With three days to go before the opening of the 11th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in Geneva on Monday 17 November, the EU Member States reached a minimalist common position on Friday 14 November, avoiding the controversial issues.
The Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States to the EU (Coreper) has approved the Danish Presidency of the EU Council’s compromise text on the EU’s position for COP11 of the FCTC. Some delegations would have liked a more cautious approach to control measures, while others wanted the EU to play a leading role in tobacco control (see EUROPE 13748/9).
The compromise text stipulates that the EU will not adopt a position - either in favour or against the annex to Item 4.1 (the FCTC’s draft decision on future action) at COP11. This point concerns anti-smoking measures such as the ban on filter cigarettes. With this position, “the EU will nevertheless be able to participate actively in all the other important items on the agenda”, according to a European source. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)