Lords committee announces inquiry into The EU Alcohol Strategy

• The EU Alcohol Strategy - Call for Evidence
• Inquiry: The EU Alcohol Strategy
• EU Sub-Committee F: Home Affairs, Health and Education

Areas of interest

• Should there even be another EU Alcohol Strategy? If so, what should its focus, content and purpose be?
• Are the EU's existing alcohol policies in line with existing international frameworks to tackle alcohol abuse, for example, the World Health Organisation (WHO?)
• Could the Court of Justice of the European Union do more to balance the aims of the single market with the wishes of individual Member States to promote public health, for example minimum pricing?
• Are the mechanisms created in the last strategy for facilitating discussion, cooperation and the exchange of good practice between Member States, industry, civil society organisations and EU institutions, for example, the EU Alcohol and Health Forum (EAHF) and the Committee on National Alcohol Policy and Action (CNAPA), still appropriate?

Chairman

Commenting on the inquiry, Baroness Prashar, Chairman of the House of Lords EU Sub-Committee on Home Affairs, Health and Education, said:

“The European Commission proposed the first Alcohol Strategy in October 2006. It was designed to help EU Member States to reduce alcohol-related illnesses and diseases amongst their citizens, and identified five priority themes to concentrate actions on for the next six years.

"These were: protecting young people, including children and the unborn child; reducing injuries and deaths from alcohol-related road accidents; preventing alcohol-related harm among adults and reducing the negative impact in workplaces; educating people and raising awareness of the impact and dangers of alcohol abuse; and developing and maintaining a record of similar cases across the EU.

“With the last Strategy having finished in 2012, thoughts are now turning to drafting a new one, expected to run from 2016-2022.

“We want to investigate how successful the current Strategy has been at achieving its aims and, in light of this, make suggestions about the content of the new Strategy and how it might be more effective. Therefore, I would encourage anyone with the relevant experience or expertise to contribute to our inquiry.”

Timeline

The Committee are keen to receive evidence from a wide range of witnesses and would encourage interested parties to submit their views by Friday 26 September 2014.

They will hold public oral evidence sessions for the inquiry when the House returns from the summer

• About Parliament: Select Committees
• Visting Parliament: Select Committees

 Image: iStockphoto