Two weeks on from the European Parliament’s failure to agree any position on the revision of the Tobacco Excise Directive, the file’s rapporteur is going public with a message for the incoming Irish Presidency: don’t let the committee’s work go to waste.
Tomáš Kubín, the Czech MEP from the Patriots for Europe group who steered the file through Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, adopted a scaled-back version of the Commission’s proposal there on 3 June by 32 votes to 21. That text would have kept the minimum excise duty on cigarettes at €200 per 1,000, against the Commission’s proposed €215 (up from the current €90), while giving newer nicotine products such as vapes, heated tobacco and pouches lower rates and longer transition periods.
It never got the chance to matter. When the file reached plenary on 17 June, MEPs voted down not only Kubín’s committee text but also a separate, only lightly amended version of the Commission’s original proposal. With neither option securing a majority, Parliament ended the Cyprus Presidency with no formal opinion on the file at all, an outcome some in Brussels have read as tantamount to Parliament asking the Commission to withdraw the proposal outright.
The fallout has been messier than the vote itself. The centre-left S&D group hailed the result as a win for public health, but critics point out that the group’s real objective was to head off a recurring EPP-far right alliance rather than to hold out for a stronger text, since the compromise or alternative would have preserved the bulk of the Commission’s original tax increases. Kubín has dismissed the health framing outright, telling reporters it amounted to little more than a refusal to work with his group.
In an exclusive interview, Kubín revealed he is keen to keep the committee’s compromise alive as the file moves to the Council’s table:
“My message to the Irish Presidency is simple: don’t let the work of the ECON Committee vanish from the table. This isn’t about making a political statement. It’s about finding something that works for public health, for Member States’ tax revenues, for the internal market, and for the fight against illicit trade. The Commission’s proposal opened a debate worth having, but in several places, it went too far, and it didn’t really grapple with what the changes would mean in practice for Member States, for consumers, for tax administrations, or for legal operators on the ground. ECON took a more realistic route. I do not deny that the Tobacco Taxation Directive needs modernising — new products are on the market, and the current framework is simply outdated. But modernising the rules is not the same thing as pushing through sharp, automatic tax increases. What mattered most in the ECON work was proportionality: a more gradual rollout, more predictable rules, different treatment for different products, and real safeguards against market disruption and illicit trade.
“The Irish Presidency shouldn’t just fall back on the most maximalist version of the proposal — it should treat the ECON position as a serious starting point for a compromise that Member States can implement.”
He added: “The committee has given both the Commission and the Council a very strong position, we know there are member states that agree with us, we ask the Irish presidency to be able to take into consideration what we have delivered; that is what could help public health and citizens alike.”
That’s a harder sell than it might have been before 17 June. The Council remains divided in its own right: the Cypriot Presidency pulled the file from June’s Ecofin agenda after failing to secure unanimity that excise measures require, with Sweden among the member states unwilling to move on the treatment of lower-risk nicotine products. Technical talks are expected to resume this month under Irish stewardship, but Dublin now has to build consensus among member states without any parliamentary opinion, however non-binding, to lean on.
That puts Ireland in an awkward spot of its own. Dublin has traditionally taken one of the toughest lines on tobacco control in the EU and would be a natural ally for a stronger directive. But Sweden’s objection was never about resisting tax increases on cigarettes; it was about protecting the regulatory treatment of novel nicotine products, an area where Ireland’s own instincts sit closer to the Commission’s more cautious approach than to Stockholm’s.
Comments
18 responses to “After Tobacco Tax Collapse, Rapporteur Urges Irish Presidency to Value Committee’s Efforts”
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Aye, nothing screams effective governance quite like a bunch of MEPs tossing a vital tax reform file like yesterday’s kebab leftovers. 🍻 Just what we need, more debates and less action—cheers to “progress”!
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Seems like the Irish Presidency has a real peach of a task ahead—trying to make sense of a tobacco tax proposal that just decided to go on holiday instead of coming to work. 🍀💼 Good luck convincing everyone that the ECON Committee’s half-baked ideas are worth salvaging; it’s like trying to polish a turd, innit? 😏
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Oh, brilliant! Nothing like a complete tax collapse to remind us that “public health” is just code for “let’s argue about who can smoke what.” 🤷♂️ Cheers to the Irish for keeping the table warm while we all pretend this matters! 🍻
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Great to see Parliament solving the pressing issues of our time—like how to tax our smokes while the rest of us are trying to find a decent pint without getting taxed to death! 🍻💸
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Just what we needed—another riveting chapter in the saga of tax bureaucracy! 🍀 Maybe next time we’ll get a sequel titled “How to Make a Mountain Out of a Molehill”—perfect for a leisurely read during lengthy committee meetings. 😂
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Cheeky move, isn’t it? The Irish Presidency now has a lovely mess to tidy up, all while the committee’s efforts are gathering dust like last year’s Guinness. 🍻
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Looks like the Irish Presidency has a delightful puzzle on their hands—sorting through a mess that even a pub brawler would find hard to tackle! 🍻 Good luck convincing everyone that a compromise is a better pint than a full barrel! 😏
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The Irish Presidency must be thrilled to step into this delightful mess of tobacco tax negotiations—who wouldn’t want to juggle flaming torches while blindfolded? 🍀💼 Good luck convincing anyone that tax increases are a charm for public health when the whole thing reads more like a bureaucratic circus! 🤡
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Isn’t it just delightful when a comprehensive plan flops spectacularly? 🍀 Let’s hope the Irish can brew up something better than a pint of disappointment at this rate! 😂
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Looks like the Irish Presidency has quite the party on their hands—who knew tax discussions could be this exhilarating? 🍀 Just what we need, more committee efforts gathering dust; let’s hope they don’t pack their bags and head to the pub instead! 🍻
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Looks like the Irish Presidency really has their work cut out for them! 🥴 With Parliament tossing the tobacco tax proposal like last week’s leftovers, I’m sure they’ll just love diving into that hot mess. 😏
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Just brilliant, isn’t it? A whole committee’s work tossed aside like last week’s baguette, and now the Irish have to pick up the pieces while everyone pretends to care about public health. 🍀
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Isn’t it just splendid when the committee’s hard work is as appreciated as a soggy biscuit at afternoon tea? 🍵 Let’s just hope the Irish Presidency doesn’t treat it like a dodgy pint at the pub – best left untouched!
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Just what we needed, a riveting saga about taxes on fags – truly keeping us on the edge of our seats, innit? 🍻 Who knew the heart of Europe would beat so passionately for the humble tobacco leaf?
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Seems like the Irish Presidency is about to embark on a grand treasure hunt for common sense in the midst of this tobacco tax circus. 🍀 Because, you know, who wouldn’t want to wade through a mess of political hot air just to find a compromise? 🙄
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Isn’t it charming how we can all gather around a table and debate the future of tobacco tax while the smoke clears? 🍀 Let’s just hope the Irish can buy us a round of compromise instead of leaving us all high and dry! 😏
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Isn’t it just delightful how the Irish Presidency is now tasked with salvaging the committee’s “fantastic” efforts? I mean, who doesn’t love a bit of bureaucratic juggling while the rest of Europe has a good chuckle? 🍀😏
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Isn’t it charming how the European Parliament can create a grand spectacle out of tax proposals, only to end up with nothing but a nice cup of tea and a lot of hot air? ☕️💨 Who knew saving lives could be so complicated?
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