Topic overview booklet

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

3rd International Forum of the European Youth Parliament Albania, Tirana 2013

Topic Overview Booklet Topics (2) Committee on Foreign Affairs (4) Committee on Human Rights I (9) Committee on Human Rights II (13) Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (17) Committee on Industry, Research and Energy I (22) Committee on Industry, Research and Energy II (26) Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs I (31) Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs II (34) 1

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

Committee on Foreign Affairs AFET Creating a democratic and stable neighbourhood in the Mediterranean: in the aftermath of the Arab Spring with the strengthening of Islamic extremism in the region, how can a strategic partnership between the European Union and the transitioning democracies be formed without affecting their mutual interests?

Chair: Dionysius Theodoropoulos

Committee on Human Rights I DROI I Water ownership: considering the insistence on privatisation programs and legislations that include the sell-off of national water companies, should the European Union support this kind of proposal or should water remain an essential public service?

Chairs: Nata Tarasevych (VP), Pamela Gercaliu

Committee on Human Rights II DROI II “In our free and democratic European countries, 23.600 human beings can be deprived of their liberty, exploited and traded as commodities for profit.� - Cecilia Malmstrom, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs.

With ten of the European Union Member States still having to transpose the EU Human Trafficking Directive into their national legislation, how should the EU act in order to avoid human trafficking from occurring within its borders?

Chair: Teodora Cozma

Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety ENVI Tackling the food waste problem: according to the Roadmap to a resource-efficient Europe by the European Commission, food remains a key sector where resource efficiency should be improved. How can this improvement be achieved at all levels of food supply chain without harming food safety and market sustainability, taking into consideration civil initiatives in this field?

Chair: Marta Brzosko

2

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy I ITRE I Emissions Trading Scheme vs Carbon Tax in the absence of an international agreement: which reforms and policies should the European Union pursue in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within its territory, whilst maintaining global competitiveness?

Chair: Ilir Kola

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy II ITRE II "What we need to do is really improve energy efficiency standards, develop in full scale renewable and alternative energy and use the one resource we have in abundance, our creativity” - Lois Capps.

With a growing shortage of non-renewable resources, the use of renewables becomes fundamental, but are we really able to avoid to use the former and focus only on the latter? What measures can the European Union actively take in order to achieve energetic sustainable efficiency.

Chair: João Moreira

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs I LIBE I “The government may have won the vote today, but what was clear from the debate was the huge opposition to almost every part of the bill on same sex marriage.” - Colin Hart, Coalition for marriage (UK).

Despite the progress made in order to build inclusive societies and addressing discrimination, there is still a deep opposition towards same-sex marriage and adoption. In lack of a common agreement on this issue within the European Union, how should the Member States tackle the growing discrepancies in attitudes and policies.

Chairs: Elisa Martinelli (VP), Shpendi Rakipi

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs II LIBE II Swinging between legislation and prohibition: under the necessity to find a balance between freedom of choice and prevention of substances’ misuse, to what extent should the use of drugs be illegal?

Chair: Isabel Cantalapiedra

3

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

Chair: Dionysius Theodoropoulos

Committee on Foreign Affairs AFET

Creating a democratic and stable neighbourhood in the Mediterranean: in the aftermath of the Arab Spring with the strengthening of Islamic extremism in the region, how can a strategic partnership between the European Union and the transitioning democracies be formed without affecting their mutual interests?

Key Issues: a) Adaptability of the EU’s stance; conditionality and differentiation (maybe to the extent of how to improve the common foreign and domestic security policy) b) Prevention of degeneration, repression, violence, war and recidivism. c) Promotion of democracy and civil society d) Reaching multilateral agreements in order to promote solidarity among the states and to achieve socio-economic development. e)“More funds for more reforms”. f) “More money, more market access, more mobility”. g) Incentives versus disincentives.

Key regulations: A. Policies: European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) B. Instruments: European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) European External Action Service (EEAS) High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR) Instrument for Stability (IfS) Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA)

4

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

C. Frameworks: Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EUROMED, Barcelona process was its antecedent) D. Programmes: SPRING programme (Support for Partnership, Reform and Inclusive Growth) European Union Association Agreements (or Association Agreements or AAs) Partnership for Democracy and Shared Prosperity E. NGOs: European Endowment for Democracy (EED) which is a joint effort of the Member States and European Union Institutions similar to the Civil Society Facility (CSF) which cannot operate in those countries F. Other: Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF) European Investment Bank (EIB) European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Potential interactions: DROI II (Human Trafficking)

Topic overview: “The events unfolding in our southern neighbourhood are of historic proportions� is the first sentence in a recent communication presented by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign and Security Policy (HR) and the European Commission (EC). It has been more than two years since the beginning of the Arab Spring and the situation in most of the Arab world remains fluid. Even though democratic reforms have been promoted in all of the countries and regions, significant differences have emerged among them and reports from countries reflect a mixed outlook. Nonetheless, it is a great achievement that democratic elections have been held for the first time in many countries. By installing greater civil liberties, the first steps towards deep, sustainable democracy and good governance can be taken.

Security and civil unrest within the states, however, remains a critical impediment towards progress. The recent incidents in Syria, Mali and Libya highlight such troubles. Moreover, internal political polarisation and economic turmoil has threatened the stability of any potential reforms. The chance that the states in question relapse should not be underestimated.

5

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

Map of the uprisings1

Improved economic conditions must coincide with the recent political transformations seen in the Arab World. Sustainable economic growth and higher employment rates are crucial factors in creating an environment suitable for both domestic and foreign investment. In turn, democratic institutions that propose reform and represent social cohesion would have a better opportunity to survive and create change.

It is clear that socio-economic development will play a decisive role in the establishment of a stable democracy, the acquisition of civil liberties by citizens and the improvement of living conditions for millions of people. German MEP Elmar Brok reinforces this idea when he stated, that the democratic revolution in the Arab World “will only have a chance if people have decent living conditions.� Steps towards increased social well-being can be achieved through improvements in transportation, education, and improved energy and environmental regulations.

On the other side of the Mediterranean, EU member states (MSs) are concerned that if stability in the region does not improve, their countries could face a surge in migration from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). That is likely to be accompanied by higher than forecasted oil prices due to continued unrest in major oil producing countries. This scenario would be very upsetting for MSs and the EU, a region that is experiencing its own economic hardships and high unemployment rates. With this said, the Arab Spring and the civil war in Syria appears to be a great opportunity for the EU to redeem itself for its stance during the war in Bosnia when policy divisions and delays contributed to the bloodshed.

