The Hungarian Government is requesting information from the European Commission (EC) and Elzbieta Bienkowska, Commissioner for Internal Market, as to whether she did actually make the statement which was cited on index.hu in the context of the regulation of tobacco trading, the Government Information Centre (KIK) told MTI, the Hungarian News Agency on Friday.

As KIK wrote, the Commissioner’s statement in which she objects to the fact that “the contracts and economic benefits that once accrued to foreign companies have now been transferred elsewhere” is inexplicable and untenable.

The Government Information Centre pointed out: the Hungarian Government has consistently taken the view that the European Commission, too, must take a competition-neutral stance on legal matters, one that is purely based on legal considerations, and a Commissioner of the European Union cannot act as a medium for exerting economic pressure, and cannot act “in particular as a spokesperson for the international tobacco lobby".

According to the information provided, the Government will continue its fight against smoking as well as against international tobacco industry companies which are in a superior economic position. If an infringement procedure is indeed instituted in the current case of the tobacco retail supplier, Hungary “will fight this fight with all possible means at its disposal”, all the way to the decision of the European Court of Justice. It would be most regrettable if the European Commission did not side with the Member States, and Hungary in this instance, in the fight against smoking but chose to act as a means for the enforcement of the interests of multinational tobacco companies, the communiqué further read.

The Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office announced at the beginning of June that British American Tobacco and Tabán Trafik Zrt. will perform the tasks of supplying tobacco retailers as of 1 November. According to Mr Lázár’s information, the two companies have submitted a joint offer for the wholesale activities in question since 24 December 2014.

(KIK)