SYSTEMBOLAGET ECJ SWEDEN PRIVATE ALCOHOL IMPORTS ADVOCATE GENERAL RULING
April 1st, 2006
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A LEGAL loophole has been opened at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that could force Sweden alcohol monopoly Systembolaget to abandon its veto on certain alcohol imports. ECJ advocate general Antonio Tizzano has advised that Systembolaget would break its European Union (EU) free trade legal duties if it refused to source abroad an alcohol product it generally did not supply. Systembolaget has discretionary authority under a 1994 Swedish alcohol law to reject certain orders, and "this prohibition is contrary to article 31" of the ...
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