MEPs plan tobacco subsidies as Brussels fights smoking

Members of the European Parliament have paved the way for hundreds of millions of pounds of subsidies to go to Europe’s tobacco farmers — even though Brussels spends huge amounts on anti-smoking campaigns

Tobacco growers could begin receiving extra cash as soon as next year after MEPs voted to amend changes in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The vote, which needs further ratification, allows member states to decide which crops receive European Union farming subsidies. That could see countries such as Bulgaria, Poland and Greece giving huge sums to their tobacco growers.

Critics have already argued that the proposed changes to the subsidy system will herald a return to the notorious “butter mountains” and “wine lakes”. Now they may see a return to the subsidising of the multi-billion-pound cigarette industry as well.

Owen Paterson, the Environment Secretary, told The Sunday Telegraph: “Subsidising Greek and Bulgarian tobacco growers is clearly wrong. Not only would it take us back to the dark days of skewing the basic laws of supply and demand, it would also spend British taxpayers’ money on a product that is of absolutely no benefit to our society. I’m fighting hard to stop subsidies being linked to production like this again.”

When the old system was finally phased out in 2010, tobacco farmers in 12 EU countries including Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Italy were typically receiving £260million in subsidies. The scrapping of the subsidy prompted a decline in tobacco farming across the EU, which producers will now hope to reverse.