At the same time, MENA is a region that exhibits strong anti-American sentiment and the 1

 Source: Wikipedia 6

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

United States (US) remains limited in the impact it can have on the region as it has lacked a coherent approach to responding to the events. The EU has a great chance to play a lead role and oppose the US hegemonic interest in the area. By taking decisive action, the EU can prove that through its involvement in the international affairs of the region it can lead to the resolution of many problems and conflicts. This would raise its influence in the area and would grant it greater credibility as an international actor.

Most significantly, the EU can disseminate its fundamental principles to a vast population by riding the wave of democracy that is reaching the shores across the Mediterranean. It can prove that if social contracts are made and democracy prevails freedom will be preserved and the living conditions of the citizens of the affected countries will be improved.

It is clear that a democratic, stable, prosperous and peaceful Mediterranean is a long-term goal that requires multilateral commitment by the European Union and the countries undergoing transformation. The European Union needs to rise to the historical challenges facing its neighbourhood and offer aid to the transitioning democracies. This will not be an easy task and there is no recipe for a successful outcome. Even though the situation appears to be similar across the area, a series of specialized, coordinated solutions for each country will need to be developed in order to lead the region towards progress.

Further Information: European External Action Service (EEAS) European Neighbourhood Policy Common Foreign and Security Policy High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR) Instrument for Stability EUROMED Association Agreements EU Around the Globe Algeria Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia Egypt Iran Jordan Libya Morocco Sudan Syria Tunisia Yemen

7

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) ENPI Info Center European Neighbourhood Instrument Support for Partnership, Reforms and Inclusive Growth (SPRING) Neighbourhood Investment Facility Press Releases and Communications The EU's response to the 'Arab Spring' European Neighbourhood Policy in 2012 Partnership for Democracy and Shared Prosperity

Click here for the

document BBC Arab uprising: Country by country BBC News: Full coverage of the Arab uprisings Algeria Bahrain Egypt Iran Jordan Kuwait Morocco Oman Saudi Arabia Sudan Syria Yemen Non-Governmental Organisations European Endowment for Democracy Civil Society Facility Financial Macro-Financial Assistance European Investment Bank European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

8

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

Chairs: Nata Tarasevych (VP) Pamela Gërcaliu

Committee on Human Rights I DROI I

Water ownership: considering the insistence on privatisation programs and legislations that include the sell-off of national water companies, should the European Union support this kind of proposal or should water remain an essential public service?

Key Issues: a) Cause and effects of economic crises in some of the EU Member States. b) Competition and market-base approach of the EU, natural resources-what has left “to conquer”. c) Bailout strategies for financially distressed Member States insisting on privatization programs that include apart from other states’ majority stakes: the sell-off of municipal water companies. d) Water ownership and ownership models within Member States.

Key regulations: A. Pricing and long-term management of water: http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/environment/water_protection_management /l28112_en.htm B. Communication from the commission to the council, the European parliament and the economic and social committee-Pricing policies for enhancing the sustainability of water resources: http://eurlex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=en& type_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2000&nu_doc=477 C. European Commission - MEMO/13/131 22/02/2013: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-131_en.htm D. EU policy response to old and emerging challenges on our water resources: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:52012DC0673:EN:NOT 9

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

Potential interactions: ITRE II (improving energy efficiency, renewable resources)

Topic overview: 2013 was announced as the European Year of Citizens. By the 9th of September 2013, the Citizen’s Committee (a group of organizations: EPSU, EAPN, EEB, EPHA, ETUC, WECF, Social Platform, APE, PSI) collected exactly 1,857,605 signatures on a petition to regard water as a human right. This petition was raised to ask the European Union to guarantee clean drinking water and quality sanitation by promoting the water supply as an essential public service.

Each year approximately 3,400,000 human beings die from water or sanitation related causes. Even if most citizens do believe that water should remain a public good and be offered for free to anyone without any exception, there are others that do consider water as an economic good which can be sold on the market. Today, most water systems are state run. Nevertheless, this arrangement leaves much to be desired, as more than a billion people still lack access to clean water. Privatization of the water distribution might be a solution, leading to a significant improvement of how water is managed in a particular region.

If we talk about privatization, it means the privatization of services. But the privatization of water itself – like rivers, lakes – is not possible. Nevertheless, let us think about the privatization of the sources. If private companies would own water supplies, what impact would it have on water distribution? Would they sell bottles to everybody? Would the price be affordable for everybody? Selling is surely much more profitable than building a tap water infrastructure.

The capitalist economic system stimulates companies to maximise their profits and there is no better business than providing a natural resource fundamental for every human being. If companies raise the prize - citizens will still have to pay. Privatisation of water, brings up the issues of defending rights of customers (in this case all human beings) and controlling the private companies. Who would be in charge? Would a 51% state-run water company be a solution to maintain the price range under control?

Another issue is the democratic control. If private companies would take over the water supplies it would be difficult to ensure their sufficient supervision. The contracts are usually secret to the public to protect the interest of the investors and ensure maximisation of the potential profit. For example, in Berlin, the majority of the water works is still with the city of Berlin, while Veolia and RWE own almost a quarter. Nevertheless, because of the profit guarantee, the private companies received 73 percent of the profits from 2000-2006, amounting to more than 800 million Euros. At the same time, the investment into 10

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

maintaining the water infrastructure was cut heavily. The EU is currently focused on market-based competition. Nevertheless, behind the facade, there lies all which is hidden away - conspiracy, benefits and power in the long-run. Water is a limited natural resource and a public good fundamental for life and health. It is a ‘natural’ monopoly and must be kept out of games of power.

Water systems in Europe have evolved over the centuries with the public and private sectors taking the lead to a greater or lesser extent at various times in different countries.

Consequently it is no surprise to find heterogeneity in ownership models across the continent, and even within the Member States.

Although the EU is ostensibly neutral on the question of water ownership, there has been a recent debate on whether the European Commission is promoting privatization through the back door. It could be done through particular framing of the bailout programs for financially distressed Member States and through proposals for a new Concessions Directive governing certain types of public-private partnerships. In the case of bailout agreements, the European Commission has been accused by campaigners (including labor unions and environmentalists) of insisting on privatization programs that include the sell-off of municipal water companies.

