A report by Emily O'Reilly for the European Union's watchdog says the EU's approach to publicizing details of meetings with tobacco lobbyists is "inadequate, unreliable and unsatisfactory", and finds that the EC has failed to meet UN World Health Organization transparency rules on tobacco.
.@EU_Commission should ensure implementation of @WHO tobacco control framework against undue #tobacco #lobbying http://t.co/qAItq6T6Lf
— European Ombudsman (@EUombudsman) October 5, 2015
It follows a scandal in 2012 when Health Commissioner John Dalli resigned from former EC President Jose Manuel Barroso's office, after he was found to be connected to a 60 million euro attempt to influence EU tobacco legislation at a time when the EU was introducing tougher anti-smoking laws.
O'Reilly has called on the current president Jean-Claude Juncker to come clean about Brussels' dealings with the cigarette industry. The 2005 Tobacco Control Convention requires all signatories, including the EU to be accountable and transparent.
"The Commission is not fully implementing UN World Heath Organization rules and guidelines governing transparency and tobacco lobbying."
"The European Commission has a particular responsibility in its role as initiator of EU legislation to ensure that policy-making in public health is as transparent as possible. It is an opportunity for the Juncker Commission to be a global leader in this area of public health promotion."
EU Commission needs to urgently upgrade its #tobacco #lobbying and ethics rules http://t.co/ICVPU5Rjxb #EUlobbying pic.twitter.com/0EEGmaP7Vz
— Vicky Cann (@vicky_cann) October 5, 2015
Jean Claude Juncker must now publish online all the minutes of every meeting held with tobacco lobbyists or their lawyers.
Juncker has been given until the end of the year to explain how Brussels will implement the recommendations made by O'Reilly who is also calling for a mandatory register of lobbyists.
