EU governments have agreed a negotiating position on new rules to monitor and control chemicals that can be used to manufacture illegal drugs.
The substances — known as drug precursors — are used in legitimate industries including pharmaceuticals, batteries, cosmetics, food additives and fertilisers, but are also sought by criminal networks for producing illicit drugs, the Council of the EU said in a statement published on Wednesday.
The proposed single set of rules would strengthen customs and internal market enforcement, reduce differences in how member states apply controls, and simplify existing requirements.
“We must stop precursors reaching criminals without punishing the legitimate companies and industries that rely on certain chemicals,” Simon Harris, Ireland’s Tánaiste and Minister of Finance, said.
Designer precursors and import controls
The Council said the new framework responds to the spread of “designer precursors” — substances needed to make illegal drugs that have no legitimate use beyond research and innovation.
Under the proposed rules, these designer precursors would be clearly separated from chemicals widely used by industry, and their trade, use and possession would be effectively banned in the EU except for very specific uses.
A new digital system for importing precursors would also be introduced, with real-time reporting of significant seizures intended to help customs and law enforcement detect and respond to threats more quickly.
As part of its negotiating mandate, the Council backed requiring non-EU companies that want to make drug precursors available in the EU’s internal market to appoint a single representative in the EU to obtain licences and take responsibility for meeting EU rules.
It also supported linking a planned centralised IT system for precursor import data to the EU’s new customs data hub, and adding and clarifying definitions for individual precursors to avoid different treatment of products across member states.
The agreed text will be used by the EU presidency to begin negotiations with the European Parliament on the final law.