In Greece, the bailout agreement requires the sell-off of the majority of the State’s stakes in the already part-privatized Athens and Thessaloniki water and sewerage companies. Also Portugal is under pressure to dispose of its state-owned water company. Does the European Commission admit to actively promoting water privatization for its own sake in these bailed-out countries? Campaigners point to its history of favoring privatization in development aid agreements and international trade negotiations. Can the European Commission maintain its officially neutral stance on ownership of water services by pointing out that the privatization measures are carried out by the insolvent national governments themselves? After all, in the end, who is going to deal with water security (e.g. scarcity of resources, hydro conflicts, terrorism and socio-economic issues)?

Further Information: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWAT/Resources/TownsWSS_Companion.pdf http://combatlaw.org/wp-content/uploads/combatlaw_volume3_2004/June-July-2004.pdf http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbCD8HA11sg#t=50

11

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

Blue Gold : World Water Wars (Official Full Length Film): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1a3tjqQiBI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaFMd2CPRM Pipe Dreams? Water Rights, Pricing and Privatisation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhZcVRRMkbc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO2IZwtR56g

12

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

Chair: Teodora Cozma

Committee on Human Rights II DROI II

“In our free and democratic European countries, 23.600 human beings can be deprived of their liberty, exploited and traded as commodities for profit.” Cecilia Malmstrom, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs.

With ten of the European Union Member States still having to transpose the EU Human Trafficking Directive into their national legislation, how should the EU act in order to avoid human trafficking from occurring within its borders?

Key Issues: a) Sexual exploitation – the EU does not have a common policy on how to deal with the issue; having 28 perspective on how to deal with it across 28 Member States, varying from criminalising the clients of prostitution (e.g. in Sweden it is legal to work as a prostitute but it is illegal to pay for sex2 ), to making sure that people in prostitution are fully legally protected. b) 10 Member States have not transposed the European Union (EU) Human Trafficking Directive into their national legislation despite the deadline on 6th of April 2013. c) Media outlets across Europe have misrepresented the human trafficking issue by focusing on one form of trafficking-sexual exploitation, and shaped the public opinion in this regards.

Also the attitude the citizens of a country have towards immigrants has made it more difficult to identify human trafficking as a problem. d) Trafficking for sexual exploitation is still the most common form of human trafficking. This primarily impacts women and children. There are several identified common patterns for recruiting victims into sex trafficking, which include but are not limited to 1) a promise of a good job in another country; 2) a false marriage proposal turned into a bondage situation; 3) being sold into the sex industry by parents, husbands or boyfriends, and 4) being kidnapped by traffickers. Recruiters are often very familiar persons to the victims, such as neighbour, friend, a friend of a friend, boyfriend, acquaintance, and family friend3 .

2

Why the game’s up for Sweden's sex trade’, The Independent News, 26th of March 2013 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/why-the-games-up-for-swedens-sex-tra de- 8548854.html 3

Clert, Carine, Elizabeth Gomart with Ivana Aleksic and Natalia Otel (2005). “Human Trafficking in South 13

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

e) Trafficking for forced labour is less frequently discovered and reported than trafficking for sexual exploitation. It is difficult to distinguish victims trafficked for forced labour from migrant labourers. These victims often work in hidden locations, such as agricultural fields in rural areas, mining camps, factories and the private houses in the case of domestic servitude. As a consequence, the trafficking victims of forced labour are less likely to be identified than the trafficking victims of sexual exploitation. f) Lithuania has become the most important country for transit between Eastern and Central Europe, as well as a destination country for women and girls subjected to human trafficking.

Lithuanian women are victims of sex trafficking in Germany, the Netherlands, Greece, Sweden, Finland and Norway. Women from Eastern bloc countries are transported from these countries through Lithuania to Western Europe, with about 12 per cent of them remaining and working as prostitutes in Lithuania. Once they are entangled in the prostitution business in Lithuania, they suffer from discriminations and sexual exploitation before perhaps being trafficked onwards to Western Europe.

Key regulations: A. EU Anti-Trafficking Directive: This Directive specifies provisions on victim's protection, including national mechanisms for early identification and assistance of victims and supports the principle of non-punishment for petty crimes and unconditional assistance. It also obliges Member States to set up National Rapporteurs or equivalent mechanisms to be responsible for monitoring implementation of anti-trafficking policy at the national level.

B. EU Strategy towards the eradication of trafficking in human beings 2012-2016: is the policy tool that follows from the EU Anti-trafficking Directive. The Directive and the EU Strategy provide the necessary resources for Member States to achieve more convictions of traffickers and foresee action to reduce demand including the criminalization of persons using services by victims of trafficking, among others.

Topic overview: There are currently over 20.9 million4 people being trafficked throughout the world and according to the most recent data published by EUROSTAT more than 23.600 people are trafficked in and to the European Union. Unfortunately, the general public does not easily recognize, identify, or advocate for victims of human trafficking. Amongst the cases Eastern Europe: Beyond Crime Control, an Agenda for Social Inclusion and Development.” Social Development Papers – Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction Occasional Paper. Washington, DC. The World Bank.

4

‘Global Report onTrafficking in Persons 2012’, UNODC, http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-analysis/glotip/Trafficking_in_Persons_2012_web.pdf 14

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

identified, only a small percentage of traffickers are fully prosecuted, with a recent drop of 13 per cent in criminals’ conviction. Public awareness is influenced by a number of factors, such as the media, attitudes toward immigrants in general, proximity to immigrants, and other demographic characteristics.

Human trafficking is a process where people are being recruited within their community or country and transported to a destination where they are being exploited for their bodies (organ harvesting), coerced to work (prostitution, domestic servitude, construction, agriculture, mining), slavery-like practices or used for benefit fraud5 . Victims of human trafficking may have agreed to migrate and work initially out of their own choice, but are prevented from leaving, often by physical or psychological coercion as well as legal and financial constraints.

The majority of trafficking victims in Europe are adult women, and sexual exploitation is the most common form of human trafficking in this region. However, trafficking for forced labour accounts for over one third of the total number of victims identified by state authorities in Western and Central Europe. Women and men are also exploited in domestic servitude and forced labour in agriculture, construction, fishery, manufacturing, and textile industries.

Children are trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation, forced marriage and forced begging.

How are the EU and its Member States addressing the challenges of human trafficking?

Currently there are still 10 Member States that need to transpose the EU Anti-trafficking Directive into their national legislation. If the Directive is indeed fully transposed, it has the potential to have a real and concrete impact on the lives of the victims and to prevent others from falling victim to human trafficking. How can the EU further engage in raising awareness on the issue in order to reach the European citizens and national governments of the Member States? Are there any additional ways of tackling the issue of human trafficking for all EU Member States besides transposing the Directive?

