2024-04-032023/24:SoU11 · p.2SoUHealth & social services
Swedish alcohol policy and the retail monopoly
Swedish alcohol policy and the position of the retail monopoly amid cross-border alcohol sales
What's at stake: A 2023 Supreme Court ruling opened the way for alcohol to be bought from other EU or EEA countries and transported to Sweden by a carrier engaged by the seller, which the reservation's proponents say risks undermining the legal standing of the retail monopoly. The decision therefore affects how far Sweden can go in independently steering access to alcohol and protecting public health.
Case texts and AI reasoning are AI-translated from the Swedish originals; the Swedish text is authoritative.
What the vote decides
The question is whether parliament should direct the government to set up a dedicated inquiry into restrictions on the commercial mediation of alcohol - prompted by a court ruling that opened the door to cross-border distance sales - in order to safeguard restrictive alcohol policy and the retail monopoly's standing, or whether the inquiries into alcohol policy instruments the government has already launched should proceed without such an addition.
Yes Yes — the committee proposal
The committee rejects the motions. The reason is that the government has already tasked a special investigator with evaluating the various instruments of alcohol policy in relation to the goal of reducing the medical and social harms of alcohol, and that an ongoing inquiry into nitrous oxide and related alcohol issues is also reviewing the rules on alcohol mediation and sales services and assessing the need for new regulation. Against that background, the committee does not see a need for parliament to take further action.
No No — the reservations
Reservation 2 (S, V, MP)
The reservation (S, V, MP) calls for the government to set up an inquiry tasked with proposing restrictions on the commercial mediation of alcohol that risk undermining the legal standing of the retail monopoly. The reason is that a 2023 Supreme Court ruling opened the way for distance sales of alcohol from other EU or EEA countries, which the reservation's proponents say challenges the intentions behind Sweden's restrictive alcohol policy, with its tools of import rules, age limits, the sales monopoly and price policy.
Summarised from the committee report. Party labels in the summary come from the report, not from the vote.
What do the votes mean here?
Yes The committee proposal: rejecting the motions (keeping things as they are).
No Backing the counter-proposal: reservation 2 by S, V, MP.
Abstain The party marks a position of its own that is not one of the two final alternatives.
The decision would have gone the other way
Explicit commitments that contradicted the vote: KDKristdemokraterna, LLiberalerna
Ja 173–128Nej 144–157
Counterfactual: the parties above are moved to the position their own documents explicitly point at, carrying their whole contingent present. Every other party keeps its real figures, including dissenters and absentees.
How the AI parties would have voted
For each party: what its own plan – election manifesto and party programme – argues for in this case, next to how the party actually voted. The AI can only answer Yes or No; a party can also abstain.
| AI | Vote | Confidence | Evidence | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V | No | No 0/21/0/3 | match | confidence: medium | not addressed |
| S | No | No 0/92/0/14 | match | confidence: medium | not addressed |
| MP | No | No 0/14/0/4 | match | confidence: medium | not addressed |
| C | Yes | Yes 21/0/0/3 | match | confidence: medium | not addressed |
| L | No | Yes 14/0/0/2 | differsagainst own programme | confidence: high | explicit |
| KD | No | Yes 15/0/0/4 | differsagainst own programme | confidence: high | explicit |
| M | Yes | Yes 60/0/0/8 | match | confidence: low | not addressed |
| SD | No | Yes 63/0/0/9 | differs | confidence: low | not addressed |
Committee proposal
The Riksdag rejects the motions 2023/24:465 by Karin Rågsjö et al. (V) call 10, 2023/24:1001 by Kalle Olsson and Anna-Caren Sätherberg (both S) and 2023/24:2617 by Fredrik Lundh Sammeli et al. (S) call 111.
Original (Swedish)
Riksdagen avslår motionerna 2023/24:465 av Karin Rågsjö m.fl. (V) yrkande 10, 2023/24:1001 av Kalle Olsson och Anna-Caren Sätherberg (båda S) och 2023/24:2617 av Fredrik Lundh Sammeli m.fl. (S) yrkande 111.
