Dutch government wants to severely restrict alcohol sales

State Secretary Maarten van Ooijen is seeking parliamentary support in the coalition to severely restrict alcohol sales in the Netherlands. He wants to ban alcohol in sports canteens, prohibit supermarkets from selling wine or specialty beers, substantially increase excise duty, and is considering a minimum price for alcoholic beverages, sources close to the government told De Telegraaf.

Van Ooijen (ChristenUnie) is looking for ways to reduce problematic alcohol consumption, as per the prevention agreement. According to the newspaper’s sources, he recently submitted his list of measures to parliament to consider over the summer recess.

In addition to banning alcohol in sports canteens and supermarkets, Van Ooijen also wants to stop alcohol marketing in sports and to increase the excise duty on alcohol by up to 50 percent. He also wants to set a minimum price for alcoholic beverages to counteract the attraction of cheap booze on problematic drinkers, the Telegraaf’s sources said.

The insiders stressed that the plans aren’t set in stone. Van Ooijen asked coalition parties to think about the proposals this summer and discuss them after the recess. A spokesperson for the State Secretay told the Telegraaf that “no decisions have yet been made,” but “hopefully” a package of measures will be presented after the summer.

“More needs to be done to achieve the widely supported goals of the Prevention Agreement with regard to problematic alcohol use,” Van Ooijen’s spokesperson said.