Two major tobacco firms have issued statements in relation to the European Court of Justice’s ruling that the Tobacco Products Directive doesn’t go "beyond the limits of what is appropriate and necessary".
JTI said that the Court’s decision was "regrettable", and that it "goes against a fundamental purpose of the EU treaty, which is to further improve the functioning of the internal market by way of harmonized legislation.
"Instead, we are left with an inexplicable decision which may lead Member States to believe that they can infringe the principle of free movement of goods within the EU."
BAT added that its position is that,“Tobacco Products Directive is a clear example of the EU overstepping the limits of its authority.
"The reality is that many elements of the Directive are disproportionate, distort competition, and fail to respect the autonomy of the Member States."
However, it went on to say that the ruling "does not endorse claims by some that the Directive authorises Member States to adopt plain packaging.
"In particular, what is clear from the Directive and the judgment is that measures that go beyond the requirements of the Directive, such as plain packaging, must still comply with the wider principles of EU and international law."
The Tobacco Products Directive will come into force in the next two weeks.
© 2016 - Checkout Magazine by Jenny Whelan.
