The European Commission’s recommendation to ban smoking in outdoor dining areas has already caused a stir. The EU Parliament now discussed the project and rejected the idea by a clear majority.
As reported, the hotly debated ban on smoking in café gardens was also on the agenda in the EU Parliament. On Thursday, the EU Parliament then adopted a resolution that also included a smoking ban in pubs. But the majority of EU MPs are against the plans; the absolute majority was clearly missed. 378 voted against, 152 in favor. The largest group, the European People’s Party, as well as the right-wing groups and large parts of the liberals and social democrats were against it. The resolution failed, a defeat for the European Commission in Parliament. There is also strong rejection among parliamentarians from Austria.
“Centralist prohibition policy”
The representatives of the FPÖ, ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS had already announced in advance that they were against the plans. ÖVP representative Lukas Mandl says: “The idea of an anti-freedom and centralist ban policy was rejected by a majority of the European Parliament.” FPÖ MP Gerhard Hauser criticized the “excessive ban policy”. Green MPs Lena Schilling and Thomas Waitz also voted against the text of the resolution, which was not clear in advance.
The Green Minister will probably vote in favor of a recommendation
Green Minister Johannes Rauch is likely to vote in favor during an early vote in the Council. Health ministers will discuss and vote on the recommendation early next week. Whether a majority will be found is considered likely, but is not yet certain. Neither a parliamentary resolution nor a Commission recommendation has an immediately binding effect, but past experience has made it clear that recommendations are usually followed by action.
Because the parties in the Austrian National Council (smoking ban is a competence of the EU countries) are also against outdoor bans, the project is de facto considered a failure.
The EU wants a ‘tobacco-free generation’ by 2040
The European Commission wants to create a ‘tobacco-free society’ by 2040 with more restrictive policies and reduce the number of smokers to less than five percent. There is still a long way to go, representatives of the European Commission recently admitted.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
