2024-03-26 16:28:53
At present, people over the age of 18 can buy alcohol.
At the same time, the commission supported the proposal, which envisages exceptional cases, so that the work opportunities of adults in the food and public catering industry are not limited, as well as the learning of the practical part of the professional education program, in which, among other things, the learner could also be assigned tasks related to the circulation of alcoholic beverages.
Pēteris Liniņš, chairman of the board of the Latvian Brewers’ Union, claimed that youth drinking problems in Latvia are decreasing. He stated that the union is “categorically opposed” to this, as there is no legitimate purpose for changing the age threshold.
In the commission, the biggest discussions were about changes in working hours, which was already discussed in the public health subcommittee. Today, the commission conceptually supported the proposal to ban the sale of alcohol on weekdays and Saturdays from 8 p.m. to 10 a.m., but a decision on Sundays and holidays will be made next week.
The public health subcommittee previously supported the proposal to ban the sale of alcohol from 3 p.m. on Sundays and public holidays, except for retail outlets where alcoholic beverages are sold only in draft form and their consumption is ensured on the spot, as well as duty-free shops. The Commission could support such a proposal.
The Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Finance generally do not support such strict working time restrictions, offering a compromise – to reduce the time of selling alcohol by one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening. This was explained by the large impact on residents in less populated areas.
Liniņš expressed that the reduction in time will negatively affect tourism, alcohol sales, which are already on a downward trend, and will also affect the state budget.
Doctor Pēteris Apinis emphasized that people’s brains develop up to the age of 25, so it is necessary to protect children and young people especially during that time. In his opinion, the mentioned proposals are cosmetic and will not affect much, but they provide an opportunity to reduce alcohol consumption, which is also related to Internet consumption. The doctor called on the deputies to be responsible for their country.
The representative of the State Revenue Service noted that if the regulation is adopted that the working hours for alcohol sales are reduced, then it will be necessary to re-register all retail licenses, for which a state fee will have to be paid.
Ilze Aizsilniece, president of the Latvian Association of Doctors, emphasized that public education is also important, and funding for the treatment of addictions should also be provided.
The head of the commission, Andris Bērziņš (ZZS), invited those present not to campaign about how good or how bad it is to drink, but to position their opinion on specific proposals in a reasoned manner. Regardless, the amendments will be adopted soon, Bērziņš promised.
Deputy Ingūna Circene (JV) said that these amendments are the “bare minimum” so that the public does not get drunk. “What are we talking about here in general, we do not ban the sale of alcohol, we try to improve and limit it a bit. This is hypocrisy from those who care about the economy or trade,” criticized the politician, emphasizing that the discussion is not meaningful in nature.
Deputy Mairita Luse (P) emphasized that it is not possible to reduce alcohol consumption without creating a fiscal impact.
On the other hand, MP Ramona Petraviča (LPV) expressed her support for the compromise proposal of the ministries, which envisages reducing working hours by one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening. According to her, no one has thought and evaluated why people drink. Restrictions are easy to accept, but they are just a fiction and nothing else, Petraviča said.
The deputy believes that the restrictions will have a greater impact on the 90% who do not have problems with alcohol. “They will have to be able to buy champagne on a weekday until eight in the evening, imagine what queues there will be in stores to do that,” the politician said.
The Commission will continue to work on the amendments after the Easter holidays.
2024-03-26 16:28:53