Sweden says cheers to easing alcohol sale restrictions
STOCKHOLM
Sweden's government said on Wednesday it wanted to allow breweries, distilleries and winemakers to sell alcoholic beverages directly to customers visiting their operations, easing up the country's strict alcohol monopoly.
Apart from bars and restaurants, Swedes can only buy beverages with an alcohol content above 3.5 percent at state-run outlets called Systembolaget, and some authorized retailers in rural areas.
"This is a freedom reform. Sweden will become a little more like the rest of Europe, where it is a given that you can both visit and shop," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a press conference.
Kristersson said the reform was aimed at small-scale and artisanal operations, estimating that around 600 small-scale businesses would be affected.
The government stressed that it still wanted to protect the Swedish alcohol monopoly.
Sales would be limited to occasions where visitors had paid for a guided tour or a lecture.
Visitors will also only be allowed to purchase 0.7 liters of spirits and three liters of wine and beer.
Swedish politicians have on several occasions explored the possibility of allowing so-called farm gate sales of alcoholic beverages, but it has never materialized.
Critics have argued it poses a threat to the Swedish model of a distribution monopoly designed to limit consumption.
