Brewers of Europe, European Symposium

The European Symposium of the Brewers of Europe was hosted by the Czech Permanent representation to the EU. The rationale for the title of the event is the belief that, as stated by the president of the Brewers of Europe, “ the key to [our] success is a voluntary approach at the local level, rather than a pan-European ‘one size fits all approach”. The event was also an opportunity for the Brewers to launch their interim report on the Commitments made under the Alcohol and Health Forum – this report was presented to the representative of the Commissioner for Health.

Out of the total 101 commitments made so far by members of the Alcohol and Health Forum, 36 have come from the Brewers of Europe – the umbrella organisation for Europe's national brewing associations – and four international brewing companies Anheuser Busch-Inbev, Heineken, SAB Miller and Carlsberg.

Delegates mostly included members of the 27 member associations of the Brewers of Europe, EU Public Affairs consultancies, and a few representatives of the European Commission.

Agenda

Premysl Sobotka, President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

In his welcome address, Mr Sobotka stated that “beer, consumed in moderation can help improve one's mood and therefore one's health”. He also stressed his “full support of education over legislative measures”.

Mr. Erdem Erginel, Cabinet of Health Commissioner Androula Vasiliou

In this keynote speech on behalf of Commissioner Vassiliou, Mr Erginel set the tone by describing alcohol as “a double edged sword”. Whilst he recognised the enormous contribution of the brewing industry to the economy, he recognised the urgent need to reduce the health, economic and social harms linked to alcohol consumption. He described this as one of the MAIN priorities of Commissioner Vassiliou. While he praised the effort of the Brewers for their voluntary actions across Europe, he warned that more concerted efforts were needed to attain the “critical mass” that can make a difference. He described the Alcohol and Health Forum as a “test” for economic operators and stressed that, despite the fact the EU alcohol Strategy did not include any provisions for harmonised legislation across the EU, the Commission would be prepared to revise its position if the Forum proved not to be a success.

Mr Alberto de la Ponte, President of the Brewers of Europe

In his speech, the President of the Brewers of Europe stressed that beer is a part of European culture, and tradition, consumed in Europe for over 6000 years. He also pointed out that 2.6 million people in the EU are employed directly or indirectly by the brewing industry and that there are almost 3000 active breweries in the EU. Beer brings in over €40 Million of annual tax revenue, which represents around 0.6% of the EU's GDP. Mr de la Ponte gave an overview of the Brewers commitments; such as “Drunk- You're a fool” in Denmark, and the Italian Brewer's ‘Alcohol and Pregnancy' Event.

Professor Bohumil Foser, former Health Minister of the Czech Republic and Member of the Alcohol and Health Forum Science Group

Professor Foser presented a rather unclear and biased selection of research findings. In a comparison between the harm caused by alcohol and the harm caused by drugs in correlation to affordability, availability and “marketing”, he concluded drugs did more harm than alcohol. He also stated that the optimum level of alcohol consumption in the Czech Republic was one litre of beer per adult per day. Professor Foser is a member of the Science Group of the Alcohol and Health Forum.

Amadeo Cottino, President of the Italian Observatory on Youth and Alcohol

Perhaps the most moderate of all speakers of the panel, Mr Cottino, a sociologist, examined the concept of risk taking among young people in relation to alcohol. He talked about the convergence of drinking patterns across the EU, especially among young people.