As negotiations stretch into their fifth day at COP11, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the biggest fights are within the EU itself.

According to a report by Euractiv, several EU countries have accused the European Commission and the Danish COP Presidency of trying to push bans on vaping and other safer nicotine alternatives “through the back door” in Geneva, despite a formal agreement that the EU would not take a global position on such bans.

The pressure appears to centre around Article 4.5 of the COP11 agenda, which encourages countries to introduce stricter regulation or bans on tobacco, e-cigarettes, and novel nicotine products. The Commission is reportedly urging EU states to adopt a more ambitious stance, while Italy, Greece, and Poland are pushing back hard and standing up for national competence, proportionality, and the need to base decisions on evidence.

This internal EU rift is a significant development. It shows that not all EU countries are willing to follow WHO-led prohibitionist strategies, especially when those strategies ignore local realities and scientific evidence.

This fight isn’t just about COP11. It’s a preview of what’s to come as the EU prepares to revise the Tobacco Excise Directive (TED) and Tobacco Products Directive (TPD). If the European Commission is willing to defy internal consensus and push bans internationally, what can we expect behind closed doors in Brussels?

Member States will need to remain vigilant. The TED and TPD reviews will shape nicotine regulation in Europe for years to come — and the pressure to align with WHO-style bans will only intensify. COP11 has shown how some institutions are willing to bypass democracy and agreement to pursue ideology. The same could happen at EU level unless transparency, scientific scrutiny, and Member State leadership prevail.

At a conference already shaken by growing dissent, this latest episode confirms that resistance is real — and it’s growing. Not only are countries like New Zealand speaking out publicly in favour of harm reduction, but now EU Member States themselves are refusing to be steamrolled by ideological positions coming from Brussels and Geneva.

COP11 is exposing the cracks in the global anti-nicotine playbook, and the crisis of legitimacy now brewing inside the institutions pushing it.

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