Answer to written question on Sale and/or advertising of alcoholic products under the Treaty of Lisbon

WRITTEN QUESTION E-6301/09 by Nessa Childers (S&D) to the CommissionSubject: Sale and/or advertising of alcoholic products under the Treaty of Lisbon

Date published: March 25 2010

Following the recent ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, can the Commission confirm that no EU funding has been or will be allocated for self-regulatory systems in Member States or at EU level for the regulation of the sale and/or advertising of alcoholic products in light of the concerns of many public health bodies about the efficacy and validity of these self-regulatory regimes?

E-6301/09 EN Answer given by Mr Dalli on behalf of the Commission

The Commission would like to thank the Honourable Member for her interest in the Commission's actions in relation to EU funding for the development of self-regulatory systems governing the sale and/or advertising of alcoholic products.

The Commission's main focus for action is the protection of children and young people from the advertising or marketing of alcohol and not the promotion of one system over another across the EU different systems are in place. In all cases, what counts is whether or not the approach works, and there is no consensus to suggest concerns as to the validity of self-regulation, whether in general or in the specific sector of alcoholic beverages. Indeed, in the current Alcohol Strategy[1] reference is made to the multi-stakeholder and multi-sector Advertising Round Table established by the Commission, which has identified some key elements for effective self-regulation.

As far as past EU funding is concerned, the 2007-2013 Health Programme[2] currently supports some aspects of the functioning of self regulatory systems, such the funding awarded to the Dutch Foundation for Alcohol Prevention (STAP) for a project on Monitoring Alcohol Commercial Communications (AMMIE). This project, operational until 2010, seeks to strengthen the transparency of the self regulatory approach, and monitor its effectiveness. This is just one example of projects run by NGOs focussed on the functioning of self-regulation in the alcohol sector, for which EU funding has been granted over the years.

Against this background, therefore, it is not possible to say that EU funding will never be used to support the development of self regulatory systems. Each project should be reviewed according to its own merits and to the extent to which it meets the criteria for particular financing mechanism in question.

[1] COM(2006)625

[2] Decision No 1350/2007/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 establishing a second programme of Community action in the field of health (2008-13) - OJ L 301, 20.11.2007.