Further Information: Official EU documents: The EU Anti-Trafficking Directive, 5th of April 2011 http://www.osservatoriopedofilia.gov.it/dpo/resources/cms/documents/DIRECTIVE_2011_3 6_EUEng.pdf 5

Myria Vassiliadou, EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator ‘Glasgow2014 could lead to an influx of victims of human trafficking’, DR News, http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/glasgow-2014-could-lead-influx-2268811 15

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

Together against Trafficking in Human Beings, European Commission, ‘Trafficking explained’ http://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/ ‘Trafficking in human beings’, EUROSTAT Methodologies and Working Papers, 2013 http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-is-new/news/news/2013/docs/20130415_thb_s tats_report_en.pdf News Articles Human Trafficking Ring broken up’, BBC NEWS, 11th of August 2013 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23645369 ‘Italy's human trafficking problem worsening – UN’, BBC News, 20th of September 2013 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24183737 Academic Papers Cathy Zimmerman , Mazeda Hossain , Charlotte Watts, ‘Human trafficking and health: A conceptual model to inform policy, intervention and research’, in Social Science & Medicine, Volume 73, Issue 2, July 2011, Pages 327–335.

Maria B. Alvarez, Edward J. Alessi, ‘Human Trafficking Is More Than Sex Trafficking and Prostitution’ in Affilia, Volume 27, Issue 2, 2012, pp.142-152.

Stephanie A. Limoncelli, ‘The trouble with trafficking: Conceptualizing women's sexual labor and economic human rights’ in Women's Studies International Forum, Volume 32, Issue 4, July– August 2009, Pages 261–269.

Scott Cunningham , Todd D. Kendall, ‘Prostitution 2.0: The changing face of sex work’ in Journal of Urban Economics, Volume 69, Issue 3, May 2011, Pages 273–287.

16

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

Chair: Marta Brzosko

Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety ENVI

Tackling the food waste problem: according to the Roadmap to a resource-efficient Europe by the European Commission, food remains a key sector where resource efficiency should be improved. How can that be achieved on all levels of food supply chain without harming food safety and market sustainability taking into consideration civil initiatives in this field?

Key Issues: a) Many aspects of the problem: economical, environmental and social: 1. Economical: on one hand wasted food is wasted money that was used to produce it. On the other – saving food and raising effectiveness of its production, if done inappropriately, might result in reducing working places, imbalance of the food prices, etc. which is harmful for economies.

2. Environmental: production process and unwanted food’s utilisation causes, for example, raised water usage and CO2 and methane emission.

3. Social: we all witness an absurd situation where a big part of population (in the EU and the world in general) suffers from famine while the food that could feed them is being wasted. b) Specificity of food as a product – it demands special treatment as an absolutely essential part of our lives. It also has one of a kind requirements concerning production, transportation and storage. c) There are different issues connected with food wastage on different levels of food supply chain: production on farms, transporting, storage, buying, cooking. d) EU’s contradictory policies concerning problem of wasting and losing food. It can be seen that some food-saving initiatives and legislations are being introduced. As a contrary, there are many European food laws and standards in force, that ban great amounts of edible food from being sold and consumed. e) To which extent should the problem be solved by the EU and how much initiative is to be left to each member state’s competence (or maybe the local governments)? Certainly the case looks different in different areas, considering the amount of food wasted as well as laws and habits connected to nutrition. f) Food donation seems to be quite institutionalized – several “food bank” programmes exist, but it is to be considered whether they help reducing food waste or just make people 17

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

buy more food in order to donate it. e) Civil initiatives and lifestyles – as more and more people become aware of the food wastage problem’s size, some makeshift steps are being made and introduced consciously to human lifestyles – one of them is so-called “dumpster diving”, which is not entirely legal in many EU member states. Should such lifestyles be promoted by authorities or definitely excluded as anti-social or harmful behaviour?

Key regulations: A. EU Waste Framework Directive B. European Parliament resolution of 19 January 2012 on how to avoid food wastage C. „General Food Law” D. Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 E. Joint food wastage declaration F. US food donation act (a good example for Europe?)

Potential Interactions: DROI I (water ownership) Safe water supply is equally essential to food supply; the question about if it should be in the competence of private entrepreneurs or governments is a bit similar to who should be responsible for food waste minimization?

ITRE I (Emissions Trading Scheme vs Carbon Tax) Greenhouse gas emission seen as strongly dependant on food supply chain’s processes.

ITRE II (improving energy efficiency, renewable resources) Energy efficiency is strongly connected to food production and waste problem if you bear in mind how much energy is used during the whole process of food production and transportation.

Topic overview: The way people treat their food has surely a lot to do with their culture, financial status, the way they were raised and many other factors. The global edible food waste amounts to around one third of the total food production. Western societies waste most food on the level of retail trade and consumption, whereas the developing countries’ food loss happens mainly during production and transportation processes. At least 30 million of people among the European citizens are at risk of suffering from malnutrition. In the world this number amounts to 870 million.

18

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

All these are component facts of an absurd situation which we witness in today’s world – while tons of food are being wasted due to different reasons, millions of people experience famine. The problem differ a lot in different areas of the world, but when it comes to Europe – considered one of the most developed regions on Earth – it seems that most of food is being wasted during the last stages of the food supply chain. What does it mean in practice?

We can see it every day. Supermarkets throw away food, because they can’t sell it all. In many households too much food is being bought, cooked and, as it cannot be eaten, it goes to trash as well.

Even if these are the main ways of wasting food, it seems that all of the levels of food supply chain need to be examined and re-organised in order to prevent nutrition loss.

European legislators have already taken actions in order to implement some solutions. Main idea seems to be included in a simple scheme of food wastage hierarchy, listing ideas for how to manage the unwanted food - from most to least preferable. Introduced by the US Environmental Protection Agency and widespread among European food-saving initiators, it looks as presented below:

Even if all the points of it are quite obvious, it seems rather hard to implement them. This is, among other factors, due to many law regulations which aim at assuring food freshness and safety, as well as competitiveness and sustainability on the food market. An example of those regulations could be the “General Food Law” and food standard regulations of the European Union, which regulate even such small details as size, weight and exact colour of specific fruit and vegetables. These certainly have their point when comes to supplying societies with good quality food. They are also based on the United Nations WP.7’s (Working Party on Agricultural Quality Standards) agreements, which means that they are 19

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

necessary and widely accepted rules. On the other hand, it is hard not to notice that their implementation leads to great food loss at the very beginning of the food supply chain.

