Part of the tax revenues from Sweden’s traditional oral tobacco product, snus, will contribute to the next EU long-term budget as part of the push for more “own resources,” the European Commission said.
In its recent proposal for the 2028–2034 budget, the Commission suggested redirecting 15% of national tobacco tax revenues to the EU, a measure known as “TEDOR”.
Conservative MEPs Charlie Weimers, Dick Erixon and Beatrice Timgren (European Conservatives and Reformists) asked Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin whether revenues from snus would be exempt. Serafin replied that there would be no exceptions for any tobacco products, citing the principle of equal treatment of member states.
Snus has been banned in the EU since Sweden’s accession in 1995, but Stockholm secured a permanent exemption from the ban as part of its membership deal. The clarification that snus will still be subject to TEDOR is expected to disappoint many Swedes, as opposition to the budget proposal is already mounting.
The Commissioner’s response is likely to disappoint many Swedes, who have already reacted negatively to the Commission’s budget proposal. Swedish Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson previously described the proposal as “completely unacceptable.”
Resistance to TEDOR is not limited to Stockholm as Portugal, Italy, Greece and Romania have also voiced opposition.
(bms, cs)
