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On Tuesday, the Seimas approved the amendments to the Alcohol Control Law and allowed the sale of weak alcoholic beverages in outdoor cafes, which also do not have a stationary outlet. 68 Seimas members voted in favor of the Seimas on Tuesday, there were two against and two abstentions. Seimas members also supported the sale of low alcohol drinks, up to 15 degrees, on the beaches. On Tuesday, 55 Seimas members voted in favor, there were 11 against and 39 abstentions. After the vote, there was applause from the politicians.
Already this summer, municipalities have been allowed to decide for themselves who and where they will be able to sell alcoholic beverages in tourist spots. Although the Health Affairs Committee did not agree, Seimas changed its opinion on the alcohol trade and its consumption on the beaches on Tuesday. Most Seimas members lifted these restrictions on Tuesday.
After the vote on tv3.lt, the leader of the peasant faction R. Karbauskis said that if he enters the Seimas again in the fall and has the opportunity, he will try to accept these alcohol restrictions on the beaches again.
“Hopefully it will be different in the next Seimas. Maybe it will be enough and we will accept it again. For us, this is something valuable. We adopt alcohol control laws not because we like it or not, but because it needs to be done in Lithuania and it has a effect.
I understand that the issue of beaches may not be as essential as excise duties, but it is an advantage for what we have done on other issues. Those who want this nation to drown in alcohol must now do everything possible to keep us out of power. We are for them and it will probably be the biggest problem.
We ourselves have suggested, for distances, that this needs to be resolved. And on the beaches, the alcohol industry, the merchants, won. His lobbying reached its point and we lacked votes in the Seimas, “said the politician.
According to R. Karbauskis, being one of the world leaders in terms of alcohol consumption is one of the scariest things for Lithuania.
“It just came to our attention then. But now we have left first place in terms of alcohol consumption, but going back is very easy. You just need to return all politics to the domain of the alcohol industry, and liberals and conservatives will. immediately, if they have any chance, “said R. Karbauskis.
The Seimas approved the amendments to the Alcohol Control Law to facilitate the development of tourism and the promotion of small and medium-sized companies due to the negative impact of COVID-19 on the economy.
Each municipality can choose the period during the season and the appropriate places where it will allow entrepreneurs to sell alcoholic beverages even in non-stationary outdoor cafes. Already in 2017, the established distance of 40 meters from the stationary coffee will be canceled.
Liberal Aušrinė Armonaitė is pleased that the rulers said they had been worth it: “The peasants are beginning to lift some of their bans before the elections and it is great that after three years of our efforts, they have heard just before the elections”.
Health Minister Aurelius Veryga, who for many compatriots is like a symbol of the fight against alcohol and prohibitions, said that the dismissal of the reins was not his idea: “It is a relaxation. The law left more room for self-determination, but in my opinion, of course, we could not have rushed with those decisions, but there are other opinions, which were finally decided with my colleagues in the group. “
According to a recent study by the Department of Drug, Tobacco and Alcohol Control, more than half of the surveyed Lithuanian population favors restrictions on the alcohol trade.
If the president approves these amendments, the law will take effect on August 1 of this year.
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