Owing to that fact, it seems essential to find a balance between these and many other regulations and rational need to save food and distribute it better.

Before doing further research and trying to come up with ideas to solve the problem, we should also be conscious of how different areas of human life are being influenced by the food waste problem. First of all, the social aspect, which is pretty self-explanatory – wasted and lost food could feed those suffering from famine. But there are also other sides of it, from which two should be strongly highlighted. One of them is environmental – food production needs a lot of resources, such as water, fertilizers, pesticides, and energy.

Consequently, overproduction of food leads to overuse of those resources. Moreover, food production process and waste storage contribute to additional CO2 and methane emission.

The other aspect is economical: taking care of the operation of whole food supply chain – from production to waste storage – cost money, that could be saved if more food was saved.

However, there is also another side of the economical issue – food industry assures jobs to many people and raising effectiveness of this branch of economy might result in noticeable job losses.

Acknowledging all the aforementioned, it is also good to note what kind of initiatives are being introduced already. They can be mostly divided into three groups, from which the first consists of the European Union’s initiatives, such as establishing the Working Group of Food Losses or issuing European Parliament’s resolution on how to avoid food waste. The other group of initiatives involve those developed by states’ governments or non-governmental organisations. A good example can be the European Federation of Food Banks, supported by governments and organs of the EU, but being officially a non-profit voluntary organisation deriving from civil initiatives of a few people. Knowing this, we also need to focus on current trends in fighting with food waste, bearing in mind that many of them are also becoming part of modern lifestyles. An example of that is dumpster-diving, which simply means getting your food out of trash (mostly supermarkets’) for not only economical, but also – or mostly – ideological reasons. Further steps are freegan events which start to appear in Europe (recently in Denmark – see link number 9 below) and aim at both feeding people and showing them how much food is usually being thrown away.

All the phenomena described above are parts of reality in which food wastage still exists. It is for ENVI committee to try to tell between reasonable solutions and unrealistic ideas.

Trying not to neglect social, economical nor environmental sector seems quite complicated, but the idea – as usual – is to find some kind of balance between all those spheres.

20

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

Further Information: Scientific article on food loss in the supply chain European Federation of Food Banks About the Waste Framework Directive European Commission’s data about food waste Joint Food Wastage Declaration Report of the 2nd Meeting of the Working Group on Food Losses/Food Waste of the Advisory Group on the Food Chain, Animal and Plant Health UNECE’s Working Party on Agricultural Quality Standards Introduction to the idea of dumpster diving First of a kind food-saving event FAO food losses resources

21

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

Chair: Ilir Kola

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy I ITRE I

Emissions Trading Scheme vs Carbon Tax in the absence of an international agreement: which reforms and policies should the European Union pursue in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within its territory, whilst maintaining global competitiveness?

Key Issues: a) What are the major strengths and weaknesses of both the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and Carbon Tax? b) Could the Carbon Tax and the ETS work in tandem? c) How do these schemes affect the global competitiveness of international EU firms? d) Which policies would help in achieving the environmental goals of the EU?

Key regulations: A. The EU Emission Trading Scheme http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/ets/index_en.htm B.Allowances and cap of the EU ETS http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/ets/cap/index_en.htm C. Structural reforms of the EU ETS http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/ets/reform/index_en.htm

Potential interactions: ITRE II (improving energy efficiency, renewable resources) Both policies serve as incentives toward the usage of energy coming from renewable sources, which is in the core of ITRE II topic.

22

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

Topic overview: Europe has always been considered as one of the most active actors when it comes to fight climate change. As a binding member of the Kyoto Protocol, the EU aims to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) to 20% below 1990 statistics by the year 2020. The EU Roadmap to a low-carbon economy by 2050 suggests that current policies will not be enough to reach this goal.

The two major attempts to push for a decarbonised European economy have been through the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and Carbon Taxing. The key goal of both these policies is to incentivise companies to switch to eco-friendly fuels. This is of a vital importance if we take into account the negative impact that GHG have on our environment, especially considering that one of the main causes of global warming is the release of these gasses in the atmosphere.

The ETS works in a ‘cap and trade’ principle which sets a limit, lowered every year, to the overall amount of certain GHG that can be emitted by factories, power plants and other installations in the system. Within this boundary, companies receive or buy emission allowances , expressed in tonnes of CO2, which they can trade with one another as needed.

After each year companies must cover all their emissions, otherwise heavy fines are imposed. However, if a company reduces its emissions, it can keep the spare allowances for future use. The ETS was launched in 2005 and its third phase starts this year bringing many structural changes. There will be only a single EU-wide cap on emissions and the default method for allocating allowances will start to be auctioning. Starting from this year, 40% of the allowances will be auctioned.

However, companies are facing a decrease in the production because of the economic crisis, leading to fewer emissions and a huge surplus of allowances. This causes a drastic fall of the price of allowances and right now it is more convenient for companies to buy them rather than to switch to new forms of energy. The European Commission has taken the initiative to postpone the introduction in the market of 900 million allowances as an immediate measure in order to raise the price. This measure, called back-loading, should encourage the companies to start using new eco-friendly forms of energy.

Carbon Taxing is implemented in different ways across the different Member States, but there is no centralised EU attempt to tax either carbon fuels or energy usage in the same way in the region. Carbon tax levies a fee on the production, distribution or use of fuels based on how much carbon their combustions emit. A clear advantage of that it’s a predictable scheme; the carbon price is decided and it doesn’t change for a long time, making it easier for companies to plan their future emissions.

Economists argue that Carbon Taxing is a more efficient and simple way of curbing carbon emissions, whilst other suggest that the ETS is theoretically a better system, but it is hit by implementation issues in the current economic climate. It has been argued for a long time that the two policies are exclusive; having one means that you cannot have the other, but 23

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

this isn’t necessarily the case. One should consider the effects that a Carbon Tax would have on the price of allocations within the ETS, the long term economic outcomes and whether these higher costs would be passed on to the consumer. When considering the future of all environmental policy within the EU we have to take into account the economic effects, especially the economic challenges the entire continent is facing. Although it seems logical that the higher pricing put in place for a tonne of CO2 would be more environmentally beneficial, that may be counteracted by the damage it may cause to certain sectors or industries harder affected by that particular policy.

