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European Cigar Manufacturers Association

ECMA

The European Cigar Manufacturers Association represents cigar and cigarillo producers across Europe.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Taner Kabilov (Member of the European Parliament)

26 Nov 2025 · Discussion about ongoing legislation

Meeting with Carla Tavares (Member of the European Parliament)

26 Nov 2025 · Introduction

Meeting with Auke Zijlstra (Member of the European Parliament)

25 Nov 2025 · Tobacco tax directive

Meeting with Fernand Kartheiser (Member of the European Parliament)

25 Nov 2025 · Cigares

Meeting with Antonín Staněk (Member of the European Parliament)

25 Nov 2025 · "Track&Trace" and the New Categorization Framework

Meeting with Jana Nagyová (Member of the European Parliament)

15 Oct 2025 · Excise duties for cigars/cigarillos and the impact on the SMEs, EU competitiveness, and supply chains across the world

Meeting with Pablo Arias Echeverría (Member of the European Parliament)

14 Oct 2025 · Characteristics of the cigar sector and differences with mass-consumption nicotine products

Meeting with Ilia Lazarov (Member of the European Parliament)

14 Oct 2025 · EU Tobacco Control Framework

Meeting with Ondřej Krutílek (Member of the European Parliament)

1 Oct 2025 · Cigars and cigarillos

Meeting with Tomáš Kubín (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

1 Oct 2025 · Discussion about TTD in relation to the new categorization

Meeting with Adam Jarubas (Member of the European Parliament, Committee chair)

7 Jul 2025 · Tabaco Directive

Meeting with Daniel Attard (Member of the European Parliament)

20 May 2025 · EU Track and Trade System - Achieved Results and Future Plans

Meeting with Michalis Hadjipantela (Member of the European Parliament)

8 Apr 2025 · Introductory Meeting

European cigar manufacturers urge SME-friendly Single Market reforms

30 Jan 2025
Topic — A consultation on developing the EU's 2025 strategy for the single market.
Message — The organization calls for a 'one stop shop' for product reporting and mandatory two-year transition periods for new regulations. They also propose a 'small mid-cap' designation to provide tailored regulatory simplification for family-owned businesses.123
Why — Differentiated treatment would reduce disproportionate costs currently threatening the viability of smaller producers.4
Impact — National authorities would lose the power to implement unique local health labels and fees.5
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Meeting with Katarína Roth Neveďalová (Member of the European Parliament)

11 Dec 2024 · Specificities of the cigar market in Europe

Meeting with Andrey Kovatchev (Member of the European Parliament)

3 Oct 2024 · Priorities for the new mandate

Meeting with Thierry Mariani (Member of the European Parliament)

25 Sept 2024 · La sensibilisation à la législation européenne

Meeting with Daniel Attard (Member of the European Parliament)

25 Sept 2024 · Introductory Meeting

Meeting with Ondřej Dostál (Member of the European Parliament) and TotalEnergies SE

25 Sept 2024 · Introduction

Meeting with Tomislav Sokol (Member of the European Parliament) and Meta Platforms Ireland Limited and its various subsidiaries

18 Sept 2024 · European legislation

Meeting with Sara Skyttedal (Member of the European Parliament)

12 Jan 2023 · Revision of the Tobacco Products Directive

Response to Targeted revision of the EU system of tobacco traceability

30 Nov 2022

ECMA, the European Cigar Manufacturers Association, is the trade association of cigar and cigarillo manufacturers in the Member States of the European Union (EU). ECMA members together account for over 80% of the traditional cigars and cigarillos produced in the EU. ECMA represents 18 cigar and cigarillo producing companies with 21 manufacturing plants in and 26 plants outside the EU. ECMA boasts fourteen family-owned companies as part of its membership. Of the full eighteen ECMA member companies, six fall under the definition of small and medium sized enterprises. ECMA appreciates the opportunity to comment on the targeted revision of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/574 before its adoption. Detailed feedback on the targeted revision has been submitted as attachment.
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Meeting with Gerassimos Thomas (Director-General Taxation and Customs Union) and Philip Morris International Inc. and

