Brussels, 17/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - The Greek agriculture minister, Athanosios Tsaftaris, warned on 13 May against the very adverse consequences that might arise for tobacco growers due to the European Commission's proposal aimed at revising the Community tobacco directive.
With the backing of his counterparts from Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Cyprus, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia, the minister said during the Agriculture Council that the provisions envisaged, especially the ban on certain tobacco products and the standardisation of packaging, could lead to job losses in the production chain and increased fraud. Growing the Burley tobacco variety is crucial for certain regions far from Greece, he said. At EU level, some 50,000 people are employed in the sector and 214,000 tonnes of tobacco leaf are harvested on more than 96,000 hectares in 11 member states.
In response, the European Commission noted that its proposal does not discriminate against any kind of tobacco and provides provisions to fight fraud. The Commission also pointed out that tobacco was the cause of 700,000 deaths in the EU every year. (LC/transl.jl)