EUROPEAN alcohol trade bodies spiritsEUROPE and The European Committee of Wine Companies (CEEV) have hit out at Ireland’s proposals to introduce stark health warnings to alcoholic drinks labels.
Under the Irish Public Health (Alcohol) Bill the Irish government wants all alcoholic drinks to carry harsh warnings similar to those on cigarette packets, highlighting the risks of liver disease and developing fatal cancers.
Once the measure enters into force all alcohol products in Ireland would be required to carry three warnings:
- that alcohol causes liver disease;
- that alcohol is a risk to the fetus during pregnancy; and
- that there is a drink link between alcohol and fatal cancers
In open letters to the European Commission, spiritsEUROPE and the CEEV said the Irish Public Health (Alcohol) Bill represented a breach of EU treaties.
spiritsEUROPE said on their website that it has submitted a formal complaint asking the European Commission to open an infringement procedure against Ireland for breaching EU law with its planned new regulation on labelling rules for alcoholic beverages. The statement said: “The proposed measures risk fragmenting the Internal Market by deviating from EU harmonised labelling rules. They also represent a disproportionate trade barrier not justifiable under EU law based on the public evidence put forward.”
spiritsEUROPE believes that the new labelling represents a disproportionate trade barrier hampering the free movement of goods.
“In practice, the new rules would prevent economic operators from selling alcoholic beverages legally sold in all other EU member states in Ireland unless the products were re-labelled with additional information on the grams of alcohol and on the number of calories in the container, as well as health warnings text and pictograms.”
Such a move, they believe, would make it considerably more complex and more expensive for non-Irish producers and distributors from within and outside the EU to make their products available to Irish consumers, the
The planned restrictions would therefore undermine the integrity and functioning of the EU’s Single Market and hamper trade with third countries.
The latest proposals were made last June under Ireland’s draft Public Health Regulations 2022.
The Irish government notified the World Trade Organisation (WTO) about the moves, because of the implications for international trade.
The deadline for comments on the proposals passed this month on May 7, 2023.
Last year, nine EU member states submitted detailed opinions extending the standstill period to six month period, which expired on 22 December, 2022. Despite the objections raised, the EU Commission did not block the proposal.
But Irène Tolleret MEP, co-chair of the parliamentary intergroup on Wine, Spirits and Quality Foodstuffs, said the Irish proposal set a “dangerous precedent” on the healthy functioning of the single market and warned that legal action could be justified.