Nowadays, the main decision to be made regards the EU approach to curbing GHG emissions and many would still argue that this comes down to a choice between established policy methods such as the ETS and Carbon Taxing. The proponents of the ETS laud the fact that this method is more environmental friendly and also the fact that now it’s entering its final period and further benefits will be reaped. Unfortunately there have been many issues such as over-allocation, windfall profits and carbon leakage. On the other hand Carbon Taxing is considered a simple and elegant solution to the problem even though there are issues regarding the implementation of the tax, the price of carbon and fears that it may disproportionately damage the welfare of those earning the least.

No matter what emissions curbing schemes are heralded as the best for the EU’s future, one must also consider the economic impact that they would have, especially taking into account how it may damage an EU firm’s ability to be competitive in the global market.

Further Information: YouTube video outlining how the ETS works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdi8YORIowA Simple explanation of Carbon Taxing and its benefits: http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/carbon-tax1.com

A report into the current problems with the EU ETS and potential ways to rectify them (extremely important link to understand theweaknesses in the current system, please read!): http://viessmanncentre.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Weishaar.pdf Study into the impacts of a Carbon Tax on the EU: http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/resources/documents/taxation/gen_info/economic_a nalysis/economic_studies/energy_tax_study.pdf Detailed overview of the ETS and how it has changed moving into its third stage: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14693062.2006.9685586#.UcGjYPmceSo 24

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

The Carbon Tax Centre; an unofficial page on Carbon Taxing: http://www.carbontax.org NGO reports into failing of ETS and how to restructure it in the future (extremely helpful to understand in simple terms how the ETS could be restructured): http://www.sandbag.org.uk/site_media/pdfs/reports/EU_ETS_at_a_crossroads_NGO_briefin g_01.2013_FINAL.pdf Links to the suggestions from the DG for Environment and Climate change: http://www.euractiv.com/climate-environment/yvo-de-boer-put-150-tonne-price-news-5163 83 Carbon Tax vs EU ETS, article by Amy Stockwell: http://www.mamamia.com.au/election2013/your-5-minute-guide-to-the-carbon-tax-and-theemissions-trading-scheme/ Australia to replace Carbon Tax with Emission Trading Scheme, article by Chris Lang: http://www.redd-monitor.org/2013/07/18/australia-to-replace-carbon-tax-with-emissions-tr ading-scheme/ Guardian article on attempts to continue the Emissions Trading Scheme: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jun/25/eu-emissions-trading-scheme-energ y

25

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

Chair: JoĂŁo Moreira

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy II ITRE II

"What we need to do is really improve energy efficiency standards, develop in full scale renewable and alternative energy and use the one resource we have in abundance, our creativity� - Lois Capps.

With a growing shortage of non-renewable resources, the use of renewables becomes fundamental, but are we really able to avoid to use the former and focus only on the latter? What measures can the European Union actively take in order to achieve energetic sustainable efficiency.

Key Issues: a) What more can the EU do to make sure that its Member States reach comfortable levels of energy-efficiency by 2020? b) How can we further improve efficient energy use at home and at work? c) How can we make renewable energies more reliable and start to reduce the use of non-renewable ones? d) How can we reach a state of energy sustainability? e) What role do investigation and creativity play in the increasing of energy efficiency?

Key regulations: A. Directive 2012//27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on energy efficiency: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:315:0001:0056:EN:PDF B. Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on energy efficiency in buildings: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/efficiency/buildings/doc/report_financing_ee_buildings_com_20 13_225_en.pdf

26

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

C. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council and the Economic and Regions' Committees - Energy Efficiency Plan 2011: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2011:0109:FIN:EN:PDF D. Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:140:0016:0062:EN:PDF

Potential interactions: ITRE II (Emissions Trading Scheme vs Carbon Tax) If the ETS and the Carbon Tax methods are indeed effectively put to practise, companies will eventually increase their renewable energy usage and their energy efficiency methods so as not to incur in high fees or in the buying of a huge amount of emission allowances.

Topic overview: Europe has always been on the vanguard of the climate change fight, energy efficiency methods and renewable energy usage. The European Union has set three key objectives for 2020: a 20% reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels, raising the share of EU energy consumption produced from renewable resources to 20% and a 20% improvement in the EU's energy efficiency. In short, energy efficiency means using less energy to provide the same level of performance, comfort and convenience.

There are many areas in which energy efficiency can really thrive and make a difference, especially in transports, industry, at home and at work. This is one of the most important concerns tackled by the EU's energy efficiency policy, as nearly 40% of final energy consumption - and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions - is in houses, offices, shops and other buildings. Moreover, the sector provides the second largest untapped and cost-effective potential for energy savings after the energy sector itself. As an example, if all households in Europe changed their more than ten-year-old appliances into new ones, 20 billion kWh of electricity would be saved annually, hence reducing CO2 emissions by almost 18 billion kg. It seems obvious that energy efficiency walks hand in hand with energy saving and the reduction of CO2/GHG emissions.

Another important sector where energy efficiency must be developed to the maximum level is renewable energies. In fact, energy efficiency and renewable sources are said to be the twin pillars of sustainable energy, which will allow future generation to have still enough energy to fulfil their needs.

Nowadays, the EU's renewable energy consumption values remain around 10%, with the 27

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

goal being 20% by 2020 and the majority of the experts do not believe the EU will be able to reach its aims at this rate.

There is still a long way to go when it comes to bring renewable energies to their full potential; most solar panels are around 10-15% efficient, with the world record for a solar cell efficiency being 44.7% so far. Wind turbines, on the other hand, may reach the maximum of 80-90% efficiency, but the average percentage is way lower due to the variety of factors that hinder the production of wind-based energy, such as the unpredictability of the wind and the increased cost of highly efficient wind turbines.

However, no type of renewable energy is without disadvantages and we consistently try to raise the energy efficiency of renewable sources each day through endless amounts of research investment. Some of them have already resulted in something both innovative and positive such as the Tornado Power plant, which aims to generate energy from one of nature's most powerful and destructive forces or the inflatable solar collectors made of plastic that are cheap, durable, efficient and can be repaired with tape. Unfortunately, all these advantages may not be enough to at meet the goal that was set for the EU by 2020.

