RESOLUTION of the Council and the Ministers for Health of the Member States meeting within the Council of 16 May 1989 concerning a European network of health data on drug abuse (89/C 185/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND THE MINISTERS FOR HEALTH OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL,

HAVING REGARD to the Treaties establishing the European Communities,

CONCERNED at the increase in drug abuse and its public health consequences,

NOTE the demonstrated usefulness of the existing structures in various Member States for the collection of information on the illicit use of drugs, but that varying legislative and organizational differences render comparisons difficult;

CONSIDER that the work carried out by the Pompidou Group constitutes an important basis for moving ahead towards a possible joint initiative of Member States and that, in order to avoid duplication, future work at Community level should take account of the activities of the Pompidou Group, the Council of Europe and the WHO;

NOTE the usefulness of an exchange of information among Member States on drug abuse which should assist planning and evaluation of the impact of changes which might occur in the run-up to 1993;

NOTE that Member States which are currently beginning to collect systematic information have expressed a wish for cooperation and assistance to improve comparison possibilities;

CONSIDER it important that reports produced by Member States contain a common nucleus of data as well as complementary information so as to facilitate their interpretation ; that the collation of such reports could constitute one of the bases for an exchange of information at Community level;

On this basis, INVITE the Commission to: - draw up a full inventory of work already carried out or planned both by the Member States and by international organizations such as the Pompidou Group and the WHO,

- identify any areas where further work is required,

- present a report to Council indicating, if appropriate, possible initiatives to be taken in this field.

In this work, the Commission will be assisted by a working party composed of representatives from the Member States.