18 May 2022 · Videoconference - Stakeholder event to gather views on the upcoming revision of the tobacco taxation directive

Response to Cross-border acquisitions of excise goods by private individuals

4 Jan 2021

The European Cigar Manufacturers Association (ECMA) welcomes the opportunity offered by the European Commission to provide input to the inception impact assessment on the revision of Article 32 of Directive 2008/118/EC. ECMA will be attentive to the European Commission's proposal to review Article 32 of Directive 2008/118/EC. While the illicit trade in tobacco products has been a main focus in the different Commission's evaluations and Council Conclusions, ECMA wishes to point out that, as confirmed in the Commission's supporting studies, cigars present a "very low risk and limited magnitude" of illicit trade or licit cross-border shopping, respectively, when compared with mass-consumption tobacco products like cigarettes [1]. As confirmed in the 2020 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP study, cigars constitute the product category with the lowest value and estimated volume of additional excise goods purchased by individuals due to the availability of products cross-border among all the product categories identified [2]. Considering the above, the niche market profile of cigars, their inherent characteristics and consumption patterns, as well as the specific profile of cigars manufacturers, the European Commission should not disproportionately affect the cigar category when aiming at addressing specific and relevant concerns for the alcohol or cigarettes sectors. ------------------------------------------------------- [1] Study on Council Directive 2011/64/EU on the structure and rates of excise duty applied to manufactured tobacco, Final Report, Volume 1, January 2019, p. 169. [2] Study assessing articles 32 and 36 of Council Directive 2008/118/EC concerning the general arrangements for excise duty, Final Report, June 2020, pp. 64, 78 and 88.
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Response to Tobacco taxation – revision of EU rules

4 Jan 2021

The European Cigar Manufacturers Association (ECMA) welcomes the opportunity offered by the European Commission to provide input to the inception impact assessment on the revision of Directive 2011/64/EU on the structure and rates of excise duty applied to manufactured tobacco. With regard to cigars/cigarillos, ECMA believes that, taking into account the donwarding trend of products placed on the EU market, the Commission’s conclusions adopted in 2018 are still relevant in 2021 [1]. In addition, while the illicit trade in tobacco products has been a main focus in the Commission's evaluation and Council Conclusions, ECMA wishes to point out that, as confirmed in the Commission's supporting studies, cigars/cigarillos present a "very low risk and limited magnitude" of illicit trade or licit cross-border shopping, respectively [2], when compared with mass-consumption tobacco products like cigarettes. As niche products within a much larger manufactured tobacco market, cigars/cigarillos are enjoyment products, which contribute only marginally to smoking prevalence across the EU [3]. Only 1% of smokers smoke cigarillos, cigars or pipes on a daily basis. These tobacco products are also more likely to be smoked on an occasional basis or tried only once or twice [4], and typically appeal to older consumers [5], who tend to be higher-income and well-educated, and thus also aware of the health risks associated with smoking. Moreover, because their price is well-above the price of cigarettes, and simply because of their inherent characteristics, cigars/cigarillos are only weak substitutes of cigarettes [6]. Considering the above, cigars/cigarillos are therefore not attractive nor consumed by young people. Consequently, ECMA is of the opinion that an increase of EU minima for cigars/cigarillos is simply not necessary. In any event, should the Commission consider an increase in the minimum rates for cigars/cigarillos, ECMA would like to reiterate what the Council has already stressed, “that increase of the minimum rates as set out in Directive 2011/64/EU should take place in a gradual and proportional manner”, especially to avoid small and medium European companies involved in the manufacturing of cigars/cigarillos to be disproportionately affected by any regulatory changes. Finally, ECMA would like to reiterate that including raw tobacco in the scope of excisable goods would be disproportionate considering that similar benefits might be achievable at lower costs. ----------------------------------------------- [1] Report from the Commission to the Council on Directive 2011/64/EU on the structure and rates of excise duty applied to manufactured tobacco, COM(2018) 17 final, 12.1.2018, p.5. [2] Study on Council Directive 2011/64/EU on the structure and rates of excise duty applied to manufactured tobacco, Final Report, Volume 1, January 2019, p. 169. [3] Study on Council Directive 2011/64/EU on the structure and rates of excise duty applied to manufactured tobacco, Final Report, Volume 1, January 2019, p. 76. [4] Eurobarometer 458, Attitudes of Europeans towards tobacco and electronic cigarettes, May 2017, p. 20. [5] Eurobarometer 429, Attitudes of Europeans towards tobacco and electronic cigarettes, May 2015, p. 21. [6] Study on Council Directive 2011/64/EU on the structure and rates of excise duty applied to manufactured tobacco, Final Report, Volume 1, January 2019, p. 175.
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Response to General arrangements for excise duty – harmonisation and simplification

