Brussels, 1 October 2013 – Eleven public health and transparency
NGOs – including EPHA – sent an open letter today to the President of the European Parliament (EP) Martin Schulz expressing concern about the very large number of undisclosed meetings between at least 233 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) with tobacco industry lobbyists recently revealed by media coverage thanks to leaked Philip Morris documents. With this letter, the signing NGOs encourage the EP President to take action to ensure proper implementation of Article 5.3 of the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control , in order to assure that the European Parliament protects its decision-making from tobacco lobby influence.