Fat Taxes in the European Union between Fiscal Austerity and the Fight Against Obesity

To discourage unhealthy eating and limit the population’s intake of fatty foods, an increasing number of countries across the the European Union is considering levying taxes on unhealthy food. This essay provides a brief analysis of the genesis, rationale and legal implications of these national ‘fat tax’ schemes by focusing in particular on the measures recently implemented in Denmark and Hungary. It focuses in particular on the legality of these product-specific taxes under EU and WTO law and explores whether the EU might validly consider to adopt a EU-wide fat tax in the light of the considerable geographic variation of obesity prevalence in the EU and its limited competence in both the health and tax areas. Those issues are particularly sensitive in the aftermath of the Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) adopted by the UN General Assembly on September 18, 2011