EU Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly found mismanagement while investigating the European Commission's interactions with tobacco industry representatives. In response, the European Commission insisted that it had robust transparency measures in place.
A Commission spokesman told website Euractiv: "The European Commission has always been uncompromising in providing the highest standards of transparency - no matter who it is meeting with or who is trying to influence us."
In December, O'Reilly concluded that the committee had failed to "ensure that all its departments adopt a comprehensive approach to ensure transparency in meetings with tobacco industry representatives", including "failing to ensure that all general councils have a clear understanding of the need for meetings with tobacco industry representatives" Holding potential meetings for system evaluation”.
Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control instructs Parties such as the EU to protect public health policies from the commercial interests and other vested interests of the tobacco industry.
Despite the findings, a commission spokesman insisted that "commission staff have a very solid bottom line, including horizontal rules of ethics and integrity."
Industry group Tobacco Europe confirmed that tobacco lobbyists have difficulty arranging meetings with the European Commission at any directorate. Nathalie Darge, the organization's EU affairs director, said Article 5(3) of the Framework Convention on Climate Change was often "misunderstood" and used as an excuse not to meet with industry representatives.