Riksdag decision: The Riksdag rejected approximately 100 proposals from motions on alcohol, narcotics and tobacco from the general motion period 2023. The motions addressed Swedish alcohol policy and the retail monopoly as well as narcotics policy. The Riksdag pointed to ongoing work.
Counter-proposals
- The counter-proposal wants to improve conditions for municipalities and regions to conduct alcohol and drug prevention work. (S, V, MP) — Reservation 2
Plan vs actual vote
Every party, in chamber order: what its own plan pointed to, how it voted, and the reasoning behind both. Highlighted rows are where the two differ — but a vote that follows the plan is a result too, so the reasoning is there for every party.
The plan wants to take back socially important activities that have been privatized and argues that market-fundamentalist competition rules that hinder social governance should be challenged and abolished.
Plan documents: party programme · 2022 manifesto
Reasoning and quotes
The plan wants to take back socially important activities that have been privatized and argues that market-fundamentalist competition rules that hinder social governance should be challenged and abolished. The counter-proposal wants to investigate restrictions against commercial alcohol mediation that undermines the retail monopoly's legal status, which is in line with the plan's defense of collectively owned monopolies against EU-driven deregulation. However, the plan is silent on alcohol policy as such.
Original (Swedish)
Planen vill ta tillbaka samhällsviktig verksamhet som privatiserats och menar att marknadsfundamentalistiska konkurrensregler som försvårar samhällsstyrning ska utmanas och avskaffas. Motförslaget vill utreda restriktioner mot kommersiell förmedling av alkohol som undergräver detaljhandelsmonopolets rättsliga ställning, vilket ligger i linje med planens försvar av gemensamt ägda monopol mot EU-driven avreglering. Planen är dock tyst om alkoholpolitiken som sådan.
- challenge free trade rulesdecisive»De marknadsfundamentalistiska konkurrens- och frihandelsregler som försvårar« (party programme ↗)“The market-fundamentalist competition and free trade rules that hinder”
- take back collective activities»Det är hög tid att agera och ta tillbaka den samhällsviktiga verksamhet och infrastruktur som har privatiserats.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It is high time to act and take back the socially important activities and infrastructure that have been privatized.”
- resistance to increased EU power»I det dagliga arbetet motsätter sig Vänsterpartiet generellt förslag som ökar EU:s makt« (party programme ↗)“In daily work, the Left Party generally opposes proposals that increase EU's power”
The plan states that democracy has precedence over the market and that the internal market must be provided with a clear framework of rules that takes social considerations into account.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The plan states that democracy has precedence over the market and that the internal market must be provided with a clear framework of rules that takes social considerations into account. Protecting the retail monopoly against commercial remote sales is precisely such a democratically decided framework around a market. The plan also binds the decisions to children's and young people's right to upbringing free from drugs, which justifies a restrictive alcohol policy.
Original (Swedish)
Planen slår fast att demokratin har företräde före marknaden och att den inre marknaden måste förses med ett tydligt regelverk som tar sociala hänsyn. Att skydda detaljhandelsmonopolet mot kommersiell distansförmedling är just en sådan demokratiskt beslutad ram kring en marknad. Planen binder också besluten vid barns och ungas rätt till en uppväxt fri från droger, vilket motiverar en restriktiv alkoholpolitik.
- democracy over the marketdecisive»Demokratin har därför företräde före marknaden.« (party programme ↗)“Democracy therefore has precedence over the market.”
- regulated internal market»den inre marknaden förses med ett tydligt regelverk« (party programme ↗)“the internal market is provided with a clear framework of rules”
- upbringing free from drugs»trygg uppväxt fri från droger och våld« (party programme ↗)“safe upbringing free from drugs and violence”
The party programme states that alcohol causes society enormous costs and great suffering, wants to ban alcohol advertising and maintains that member states shall be permitted to go ahead with stricter health legislation even if it conflicts with the EU's internal market.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The party programme states that alcohol causes society enormous costs and great suffering, wants to ban alcohol advertising and maintains that member states shall be permitted to go ahead with stricter health legislation even if it conflicts with the EU's internal market. Investigating restrictions on commercial alcohol mediation that undermines the retail monopoly follows from these commitments.
