretariat, reported on the 31st meeting of the Airports Group that was held on 1416 June 2016 in Strasbourg. The topics discussed included: annual review on drug seizures, recent
changes in modus operandi, new trends in airports, passenger profiling and passenger name records,
drug testing, money laundering and cash couriers, airport crime and organised crime, general aviation
issues and swallowers.
International Network on Precursors Control
Mr Verachtert reported on the 9th annual meeting of the network that took place in Warsaw on 12-14
October 2016. The programme covered the following topics: cooperation with international organizations,
cooperation with third countries, cooperation with the scientific world, cooperation with the industry, judicial cooperation, thematic approach to NPS on the darknet, environmental protection. The meeting also
included a study visit to the Polish police training Centre, which was set up to identify and dismantle
clandestine laboratories.
Executive Training on Drug Policy
Mr Janusz Sieroslawski, Poland, reported on the successful completion of the second and final module
of the 2016 Executive Training on Drug Policy on ‘Training for effective cooperation: interaction between
government/public institutions and civil society organisations’. The training brought together 36
participants from 23 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. The majority of countries
present had sent 2 representatives from each sector, government and civil society, making the
composition of the group equal in terms of representation from each side. He underlined that the success
of the activity was in great part due to the equal participation from government institutions and civil
society organisations.
As part of the training participants reviewed the draft policy paper on government cooperation with civil
society and provided comments. A revised draft incorporating these comments has been prepared by the
Secretariat and sent to Permanent Correspondents
The Presidency recalled the decision taken at the 77th PC meeting to shortlist two topics for the 2017 and
2018 Executive Training: (i) NPS and (ii) Evaluating the development, implementation and impact of drug
policy.
Decisions:
1. The topic for the 2017 Executive Training on Drug Policy is: ‘Integrating and adapting
challenges caused by NPS into existing demand reducing strategies’. The training
components shall address challenges caused by NPS for demand reduction strategies for
prevention and early intervention, as well as risk reduction and treatment.
2. The topic for the 2018 Executive Training is: ‘Evaluating the development, implementation
and impact of drug policy’. Permanent Correspondents are invited to provide the
Secretariat with guidance on how to focus the training given the broadness of the subject.
MedNET & MedSPAD
Mrs Florence Mabileau, Secretariat, reported on recent activities of the MedNET. She also recalled the
“Listen First” initiative which was presented during the UNGASS and which a number of MedNET
countries and Group Pompidou members had joined. She underlined the MedNET characteristics: a
political decision mechanism of 12 countries, an annual work programme based on country proposals
along with an annual budget made of a multi-sources funding (voluntary contributions, EU and CoE
funding through the South Programme and Council of Europe Action plan for Morocco and Tunisia). She
announced the next meeting of MedNET that will take place in Rabat on 30 November 2016, it will be the
occasion of the 10th anniversary of the network. On the 1 – 2 December 2016 a major conference on
TDO will take place, for the first time, in Rabat, in North Africa, after being held in Europe and Canada.
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Mr Richard Muscat, Malta, reported on MedSPAD activities:
At the occasion of the 6th MedSPAD committee meeting in Lisbon on 21 September, the MedSPAD
committee was invited to participate in three events:
o Prevalence and patterns of drug use among general population indicator (GPS), EMCDDA Annual
meeting 20 September 2016 and the launch of the ESPAD findings by the EMCDDA.
o A Pompidou Group committee participated for the very first time in an EMCDDA working group as an
observer. This gave rise to the possibility to acquire further knowledge in the field of population
surveys from EU experts as well as from 35 ESPAD countries who conduct school surveys.
o The PG was present at the EMCDDA for the launch of the 2015 ESPAD International report in which
where the role of PG was acknowledged :http://www.espad.org/news/2016/new-espad-results
EXASS Net
The 11th EXASS Net meeting was held in Ljubljana and Maribor, Slovenia, from 26 to 28 September to
share experience and practice about criminal justice responses to drug users in conflict with the law. The
expert meeting, which was hosted by the Slovenian Ministry of Health and Prison Administration, brought
together participants from 17 countries. Following the EXASS Net concept the meeting was comprised of
presentations, exchange of experiences and field visits that included a Slovenian prison and drug
treatment centres. Discussions focused on the principle of availability of care inside prison equal to that
outside, as well as on ensuring a continuum of care prior to and after incarceration. The meeting
provided information on programmes for drug treatment and social reintegration of drug using detainees
in order to reduce recidivism. The promotion of through-care was especially emphasised for sustained
drug treatment efforts for people entering and leaving the prison. In a plenary session and in workshop
participants discussed also the use of New Psychoactive Substances within prison as a new challenge
for prison authorities and for treatment experts. In addition participants in workshops considered possible
further themes for the next EXASS net activities.
