Having experienced the throes of communist oppression, I have made it my life’s mission to improve the quality of life for Europeans and ensure their core interests are at the forefront of any policy debate. Crafting good laws requires transparency, honesty, and data-driven insight that prioritizes citizens above special interests. Period.
That is why efforts by the EU Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth Wopke Hoekstra to radically reform the Tobacco Excise Tax Directive (TED) have stirred anger amongst many Members of Parliament.
It could be said that the Dutch Commissioner is engaging in overreach. In might be described as ‘closed doors’ fashion, he has devised a plan to ‘punish’ nicotine users across the EU with punitive taxes on tobacco and alternative nicotine products – a move that he believes will help fund the Commission’s defense and climate ambitions. The consequences of his agenda are far reaching.
For starters, Hoekstra is sending a potentially dangerous message that the Commission prefers ‘political manoeuvring’ than public health. Drawing lessons from Communist Czechoslovakia, outright bans only create a black-market demand that encourages crime and put consumers at risk. Just ask Hoekstra himself. After his home country implemented a series of restrictive taxes on tobacco products and a subsequent ban on nicotine pouches, illicit trade jumped measurably, preventing regulators from accurately assessing public health impacts or consumption among youth.
Attempting to replicate this policy at the European level demonstrates that Hoekstra seems content with turning a blind eye to long-term, smart regulation. Criminals that sell illicit products don’t care about which ingredients are used or to whom their products are sold. The commissioner should avoid spoiling efforts to responsibly regulate products in a way that discourages smoking and youth uptake.
Beyond immediate health concerns, the Commissioner’s plan also highlights a troubling division of power that undermines the integrity of the EU itself. Last year, Commissioner of Health and Animal Welfare Oliver Varhelyi and I connected over the importance of learning from a shared past under Communism during his confirmation hearing. Commissioner Varhelyi made clear during his confirmation hearing the EU’s commitment to striking a balance between increased regulation and pro-consumer choices during the next review of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD). Smart tobacco policy, he emphasized, wasn’t through communist-like abolitions, but through education and alternative options grounded in data, technological advancement, and common-sense.
Commissioner Hoekstra’s action are, it could be argued, something of an affront to not just to Commissioner Varhelyi’s vision for smart policy, but to his leadership in safeguarding European health and prosperity. Since that informative hearing – which affirmed the postponement of TED – 15 member states have sent letters asking for TED reform, raising concerns that Commissioner Hoekstra may have sought to raise support for his unpopular move against smart regulation. Others have speculated that Hoesktra and his team may have sidelined Varhelyi in a possible attempt to express opposition of Varhelyi’s political affiliation and the wider Hungarian government.
What’s happening is wrong on several levels. Secretive moves and petty politics have no place in our government.
It is critical that Members of Parliament continue to stand up for what is right for our citizens. This means opposing ambitions that set us back rather than bring us forward. We owe it to ourselves, and to future generations that will ultimately be the ones who live with our decisions.
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