28

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

Further Information: Alternative energy news: http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/technology/future-energy/ Plastic: the new energy source: http://phys.org/news/2013-09-plastic-energy-source.html 10 renewable energy ideas that could change the world: http://www.wellhome.com/blog/2010/02/10-renewable-energy-ideas-that-could-change-the -world/ Energy efficiency: doing more with less (European Comission video): http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:315:0001:0056:EN:PDF EU renewable energy studies: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/renewables/studies/index_en.htm Renewable energy news & information: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/home Renewable energy documentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaTq4X8g9Tg The artificial leaf - revolutionary method of using solar energy after the sun sets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J556uXwrjII Energy efficiency in 90 seconds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByCOTG2-mhg Energy efficiency - the world in 2030: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG3HNQiEaTM 6 myths about renewable energy: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324432404579052900100464562.html The Concerto initiative: http://concerto.eu/concerto/ Go green, get growing (euronews video): http://www.euronews.com/2012/05/16/go-green-get-growing 29

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

The Build Up initiative. Energy solutions for better buildings: http://www.buildup.eu/ European Energy Efficiency Fund (EEEF): http://www.eeef.eu/home.html 20% renewable energy by 2020: http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/video/player.cfm?ref=I056096 My Energy Solution (energy efficiency at home): http://www.myenergysolution.com/

30

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

Chairs: Elisa Martinelli (VP) Shpendi Rakipi

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs I LIBE I

“The government may have won the vote today, but what was clear from the debate was the huge opposition to almost every part of the bill on same sex marriage.� - Colin Hart, Coalition for marriage (UK).

Despite the progress made in order to build inclusive societies and addressing discrimination, there is still a deep opposition towards same-sex marriage and adoption. In lack of a common agreement on this issue within the European Union, how should the Member States tackle the growing discrepancies in attitudes and policies.

Key Issues: a) Should the EU have a common legislation for the LGBT community or Member States should decide on their own? b) Can LGBT communities be more actively involved by the government when it comes to take decisions on the matter? c) Should same-sex marriages be addressed differently from traditional ones?

Key regulations: A. European Union and LGBT Rights http://www.ilga-europe.org/home/guide_europe/eu/lgbt_rights European Union Agency for For Fundamental Rights http://fra.europa.eu/en/theme/lgbt

Topic overview: The recognition of same-sex marriage is one of the political, social and civil rights issues most discussed all over the world. All across the EU, people from every social class, 31

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

ethnicity and religion get married. For most people marriage is not a trivial matter. It is a key to the pursuit of happiness, something people aspire to and keep aspiring to.

Some Member States, including Spain, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Belgium, have recognized same-sex marriage. On the 12th of February 2013, lower House of Parliament of France has approved a bill to legalise gay marriage and allow same-sex couples to adopt children. At the same time, in the United Kingdom, the government proposed legalisation of same-sex marriage, which was approved after a long and heated debate. However, especially in France, the path towards the approval of these laws has not been without difficulties. During the debate in the National Assembly, a huge amount of citizens, whose stance was against the bill, demonstrated in the streets of Paris. The law has encountered intense opposition not only from the Catholic Church, but also from many French Muslims, who see it as an attack on the traditional family values.

These protests have been a sign of the sexual and gender discrimination, which is still lingering inside the Member States. This is seen by the public opinion as a violation of human rights, in a society where everyone takes freedom of choices for granted. According to the Treaty of the European Union, the EU is: “founded on the value of respect for human dignity, equality and respect for human rights. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity, and equality between women and men prevail.”6 The institutions of the EU have always been committed to prevent the violation of human rights, especially of the minorities living on the territory, including LGBT communities. In 2000, in the Charter on Fundamental Rights, article 21 states that discrimination based on sexual orientation shall be prohibited. The charter became law-binding after the Treaty of Lisbon7 was passed in 2009. For this reason all EU Member States have included in their legislations different laws that ban some or all kinds of discrimination toward LGBT people.

For example Denmark already introduced the “registered union” in 1989, being one of the first countries willing to tackle the alarming discrimination towards homosexuals.8 Some countries, like Austria, Germany and Finland, have also given the right to have a privileged or registered partnership.9 Moreover, in the current admission inside the EU of Bulgaria and Romania, which are known for being more conservative towards the homosexual rights, international LGBT organisations are calling for immediate action to tackle this difficult situation. The first gay parade after the Romania joining the EU faced several clashes and strong opposition from members of the local Parliament and most of the citizens.

6

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/charter/pdf/text_en.pdf http://eur-lex.europa.eu/JOHtml.do?uri=OJ:C:2007:306:SOM:EN:HTML 8 It’s a kind of partnership that had all legal and fiscal rights and obligations of an opposite-sex marriage, with two exceptions: laws making explicit reference to the sexes of a married couple did not apply to registered partnerships, and regulations by international treaties did not apply unless all signatories agree.

9 http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/family/couple/registered-partners/index_en.htm 7

32

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

Nevertheless, human rights activists believe that the admission of the above-mentioned countries will start a new era for the LGBT community and will ease the process of recognition of their basic rights. After all human rights don’t depend on borders, but on the fundamental concept of human being.

Further Information: The European Parliament’s Intergroup on LGBT Rights http://www.lgbt-ep.eu/ Same-sex marriages gaining acceptance; 14 countries where it's legalised. http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Europe/Same-sex-marriages-gaining-acceptan ce-14-countries-where-it-s-legalised/Article1-1062305.aspx Should all EU states recognise gay marriage? http://www.debatingeurope.eu/2013/04/24/should-all-eu-states-recognise-gay-marriage/#.

UlAdt9Knpfc Same-Sex Marriage: Global Comparisons http://www.cfr.org/society-and-culture/same-sex-marriage-global-comparisons/p31177 Allow Gay Pride: Serbia warned by Council of Europe, EU http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/allow-gay-pride-serbia-warned-by-council-of-europe-eu/ The intolerant continent: Europe’s shocking attitude creating a climate of fear for gay people http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-intolerant-continent-europes-shocki ng-attitude-creating-a-climate-of-fear-for-gay-people-8824932.html

33

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

Chair: Isabel Cantalapiedra

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs II LIBE II

Swinging between legislation and prohibition: under the necessity to find a balance between freedom of choice and prevention of substances’ misuse, to what extent should the use of drugs be illegal?

Key Issues: a) The illicit drugs market constitutes a major element for criminal activity across Europe. b) The number of drug-related deaths and mortality of drug users and the number of drug-related infectious diseases (HIV, viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, etc). Could the legalisation of drugs reduce the number of infections and deaths, as there will be a control over how drugs are cut? c) Should addiction be considered a criminal offence or a public health matter? d) Are young people being effectively informed and protected against drug misuse? e) How could “legal highs” and illegal online marketplaces be controlled? f) Should Member States create a common Drug Policy? g) The economic crisis has resulted in budget costs for drug policy. h) Some studies suggest that mass media campaigns have no effect on reduction of use or intention to use illegal substances. i) The war on drugs has had little or no effect: drugs are still being produced and consumed and figures have remained constant for years, whereas the money pumped into drug control is raising10 .

