The European Parliament’s upcoming vote on tobacco and vape taxation is on the verge of collapse after Jordan Bardella, president of France’s Rassemblement National (RN), announced his party will oppose the new European Union excise mechanism. This political maneuver threatens to derail a key parliamentary opinion on the Tobacco Excise Directive (TED).
While France supports raising taxes on traditional cigarettes, it maintains historically low excise duties on e-liquids. Bardella’s opposition to the EU-wide vape tax hike is deeply rooted in French domestic politics. By defending vapers, the RN aims to secure a massive voting bloc ahead of the upcoming French presidential elections.
The European Parliament is scheduled to vote on a non-binding opinion regarding the TED revision. The draft opinion, authored by Czech MEP Tomáš Kubín of the Patriots for Europe (PfE) group, proposes much lower tax increases than the European Commission’s original, highly criticized proposal.
Although the ECON committee previously approved Kubín’s report, the political alliance is fracturing. The current voting landscape reveals a deep ideological split:
- In Favor: Patriots for Europe (PfE), European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), and the European People’s Party (EPP).
- Against: Socialists, Liberals, the Left, and now the French RN delegation.
Without the French delegation’s support, parliamentary sources warn the opinion will fail to secure a majority in the plenary. While the vote is non-binding and the Parliament lacks final legislative authority on the TED, a rejection would represent a major symbolic defeat for the PfE group and a victory for the European Commission’s aggressive tax agenda. Meanwhile, broader council negotiations remain deadlocked due to Swedish reservations, with talks set to resume in July under the Irish Presidency.
