WRITTEN QUESTION E-3222/00 by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission. Tobacco Directive derogation.
Date: 2000-10-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Greece, derogation from EU law, infringement of EU law, market approval, restriction on competition, tobacco

22.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 151 E/105

debtor, having the judgement declared enforceable and taking the necessary enforcement measures.
The Convention has not, however, been ratified by all the Member States and has not entered into force.

The European Council meeting held in Tampere on 15/16 October 1999 advocated (cid:145)further reduction of
the intermediate measures which are still required to enable the recognition and enforcement of a decision
or judgement in the requested State(cid:146). (cid:145)As a first step these intermediate procedures should be abolished ((cid:133))
for certain judgements in the field of family litigation (e.g. on maintenance claims ((cid:133))). Such decisions
would be automatically recognised throughout
the Union without any intermediate proceedings or
grounds for refusal of enforcement. This could be accompanied by the setting of minimum standards on
specific aspects of civil procedural law(cid:146). Following the Tampere European Council, the Council and the
Commission are drawing up a programme of measures for implementation of the principle of mutual
recognition of decisions in civil and commercial matters, which includes the abolition of intermediate
measures (exequatur) for judgments on maintenance obligations.

(1) OJ L 299, 31.12.1972 (consolidated version).

(2001/C 151 E/117)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3222/00

by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission

(17 October 2000)

Subject: Tobacco Directive derogation

The common position on the EU Directive on Tobacco will ban the manufacture in and export from the
EU of cigarettes of above 10 mg of tar from 1 January 2004 in 14 out of the 15 Member States. It will,
however, include a derogation for Greece that will allow manufacture, distribution and export of cigarettes
above this level until 2007. Is this not a clear breach of single market and competition legislation which
will discriminate against other EU manufacturers, particularly in the UK, who would be affected by a
similar social economic impact?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(8 December 2000)

Council Directive 90/239/EEC of 17 May 1990 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and
the Member States concerning the maximum tar yield of cigarettes (1)
administrative provisions of
contained a transitional period for the respect of tar limits in cigarettes in Greece. This exemption was
connected with the socio-economic difficulties particular to this Member State resulting from the fact that
the tobacco cultivated in Greece had a high tar content. This Member State is therefore more concerned by
the provisions of the directive than other manufacturing Member States. Moreover, changing these
varieties of tobacco takes a considerable period of time while the change affects a large number of people
as tobacco production in Greece is labour intensive,
involving a significant number of families. The
continuation of this transitional period is justified for the same reasons in the framework of the continued
reduction of tar levels envisaged in the amended proposal for a directive of the Parliament and of the
Council the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States
concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products (recast version) currently under
discussion (2). This derogation is limited to cigarettes manufactured and marketed within the territory of
the Member State concerned, and will not be continued beyond 2007.

(1) OJ L 137, 30.5.1990.
(2) COM(2000) 428 final.