Sweden dealt a blow to efforts by the European Union to unite to fight drugs today when it demanded that the Netherlands first abandon its policy of tolerating the use and sale of so-called "soft drugs".
Today marked the 30th anniversary of the opening of the first of 800 coffee shops in the Netherlands, where people are allowed to buy and smoke cannabis without fearing repercussions from the police.
Swedish Justice Minister Mr Thomas Bodstrom said he wanted other EU member states to force Dutch authorities to apply their laws rather than turn a blind eye to illegal drug sales.
"It is already illegal in the Netherlands. The important thing is to get some text that deals with the application (of laws)," he said after a meeting of EU justice ministers.
During the meeting the ministers discussed proposals aimed at harmonising national laws to make the fight against drugs inside the EU more efficient. The proposals cover all types of drug-dealing, ranging from local networks to large-scale international operations.
The draft legislation does not prescribe standard prison terms for the offence but instead proposes that the maximum sentence for large-scale drug trafficking across the EU should range from five to 10 years.
Current EU president Denmark had proposed that the maximum sentence for lesser offences would be what member states deemed "persuasive, effective and proportionate", which the Netherlands according to Mr Bodstrom had accepted.
But Sweden, France and Italy insisted that the EU should agree on a maximum of at least one to three years.
Danish Justice Minister Mr Lene Espersen, who chaired meeting, had hoped for a deal and had already warned EU states against trying to pressure through changes to the Dutch police.
"No matter how loud we scream and shout, we cannot force the Netherlands to change its policy," Mr Espersen told reporters before the meeting.