Brussels, 25/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - On 26 February, the European Parliament will vote in plenary on the draft EU directive on tobacco products, thus formally endorsing in first reading an agreement reached on 18 December in inter-institutional talks with the EU Council of Ministers (see EUROPE 10987). The draft directive still needs to be formally adopted by the Council of Ministers. Before the plenary, the S&D Group commented that the compromise was close to the negotiating position adopted in October by the European Parliament. The ALDE Group regretted the Council's over-strict safety measures for e-cigarettes. The ECR Group also regretted what it described as over-regulation of e-cigarettes, particularly access to rechargeable capsules of over 2 ml because this would put people off using e-cigarettes. The Greens called it a “bitter-sweet agreement” for different reasons, on the grounds that the legislation should have been stricter and more in line with international best practice. When the directive is set in stone at EU level (probably in the summer after the Council formally adopts it under the Greek Presidency), the member states will have two years to transpose the rules into their own legislations.
The main measures in the new directive are as follows: 1) e-cigarettes are viewed as consumer goods, but member states that viewed them as medicines in the past may continue to do so under certain conditions; 2) e-cigarettes must have less than 20mg of nicotine per ml and the rechargeable capsules may not be above 2ml in size; 3) so-called characteristic flavourings will be banned for tobacco products, apart from menthol (which will, however, be phased out in the first four years after the directive comes into force); 4) there must be health adverts combining text and images on two sides of the packaging and 65% of the packaging's surface area; 5) small cigarette packets with fewer than 20 cigarettes will be banned, but ultra-fine cigarettes will still be allowed; 6) a traceability system must be introduced, along with safety measures, to combat illegal trade in tobacco products and counterfeits; and 6) member states that want to introduce stricter measures, like neutral packaging, will be free to do so under certain conditions. (IL/transl.fl)