Brussels is likely to introduce a so-called “fat-tax” in the proposed European Union cardiovascular health plan, set to be adopted by the European Commission in around a month.
The levy would apply to highly processed food with high sugar, fat and salt content.
The measure is one of the most politically charged elements of a far broader initiative to curb cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Europe, set to be approved in mid-December.
More than 1.7 million people die from CVD every year and millions more live with its long-term consequences. That places huge pressure on overstretched health systems, according to a draft by the EC seen by Brussels Signal.
The burden of CVD is rising, driven by ageing populations and the growing prevalence of obesity, diabetes and hypertension, with an annual economic cost exceeding €282 billion, it states.
Although framed as a public health effort, the plan also reopens a debate in the EU about competence and personal choice.
“Taxation at EU level has played a pivotal role in reducing risk factors linked to our lifestyles,” the draft says.
Brussels wants to establish a network of competent authorities to provide a forum for co-operation and co-ordination in the taxation of unhealthy food products. That would be designed to support the exchange of information and best practice among member states.
It wants to set up a database of such taxes in force in member states and propose the introduction of levies on relevant food and drink products.
The EC’s proposal for an EU-wide levy — small but symbolic — pushes the boundary between EU-level co-ordination and national sovereignty.
Officials argue that fragmented national taxes simply cannot address a cross-border market in processed foods. They add that consistent incentives are needed to shift consumer behaviour.
The EC insists the levy is about creating conditions in which healthier choices become easier — especially for low-income groups, who carry disproportionate cardiovascular risk.
The proposal stresses that member states would remain free to set their own national taxes, with the EU levy acting as an add-on rather than a replacement.
Revenue would be ring-fenced for prevention programmes and digital health tools, from better blood-pressure monitoring to improved clinical access to early detection.
The plan places diet alongside a range of lifestyle pressures contributing to Europe’s growing cardiovascular burden. Obesity rates continue to rise, with nearly half of adults overweight and alarming similar trends among children, EC data shows.
Consumption of sugary drinks remains high, while fruit and vegetable intake stagnates. Among adolescents, one in five is overweight or obese, and ultra-processed snacks remain a daily staple.
According to the EC, eating habits are shaped by market environments in which the cheapest calories are often the least healthy. The fat-tax, in its view, is a mild nudge, not a directive.
Alcohol is seen as a risk factor and the plan also targets newer lifestyle risks, particularly the boom in nicotine products such as e-cigarettes and pouches.
While traditional smoking has declined, young people are taking up vaping at high rates and the EC fears it might serve as a gateway to nicotine addiction and traditional tobacco consumption.
It plans to update EU tobacco legislation by 2027, reflecting the fast-changing market and aiming to keep adult smoking rates below 5 per cent by 2040.
Alongside prevention, the draft plan places heavy emphasis on early detection — an area where member states vary widely.
A significant share of older Europeans have not had a recent blood-pressure reading, despite hypertension being the top risk factor for heart attacks and strokes. Genetic conditions, such as familial hypercholesterolaemia, often go undiagnosed until serious illness strikes.
Familial hypercholesterolaemia, from birth, increases the risk of premature heart disease and stroke if untreated.
The EC wants to introduce an EU protocol on health checks, providing a template rather than a mandate.
Its argument is that shared standards need not dictate national systems but simply give citizens more equal access to effective screening, regardless of where they live.
It also want to reduce inequalities depending on geography, income and even gender regarding treatment and long-term care. Proposals ranging from a European network of specialist centres to new guidance for personalised treatment will be considered.
Only a handful of member states currently use electronic health records to monitor cardiovascular outcomes systematically. This “data fragmentation” limits the development of artificial intelligence (AI) tools that could predict risk earlier or tailor treatment more precisely.
To fix this, the EC wants to invest €20 million in AI and data-driven tools.
The plan’s ambition is to reduce cardiovascular mortality by 20 per cent by 2035, diagnose and control most cases of hypertension, diabetes and obesity and reshape how prevention is approached across the entire continent.
