Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said on Thursday talks with British American Tobacco were still under way but that "we can't be on the receiving end" of the relations between competitors.

He was responding to questions from the press. A journalist said the “tobacco soap opera” with BAT, which has said it might leave Croatia, had a new episode given that two other big players on the Croatian market, Japan Imperial Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco, has taken its side, while Philip Morris is on the other, preferring the current excise system as it puts “heated tobacco” in a privileged position.

Maric said talks were being held with everyone and that a meeting was held too. He said they agreed on several topics and that there was a certain agreement that it was good to have an “excise calendar.”

It’s an element which brings a dose of predictability about excise system trends, but there are several categories in that calendar and cigarettes account for more than 90% of the “smokers’ market,” said Maric.

That system is regulated by European directives and Croatia is still in the EU’s bottom half in terms of the excise amount on cigarettes, he said, adding that cut tobacco or heated tobacco products were other categories yet to be regulated at EU level.

“If we look at the EU average, the taxation of heated tobacco products in relation to the taxation of cigarettes, the average is 30%. So, the burden on heated tobacco products amounts to 30% of the burden on cigarettes. And Croatia is at that average.”

He said that other EU finance ministers, as well as the European Commission, were looking towards further aligning the excise system. “That was also my message. When looking at the issue of tobacco and smoking, we should look at the health, the fiscal as well as the EU segment.”

The constructive dialogue is continuing, he said, adding that representatives of the tobacco industry did not agree on some things because they were competitors after all.