EN    EN 
 
 
 EUROPEAN  
COMMISSION   
Brussels, XXX   
D038536/01  
[…](2015) XXX  draft  
  
COMMISSION DIRECTIVE (EU)…/…  
of XXX  
amending Directive 2012/9/EU as regards the date for its transposition and the deadline 
for the end of the transitional period  
(Text with EEA relevance)    
EN 2   EN COMMISSION DIRECTIVE (EU)…/…  
of XXX  
amending  Directive 2012/9/EU as regards the date for its transposition and the deadline 
for the end of the transitional period  
(Text with EEA relevance)  
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,  
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,  
Having regard to  Directive 2001/37/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 
June 2001 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the 
Member States concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products1, and in 
particular Article 9(2) thereof,  
Whereas:  
(1) Annex I to Directive 2001/37/EC, providing for the list of  additional health warnings  
to be used on each unit packet  of tobacco products  in accordance with  Article 5 (2)(b)  
of that Directive , was replaced by  Commission Directive 2012/9/EU2. Article 2 of 
Directive 2012/9/ EU, as amended by Commission Directive 2014/39/EU3, sets 28 
March 2016 as the  deadline for its transposition by Member States and 28 March  2018 
as end of the transitional period provided for in  Article 3 of that Directive.     
(2) Directive 2014/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council4 repeal ing 
Directive 2001/37/EC with effect from 20 May 2016 , provides that each unit packet 
and any outside packaging of tobacco products shall carry combined health warnings 
contain ing one of the text warnings listed in Annex I to Directive 2014/40/EU and a 
corresponding colour photograph specified in the picture library in Annex II  to that 
Directive . The text warnings in Annex I  to Directive 2014/40/E U are identical to those 
laid down in Annex I to Directive 2001/37/ EC as amended by Directive 2012/ 9/EU. 
Article 29 of Directive 2014/40/EU sets 20 May 2016 as the deadline for its 
transposition by the Member States  and Article 30 of Directive 2014/40/EU s ets 20 
May 2017 as end of the transitional period .  
                                                 
1 OJ L 194, 18.7.2001, p. 26.  
2 Commission Directive 2012/9/EU of 7 March 2012 amending Annex I to Directive 2001/37/EC of the 
European Parliament and of the Council on the approximation of the laws, regulations and 
administrative provisions of the Member States conce rning the manufacture, presentation and sale of 
tobacco products  (OJ L 69, 8.3.2012, p.15).  
3 Commission Directive 2014/39/EU of 12 March 2014 amending Directive 2012/9/EU as regards the 
date for its transposition and the deadline for the end of the transi tional period (OJ L 73, 13.3.2014, p. 
3). 
4 Directive 2014/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 on the 
approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning 
the manufacture, pres entation and sale of tobacco and related products and repealing Directive 
2001/37/EC (OJ L 127, 29.4.2014, p. 1 ).  
EN 3   EN (3) It is appropriate to extend the period for transposition of Directive 2012/9/EU  from 28 
March 2016 to 20 May 2016, in order to align  the transpo sition deadlines for the new  
text warnings laid down by that Directive and for the new combined warnings  
introduced by Directive 2014/40/EU.  It is also necessary to align the transitional 
period provided for in Directive 20 12/9/EU with the transitional period  provided for in 
Directive 2014/40/ EU. 
(4) The measures provided for in this Directive are in accordance with the opinion of the 
Committee established  by Articl e 10(1) of Directive 2001/37/EC . 
 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:  
Article 1  
Directive 2012/9/EU is amended as follows:  
(1) In Article 2(1), "28 March 2016 " is replaced by "20 May 2016 ". 
 
(2) In Article 3, "28 March 2018 " is replaced by "20 May 201 7". 
Article 2 
This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication  in 
the Official Journal of the European Union . 
Article 3 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.  
Done at Brussels,  
 For the Commission  
 Vytenis Andriukaitis  
 Member of the Commisison