Issue 359 | 26 November 2012

Tobacco products directive, EU employment, ETS, and more...

Former European health and consumer policy commissioner John Dalli calls on the parliament and commission to push ahead with the adoption of the EU's tobacco products directive. Dalli writes that he is "pleased that a sense of urgency surrounding the directive has taken over in parliament" and hopes the legislation "will not have lost its punch". Irish MEP Nessa Childer's is critical of parliament's "very weak" response to Dalli's departure and calls on commission president José Manuel Barroso to take responsibility for the directive. Fellow MEP Ingeborg Gräßle questions whether the EU's anti-fraud office has "drawn up a qualified, strong report" in the Dalli case and demands to know the truth about tobacco lobbyist involvement. Meanwhile, Swedish Greens/EFA deputy Christian Engström wants clarification on whether the EU's snus ban is based on "facts and solid scientific data".