EU will help on drugs, says Spring

BUENOS AIRES - The Tanaiste, Mr Spring, putting an EU accent on drugs in its relationship with Latin, America, said yesterday…

BUENOS AIRES - The Tanaiste, Mr Spring, putting an EU accent on drugs in its relationship with Latin, America, said yesterday the union would not be found Wanting in finding and funding practical solutions.

He said combatting drug smuggling would be at the top of the agenda in next week's talks in Bolivia with the Rio Group of 14 Central and Latin American nations.

Visiting Argentina for talks with President Carlos Menem, Mr Spring said the talks in Cochabamba next week were "an important meeting with particular emphasis on drugs and the scale of the problem that we have to tackle." He said the EU was open to a Rio Group's interest, voiced by the Bolivian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mr Jaime Aparicio, in a drug strategy "based on the principle of shared responsibility and the need for alternative development."

Latin America's big cocaine exporters criticise developed nations for failing to face up to their responsibility as consumers, while persuading peasants to grow alternative cash crops, is an uphill task.