In the early 2000s, our sector advocated against a Commission plan to abolish all of the EU’s pack size rules. In the end, fixed sizes for spirits were retained, as they were for wine, while in about 100 other sectors they were removed. Unhappy with this situation, the Commission included a review clause in the legislation (Directive 2007/45), so that the fixed size rules that remained would be reassessed after 8 years. In 2014, the Commission duly launched a review whose outcome was published this summer, showing a great level of support in favour of the current legislation.
The spirit sector has consistently stressed the advantages that all parties obtain from the ‘prescribed quantities’ (PQ) regime for spirits. It is therefore reassuring that the report found all stakeholders agreed. The absence of complaints has long been testament to a system that works extremely well.
The huge amount of information supplied by the sector (mainly during the development of Directive 2007/45) showed the advantages of PQ for spirits beyond question. It also set out why other protection measures, such as unit pricing, only play a marginal role in protecting consumers. While we note the author’s continuing advocacy for UP, this measure continues to provide theoretical rather than actual protection. Indeed, this seemed to be confirmed by the report’s finding that, even though UP is in force, 30% of consumers want more fixed sizes because of the confusion and complications that free sizes bring.
The important part is that the report concludes that no legislative change is required. That is extremely welcome; this is an area on which considerable time and resource has been required over the last 10-15 years. We very much hope that the fixed bottle size regime for spirits is now ‘settled’, and need not be reviewed again.
