The Regional Government welcomed the approval of the amendments to the Commission's proposal on the manufacturing, presentation and sales of tobacco by the EU Parliament as an important step towards the viability of the two tobacco companies in the Region and the subsequent maintenance of over one hundred direct jobs.

The initial proposal of the European Commission stipulated a minimum dimension for the health warnings printed on cigarette packets. This measure would be detrimental to the production of regular size cigarette packets, which are a significant part of regional production."

Since the beginning of this process, the Government of the Azores, in conjunction with the regional tobacco sector, has undertaken efforts with national and European entities in order to defend the amendment proposals that take into consideration the specificities of regional production, particularly with regard to the dimension of most tobacco products produced in the Region.

In this context, the Government of the Azores submitted the amendment proposals to the directive stipulating the minimum compatible dimensions with regular size cigarette packets produced in the archipelago. The proposals were approved by the Committee of the Region in May.

In addition, the Regional Government has established contacts with the leaders of the Portuguese parliamentary groups at the European Parliament as well as with the working groups of the European Council.

The amendment proposals approved today by the European Parliament at the plenary session held in Strasbourg represent the progress towards the fulfilment of the Region's goals for this area as they will contribute to the viability of the two regional tobacco companies by assuring their production in the current manufacturing methods and formats.

Following today's approval, the European Parliament is mandated to start the negotiation process with the European Council and Commission, which will result in the final version of this new directive.