Original (Swedish)
Partiprogrammet slår fast att alkohol orsakar samhället enorma kostnader och stort lidande, vill förbjuda alkoholreklam och håller fast vid att medlemsländerna ska få gå före med hårdare hälsolagstiftning även om det strider mot EU:s inre marknad. Att utreda restriktioner mot kommersiell alkoholförmedling som undergräver detaljhandelsmonopolet följer av dessa åtaganden.
- national health protection before internal marketdecisive»hårdare lagstiftning till skydd för miljö och hälsa« (party programme ↗)“stricter legislation to protect the environment and health”
- alcohol's damaging effects»Alkohol och andra droger orsakar samhället« (party programme ↗)“Alcohol and other drugs cause society”
- ban on alcohol advertising»förbjudet, liksom reklam för spel och alkohol.« (party programme ↗)“banned, as well as advertising for gambling and alcohol.”
- policy instruments against harmful consumption»ska vara billigt, det som är dåligt ska vara dyrt och« (party programme ↗)“what is good should be cheap, what is bad should be expensive and”
The election manifesto goes in the opposite direction to the counter-proposal: it requires that farmgate sales of alcohol are allowed and describes today's sales ban for local producers as unreasonable.
Plan documents: 2022 manifesto · party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The election manifesto goes in the opposite direction to the counter-proposal: it requires that farmgate sales of alcohol are allowed and describes today's sales ban for local producers as unreasonable. Investigating new restrictions to protect the retail monopoly's position means building more barriers to sales and cross-border trade, which contradicts the plan's free trade and freedom principles. Therefore the requirement is rejected.
Original (Swedish)
Valmanifestet går i motsatt riktning mot motförslaget: det kräver att gårdsförsäljning av alkohol tillåts och beskriver dagens försäljningsförbud för lokala producenter som orimligt. Att utreda nya restriktioner för att skydda detaljhandelsmonopolets ställning innebär att bygga fler hinder mot försäljning och gränsöverskridande handel, vilket strider mot planens frihandels- och frihetsprinciper. Därför avvisas kravet.
- allow farmgate salesdecisive»Det är orimligt att lokala producenter av alkoholhaltiga drycker inte kan sälja sina produkter till besökare.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It is unreasonable that local producers of alcoholic beverages cannot sell their products to visitors.”
- against trade barriers»Tullar och handelshinder begränsar konsumenters och producenters val.« (party programme ↗)“Tariffs and trade barriers limit consumers' and producers' choices.”
- openness over closed borders»Sverige behöver mer frihandel och internationellt samarbete, inte protektionism och stängda gränser.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden needs more free trade and international cooperation, not protectionism and closed borders.”
- freedom from paternalism»frihet från tvång, våld och förmynderi« (party programme ↗)“freedom from coercion, violence and paternalism”
The plan explicitly states that Systembolaget's retail monopoly shall be retained and that Sweden shall have a restrictive alcohol policy where total consumption is kept down.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The plan explicitly states that Systembolaget's retail monopoly shall be retained and that Sweden shall have a restrictive alcohol policy where total consumption is kept down. Commercial intermediation that undermines the monopoly's legal status thus goes against the plan's stated line. To investigate restrictions against such intermediation is precisely what the commitment to retain the monopoly requires.
Original (Swedish)
Planen slår uttryckligen fast att Systembolagets detaljhandelsmonopol ska behållas och att Sverige ska ha en restriktiv alkoholpolitik där totalkonsumtionen hålls nere. Kommersiell förmedling som undergräver monopolets rättsliga ställning går därmed emot planens uttalade linje. Att utreda restriktioner mot sådan förmedling är just vad åtagandet att behålla monopolet kräver.