20 Aug 2018

Attached you will find the ECMA views on the proposal for a Council Directive laying down the general arrangements for excise duty (recast) COM(2018) 346 final. ECMA, the European Cigar Manufacturers Association, is the trade association of cigar and cigarillo manufacturers in the Member States of the European Union. ECMA members together account for over 90% of the traditional cigars and cigarillos produced in the European Union. ECMA represents 19 cigar and cigarillo producing companies with 24 manufacturing plants in the European Union. Together these companies employ more than 5,000 persons in their cigar and cigarillo businesses in the European Union and another 20,000 in countries outside the European Union. Of the 19 ECMA member companies, eleven are family-owned and seven fall under the definition of small and medium sized enterprises. The rest of the European cigar and cigarillo industry, i.e. some 30 companies, generally employ between 1 to 20 people and are all family owned.
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Response to Evaluation of the excise duties applied on manufactured tobacco

6 Mar 2018

ECMA, the European Cigar Manufacturers Association, is the trade association of cigar and cigarillo manufacturers in the Member States of the European Union. With great interest ECMA has taken note of the report from the Commission to the Council on Directive 2011/64/EU on the structure and rates of excise duty applied to manufactured tobacco (COM(2018) 17 final dated 12 January 2018). ECMA fully supports the Commission conclusion as regards the tax-induced substitution of cigarettes by low-price cigarillos, i.e. that “there is little rationale for further action on this matter at EU level”. ECMA also supports the conclusion as regards raw tobacco, i.e. that “including raw tobacco in the scope of excisable goods would be disproportionate and that similar benefits might be achievable at lower costs”. ECMA looks forward to the upcoming evaluation of / consultation on the structures and rates of excise duty applied to manufactured tobacco and is more than willing to answer any questions that the Commission might have regarding cigars and cigarillos.
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Response to Implementing act under Article 16(2) of the Tobacco Products Directive 2014/40/EU

29 Sept 2017

ECMA is the trade association of cigar and cigarillo manufacturers in the Member States of the European Union. ECMA members together account for over 90% of the traditional cigars and cigarillos produced in the European Union. ECMA represents 20 cigar and cigarillo producing companies with 24 manufacturing plants in the European Union. Together these companies employ more than 5,100 persons in their cigar and cigarillo businesses in the European Union and another 20,000 in countries outside the European Union. Of the 20 ECMA member companies, twelve are family-owned and seven fall under the definition of small and medium sized enterprises. The rest of the European cigar and cigarillo industry, i.e. some 30 companies, generally employ between 1 to 20 people and are all family-owned. Cigar and cigarillo making is a labour intensive process. Cigars and cigarillos are being produced and sold in an enormous variety of models, brands, types of packaging and prices. The variety of products means that cigars and cigarillos are generally produced in small production runs. Machine-made cigars and cigarillos are produced at a speed between 16 and 160 pieces per minute (excluding packing, which is an additional step in the process) compared to up to 20,000 cigarettes per minute (including packing, which is an integral part of the process). Cigars and cigarillos tend to be smoked occasionally rather than daily. The cigar and / or cigarillo smoker generally is a male adult of mature age: the majority of smokers are over 35 years of age. Compared to the overall EU consumption of excisable tobacco products, consumption of cigars and cigarillos is small, i.e. approximately 1.6 % of the total EU consumption of tobacco products. ECMA welcomes the opportunity to comment on the published drafts for the implementation of articles 15 and 16 of the Tobacco Products Directive, and would like to submit the attached comments.
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Response to Delegated act under Article 15(12) of the Tobacco Products Directive 2014/40/EU

