Lobbying by big tobacco interests will continue to take place in the shadows the European Commission has said, in defiance of recommendations by the EU’s ombudsman.
The Commission, despite promising transparency, has said it will not make public all its officials’ meetings with the tobacco industry and did not regard meetings with the industry’s lawyers as lobbying.
The ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, said it is in breach of the UN convention and guilty of maladministration, but the Brussels-based body that draws up EU laws says they are just voluntary guidelines.
Ms O’Reilly, the most senior Irish EU office holder, said she “strongly regrets that the European Commission has chosen not to make its dealings with the tobacco industry more transparent in line with UN guidelines”, saying “public health demands the highest standard”. The commission’s relations with the industry have come under pressure over the past few years with revelations of former senior staff becoming lobbyists for the industry and a commissioner being fired following allegations of impropriety.
Source: Ann Cahill, Irish Independent, 09/02/16
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