France pushes hard for deal on cigarette health warnings

Date: 07/12/00

By John Shelley

FRENCH diplomats have embarked on a round of intense negotiations with the European Parliament in a last-ditch attempt to get tough new rules on cigarette packaging and content approved by the end of their EU presidency.

In a bid to clinch a deal, Paris has delayed a crunch meeting of health ministers planned for early next week until after a vote in the Parliament on proposals to require manufacturers to cover at least 25% of cigarette packets with health warnings. The planned legislation would also set Union-wide limits on the level of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke.

But the fate of another key element of the proposed law - a ban on terms such as 'low tar' and 'light' - is hanging in the balance because MEPs fear the restriction could be open to a legal challenge.

The full Parliament is due to vote on the draft tobacco directive next Tuesday (12 December), with health ministers now due to meet two days later so they can take account of the assembly's decision - boosting the chances of a final agreement.

But diplomats warn a deal is still far from certain as there are substantial differences between the Parliament's vision for the legislation and the way member states want it to look.

The French have launched a round of talks with the Parliament's rapporteur on the subject, Dutch Liberal Jules Maaten, in an effort to bridge this gap. "The negotiations that we have seen recently have strengthened my optimism that we can reach a deal," said one EU diplomat.

However, the Parliament and member states remain deeply divided over what percentage of a cigarette packet should be covered with health warnings.

Governments want a 'smoking kills' message to cover at least 25% of the packet, while MEPs are calling for 30%. The Parliament also wants individual member states to be allowed to force manufacturers to print gruesome photographs on packets depicting the consequences of smoking. But while Euro MPs are arguing for a hard-line stance on packaging, they are taking a more industry-friendly approach on other issues. They say, for example, that in order to protect jobs, cigarettes made in the EU for export should be exempted from the rules until 2006.

They also argue that a ban on terms such as 'low tar' or 'ultra light' should not apply to existing trade-marked products because this could be challenged in court. Member states have called for the embargo because scientific evidence suggests these brands are no less harmful to health.

French diplomats have embarked on a round of intense negotiations with the European Parliament in a last-ditch attempt to get tough new rules on cigarette packaging and content approved by the end of their EU Presidency.