CEO submits Ombudsman complaint about EU Commission's failure to implement UN tobacco lobby rules

Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) has today submitted a formal complaint to the EU Ombudsman about the European Commission's failure to properly implement UN rules for contacts with tobacco lobbyists. The EU is a signatory to the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), which obliges governments to limit interactions with the tobacco industry and ensure the transparency of those interactions that occur. During the last years, European Commission officials have had numerous meetings with tobacco industry lobbyists wanting to influence the EU's Tobacco Products Directive  Many of these meetings were not disclosed online. This includes at least 14 undisclosed meetings involving top Commission officials  from the Secretariat-General and members of Commission President Barroso's cabinet. The European Commission claims its approach is "compatible" with the WHO rules, but the reality is that it is violating its UN obligations.

Photo by Rares M. Dutu,CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, via Flickr