EU Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis and his services have systematically refused meaningful dialogue and appropriate consultations, Peter van der Mark writes in reaction to an interview published on EURACTIV.com.
Peter van der Mark is the Secretary-General of ESTA, the European Smoking Tobacco Association. This opinion-piece is in reaction to an interview published last week.
In an interview published on 24 November, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis stated puzzlingly that he has not heard from the tobacco industry on what to do about the illicit trade in tobacco.
***
As the voice of small to mid-sized manufacturers of fine-cut and niche tobacco products, ESTA has on many occasions repeated the commitment of its members against illicit trade in tobacco.
The Commissioner and his services have systematically refused meaningful dialogue and appropriate consultation. It is not surprising then that they did not hear the industry’s solutions.