Key regulations: A. EU Drugs Strategy: Political framework aimed to contribute to a reduction in demand and supply of drugs within the EU. B. Europol EU policy cycle and crime priorities (2013-2020): The law enforcement agency of the EU aims to reduce the production and distribution of drugs.

C. The Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre Narcotics (MAOC-N) was set up in 2007 to 10

“Rethinking the war on drugs through the US-Mexico Prism”.

34

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

target trafficking across the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean area anti-drug enforcement coordination centre (CeCLAD-M) was set up in 2008 to tackle trafficking across the Mediterranean Sea. D. The Dutch policy of toleration allows coffee shops to sell soft drugs such as cannabis (hash and weed) under strict conditions, but trafficking, processing and selling any drugs in the Netherlands is a criminal offence. The Opium Act distinguishes between hard and soft drugs on the basis of the health damage and the mind altering properties a certain drug causes and the costs to society.

E. Portugal decriminalised drugs 12 years ago: possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine or heroin is considered a misdemeanor11 .

Topic overview: Public debate towards drug legalisation began during the 1960s and has continued ever since, as most arguments on both sides can be supported by studies or evidence from one country or another. The libertarian approach condemns the unnecessary government regulation of adults' private behaviour and advocates for freedom of self-harm as long as drug users don't hurt anyone doing so. The economic approach argues that legalising drugs will generate remarkable tax income, as governments will be able to impose high taxation and increase revenue during the economic crisis. The need to prevent drug-related crime is an important issue in the political agenda. Those concerned with public security might think that legalising drugs will lead to a more controlled supply chain and therefore less crime, but forcing up the price of drugs – if legalised- in legal networks may encourage people to commit property crimes or engage in drug supply offences to get the necessary fund.

Most arguments today come from the harm reduction12 perspective, as it is thought that drug addiction should be seen as a public health matter rather than a criminal offence. Some European countries have therefore relaxed their laws about possession, but others continue with a predominant prohibitionist system, even though that may have negative effects.

Nevertheless, the number of drug addicts from countries with strong repression do not tend to be lower than those in more liberal countries, perhaps because criminalisation can prevent addicts from seeking professional help. Prohibition as well depends on stopping the availability of drugs (e.g.: interdiction). While more than 1 million kilograms of cocaine were seized from 1986 to 200713 , it hasn’t had any effect on availability or price of the drug; in 11

Article on the decriminalisation of drugs in Portugal (Spiegel, March 27th 2013).

Prevention of drug use and reducing risks to users and those around them is referred to as “harm reduction”.

12

13

www.legalizationfacts.com 35

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

fact, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (US) estimates that price per gram of cocaine dropped from $284 in 1990 to $107 in 200514 .

While prohibiting drug consumption may send the message that drugs are socially unacceptable or undesirable, making some drugs illegal and yet allowing other harmful drugs (tobacco or alcohol) to be freely available for adults may undermine respect for current policies against drugs. From a more medical point of view, banning all drugs may reduce the number of deaths caused by the use of drugs, as consumption of tobacco and alcohol are the first and third biggest causes of early deaths and illness in the EU15 , yet there is no proof that prohibiting them will reduce the number of users or, on the other hand, that legalising every drug will increase it.

Especially noteworthy is the case of the Netherlands, the only country in the European Union that allows the sale of cannabis, considered a „soft drug”. The Dutch Drug Policy pursues toleration under the aforementioned “harm reduction” approach and seeks to keep the market of soft and hard drugs separate. As an example, cannabis users can buy their soft drug from a legal coffee shop and therefore do not need to get it from an illegal dealer, which would increase their chances of coming to contact with hard drugs. The Dutch government is particularly focused on preventing drug use amongst youngsters, a high-risk group, as they often fail to understand the risks associated with drugs. They have done so by implementing education campaigns16 in which around half of schools across the Netherlands participate. In line with this project, treatment is available for drug users and whenever full rehabilitation is not possible, the aim is to reduce risks and improve the addicts' health, e.g.: drug users may exchange their needles for sterile ones free of charge, reducing the spread of HIV or hepatitis, and they are provided with drop-in centres where they can use available treatment with methadone and heroin17 . The Dutch policy has been reasonably successful, especially when it comes to prevention and care. The number of users is no greater than in other countries and the rate of drug-related deaths is the lowest in Europe at 2.4 per million inhabitants18 . But the Netherlands is not alone in its permissive approach towards drugs.

Countries like Portugal and the Czech Republic have introduced legislative changes to tolerate certain amounts of drugs (e.g.: the possession of 1 gram of cocaine or 15 grams of marijuana is no longer a punishable offence).

The increasing trend towards drug use, especially by youngsters, and the emergence and spread of new psychoactive substances constitute a major issue. These new substances, known as "legal highs", produce similar effects to illegal drugs but are not yet controlled, as legal procedures can not keep track of every new drug that is been developed and they cannot be considered drugs of abuse because they are not commonly used. They have 14

www.unodc.org/pdf/research/wdr07/WDR_2007_3.4.2_cocaine.pdf Alcohol-related harm in the EU 16 Summary on the Project “Drugs and the Healthy Schools”.

17 Other countries such as Germany and Denmark have also set up supervised heroin treatment services.

18 Data table on drug-related deaths (note that the figure is the number of deaths, not a percentage).

15

36

3rd International Forum of the EYP Albania, Tirana 2013 Topic Overview Booklet

become increasingly popular in the past few years as an alternative to common drugs such as MDMA or cocaine, and are widely available on the internet, in the so-called “Dark Net”.

While being a marketplace for thousands of people worldwide, these online portals are difficult to trace. The users enter the site through the software called Tor Browser, which keeps the personal IP addresses hidden from all the users. Even though the Silk Road, the most famous online market on drugs (both illegal and “legal highs”), was taken down in April, the dealers have scattered to smaller sites, preparing themselves to regroup once the Dark Net is safer. How could Member States keep track and regulate all new substances and illegal marketplaces?

Member States face a key challenge in creating a common European approach that can balance ideological, political and social concerns towards drug usage while respecting two core European values: freedom of choice and prevention of drug misuse.

Further Information: How drugs interact with your brain (video) "Youth attitudes on drugs" (Eurobarometer - 2011) European Drug report on Trends and Development (2013) EU Action Plan on Drugs (2013-2016) Facts and Statistics on the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) EU Drugs Market report World Drug Report (US – 2007)

37