European Prevention Prize:
Mr Franz Pietsch, Austria, informed the Bureau that the Pompidou Group's 2016 European Drug Prevention Prize received 47 applications from projects in 22 countries (this compares with 56 from 24 countries
in 2014). The six-member Jury met on 28 – 29 September 2016 in Strasbourg to select three winning
projects. The 2016 winners are: 'Intercity Theatre Project' (Bosnia-Herzegovina); 'Friday Coffee' (Israel);
and '+ attitude' (Portugal). While the Jury believe that the winning and shortlisted projects are of good
quality, they noted that, in general, fewer applications this year were notably innovative and few made
effective use of new technologies. The awards were presented during a ceremony in the reception that
followed the 2016 Symposium on NPS on 15 November 2016 in Venice.
Drug Policy Cooperation in South East Europe (SEE)
Mr Zjelko Petkovic, Croatia, informed about the 2nd meeting of the SEE expert group on internet-based
interventions that was held in Zagreb on 10-11 November 2016. The group has developed scientifically
validated drug self-testing tools that is now up and running in 7 SEE countries. The test can be accessed
at: http://www.drughelp.eu which also contains a link to a generic English version at the bottom. Participating countries will now embark on planning the second phase of the project, developing an ICT based
treatment intervention as a second component of 'Drughelp.eu'.
Mr Thomas Kattau, Secretariat, underlined the high-level of professionalism and the ability to effectively
cooperate between countries, which led to the creation of these IT-based tools in just one year.
Drugs in Prisons Programme:
Within the drug in prison programme two projects continue to be implemented with the following recent
activities:
Supporting Drug Treatment Systems in Eastern Europe (2014-2016)
o Draft study on drug treatment systems in 10 Eastern European countries finalised and sent it to the
CoE editors for publishing with ISBN.
o Refurbishing of a prison ward in Pruncul prison in Moldova which will accommodate a Therapeutic
Community. The prison ward is already fully functional.
Criminal Justice Responses to Drug Dependent Prisoners as part of the Council of Europe/EU
Eastern Partnership Programmatic Co-operation Framework. (2015-2017)
o Assessment and training mission to the Republic of Moldova to support the NGO New Life that runs
a TC in the community.
o Preparation of a workshop in Moldova on Therapeutic communities in prisons to be organised on 1416 December in Chisinau.
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A third project on ‘Improving Drug Treatment System in Eastern Europe’ is under preparation and is
expected to be launched shortly. The project is a follow-up to the first project in this region which will
reach completion before the end of 2016. All projects are financed with voluntary contributions from
Luxembourg. At present Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine participate in the programme. In the
coming year it is planned to involve Belarus, Serbia, Romania and Azerbaijan in the programme.
Following discussions in the Bureau it is proposed to change the title of the programme to ‘Criminal
Justice and Prisons Programme’ since it would more adequately reflect the expanded scope of
activities and topics (eg. alternatives to punishment/imprisonment).
 Decision: Permanent Correspondents endorsed the proposal to change the activity title
‘Drugs in Prison Programme’ to ‘Criminal Justice and Prisons Programme’.
Effects and associated costs of drug control policies:
The Chair recalled that will be a scientific report and the PC will be aske to take note of the report itself.
Furthermore, the possibility of asking Permanent Correspondents to endorse possible recommendations
drafted will be explored once the report has become available.
The Secretariat informed about the state of preparations for a joint PG-EMCDDA publication on public
expenditure on drug policy based on a chapter of the expected report. It is hoped that this joint
publcicantion can be launched already by April 2017.
