Court rules against Swedish alcohol import controls

(LUXEMBOURG) - Swedish wine lovers could crack open the champagne on Tuesday after a European court ruled that a Swedish ban on individuals importing alcohol was an unjustified bar to the movement of goods.

The Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice decided the measure "is inappropriate for attaining the objective of limiting alcohol consumption generally and is not proportionate for attaining the objective of protecting young persons from the harmful effects of alcohol."

Under Swedish law, retail sales of alcoholic beverages in Sweden are carried out under a monopoly held by state-run alcohol retailer Systembolaget. Only Systembolaget and wholesalers authorised by the state may import such drinks.

The case was brought by Klas Rosengren and other Swedish nationals who ordered cases of Spanish wine through a Danish website.

The wine was confiscated by customs and criminal proceedings were brought.

The Swedish Supreme Court asked the European court whether the Swedish legislation was compatible with European community law.

Rosengren, who imported the Spanish wine in 2004, welcomed the ruling.

"I believe of course that it was a correct decision. But I didn't expect it. I thought the court would buy the arguments made by the Nordic states," he told the Swedish news agency TT.

"The (EU) treaty is re-born with this decision, and that is something to be pleased about," Rosengren added.

Bjoern Rydberg, communications director at Systembolaget, told TT that the ruling was of little importance.

"This decision is not very important as previous ... rulings have already stated that the products have to be taxed," he said.

Rydberg noted that most people who want to import alcohol products privately do so in a bid to avoid paying high Swedish alcohol taxes, and that there is no point in importing privately if the financial incentive is removed.

Following the removal of most alcohol import restrictions within the EU, people across the continent have increasingly been crossing borders to buy cheaper booze in neighboring countries.

This has especially become a problem in Sweden and other northern European countries where alcohol taxes and prices have traditionally been the highest.

With regard to the argument that the prohibition was justified to protect young people from the harmful effects of alcohol, the EU court found that as the rule applied to everyone, irrespective of age, it went too far.

The ruling could possibly jeopardize the continued existence of the monopoly, which Stockholm insists is needed to protect public health, and to avoid violation of drinking age limits.

In November 2005, Sweden ran a cheeky campaign aimed at convincing the EU of the public health benefits of its strict state-run alcohol monopoly.

"Dear Mr. Barroso, here's why you should seriously consider cutting down on drinking" was the provocative title of the campaign addressed to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-170/04 Rosengren e.a. - Free movement of goods (PDF)