Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Italy, Portugal and Romania have filed complaints in the form of formal comments or detailed opinion submissions to the UK stating that the provisions of the generational tobacco purchase and sales ban contained in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill which underwent its second day of the report stage in the House of Lords yesterday on the 3rd of March would violate the Windsor Framework which regulates trade between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland concerning free trade and the free movement of goods. As such Britain would violate its post-Brexit agreements and the dispute with the EU could lead to a legal clash with Brussels taking legal action if the tobacco purchase ban came into force.
Officials stated that “there is no freedom in addiction”. Portuguese officials warned that the policy is “in clear breach of the principles of the treaties, as well as the Windsor Framework” while authorities in Prague said the measures would create “an unjustified barrier to the free movement of goods.” Another source stated that “It is open to a legal challenge from the EU side. We know that the Irish government considered this step themselves, but didn’t proceed because it was concluded that it would be contrary to EU law as it presently stands. So there is clearly a tension between the UK government’s position and 7 other member states”.
The UK government said about the generational tobacco purchase and sales ban contained in its drafted bill that it is “fully compatible with our international treaty obligations in Northern Ireland” while the Department for Health stated that “We have provided a comprehensive response to the European Commission on the detailed opinions received, setting out the reasons why our smoke-free generation policy is fully compatible with our international treaty obligations in Northern Ireland”.
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