EU parliament in row over conference ban

A decision by European parliament chiefs to refuse permission for a conference on smoking legislation to be held on its premises has been branded “outrageous” by MEPs involved in the event.

The conference, organised by the parliament’s Independence/Democracy group and the International Coalition Against Prohibition, was due to be held in a parliamentary committee room on Tuesday and Wednesday but was cancelled at short notice.

One of the organisers, British MEP Godfrey Bloom, said he was forced to seek an alternative venue “at the 11th hour and 59th minute.”

Bloom, a member of the UK Independence Party, said the ID group, made up of mainly eurosceptic MEPs, plans to make a formal complaint and will ask the European ombudsman to investigate.

Bloom said, “We simply wanted to debate the implications of prohibition on smoking in public places and invited experts from various sectors, including the tobacco and health industries, to take part.

“These included people from both sides of the debate - those for and against smoking in public places so there was no bias involved."

He said that last Thursday he received a letter from parliament’s bureau, which comprises its president Hans-Gert Pöttering, and the assembly’s vice-presidents, informing him that parliament’s premises could not, after all, be used for the event.

Bloom says that as the decision was taken at a “secret” meeting the reasons for the ban are not yet clear.

“It would simply appear that the concept of debating this issue is now off the agenda. Whatever the reason, I find the decision absolutely outrageous," he said.

He denied any suggestion that the event, called "Smoking Bans and Lies", had been sponsored by the tobacco industry and added, "The fact that they didn't have the courtesy to inform me for well over a week, making it near impossible to reorganise it, is even more disgraceful."

The Parliament.com has seen a copy of the minutes of the bureau meeting on 12 January where the decision was taken.

It states there was an “exchange of views on the subject, programme and objectives of the conference” and points out that “events on parliament premises may under no circumstances have a commercial purpose and must not undermine the dignity of parliament.”

The minutes say that for this reason it was decided to “deny authorisation” for the conference to be held in the parliament.

This website has also seen a letter sent to parliament by an NGO called “Smoke Free Partnership” which says the conference “goes against parliament’s, council’s and the European community’s resolutions and legislation in this area.”

The letter goes on to claim that holding the conference in parliament is “most probably in contravention” of the assembly’s own rules of procedure.

Speaking at opening of the conference, which, instead, will be held at the Silken Berlaymont hotel in Brussels, UK Tory MEP Martin Callanan said, “I do not necessarily agree with UKIP or the objectives of this conference but this decision is outrageous."

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