ANALYSIS: Ireland is holding the presidency of the EU Council of Ministers for six months, during which several major decisions on tobacco and nicotine are on the agenda. At the same time, the country is pushing ahead with its own far-reaching regulations on e-cigarettes – which have already met with objections from other Member States. Vejpkollen examines what the Irish Presidency might mean for this autumn’s negotiations.
Ireland has taken over the EU Presidency at a time when the Union is facing a major overhaul of the rules on tobacco and nicotine. This autumn, Member States will seek to make progress on new minimum taxes on, amongst other things, e-cigarettes and nicotine products, whilst, in parallel, the European Commission is expected to present a completely new Tobacco Products Directive.
However, Ireland is in the process of introducing its own far-reaching bans on vejp products – measures that are already meeting with resistance from other Member States.
Since 1 July, Ireland has been leading the work of the Council of the European Union. The Presidency runs until the end of the year and involves, amongst other things, Irish ministers chairing Council meetings and helping to drive the EU’s legislative work forward.
This is taking place during an unusually important six-month period for European nicotine policy. Two major processes are taking place simultaneously: one concerns the EU’s common taxes on tobacco and new nicotine products; the other is an upcoming review of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), which, amongst other things, regulates e-cigarettes.
For vejp users and snus users, the changes could have a major impact – mostly negative, according to several commentators.
New minimum taxes on the way
Back in July 2025, the European Commission put forward a proposal to overhaul the EU’s rules on excise duties on tobacco. Among other things, the proposal means that e-liquids for vejp, nicotine pouches and other new nicotine products will, for the first time, be subject to common minimum tax rates at EU level.
However, the proposal has met with strong opposition from various Member States. In June, the Cypriot EU Presidency failed to secure agreement amongst the Member States on a compromise, and the matter was therefore passed on to the Irish Presidency.
According to Brussels Report The issue was withdrawn from the finance ministers’ meeting after the member states were unable to reach agreement. As tax matters of this kind require unanimity in the Council of Ministers, a single country can completely block a proposal.
This means that Ireland now has the task of trying to find a compromise between countries that want to go much further with nicotine taxes and those that oppose parts of the proposal.
The proposal has already been amended during the process. The European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs backed lower tax rates and longer transition periods for more new nicotine products than the European Commission had originally proposed.
New tobacco directive on the horizon
At the same time, the European Commission is preparing a completely new version of the so-called Tobacco Products Directive (TPD).
The current directive dates from 2014 and regulates, amongst other things, the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products and e-cigarettes. The European Commission assessed the directive in 2026 and is now working on a revision.
The Commission is expected to present its new legislative proposal towards the end of 2026. This means that the proposal itself may be tabled before the Council of Ministers during Ireland’s Presidency.
It is not yet clear what it will contain. However, the assessment shows that the EU is considering a significantly broader regulatory framework for tobacco and nicotine products than the current one. Among other things, the Commission notes that there are gaps in the current regulatory framework for new nicotine products.
This means that this autumn could mark the start of a process that, in the long term, will change the rules governing vejpning across the EU.
Ireland wants to go the extra mile at a local level
At the same time, Ireland has its own agenda in the area of nicotine, which it wishes to implement.
In July, the Irish Parliament passed a bill that, amongst other things, regulates the flavours and appearance of vejp products. The Irish Government has previously described the proposal as part of a wider effort to reduce nicotine use amongst young people.
Among other things, the proposal imposes restrictions on the flavour descriptions that may be used and on how vejp products may be presented. Furthermore, Ireland has previously decided to ban the sale of single-use vejps.
However, the Irish law has already come into conflict with other EU countries.
At the end of July, both Italy and Greece lodged formal objections to the Irish legislation via the EU’s so-called TRIS system. These objections mean that the Irish process will be extended whilst the EU examines the proposal. According to Tobacco Reporter The Irish legislation covers, amongst other things, flavour bans, restrictions on product names, plain packaging and rules on how products may be displayed in shops and online.
The extended review period runs until 7 October.
We must stick together – not make decisions
This autumn, Ireland will seek to bring Member States closer together in the EU’s tax negotiations. At the same time, the European Commission may present its new Tobacco Products Directive during the same period. And, in parallel, Ireland is seeking to implement its own, stricter regulations on vejpning at home.
Ireland cannot decide on its own which rules the EU should introduce. The country holding the Presidency is responsible for chairing meetings, driving the work forward and trying to find compromises between the Member States.
As Vejpkollen has previously reported, the Swedish Government has opposed parts of the EU’s new tax proposal, including the taxation of nicotine products.
And once the new Tobacco Products Directive is finally presented, this too will need to be negotiated between the Member States before it can become EU law. The coming months could therefore mark the start of a new European battle over how vejp, nicotine pouches and other smokeless nicotine products should be regulated.
