The Lithuanian Free Market Institute has examined draft amendments to the Law on Alcohol Control and formulated its comments and proposals. The bill proposes to postpone adopting the prohibition to sell alcohol in stationary petrol stations from 1 January 2016 to 1 January 2019.
LFMI noted that the prohibition to sell alcoholic beverages in trading venues in stationary petrol stations would infringe on the principles of competition, encourage some of the stores to close down and undermine the competitive position of petrol stations in relation to other retail trade enterprises. Moreover, the majority of other EU countries do not apply such restrictions and the quantities of alcohol sold in petrol stations are relatively insignificant to the overall consumption of alcohol. Finally, the retail trade of alcohol is strictly regulated already. Therefore, LFMI calls for the rejection of the draft law.
The full position paper (in Lithuanian) can be found at http://www.llri.lt/naujienos/ekonomine-politika/konkurencija/ekspertize-draudimas-prekiauti-alkoholiniais-gerimais-degalinese-pazeis-konkurencijos-teises-principus/lrinka
