21/12/2023 (Agence Europe) – On Tuesday 19 December, the European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, took the view that the European Commission had not adopted a consistent approach across all its departments to comply with its transparency obligations when dealing with tobacco industry representatives. According to Ms O'Reilly, this is a case of maladministration. The Commission is criticised for not disclosing the minutes of meetings with tobacco industry representatives, and for the lack of a systemic assessment, across all directorates-general, to determine whether potential meetings with tobacco industry representatives were necessary. The Commission asked for an assessment of the risk of exposure to the tobacco industry, which Ms O'Reilly welcomed. Link to the case: https://aeur.eu/f/a7p (LC)