The Europeanization of UK drug policy: transnational policy networks and evidence based policy-making

The European Union (EU) has significantly increased its formal competencies in the area of drug policy since the Treaty of European Union (TEU) yet in practice drug policies remain varied from state to state. It is said that a European approach to drugs policy has developed, and that this is characterised ‘as one in which evidence takes priority over ideology’. This paper seeks to better understand European integration in the field of drug policy and particularly the creation of this characteristic approach using the theoretical approach of Europeanization.

After examining the growing body of literature on Europeanization and the sources available in drug policy analysis, the first empirical section examines the history of drugs policy in the EU, from its intergovernmental beginnings towards the development of more independent EU institutions. It pays particular attention to the work of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and Europol, as well as the effects of the EU drug strategies and action plans, on wider drug policy. It is demonstrated that the generation, collection and dissemination of information and intelligence play vital roles in the consolidation of European norms.

The second empirical section looks at the domestic impact of the EU on the UK and demonstrates how the UK, throughout the past 20 years, has sought to contest EU actions in the area and promote its own policy preferences. The UK has been successful in using European norms to further its own policy preferences and played a leading role in the generation of drug information. In recent years, however the UK’s approach to law enforcement has been directly influenced by earlier EU norms.