ACCESSION NUMBER:00000
FILE ID:96121614.TXT
DATE:12/16/96
TITLE:16-12-96  FACT SHEET:  U.S.-EU CARRIBBEAN COUNTERNARCOTICS COOPERATION

TEXT:
(White House release of December 16)  (320)

FACT SHEET

U.S.-EU Caribbean counternarcotics Cooperation

Recognizing that drug production and trafficking in the Caribbean pose
a serious threat to the United States, Europe and the Caribbean region
itself, the U.S. Government and the European Union plan to work
together on combined counternarcotics assistance projects for the
Caribbean, valued at approximately $10 million per year. Both the U.S.
and the EU plan to provide funding for various regional activities in
these broad areas:

-- regional coordination of drug control efforts through national drug
commissions;

-- strengthening of regional law enforcement capabilities, including
maritime enforcement;

-- intelligence collection, analysis and sharing;

-- improvement of drug control laws and adjudication capabilities
including witness security and assistance in prosecuting difficult
cases;

-- assistance in the investigation and prosecution of money laundering
offenses;

-- reduction of drug crops in the region;

-- control of precursor and essential chemicals; and

-- strengthening of drug demand reduction capabilities, including
epidemiological surveillance.

U.S.-EU cooperation grew out of a United Nations Drug Control Policy
(UNDCP)-organized Caribbean regional meeting in Barbados in May 1996.
In preparation for the meeting, an EU expert team studied the drug
problems in the Caribbean and made a series of recommendations for
remedial action. The Barbados meeting succeeded in merging the EU
recommendations with those of the U.S., other donor nations, other
multinational organizations including the Organization of American
States/Commission Inter-americano para el Control de Abuso de Drogas
(DAS/CICAD), and the Caribbean jurisdictions themselves to form a
Caribbean Action Plan containing 68 recommendations, which was adopted
by the meeting. U.S.-EU cooperative efforts will assist Caribbean
jurisdictions in implementing the Action Plan.

U.S.-EU activities will also be coordinated with those of other donors
including UNDCP and OAS/CICAD. Assistance will be focused on
strengthening existing Caribbean drug control institutions for maximum
long-term sustainability.
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