Sittings · Document

Report (COM(2025)0580 – C10-0207/2025 – 2025/0580(CNS)) 2026-06-10

Structure and rates of excise duty applied to tobacco and tobacco related products (recast)

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10.6.2026 A100161/89

Amendment 89

César Luena

on behalf of the S&D Group

Billy Kelleher

on behalf of the Renew Group

Rasmus Andresen

on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

Jussi Saramo

on behalf of The Left Group

Report A100161/2026

Tomáš Kubín

Structure and rates of excise duty applied to tobacco and tobacco related products (recast)

(COM(2025)0580 – C10-0207/2025 – 2025/0580(CNS))

Proposal for a directive

Recital 3

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(3) It is necessary to ensure that the Union’s fiscal legislation on tobacco and tobacco related products continues to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market and, at the same time, a high level of human health protection, as required by Article 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, bearing in mind that tobacco and tobacco related products can cause serious harm to health , that Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan2 set the goal of reaching a tobacco-free Europe and that the Union is Party to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control . To achieve this twin objective the EU and the Member States should step up their efforts to fight illicit tobacco trade, notably illicit imports of tobacco and related products from third countries3. New products (liquids for e-cigarettes, other manufactured tobacco, nicotine pouches and other nicotine products) have increasing popularity, especially among young people, and besides the intrinsic public health risk these products represent, they also have the potential of opening the way towards conventional smoking.

(3) It is necessary to ensure that the Union's fiscal legislation on tobacco and tobacco related products continues to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market and, at the same time, a high level of human health protection, as required by Article 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, bearing in mind that tobacco and tobacco related products can cause serious harm to health, that Europe's Beating Cancer Plan set the goal of reaching a tobacco-free Europe and that the Union is Party to the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. This health protection objective is particularly pressing as the European region has the highest prevalence of smoking globally1a and the Union is not on track to meet the targets it committed to in its Beating Cancer Plan. To achieve this twin objective the EU and the Member States should step up their efforts to fight illicit tobacco trade, notably illicit imports of tobacco and related products from third countries. In addition, excise duties resulting in higher retail prices are proven to have a meaningful impact on reducing consumption of tobacco products. Therefore, minimum excise rates should be set at a level to encourage the cessation of tobacco consumption and to prevent substitution amongst product types. New products (liquids for e-cigarettes, other manufactured tobacco, nicotine pouches and other nicotine products) also have increasing popularity, especially among young people, frustrating the progress in achieving a tobacco-free Europe by 2040. Besides the intrinsic public health risk these products represent, including as a gateway to conventional smoking and to dual use of both conventional and novel products, their rapid proliferation makes the ambitious recast of this Directive an urgent and once-in-a-generation opportunity to make tobacco and nicotine products less affordable, protect Europeans from addiction, and generate public revenue for health systems.

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1a World Health Organisation, "WHO global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use 2000–2024 and projections 2025–2030", October 2025, https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240116276

2 Europe's Beating Cancer Plan, COM(2021) 44 final.

3 In the case of Cyprus, the “green line” as per Council Regulation (EC) No 866/2004 of 29 April 2004 on a regime under Article 2 of Protocol 10 to the Act of Accession (ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2004/866/2015-08-31)

Or. en

10.6.2026 A100161/90

Amendment 90

César Luena

on behalf of the S&D Group

Billy Kelleher

on behalf of the Renew Group

Rasmus Andresen

on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

Jussi Saramo

on behalf of The Left Group

Report A100161/2026

Tomáš Kubín

Structure and rates of excise duty applied to tobacco and tobacco related products (recast)

(COM(2025)0580 – C10-0207/2025 – 2025/0580(CNS))

Proposal for a directive

Recital 3 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(3a) The World Health Organization does not recommend the use of nicotine-containing products (liquids for e-cigarettes, other manufactured tobacco, nicotine pouches and other nicotine products) for smoking cessation and instead advocates for strengthening health systems to provide evidence-based cessation measures, including behavioural counselling and approved pharmacotherapies. Instead, these products, whether combustible or smokeless, pose a growing threat to cardiovascular health. While tobacco smoking continues to cause millions of deaths annually, the rapid uptake of e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and synthetic nicotine pouches, particularly among the youth, risks reversing decades of progress in tobacco control. The precautionary principle therefore requires that all such products be subject to excise duties commensurate with their addictive properties and public health risks1a.

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1a Münzel, T., Crea, F., Rajagopalan, S., & Lüscher, T. (2025). Nicotine and the cardiovascular system: Unmasking a global public health threat. European Heart Journal. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf1010. and Chen, D. T.-H., Grigg, J., & Filippidis, F. T. (2024). European Respiratory Society statement on novel nicotine and tobacco products, their role in tobacco control and “harm reduction”. European Respiratory Journal, 63(2), 2301808. https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.01808-2023.

Or. en

10.6.2026 A100161/91

Amendment 91

César Luena

on behalf of the S&D Group

Billy Kelleher

on behalf of the Renew Group

Rasmus Andresen

on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

Jussi Saramo

on behalf of The Left Group

Report A100161/2026

Tomáš Kubín

Structure and rates of excise duty applied to tobacco and tobacco related products (recast)

(COM(2025)0580 – C10-0207/2025 – 2025/0580(CNS))

Proposal for a directive

Recital 4 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(4a) The Union is a Party to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Article 5.3 of that Convention requires that, in setting and implementing tobacco control policies, Parties act to protect those policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry. The legislative process leading to this Directive, including any delegated and implementing measures adopted pursuant to it, should be conducted in full compliance with that obligation. The use of studies, data or projections produced by or on behalf of tobacco industry actors should be treated with particular caution and should not, in itself, constitute a basis for reducing the ambition of minimum excise duty rates or extending transitional periods.

