European lawmakers have held four times as many meetings with tobacco and nicotine industry lobbyists during the first two years of the current parliamentary term as they did throughout the previous legislature, according to data analysed by POLITICO.
Since entering office in summer 2024, MEPs have declared more than 400 such meetings. That compares with approximately 100 meetings recorded during the 2019-2024 term, based on data collected by the Smoke Free Partnership, a coalition of non-governmental organisations, from the EU transparency register.
MEPs are required to declare their meetings with lobbyists, and the information is made public through the register.
Most meetings during the current term involved right-wing lawmakers. Around 75 percent were with members of the European People’s Party, which includes France’s Les Républicains; the European Conservatives and Reformists, which includes Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia; and the Patriots for Europe group, which includes France’s National Rally.
Sources: Politico Europe.