Drug related cybercrime:
Mr Pietsch briefed Permanent Correspondents about the next meeting of the expert group on drug
related cybercrime that will take place on 4-6 December 2016 in Strasbourg. The meeting will address the
following issues: Monitoring of internet and darknet, cooperation with internet service providers and
social media, cooperation with the Express mail association and the Universal postal union, and new
developments.
Reviewing national regulations on opiate substitution treatment:
Mr Muscat reported on the state of progress of the working group in charge of examining the national
regulations on opiate substitution treatment. The group is expected to finalise its work in spring 2017 and
the final report will be ready for submission to Permanent Correspondents for their 80th meeting. He
thanked Switzerland for the voluntary contribution which have resourced this activity.
Elaboration of a policy paper on human rights and drug policies:
Mrs Ottesen informed Permanent Correspondents the working group had met in Strasbourg following the
78th PC meeting and decided to engage a consultant to prepare an input to the work of the working
group. A first draft of a paper had been submitted by the consultant at the end of October. An informal
meeting of the group was held in the margins of the 79th PC meeting to consider in which way the
content of the draft paper could be taken forward, and furthermore a telephone conference is opted for
December while the group plan to have its next physical meeting back to back with the Bureau meeting
in February. The format of the final document will still have to be discussed and decided.
Expert group on violence, women and rape drugs:
Mrs Simeoni informed that following the transfer of an Italian Voluntary Contribution and 11 nominations
of experts, including the EMCDDA, the group is now fully operational to carry out its work under the
adopted terms of reference.
Expert group on Online gambling and the use of psychoactive substances:
Mrs Simeoni announced that following the transfer of the voluntary contribution by the Italian delegation
also the work of this group could start now.
Cooperation with Ukraine:
Mr Sieroslawski reported that since the 78th PC meeting, the project ‘Improve Treatment Services for
PTSD and SUD in Ukraine’, which was financed by voluntary contributions from Norway had been
successfully completed. Since April the activities of the IDP drug prevention project under the Council of
Europe Action Plan for Ukraine are well underway now. The project is entirely resourced by the Council
of Europe and will be finalised by 31 December 2016. The Council of Europe is presently looking into
options of prolonging this project in 2017. Once a decision has been taken the matter will be submitted to
the Bureau.
Cooperation with the Confidence Building Measures Programme of the Council of Europe:
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Mr Kattau provided information about the completed Confidence Building Measures Programme (CBM)
activity in Georgia for 2016 with the involvement of the Pompidou Group. A series of assessment
missions, study visits and seminars were conducted with participants from Sukhumi in Abkhasia and
Tbilisi. Following the success of this year’s activities it is expected that a follow-up activity will be
requested for 2017.
7. Presentations by countries pursuing accession
Under this agenda item Ambassador Santiago Onate Laborde, Permanent Observer of Mexico to the
Council of Europe, informed Permanent Correspondents that Mexico had formally requested
membership in the Pompidou Group with effect from 1 January 2017.

Decision: Permanent Correspondents welcomed Mexico’s request to accede to the
Pompidou Group and the proposal to jointly organise an activity on women’s well-being and
consequences of drug use in 2017.
Ms Ekaterina Shelegova, Head of interagency interaction unit of the Drug Control Department of the
Belarus Ministry of Interior Affairs outlined the drug policy of Belarus and expressed hope that Belarus
will be able to join the Pompidou Group in the near future. She underlined the excellent cooperation with
the Pompidou Group to date and expressed gratitude for the international conference on drug policy that
the Group co-organised in Minsk on 30 June 2016.
Report by the Executive Secretary
Mr Malinowski informed Permanent Correspondent on bi-lateral and multi-lateral contacts with member
and non-member States, as well as with international and other organisations; and about recent
developments at the Council of Europe.
Contacts with Pompidou Group member states
Following the 79th meeting of the Permanent Correspondents, the Executive Secretary wrote to all
Ambassadors in Strasbourg, Permanent Representatives and Observers to the Council of Europe,
informing them of the Pompidou Group’s on-going work. Personal contacts took place in Strasbourg, with
Ambassadors or with representatives of countries attending Pompidou Group or other meetings, and on
the margins of events elsewhere.
At the request of the Bureau (October 2016 meeting), the Secretariat sent a note on this subject to all
Permanent Correspondents, encouraging member states to consider whether end-of-year spare
resources within national administrations might offer an opportunity for (re)allocation to the Pompidou
Group.