29 Sept 2017

ECMA is the trade association of cigar and cigarillo manufacturers in the Member States of the European Union. ECMA members together account for over 90% of the traditional cigars and cigarillos produced in the European Union. ECMA represents 20 cigar and cigarillo producing companies with 24 manufacturing plants in the European Union. Together these companies employ more than 5,100 persons in their cigar and cigarillo businesses in the European Union and another 20,000 in countries outside the European Union. Of the 20 ECMA member companies, twelve are family-owned and seven fall under the definition of small and medium sized enterprises. The rest of the European cigar and cigarillo industry, i.e. some 30 companies, generally employ between 1 to 20 people and are all family-owned. Cigar and cigarillo making is a labour intensive process. Cigars and cigarillos are being produced and sold in an enormous variety of models, brands, types of packaging and prices. The variety of products means that cigars and cigarillos are generally produced in small production runs. Machine-made cigars and cigarillos are produced at a speed between 16 and 160 pieces per minute (excluding packing, which is an additional step in the process) compared to up to 20,000 cigarettes per minute (including packing, which is an integral part of the process). Cigars and cigarillos tend to be smoked occasionally rather than daily. The cigar and / or cigarillo smoker generally is a male adult of mature age: the majority of smokers are over 35 years of age. Compared to the overall EU consumption of excisable tobacco products, consumption of cigars and cigarillos is small, i.e. approximately 1.6 % of the total EU consumption of tobacco products. ECMA welcomes the opportunity to comment on the published drafts for the implementation of articles 15 and 16 of the Tobacco Products Directive, and would like to submit the attached comments.
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Response to Implementing act under Article 15(11) of the Tobacco Products Directive 2014/40/EU

29 Sept 2017

ECMA is the trade association of cigar and cigarillo manufacturers in the Member States of the European Union. ECMA members together account for over 90% of the traditional cigars and cigarillos produced in the European Union. ECMA represents 20 cigar and cigarillo producing companies with 24 manufacturing plants in the European Union. Together these companies employ more than 5,100 persons in their cigar and cigarillo businesses in the European Union and another 20,000 in countries outside the European Union. Of the 20 ECMA member companies, twelve are family-owned and seven fall under the definition of small and medium sized enterprises. The rest of the European cigar and cigarillo industry, i.e. some 30 companies, generally employ between 1 to 20 people and are all family-owned. Cigar and cigarillo making is a labour intensive process. Cigars and cigarillos are being produced and sold in an enormous variety of models, brands, types of packaging and prices. The variety of products means that cigars and cigarillos are generally produced in small production runs. Machine-made cigars and cigarillos are produced at a speed between 16 and 160 pieces per minute (excluding packing, which is an additional step in the process) compared to up to 20,000 cigarettes per minute (including packing, which is an integral part of the process). Cigars and cigarillos tend to be smoked occasionally rather than daily. The cigar and / or cigarillo smoker generally is a male adult of mature age: the majority of smokers are over 35 years of age. Compared to the overall EU consumption of excisable tobacco products, consumption of cigars and cigarillos is small, i.e. approximately 1.6 % of the total EU consumption of tobacco products. ECMA welcomes the opportunity to comment on the published drafts for the implementation of articles 15 and 16 of the Tobacco Products Directive, and would like to submit the attached comments.
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