Civil Society Forum on Drugs (CSF)

The Civil Society Forum on Drugs (CSFD) is an expert group to the European Commission.  Its purpose is to provide a broad platform for a structured dialogue between the Commission and the European civil society which supports drug policy formulation and implementation through practical advice.

In 2021 Citywide successfully re-applied to be a member of EU Civil Society Forum. We attend annual plenary sessions and relevant sub groups and have participated in a Europe-wide survey on the EU Action Plan on Drugs. We have also developed bilateral links with a number of partner agencies from other countries on the Civil Society Forum and through the CSF UNGASS Working Group.

The forum is chaired by the Commission, which finances and organises its meetings and ensures continuity of its work. A "core group" contributes to the preparation of documents, agendas of the meetings and animates discussions and coordinates the work of members, also in between the meetings. The work is divided between working groups; the present Forum has four working groups: on quality standards on drugs demand reduction, institutional relations with the EU and international structures, input in EU drug strategy and action plan and civil society engagement in national drug policies.

The CSF meets once a year, while the core group assembles several times a year. Membership is renewed every three years, and the last call was in March 2021. The Civil Society Forum on Drugs runs currently from 2021 to 2023, with 45 members

Since its establishment, the Civil Society Forum has produced several reports of their activity, all available online.