European Union finance ministers have postponed a planned political agreement on the bloc’s tobacco tax overhaul until November, giving Sweden more time to form a government after its Sept. 13 parliamentary election.
The postponement is significant because the proposed Tobacco Taxation Directive (TTD) would, for the first time, set EU-wide minimum excise rates for vaping products, heated tobacco, and nicotine pouches. The European Commission proposal would also raise minimum cigarette taxes and expand the directive beyond traditional tobacco products.
Tobacco Journal International, citing Politico, reported that Ireland (the current Council of the EU presidency) moved the expected vote from October to the November meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN). The Council’s current meeting calendar lists the next regular ECOFIN meetings for Oct. 9 and Nov. 9.
Sweden has emerged as one of the biggest obstacles to agreement, especially over nicotine pouches. The Commission’s original text would require a minimum pouch tax of either 25 percent of the retail price or €71.50 per kilogram from 2030, eventually rising to 50 percent or €143 per kilogram from 2032. The Commission’s draft directive also confirms that EU indirect-tax legislation requires unanimous approval in the Council.
That unanimity rule gives Sweden an effective veto. Swedish authorities currently tax “other nicotine products” at 209 kronor per kilogram in 2026, according to the country’s tax authority, far below the Commission’s proposed future EU minimum for pouches.
The timing problem is real. Sweden’s Election Authority said on Sept. 14 that it doesn’t expect the final parliamentary result until the weekend after the vote. The Riksdag says government formation can continue after that, depending on whether the incumbent prime minister remains in office and whether a government can be formed with sufficient parliamentary support.
That leaves Ireland trying to build a unanimous compromise while Stockholm is still deciding who will speak for it. The Riksdag’s post-election timetable says the new parliament’s first prime minister vote cannot take place before Sept. 29.
For now, the EU tax package is stalled, not defeated. But Sweden’s resistance has forced the Council to give the bloc’s most pouch-friendly country more time before asking it to sign off on a tax increase that would sharply narrow the price advantage of lower-risk nicotine products.
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