Contacts with non-member states
There were also a range of fruitful contacts with representatives of non-member states. On the occasion
of these and other contacts with non-member states, the Executive Secretary conveyed the Permanent
Correspondents’ message that cooperation without membership should be seen as a process towards
full membership. Particular reference might be made to the Executive Secretary’s visits to Belarus and
Mexico. Other countries that expressed interest in membership are Armenia and Georgia. There have
also been promising exchanges with Spain. The Ukrainian Deputy Minister for Internally Displaced
People requested extension of the PTSD project beyond the end of 2016; possibilities are being
discussed with the Council of Europe service that funded the latest activities on this subject.
Contacts with other international organisations and agencies
The Executive Secretary transmitted to the EU and to the UNHCR representations in Strasbourg the
Permanent Correspondents request for information on action and initiatives under discussion within their
Organisations concerning drug policy implications resulting from the present refugee influx in Europe.
Budgets
A voluntary contribution had been received from Italy. Mr Malinowski thanked the Italian delegation on
behalf of the Pompidou Group for this important contribution.
Belgium’s continued support of law enforcement activities with the secondment of a senior police officer
amounts to a sizeable voluntary contribution; this long-term secondment has now been generously extended until the end of 2017. A call for expressions of interest for a second law enforcement secondment
ended without any candidates, and a second call for candidates for secondment of a drug policy specialist (not related to enforcement) was still open.
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Norway has pledged a voluntary contribution for 2016.
9. Interaction with civil society on drug policy issues
As part of the 2016 Executive Training on Drug Policy, participants from governments and civil society
organisations reviewed the draft policy paper on government cooperation with civil society and provided
comments. A revised draft incorporating these comments had been prepared by the Secretariat and was
sent to Permanent Correspondents for final comments by 7 October 2016. The comments received were
incorporated into the final draft which has been submitted to Permanent Correspondents for adoption.
Permanent Correspondents welcomed the feedback and constructive input generated as part of the
Executive Training. The quality of the results had shown that this experimental format of seeking civil
society input had successfully met the test of practice.

10.
Decision: The Permanent Correspondents adopted the Policy paper policy paper on government interaction with civil society on drug policy issues: Principles, ways and means, opportunities and challenges.
Mid-term review by the Presidency
Mrs Ottesen outlined the Presidency’s plans to conduct a mid-term review of Pompidou Group activities
under the current Work Programme by taking stock of what was achieved as a result of Pompidou Group
activities 2015 & 2016. In view of the profound evaluation undertaken under the French Presidency, it is
seen as sufficient to conduct a document-based assessment without consultation. The results of the midterm review will enable the Group to focus on activities consistent with the focus areas of the 2015-2018
Work Programme and the expressed priorities of the Presidency. This includes thematic focus areas as
well as strategic priorities for the consolidation of Pompidou Group membership.
 Decision: Permanent Correspondents welcomed and endorsed the Presidency’s proposal to
conduct a mid-term review of Pompidou Group activities and request the Secretariat to render
the necessary support in conducting this exercise.
11. Activity planning 2017
Permanent Correspondents considered the activities foreseen for implementation in 2017.
 Decisions:
1. For the following activities the mandates will be extended until 31 December 2017:
 Effects and associated costs of drug control policies
 Reviewing national regulations on opiate substitution
 Cooperation with the Confidence Building Measures Programme
 Elaborating a policy paper on human rights and drug policies
12. Tour de Table on new developments in Member States
Israel, Portugal and the European Commission gave a brief up-date and information on recent
developments in drug policy.
Mr Kurt Doms, Belgium, suggested the Pompidou Group may consider preparing a statement for one of
the next CND meetings in preparation of the UNGASS follow-up in 2019. He volunteered to start the
process by submitting elements for a draft declaration that would then be circulated among Permanent
Correspondents.
Permanent Correspondents fully supported and thanked Mr Doms for this initiative.
13. Dates and times for 80th PC meeting
The 80th meeting of the Permanent Correspondents will take place on 22 - 23 May 2017 in Strasbourg,
starting at 14:30 h on the 22nd and ending on the 23rd at 18:00 h.
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14. Any other business
There was no other business.
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