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EU opens up Swedish liquor marketUnder the Swedish Law on alcohol, retail sales of alcoholic beverages in Sweden are carried out under a monopoly held by Systembolaget. Only Systembolaget and wholesalers authorised by the State may import alcoholic beverages. Private individuals are prohibited from importing alcoholic beverages. That prohibition means that a person wishing to import alcohol from other Member States must do so exclusively through Systembolaget. Systembolaget is required to obtain any alcoholic beverage on request at the consumer’s expense, provided that it sees no objection to doing so. The European court of Justice has today declared that the Swedish prohibition of import into Sweden of alcoholic beverages by private individuals cannot be justified. • The fact that private individuals are prohibited from importing alcoholic beverages amounts to a quantitative restriction on the free movement of goods. • The prohibition of importation must be considered unsuitable for attaining the objective of protecting the health and life of persons. • In those circumstances, the Court rules that the prohibition of importation of alcoholic beverages cannot be justified on grounds of protection of the life and health of humans. Source: http://curia.europa.eu/en/actu/communiques/cp07/aff/cp070038en.pdf
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