- retain the retail monopolydecisive»Systembolagets detaljhandelsmonopol ska behållas« (party programme ↗)“Systembolaget's retail monopoly shall be retained”
- restrictive alcohol policy»Sverige ska ha en restriktiv alkoholpolitik.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden shall have a restrictive alcohol policy.”
- low total consumption»den totala alkoholkonsumtionen hålls nere« (party programme ↗)“total alcohol consumption is kept down”
The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.
The party programme explicitly identifies sales monopoly and restrictive legislation as tools to reduce alcohol's harmful effects and sets the goal of low total consumption.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The party programme explicitly identifies sales monopoly and restrictive legislation as tools to reduce alcohol's harmful effects and sets the goal of low total consumption. The counter-proposal wants to investigate restrictions against commercial intermediation that undermine the retail monopoly's legal standing, which is precisely the tool the plan defends. The plan also accepts monopoly when public health reasons justify it.
Original (Swedish)
Partiprogrammet pekar uttryckligen ut försäljningsmonopol och restriktiv lagstiftning som verktyg för att minska alkoholens skadeverkningar och sätter målet låg totalkonsumtion. Motförslaget vill utreda restriktioner mot kommersiell förmedling som urholkar detaljhandelsmonopolets rättsliga ställning, vilket är precis det verktyget planen försvarar. Planen accepterar dessutom monopol när folkhälsoskäl motiverar det.
- sales monopoly as a tooldecisive»försäljningsmonopol och en restriktiv lagstiftning« (party programme ↗)“sales monopoly and restrictive legislation”
- low total consumption»alkoholskador genom en låg totalkonsumtion.« (party programme ↗)“alcohol harm through low total consumption.”
- monopoly for public health reasons»Monopol och konkurrensbegränsningar får endast förekomma undantagsvis,« (party programme ↗)“Monopoly and competition restrictions may only occur exceptionally,”
- age limits for alcohol purchase»Det ska finnas åldersgränser för« (party programme ↗)“There should be age limits for”
The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.
The documents say nothing about alcohol policy or the retail monopoly.
Plan documents: party programme · 2022 manifesto
Reasoning and quotes
The documents say nothing about alcohol policy or the retail monopoly. The closest principle is that market economy and choice are the foundation for prosperity, that the state alone cannot guarantee the diversity and that regulatory red tape shall decrease significantly. That a commission be appointed with instruction to draw up new restrictions against commercial provision of alcohol goes in the opposite direction to that principle.
Original (Swedish)
Dokumenten säger ingenting om alkoholpolitiken eller detaljhandelsmonopolet. Närmast liggande princip är att marknadsekonomi och valfrihet är grunden för välstånd, att staten inte ensam kan garantera mångfald och att regelkrånglet ska minska kraftigt. Att tillsätta en utredning med uppdrag att ta fram nya restriktioner mot kommersiell förmedling av alkohol går i motsatt riktning mot den principen.
- diversity and choicedecisive»Staten kan aldrig ensam garantera den mångfald och valfrihet som är en förutsättning för individens och samhällets« (party programme ↗)“The state can never alone guarantee the diversity and choice that is a prerequisite for the individual's and society's”
- reduced regulatory red tape»Ta bort en tredjedel av företagens administrationskostnader och en tredjedel av regelkrånglet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Remove a third of companies' administration costs and a third of regulatory red tape”
- limited state commitment»En stor stat leder till ett svagare samhälle.« (party programme ↗)“A large state leads to a weaker society.”
The documents do not address alcohol policy or the retail monopoly.
Plan documents: party programme · 2022 manifesto
Reasoning and quotes
The documents do not address alcohol policy or the retail monopoly. The closest principle is the value-conservative position of safeguarding society-bearing institutions and careful progress, and the requirement that Swedish control over its own welfare and regulatory models is secured against erosion by EU law. Based on these principles, the plan supports the counter-proposal's demands for restrictions against commercial intermediation that undermines the monopoly's legal standing.
