If Swedes feel protective about anything, it’s them snus — A tobacco pouch that is placed under the lip and delivers a powerful nicotine punch.
so when evening paperAfter a Swedish newspaper, recently published a report suggesting that Brussels was planning to double taxes on snus, Sweden’s response was predictably explosive.
The hashtag #Swexit, shorthand for Sweden’s exit from the European Union, began trending on Twitter, while angry Swedes flooded social media with over-my-dead-body memes about their attachment to the stuff, which Legal only in Sweden.
Joining other outraged Swedish politicians, the country’s new finance minister, Elisabeth Svantesson, called the proposal “unfair”, and Sweden’s European commissioner, Ylva Johansson, told a national radio station that he had written to the Italian commissioner Paolo, the ally behind the proposal. It was explained. Gentiloni, did not understand why.
“We can handle cucumbers straight, but snus is something else,” quipped a Swedish official, referring to a recent British tabloid story suggesting the EU was legislating on the straightness of cucumbers.
don’t fuck in the blue wardrobe of the eu #sweexit pic.twitter.com/yYNzicBj1Y
— Victor “WaltherIV” Walterson (@WaltherIV) November 27, 2022
Even European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, who was leading a delegation from the chamber to Stockholm on Wednesday, was stuck in snus-gate. “Very hot issue in the family,” Metsola, whose husband is Finnish, told Swedish news agency TT ahead of her trip.
This was a step too far for the EU.
Breaking with tradition of not commenting on leaks, the European Commission addressed the Aftonbladet story this week, saying the EU has no plans to double the tax on snus as the stuff has been illegal outside Sweden since 1995. , and was therefore exempted from the block. Comprehensive taxation rules on tobacco products.
“Sweden will retain its complete independence in deciding on its taxation and excise duties on snus,” a spokesman said earlier this week.
This went in a way towards calming Sweden’s fears. “The anger has cooled,” said a Swedish EU official.
But not everyone is ready to move on.
Charlie Weimar, an EU lawmaker for the far-right Sweden Democrats party, said he would not be satisfied until the European Commission gave a written guarantee that it would not be a taxing snus. He told Swedish Radio, “Nowhere is it written that Sweden is free to set its own taxation level on snus.”
Meanwhile, Sweden stands ready to defend its favorite under-the-lip tobacco product against any future challenges.