Brussels - Drugs consumption in Europe is generally stable or falling, but record opium production in Afghanistan may lead to a surge in the availability of heroin across the continent, the European Union's drugs monitoring agency said Thursday.

"Overall, for most forms of consumption, we are not seeing major increases, and, in some areas, trends appear to be downwards," said Wolfgang Goetz, head of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).

Brussels - Europe's leaders have already said that they want the world's greatest powers to create a new brand of capitalism.

When they meet in Brussels on Friday ahead of a major world summit in Washington on November 15, they have to agree on the much more

difficult question of how far they should try to go right now.

Brussels - The European Union should re-open talks within days on a strategic deal with Russia which it froze following Russia's invasion of Georgia, the bloc's executive said Wednesday.

"It is the view of the (European) Commission that the next negotiating sessions should be scheduled now," a report on the EU's relationship with Russia from the Brussels-based body said.

Brussels- The European Union should re-open talks on a strategic deal with Russia which it froze following Russia's invasion of Georgia as soon as possible, the bloc's executive said Wednesday.

"It is the view of the (European) Commission that the next negotiating sessions should be scheduled now," a report from the Brussels-based body on the EU's relationship with Russia said.

Brussels  - Serbia could become a candidate for European Union membership in 2009 if it proves that it is doing its best to catch war-crimes suspects, the EU's executive said Wednesday.

Brussels - Turkey has proven itself to be a reliable international partner and a key energy transit route, but it must work harder on political and human-rights reforms if it wants to join the European Union, the EU's executive said Wednesday.