http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/05/business/alcohol.php
EU rules against Swedish monopoly on alcohol sales By Dan Bilefsky Tuesday, June 5, 2007 BRUSSELS: The European Union's Court of Justice ruled Tuesday that state-owned alcohol monopoly in Sweden had no right to bar citizens from importing alcohol from other EU countries, opening the way to greater freedom to import beer and wine across the 27-member bloc. The court, based in Luxembourg, said a Swedish law that barred private citizens from importing alcohol and bypassing the state-owned monopoly known as Systembolaget flouted EU law because it inhibited the free movement of goods, a key pillar of the EU's single market. Under Swedish law, retail sales of alcoholic beverages in Sweden are carried out exclusively by Systembolaget and only the state monopoly and wholesalers authorized by the state are allowed to import alcoholic drinks. In its ruling, the court dismissed the argument by Systembolaget, which owns and operates all liquor stores in Sweden, that its restrictions on alcohol imports were warranted because they prevented alcohol abuse. It said the state monopoly was employing disproportionate measures and could not continue to ban alcohol imports under the justification that it was protecting the health of Swedish citizens. The blocking of imports "is less a method of limiting alcohol consumption generally than a means of favoring Systembolaget as a channel for the distribution of beverages," the ruling said. Such a ban, it added, "cannot be justified on the grounds of protection of the life and health of humans." Oliver Drewes, spokesman for the EU's single market commissioner, Charlie McCreevy, said the ruling sent a clear signal that member states could not erect protectionist barriers under the guise of public health. "This ruling underlines that when EU citizens buy alcohol for personal use from another EU country, on the Internet or in a shop, they cannot be stopped, no matter what the distribution arrangements in their home country are." In Sweden, the ruling is likely to dent the state monopoly's alcohol sales while depriving the government of some revenues from the sale of wine and beer. However, the public health minister in Sweden, Maria Larsson, insisted that the ruling would not affect the alcohol sales monopoly or the high taxes on imported liquor. "Sweden's alcohol policies stay firm, with our goals to reach decreased alcohol consumption," she said. Gunnar Agren, the director general of the National Institute of Public Health in Sweden, said the ruling would probably have a limited effect on public health, because high Swedish taxes on imported alcoholic drinks would remain in effect. "There might be some problems with the age restrictions," he added, noting that Systembolaget sells alcohol only to people 20 years old or older. The case brought to the highest EU court originated in a complaint by a Swede, Klas Rosengren. Along with 10 other Swedes, Rosengren had ordered Spanish wine through a Danish Web site because that was less expensive than buying it through the state monopoly. When Systembolaget confiscated Rosengren's wine, he filed a case in a Swedish court. The case eventually was referred to the Swedish Supreme Court, which asked the European Court of Justice to rule on whether the ban was justified. The Swedish Supreme Court must now decide how to apply the EU court ruling. Taxes on alcohol vary dramatically across the EU, prompting alcohol-driven tourism in high-tax countries like Sweden, Denmark and Britain, where people cross borders in search of less expensive wine and beer. The Swedish case follows another consumer-friendly ruling by the Luxembourg court, which held in November that Europeans could import wine for themselves or anyone else, as long as they transported it personally. The ruling was a response to a complaint by a Dutch wine lover who had challenged a Dutch decision to charge him duties on a consignment of wine he had ordered a transport company to ship from France to the Netherlands. The Swedish government has held a monopoly on retail sales of alcohol since the 1850s and Sweden was able to preserve that even after joining the European Union, citing of public health reasons. In recent years, however, alcohol consumption has been on the decline. Johan Can, a 26-year-old nurse at a Systembolaget store in Sodertalje, south of Stockholm, said Tuesday that he did not expect the ruling to alter Swedish drinking culture. "I don't like this Big Brother mentality we have here in Sweden," he said as he bought an eight-pack of beer for 90 Kroner, or $13. "But it has been around for a long time and I think the government will stick to it." Ivar Ekman contributed reporting from Stockholm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2007 The International Herald Tribune | www.iht.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
