Malta alone blocks EU tobacco excise reform at Ecofin as 26 states back deal

Malta stood alone at the 9 November Ecofin meeting, blocking a tobacco excise revision backed by the other 26 member states because tax measures require unanimity. The Irish Presidency aims to close the file at the 11 December Ecofin.

E-liquid minimums would start at €0.36/ml with a transition path

The compromise text put to ministers sets an EU minimum excise duty of €0.36 per millilitre for e-liquids, whether or not they contain nicotine, according to a Council General Secretariat note dated 5 November cited in the reporting. Lower transitional rates of €0.20/ml and then €0.25/ml would apply first.

The same note identified the nicotine pouch rate as the last open issue before the meeting, describing it as politically and culturally sensitive. The Commission proposed the revision in July 2025 as part of the European Plan against Cancer, aiming to update a framework largely unchanged since 2011.

Cigarette floors would rise step by step to €200 per 1,000

Under the Presidency proposal, the minimum excise duty on cigarettes would climb from the current €90 per 1,000 to €140 from July 2028, €170 in 2030 and €200 in 2032. From 2032, excise would also have to represent at least 60% of the weighted average retail price, subject to exemptions.

Two outlets describe the e-liquid floor slightly differently. Vaping Post reports €0.36/ml as the compromise rate; Politis describes an initial minimum of 20% of the retail price or €0.20 per millilitre. The scheduling in the two accounts differs, and the final text has not been adopted.

Sweden moved once a €20/kg transition was offered

Sweden, previously the main opponent, endorsed an Irish proposal allowing it a transitional minimum equal to its current national rate of €20 per kilogram from July 2028 to the end of 2029, according to Agence Europe as cited by Vaping Post. Stockholm acted while a caretaker government remains in place after the Riksdag rejected a prime ministerial candidate on 3 November.

Finland took the opposite view. Its finance ministry said before the meeting that the proposed pouch minimum was too low to approve, and minister Riikka Purra criticised the Presidency for dropping tax and public health ambition on pouches. Estonia’s Jürgen Ligi objected to indexing minimum rates to inflation. Both countries eventually joined the majority.

Ministers settled on writing the principle of a minimum excise duty on nicotine pouches into EU law, with the Commission to propose the level in early 2029 if needed. Until the directive is adopted, Harris said the EU rate on pouches stays at zero with no agreed limits on cross-border purchases.

Malta argues taxation should stay a national power

Maltese finance minister Clyde Caruana criticised the indexation mechanism and kept his opposition, according to the Times of Malta as cited by Vaping Post. Valletta holds that taxation should remain a national prerogative, and Prime Minister Robert Abela reportedly raised the matter directly with his Irish counterpart Micheál Martin.

Eunews reports that European sources expect an understanding with Malta within days through bilateral arrangements. Harris said the Presidency would not reopen negotiations.

Adoption would not bring immediate change. The Council note provides for requesting the European Parliament’s opinion, which rejected the directive in June, and the first minimum rates would not apply before 2028.

Lithuania takes the Presidency in January with no announced tax priority

If December fails, the file passes to Lithuania, which holds the Council Presidency from 1 January to 30 June 2027. Lithuania has banned all flavours except tobacco since 2022, and its e-liquid excise duty reaches €3.91/ml on 1 January 2027, more than ten times the €0.36/ml figure in the compromise. Tobacco taxation is not among its announced priorities.

The proposal also cuts the indicative cigarette threshold for personal cross-border transport from 800 to 200, used as one factor when authorities judge whether goods are for personal or commercial use. Politis lists a transition period to 1 January 2036 for ten member states facing annual excise rises above 2.35% against 2025 levels.

Manufacturers planning 2028 pricing need the final text, not the Presidency draft

For exporters and distributors, the €0.36/ml e-liquid floor and the multi-year cigarette schedule set the outer bounds for national duty increases from 2028, but the rates remain a Presidency proposal until the Council adopts a general approach. VapeBrief’s analysis: suppliers should track the 11 December Ecofin rather than model 2028 pricing on drafts, and compliance teams working on nicotine pouches face no adopted EU minimum rate yet.

The December 11 Ecofin is the last scheduled chance under the Irish Presidency.

Questions readers ask

When would the new EU e-liquid minimum rate apply?

Not before 2028, according to the reporting. The Council would first request the European Parliament's opinion on a directive it rejected in June, and the compromise also phases in lower transitional e-liquid rates.

What happens if the Council does not agree in December?

The file passes to Lithuania, which holds the Council Presidency from 1 January to 30 June 2027. Lithuania's own e-liquid duty reaches €3.91/ml on 1 January 2027.