After the beast comes the reckoning

The EU’s new Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), which was published on April 29, has come in for some criticism, and could come in for more.

Ewald Stadler, an Austrian member of the European Parliament, has asked the European Commission for information about what were the costs incurred by the TPD trilogue negotiations.

In a preamble to four questions, Stadler said that the TPD had been debated and amended in seven committees in the European Parliament during 2013. The parliament had adopted its position in October last year and had then embarked on the trilogue negotiations—informal meetings convened between a select number of representatives from the European Council, the parliament and the commission.

Stadler went on to ask:

1.    “What was the total amount of human and material resources required during the trilogue negotiations?

2.    “What were the costs for translation?

3.    “What were the costs for meeting rooms?

4.    “What were the costs for the staff present and services provided by technicians and third parties, such as drinks during the negotiations?”