Rassemblement National to oppose tobacco taxation at tomorrow’s EU Parliament vote

Strasbourg, by our correspondent – “The Rassemblement National will vote against” the new taxation mechanism that the European Union wishes to introduce for tobacco and alternative products. This was stated by Jordan Bardella, president of Rassemblement National and leader of the Patriots for Europe (PfE) group, during the press conference held by the political group leaders. The RN’s position could be interpreted as a sign of openness towards e-cigarette users.

Although France supports an increase in the taxation on traditional tobacco products, it continues to maintain relatively low excise duties on e-liquids compared with many other European Union countries. Bardella’s opposition to an increase in taxes on vaping products also forms part of a domestic political context, in the run-up to the forthcoming French presidential elections, with the RN keen not to alienate a significant section of the electorate made up of vape users.

The European Parliament will vote tomorrow (16 June) on a non-binding opinion on the revision of the Tobacco Excise Directive (TED). Negotiations on the dossier remain deadlocked due to reservations expressed by Sweden and are expected to resume in July under the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU. The dossier is being monitored by the Patriots for Europe group, with Czech MEP Tomáš Kubín acting as rapporteur. His draft opinion is closer to the proposal put forward by Cyprus than to the European Commission’s original text, which provided for more substantial increases in excise duties.

Last month, the report was approved by the Committee on Economic Affairs (ECON) thanks to the support of the Patriots for Europe, ECR, and EPP groups. Socialists, Liberals and the Left voted against it, aligning themselves with the European Commission’s position.

According to various parliamentary sources, without the support of the French delegation, the opinion would risk failing to secure a majority in plenary. Although the vote has limited practical impact, as the European Parliament does not have the final say on legislation relating to the TED, a rejection would nonetheless represent a political setback for Kubín and a symbolic victory for the European Commission, whose original proposal had been strongly criticised due to the planned tax increases on tobacco and alternative products.