spiritsNEWS January 2016

The European Court of Justice follows the opinion of the General Advocate on Minimum Unit Pricing

You were perhaps already on holidays preparing your turkey and ham when the ECJ published its court decision on Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) and you might have missed our reaction to it...

 

On 23 December, the European Court of Justice decided to follow the Opinion of the General Advocate on Minimum Unit Pricing of alcohol published on 3 September 2015.  As one of the parties to the original case lodged in Scotland, we clearly appreciated this early Christmas present for all moderate drinkers everywhere. 

 

The Court has confirmed that MUP is a barrier to trade and therefore illegal if there are less disruptive measures available to tackle alcohol misuse.  Clearly there are other measures available, and therefore this MUP proposal should be dropped.  The ball is now back in the Scottish courts for them to make a finalruling.

 

In the meantime, we will continue to work closely with public and private stakeholders in all EU countries to reduce alcohol-related harm (see more at www.drinksinitiatives.eu).

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