German and Dutch Ministers Plan Joint Drug Offensive

Despite their differences of opinion over some areas of drug law and legalization, Germany and the Netherlands, its more permissive, liberal neighbor, agreed on Wednesday that the two countries would step up their collective efforts to fight the international drug trade and harmonize their narcotics laws.

German Interior Minister Otto Schily and Dutch Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner met in Berlin to hammer out the details of a German-Dutch pact which would include initiatives to enhance the effectiveness of the police patrols on the two countries’ shared border in a bid to combat drug trafficking.

“We have patrol agreements with France and we operate similar ones with Poland and the Czech Republic. And it will be good when we also bring an equivalent agreement together with Holland,” Schily said.

The current amount of drugs crossing from the Netherlands to Germany show exactly how porous the border is.

International smuggling

One particular concern is the increase of drug smuggling coming into Europe through Amsterdam's Schiphol airport. Both ministers were particularly concerned about drug couriers who use international flights to transport narcotics from South America, for example, to Europe.

Donner told reporters that at least 20 tons of cocaine were brought into Europe each year through Schiphol, the main Dutch hub, where local police arrest 200 drug couriers every month. “That is a substantial share, at least ten percent of the whole European intake,” he said.

Schily and Donner showed a united front by saying that both countries were ready to put pressure on airlines to stem the problem, even suspending services between some cities on notorious drug routes.

Exchange of intelligence planned

Other measures, including the exchange of police records with the Benelux countries -- Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg -- and other neighbors were being considered, said Schily. The German interior minister added that Germany would send officials to the Netherlands to help coordinate law enforcement efforts.

Despite the positive messages, the two ministers clashed over the subject of the Dutch coffee shops, establishments which legally sell cannabis and other so-called soft drugs over the counter. Nearly 800 coffee shops across the country offer cannabis under government regulations that allow the sale of up to five grams of the drug to individual customers for their own consumption. Possession of more than 30 grams is illegal in the Netherlands.

Schily, a vehement opponent of the Dutch attitude to soft drugs, urged his counterpart to close the coffee shops, saying that the sale of any drugs advocated their use.

A Dutch problem

But Donner said the cafes offered Dutch authorities an opportunity to keep a close check on drug use. “Even though I understand the German opinion on the question of coffee shops, I must say that it is a question for the Dutch and not a problem for our neighbors,” he said.

In a bid to placate his German counterpart, he did however present proposals that would, if agreed on, prevent drug tourism between the two countries by only allowing Dutch residents to visit the nation's infamous cannabis cafes.

Proposals target drug tourists

In the plan, cannabis sales could in future be restricted by the introduction of a pass card or membership system and coffee shop customers might also be required to show their passports. The minister added, however, that he did not intend to introduce the system himself.

Such a set of proposals would be welcomed by resident committees, especially those in the eastern town of Venlo which sits on the German border. The town has five official coffee shops and many illegal ones which serve German drug tourists heading the short distance over the border for a hit. There are also plans to establish two shops nearer to the German border to reduce the nuisance factor for city center residents.

But officials from the Venlo city council and other municipalities are concerned by Donner’s proposals, saying that they would result in an explosive increase in the illegal trade. The Association of Dutch Municipalities said it wanted to wait for definite plans before assessing reactions from its member councils.