BRUSSELS - Ireland will be able to adopt a label for wine, beer and spirits with warnings such as "alcohol consumption causes liver disease" and "alcohol and fatal cancers are directly linked."
The rule was notified in June by Dublin to Brussels, which - with the moratorium period having expired at the end of December 2022 - confirmed that national authorities can adopt the law.
The go-ahead comes despite the opposing opinions of Italy, France and Spain and six other EU states, which consider the measure a barrier to the internal market, and the announcement by the Commission itself of joint initiatives on the labeling of alcohol as part of the plan to beat cancer.
With the Brussels decision, the Irish example could be followed by other countries.
For Dublin, heavy alcohol consumption is a national health emergency and justifies labels that must contain: a warning about the harms of alcohol consumption, a warning about its direct link to deadly cancers, the amount of alcohol in grams (instead of percentage), calories, a pictogram (same as the one already in use) on the risks for pregnancy, and a link to a website on alcohol and health.
Several countries opposed the measure, because it creates fragmentation in the internal market and is disproportionate, especially in view of an EU-level confrontation on the matter.
In its 2021 cancer plan, the Commission announced proposals to reduce the "harmful use" of alcohol, including mandatory labeling with list of ingredients, nutrition declaration and health warnings.
On this last issue in February 2022 the European Parliament split, reaching a tiring compromise by saying yes to more information on the bottles but without references to health warnings.
However, the green light to the Irish standard creates the conditions for other countries to adopt such a label, as also recommended by the WHO.
(
