EU officials were guilty of maladministration because they failed to be “open” about meetings with tobacco company lobbyists, the European Ombudsman has found.
The role of big tobacco in shaping EU policies on smoking has long been suspect, with a commissioner being forced to resign two years ago, and revelations about close links between retired commission officials and the industry.
The UN convention on tobacco aims to “protect present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke”.
The ombudsman Emily O’Reilly said the convention, which the EU signed, meant they should have limited their contacts with the industry and published details of any meetings they had.
However, while the directorate responsible for health adhered to the rules, the rest of the commission argued it did not need to.
It limited information to answering questions if asked, and if minutes had been kept.
“In the absence of such a request or question, information is not forthcoming. Making a relevant access-to-documents request, or posing a relevant MEP question, is likely to elicit the type of information sought only where such request or question is carefully worded.
“If no record of a meeting with a tobacco industry representative is kept [because there is no requirement to keep such a record], then an access-to-documents request will be futile,” she said.
Source: Ann Cahill, Irish Examiner, 06/10/15
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