The european union policy of combating the drug turnover

• Author: Magdalena Sitek
• Pages: 419-436

419

MAGDALENA SITEK*

THE EUROPEAN UNION POLICY

OF COMBATING THE DRUG TURNOVER

1. Drug abuse and the human rights – pros and cons of the European

integration

The long awaited European integration has been considerably

accomplished. The indicators of the new reality became the currency

union and the economic union. For the need to create the new European

space there were cancelled the state and customs boarders. That enabled

to introduce four basic rights, i.e. free flow of people, capital, services

and goods. Nowadays, it is difficult to imagine the Europe from the past,

when it was divided by the boarders. In this way the former conflicts

were expired on the borderlands of France and Germany, Poland and

Germany, Spain and France. The single market was created, which

enables the better fight with the unemployment, poverty or the other

social problems1.

However, if something sometimes seems to be enormously useful, it

has also its disadvantages. Cancellation of boarders made it easier to

expand the organized crime. There are known some examples of

transferring the mafia groups from one country to the other, particularly

the Italian and Russian mafias. It is easier to hide the economic crime and

the offences against the consumers. There are some numerous cases of

avoiding paying the owing taxes and the insurance premiums by the large

nets of shops and restaurants. There is the mechanism used here to

permanent transformation of the legal structure of the organization, at

preserving the economic uniformity of the firm. The old firm with the

debts declares a bankrupt, while the new one is born instead, which

overtakes the assets of the failed firm, but without the indebtedness,

chiefly in relation to the Treasury2.

* Università di Varmia e Masuria ad Olsztyn.

1 See. Z.M. DOLIWA-KLEPACKI, Integracja Europejska. Łcznie z uczestnictwem

Polski w EU i konstytucj dla Europy, Białystok 2005, p. 105 .

2 The present legal status in Poland does not allow to differentiate the national and

foreign subjects, as far as it concerns paying taxes. Therefore, everybody is obliged to

bring in the income taxes. Such an attitude we can find in the answer of the under –

secretary in the Ministry of Treasury – by procuration of the minister – asked by the

deputy K. Borkowski no. 4900 concerning the amount of the tax revenues from the

particular subjects. The deputy claims that the foreign subjects avoid paying taxes.

420

Cancellation of the borders simplifies making the numerous offences

against the human being. The number of the cases of white slavery

increased, chiefly the women and children trade. It appeared the new

phenomenon of the slavery, chiefly in relation of the field works, which

the numerous examples we observed in Italy and Spain3.

Moreover, the economic crisis of one of the states has its serious

influence not only on the economy of the neighboring countries, but also

on the whole European Union. Nowadays the European Union is

struggling with huge financial troubles in Greece , and it is possible that

in the nearest future the same can happen in much more bigger countries,

such as Spain or Portugal. Functioning within the framework of the single

market, on the one hand helps to fight with the economic crisis in the

individual member states or the regions, but on the other hand, it can

destabilize the economy in the whole Union.

The subject of this paper is another negative phenomenon, namely the

drug abuse, which has intensified to a large extend because of cancelling the

borders in Europe. In particularly we take into consideration growing the

drugs, their trade, illegal possessing, using, export and import. The

phenomenon of drug abuse can be seen from different points of view, as for

example sociological, psychological, biological or legal.

The phenomenon of drug abuse is multiaspect and because of this, it is

the subject of numerous scientific and popular - science dissertations. There

are some well known authors who write about the problems associated with

drug abuse, for example Cekiera4, Juszczynski5 and Tatala6.

By virtue of the subject of this paper, we mostly take into

consideration combating the demand and supply of the drugs within the

European Union because there is the need to protect the fundamental

human rights, chiefly the health and life. The discussion is being

continued about the need to protect the people addicted to drugs, the

potential drugs purchasers. Such the activities are undoubted7. However,

Despite the conclusive answer of the Ministry, it is impossible to negate the statement of

the representative. See:

http://www.podatki.biz/sn_autoryzacja/logowanie.php5/artykuly/14_8874.htm?idDz

ialu=14&idArtykulu=8874 [11 V 2010].

3 Zob. F. DAMMACCO, La criminalità orgniazzata, il traffico di esseri umani e nuove forme

di schiavitù, [w:] G. DAMMACCO, B. SITEK, O. CABAJ, Człowiek pomidzy prawem a ekonomi w

procesie integracji europejskiej, Olsztyn-Bari 2008, p. 691.

4 Cz. CEKIERA, I NIEWIADOMSKA, Profilaktyka uzalenie drog wolnoci człowieka,

Lublin 2001.

5 Z. JUSZCZYLSKI, Narkomania. Podrcznik dla nauczycieli, Warszawa 2002.

6 M. TATALA, K. KOVCIELECKI (red.), Rozwój osób uzalenionych w procesie

zdrowienia, Zakroczym 2022.

7 Such an attitude towards the threats connected with taking the drugs was presented

by the lecturers during the conference organized by the Parliamentary Commission of