Brussels, February 6
Following Tobacco Europe’s complaint lodged in March 2024, the Ombudsman has finally issued a decision on the 4th of February and informed us that they were closing the inquiry as the “the Ombudsman found that no further inquiries are justified in this case”.
While deciding that there is no cause for a financial conflict of interest, the Ombudsman’s findings confirm what Tobacco Europe has long argued: the Commission failed to acknowledge ENSP’s vested interests and concealed the bias in the legislative process involving the Tobacco Products Directive currently under evaluation.
The Ombudsman herself stated:
“It is regrettable that the Commission did not acknowledge ENSP’s interest in tobacco control in its exchanges with the complainant and then failed to explain how it assessed this interest in view of the ENSP’s role under the framework contract.”
This case highlights a deeper issue: the Commission’s selective interpretation of conflict-of-interest rules. While industry links are heavily scrutinized, ideological and institutional biases within NGOs remain unchecked. To the point where the Ombudsman reminds the Commission NGOs must be subject to the same conflict of interest standards:
“It is relevant to recall that the Commission must make a conflict of interest assessment in relation to all bidders in a procurement procedure, including non-governmental organisations” (emphasis added).
The Ombudsman’s decision serves as a wake-up call—EU-funded NGOs must be subject to the same transparency and accountability standards as all other stakeholders.
Find attached to this article the decision of the Ombudsman, and Tobacco Europe’s reactive statement to it.
