Concerns over directive delays

Romanian tobacco companies are asking for a delay in enforcement of the provisions of the new EU Tobacco Products Directive that apply to tobacco labeling and manufacturing, according to a story in the Business Review.

The problem seems to have arisen because the Romanian authorities have not transposed the directive into national law.

In a letter addressed to the Romanian government, British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International and Philip Morris Romania said that the industry needed a ‘regulatory framework that is clear, firm and predictable, that does not prevent the proper functioning of an economic sector with a significant share in state budget revenues’.

The companies believe that the lack of action by the Romanian authorities could lead to a blockage in the industry that would cost the state budget up to €250 million monthly.

Although the directive was published in 2014, it has not been transposed into Romanian law and the companies fear that because ‘the Romanian parliament’s activity will likely be influenced by the electoral calendar’, their activity could be ‘gravely disrupted’ by a lack of clear instructions concerning the application of the directive’s rules.

The companies pointed out that, according to a press note of February 2, they should have received all of the information necessary for the industry to comply with the directive.

But it said that they still lacked comprehensive and clear information ‘both in terms of packaging (e.g., order and period of use for sets of warnings) and on the product itself’.