Original (Swedish)
Dokumenten behandlar inte alkoholpolitiken eller detaljhandelsmonopolet. Närmast liggande princip är den värdekonservativa hållningen att slå vakt om samhällsbärande institutioner och ett försiktigt framåtskridande, samt kravet att svensk kontroll över egna välfärds- och regleringsmodeller säkras gentemot EU-rättslig urholkning. Utifrån dessa principer stöder planen motförslagets krav på restriktioner mot kommersiell förmedling som undergräver monopolets rättsliga ställning.
- protect society-bearing institutionsdecisive»Vi bejakar lag och ordning, gemensamhetsskapande traditioner, samhällsbärande institutioner och bevisat välfungerande naturliga gemenskaper i form av familjen och nationen.« (party programme ↗)“We affirm law and order, community-creating traditions, society-bearing institutions and proven well-functioning natural communities in the form of the family and the nation.”
- Swedish control against the EU»Svensk kontroll över vår arbetsmarknadsmodell och välfärdspolitik måste säkras för framtida generationer.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Swedish control over our labour market model and welfare policy must be secured for future generations.”
- careful progress»Sverigedemokraterna eftersträvar ett försiktigt framåtskridande som baseras på varsamhet, eftertanke och långsiktigt ansvarstagande.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden Democrats seek a careful progress based on caution, reflection and long-term responsibility.”
The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.
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Sources and documents
- The committee report on riksdagen.se (2023/24:SoU11)
- Committee report full text (HB01SoU11)
- Per-MP voting data (API)
- Case status (API)
Documents under consideration
- Motion 2023/24:1001 — Lex Winefinder av Kalle Olsson och Anna-Caren Sätherberg (båda S)
- Motion 2023/24:1037 — Tobaksfri generation 2040 av Anna Wallentheim och Sofia Skönnbrink (båda S)
- Motion 2023/24:1050 — Systematiska mätningar av narkotika av Roland Utbult (KD)
- Motion 2023/24:1107 — Avskaffande av Systembolagets monopol av Boriana Åberg (M)
- Motion 2023/24:1193 — Åtgärder för att minska rökning av Markus Wiechel (SD)
- Motion 2023/24:1240 — Företag inom besöksnäringen av Martina Johansson (C)
- Motion 2023/24:1260 — Modernisering av alkohollagen och slopande av sambandet mellan alkoholtillstånd och mat av Anders Ådahl (C)
- Motion 2023/24:1272 — Slopat matkrav för alkoholservering av Carl Nordblom (M)
- Motion 2023/24:1277 — Slopat tillstånd för provsmakning av gårdsproducerade alkoholhaltiga drycker av Carl Nordblom (M)
- Motion 2023/24:1283 — Ett förbud mot lustgasanvändning och skärpta begränsningar av försäljningen av lustgas av Rose-Marie Carlsson m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2023/24:1291 — Kriminalisering av fler substanser av Hanna Westerén (S)
- Motion 2023/24:136 — Förbud mot tillverkning och försäljning av cigaretter i Sverige av Björn Tidland (SD)
- Motion 2023/24:1438 — En utbildning, ett tillstånd - giltigt i hela landet av Ann-Sofie Lifvenhage (M)
- Motion 2023/24:1605 — Utvärdering av den svenska missbrukspolitiken av Niels Paarup-Petersen (C)
- Motion 2023/24:1608 — Införande av gårdsförsäljning av öl, vin och cider av Stina Larsson m.fl. (C)
- Motion 2023/24:1609 — Försäljning av öl och vin i licensierade livsmedelsbutiker av Niels Paarup-Petersen m.fl. (C)
- Motion 2023/24:1620 — Slopande av rökförbud på uteserveringar av Jonny Cato (C)
- Motion 2023/24:1626 — Sänkt ålder för inköp på Systembolaget av Niels Paarup-Petersen (C)
- Motion 2023/24:1633 — Sveriges 13 sämsta lagar av Rickard Nordin och Niels Paarup-Petersen (båda C)
- Motion 2023/24:1638 — Receptfria och mer tillgängliga naloxonläkemedel av Niels Paarup-Petersen (C)
Source: The Swedish Parliament