Distinguished Chair, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.  The following countries align themselves with this statement: North Macedonia^*, Montenegro^*, Serbia^*, Albania^*, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina^*, Georgia, Iceland⁺, Norway⁺, and San Marino.

We wish to thank you for organising this Intersessional Meeting. Our gratitude extends to the Secretariat for the comprehensive background material provided for this meeting. We expect the discussions in the forthcoming days will allow us to accelerate the implementation of our joint commitments and to prepare the 2024 mid-term review.

Achieving universal health coverage and access to quality essential health-care services is among the Sustainable Development Goals and are part of universally accepted human rights standards as pointed out by the WHO[1]. However, such access to healthcare and social services for all without discrimination remains insufficient, especially for people in vulnerable situations and specifically for people who use drugs. Therefore, ensuring gender-sensitive access to and strengthening treatment and care services is an important strategic priority in the EU Drugs Strategy and Action Plan 2021-2025. However, according to the 2023 World Drug Report, only one in five individuals with drug-related disorders receive treatment in the world, and women encounter additional barriers when accessing these services.

The situation is also very worrying in prisons and in institutional care of young people. Equivalence and continuity of healthcare provision in prison needs to be ensured and it is vital that those programmes can be accessed easily without fearing any negative consequences. Furthermore, guaranteeing continuity of care after release is crucial for preventing overdose deaths. 

There is increasing evidence of effective responses to drug use-related disorders including treatment and risk and harm reduction strategies. Indeed, numerous guides and tools are already available to disseminate this expertise and we ought to encourage their use and make them available to everyone. Currently, our Drugs Agency’s - EMCDDA’s - European Responses Guide and Best Practice Portal offers access to a range of these instruments, and support on evidence-based policy and practice responses, which will further expand under the Agency’s new mandate.

Regarding treatment, the International Standards for the Treatment of Drug Use Disorders by the WHO and UNODC provide good guidance on effective treatment options. We should keep working to regularly adapt treatments to new trends, as well as develop new and effective forms of treatment in collaboration with different stakeholders, including clinical and scientific communities and the civil society. At the same time, it is important to emphasise the voluntary character of treatment and evidence-based treatment services that give due respect to patient´s rights.

Effective drug demand reduction strategies, including risk and harm reduction measures, serve as fundamental pillars in a comprehensive approach to addressing the world drug situation. We have a collective opportunity to enhance and advance even further in this regard. These strategies - such as needle and syringe programmes - have resulted in a decrease in the negative consequences of drug use, including deaths, associated infectious diseases as well as social problems.

Opioid maintenance therapy represents the benchmark for addressing the needs of individuals with opioid dependence, but improving its availability and accessibility remains a challenge. Medical practitioners ought to incorporate available safe and efficient pharmacotherapies for individuals in substitution therapy into their practices. Alongside this, the tools available for the prevention of overdoses have demonstrated their utility in saving lives and must be implemented more widely.

Undoubtedly, providing health care services and treatment, including risk and harm reduction programmes that meet the individual requirements of people who use drugs, based on scientific evidence, is one of the most effective strategies in mitigating the number of drug-related deaths and the cost of drug use on the society. It is also important to take into consideration the differences in the ways drug overdoses occur between women and men, including the underlying intentions, age and the substances involved.

We would like to stress that drug use disorders and other mental health conditions are closely interconnected. Epidemiological evidence indicates that psychiatric comorbidities amongst people who use drugs are so prevalent that they should be expected rather than considered an exception. This has become a significant concern in drug policy, since effectively ensuring access to treatment for people with dual disorders remains a persistent challenge despite the clear necessity. The fact that care for people with dual disorders often is a shared responsibility between mental health care and drug treatment networks may create challenges in ensuring accessibility and effectiveness of treatment.

Allow me to conclude that it is crucial to continue working in order to attain health care and social services that are both effective and equally accessible for everyone, taking into account the special needs of people who use drugs and paying particular attention to other associated conditions, including mental health issues and infectious diseases. The right to health for everyone must be ensured. Furthermore, we ought to facilitate the availability of best therapeutic options based on evidence, including risk and harm reduction measures, with the goal of decreasing not only deaths but also the negative consequences of drug use.

Thank you.

* Candidate Countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

+ Iceland and Norway are members of the EFTA and of the European Economic Area.

[1] Reference: Human rights (who.int)