WRITTEN QUESTION E-3305/01 by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Gambling monopoly in Sweden.
Date: 2001-11-28
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Sweden, application of EU law, freedom to provide services, gaming, monopoly

18.7.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 172 E/35

According to the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter (13 October 2001), the Commission is planning to
submit proposals for common maximum and minimum levels of tax on alcohol within the Union.

Does the Commission thereby wish to establish a new principle, i.e. that alcohol tax in the Union should
be gradually harmonised? If so, can individual Member States obtain an exemption from that principle on
grounds of public health?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(15 January 2002)

Regarding excise duty rates, the Commission maintains its view that, in the longer term, the convergence
of duty rates would be beneficial to the smooth working of the Internal Market. However, the present
Community legislation only fixes minimum rates, and the determination of national excise rates on alcohol
and tobacco products, above the Community minimum rates, remains a matter for Member States to
decide.

Council Directive 92/84/EEC, of 19 October 1992, deals with the approximation of the rates of excise
duty on alcohol and alcoholic beverages (1). Under the provisions of this Directive, it is necessary for the
rates laid down in the Directive to be reviewed periodically, on the basis of a Commission report taking
into account all the appropriate factors. The Commission is at present in the process of producing such a
report. It will take into consideration all aspects of the subject, including health issues.

(1) OJ L 316, 31.10.1992.

(2002/C 172 E/038)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3305/01

by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(28 November 2001)

Subject: Gambling monopoly in Sweden

Foreign gaming companies have long attempted to break into the Swedish gambling market. The London-
based gaming company, SSP, has lost around ten cases in the Swedish courts. Ladbrokes, one of the
biggest gaming companies in the world, is also trying to break into the Swedish market. The objective is to
be established on the market by 2005. Swedish customers can in fact already place bets with SSP and
Ladbrokes via the Internet, in which case the money goes directly to the UK.

Has the Commission examined the Swedish monopoly on gambling and is it considered to be consistent
with the principle of freedom of movement on the internal market?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(12 April 2002)

The Honourable Member asks whether the Commission has examined the Swedish monopoly and whether
it is considered to be consistent with the principle of free movement enshrined in the EC Treaty. The
Commission has not had occasion to examine the workings of the Swedish monopoly in all its details and
implications. In the context of its work on an Internal Market Strategy for services, a number of interested
parties including Member States’
lottery operators have indicated that legal clarity is required at the
European level for gambling services. The Commission will be considering this issue in the context of its
work on the Internal Market for services. In so doing, it will take due account of existing jurisprudence of
the European Court of
Justice which has indicated that Member States’ restrictions to cross-border
provision of certain forms of gambling services are compatible with the EC Treaty in the absence of a
Community framework.