Parliament adopted its opinion on the Commission's proposal to revise the general excise duty arrangements for tobacco and tobacco-related products by 325 votes to 304 , with 29 abstentions — a margin of just 21 votes. The majority was built by EPP ( 143 for) and PfE ( 76 for), joined by most ECR members and a portion of the NI group, while S&D, Greens/EFA, The Left and most of Renew voted against or abstained. This is a non-legislative own-initiative opinion delivered under the consultation procedure. It carries no direct legal force, but it represents Parliament's formal political position and is intended to press the Council as it deliberates on the Commission's proposal, potentially shaping the terms of the eventual directive revision. A preliminary amendment (Am. 4) that would have inserted a new Article 1a into the text was rejected by 352 votes to 287 , with 20 abstentions. The left-of-centre groups — S&D, Renew, Greens/EFA and The Left — voted broadly in favour of that addition, while EPP, PfE, ECR and ESN voted against, defeating it by 65 votes. The final vote therefore reflects the text without that insertion, a position backed by the right and centre-right of the chamber over the objections of the centre-left and left. Notable internal breaks were visible among several EPP delegations — including those from Italy, Sweden, Finland, France, Ireland and the Netherlands — and among Swedish Social Democrats and some Romanian PSD members, all of whom voted against their group's majority line on the final vote.
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