Or. en

10.6.2026 A100161/92

Amendment 92

César Luena

on behalf of the S&D Group

Billy Kelleher

on behalf of the Renew Group

Rasmus Andresen

on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

Jussi Saramo

on behalf of The Left Group

Report A100161/2026

Tomáš Kubín

Structure and rates of excise duty applied to tobacco and tobacco related products (recast)

(COM(2025)0580 – C10-0207/2025 – 2025/0580(CNS))

Proposal for a directive

Recital 15

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(15) The structure of the excise duty on cigarettes should include, in addition to a specific component calculated per unit of the product, a proportional component based on the retail selling price, inclusive of all taxes. The turnover tax on cigarettes has the same effect as an ad valorem excise duty and this fact should be taken into account when the ratio between the specific component of the excise duty and the total tax burden is being established.

(15) The structure of the excise duty on cigarettes should include, in addition to a specific component set at EUR 215 per 1000 cigarettes, a proportional component set at 63 % of the retail selling price, inclusive of all taxes. The turnover tax on cigarettes has the same effect as an ad valorem excise duty and this fact should be taken into account when the ratio between the specific component of the excise duty and the total tax burden is being established.

Or. en

10.6.2026 A100161/93

Amendment 93

César Luena

on behalf of the S&D Group

Billy Kelleher

on behalf of the Renew Group

Rasmus Andresen

on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

Jussi Saramo

on behalf of The Left Group

Report A100161/2026

Tomáš Kubín

Structure and rates of excise duty applied to tobacco and tobacco related products (recast)

(COM(2025)0580 – C10-0207/2025 – 2025/0580(CNS))

Proposal for a directive

Recital 18

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(18) A certain degree of convergence would help ensure a high level of protection for human health. The level of taxation is a major factor in the price of tobacco and tobacco related products, which in turn influences consumers’ consumption habits. Fraud and smuggling undermine tax induced price levels, in particular of cigarettes and fine-cut tobacco for the rolling of cigarettes, and thus jeopardise the achievement of tobacco control and health protection objectives.

A certain degree of convergence would help ensure a high level of protection for human health. The level of taxation is a major factor in the price of tobacco and tobacco related products, which in turn influences consumers' consumption habits. Fraud and smuggling undermine tax induced price levels, in particular of cigarettes and fine-cut tobacco for the rolling of cigarettes, and thus jeopardise the achievement of tobacco control and health protection objectives. The risk of illicit trade should not be invoked to justify the reduction or limitation of minimum excise duty rates. Empirical evidence consistently demonstrates that the primary drivers of illicit tobacco trade are weak enforcement capacity, organised crime, and gaps in customs cooperation rather than the level of taxation itself. The appropriate response to illicit trade is strengthened enforcement, enhanced cross-border cooperation between competent authorities, and investment in track-and-trace systems, not the suppression of legitimate public health taxation objectives. Member States and Union institutions should ensure that resources allocated to anti-smuggling measures are commensurate with the scale of the challenge, and that the Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS) and track-and-trace obligations under Directive 2014/40/EU are fully enforced.

Or. en

10.6.2026 A100161/94

Amendment 94

César Luena

on behalf of the S&D Group

Billy Kelleher

on behalf of the Renew Group

Rasmus Andresen

on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

Jussi Saramo

on behalf of The Left Group

Report A100161/2026

Tomáš Kubín

Structure and rates of excise duty applied to tobacco and tobacco related products (recast)

(COM(2025)0580 – C10-0207/2025 – 2025/0580(CNS))

Proposal for a directive

Article 12 – paragraph 3 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

3a. The newly adjusted minimum tax level shall not be lower than the minimum excise duty applicable in the Member State immediately prior to the rate adjustment pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 3. Where the adjustment would result in a lower level, the minimum excise duty shall remain unchanged at its pre-adjustment level.

Or. en

10.6.2026 A100161/95

Amendment 95

César Luena

on behalf of the S&D Group

Billy Kelleher

on behalf of the Renew Group

Rasmus Andresen

on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

Jussi Saramo

on behalf of The Left Group

Report A100161/2026

Tomáš Kubín

Structure and rates of excise duty applied to tobacco and tobacco related products (recast)

(COM(2025)0580 – C10-0207/2025 – 2025/0580(CNS))

Proposal for a directive

Article 12 – paragraph 4

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

4. From 1 January 2031 each Member State shall ensure that the overall excise duty on manufactured tobacco and tobacco related products respect the minimum tax levels specified in Article 16, Article 20(2) and Article 22(2) and adjusted in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article from the first day of the year following the year in which the adjustment occurs.

4. From 1 January 2031 each Member State shall ensure that the overall excise duty on manufactured tobacco and tobacco related products respect the minimum tax levels specified in Article 16, Article 20(2) and Article 22(2) and adjusted in accordance with paragraphs 2, 3 and 3a of this Article from the first day of the year following the year in which the adjustment occurs.

Or. en

10.6.2026 A100161/96

Amendment 96

César Luena

on behalf of the S&D Group

Billy Kelleher

on behalf of the Renew Group

Rasmus Andresen

on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

Jussi Saramo

on behalf of The Left Group

Report A100161/2026

Tomáš Kubín

Structure and rates of excise duty applied to tobacco and tobacco related products (recast)

(COM(2025)0580 – C10-0207/2025 – 2025/0580(CNS))

Proposal for a directive

Article 12 – paragraph 4 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

4a. The adjustment of minimum Union rates pursuant to this Article shall not be subject to any upper limit. Any cap on the periodic adjustment would risk reproducing the structural erosion of minimum rates that characterised the period of application of Directive 2011/64/EU, contrary to the public health and internal market objectives of this Directive.

Or. en