Alcohol Act requirements for food service and own kitchen

The party programme establishes that the party wants to see restrictive regulation of alcohol and tobacco and points to Systembolaget as an example of how public ownership sets a considered framework for private enterprise. Completely removing the requirement for food service and own kitchen for permanent serving license is deregulation in the opposite direction. The plan also links the alcohol issue to the broader public health work.

• restrictive alcohol policydecisive»Vi vill se en restriktiv reglering av alkohol och tobak.« (party programme ↗)“We want to see restrictive regulation of alcohol and tobacco.”
• public framework for alcohol trade»är ett bra exempel på hur vi genom gemensamt ägande kan ta ansvar« (party programme ↗)“is a good example of how through public ownership we can take responsibility”
• public health perspective»Vården behöver ses som en del i det bredare arbetet med folkhälsa.« (party programme ↗)“Care needs to be seen as part of the broader work on public health.”

The plan says nothing about alcohol law's requirement for food service and own kitchen. The closest commitments are children's and young people's right to an upbringing free from drugs and action against workplace crime in sectors like the restaurant industry, which speaks against completely abolishing conditions for serving permits. Deregulating permit review therefore has no support in the plan.

• upbringing free from drugsdecisive»och till en trygg uppväxt fri från droger och våld.« (party programme ↗)“and to a safe upbringing free from drugs and violence.”
• action against workplace crime»Krafttag mot arbetslivskriminaliteten.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Action against workplace crime.”

The party programme establishes that alcohol and other drugs cause society enormous costs and affected individuals great suffering, and the party wants to ban advertising for alcohol and invest long-term in public health. To completely remove the requirement for meal service and own kitchen for permanent serving licenses increases accessibility to alcohol. It goes against the plan's public health-oriented and restrictive view of alcohol.

• the harmful effects of alcoholdecisive»Alkohol och andra droger orsakar samhället« (party programme ↗)“Alcohol and other drugs cause society”
• restrictive alcohol policy»liksom reklam för spel och alkohol.« (party programme ↗)“such as advertising for gambling and alcohol.”
• public health as a priority»Vi menar att en långsiktig satsning på folkhälsa« (party programme ↗)“We believe that a long-term investment in public health”

The election manifesto explicitly drives a liberalisation of alcohol rules to strengthen the tourism industry and develop the countryside, and at the same time requires that unnecessary rules and bureaucracy be cleared out. The requirement for food service and own kitchen is precisely such a regulatory obstacle that limits which activities can get service permits. The plan therefore leads to support for the counter-proposal's requirement, even though the plan does not mention service permits in itself.

• liberalise alcohol rulesdecisive»Det är orimligt att lokala producenter av alkoholhaltiga drycker inte kan sälja sina produkter till besökare. Tillåt gårdsförsäljning av alkohol för att stärka besöksnäringen och utveckla landsbygden.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It is unreasonable that local producers of alcoholic beverages cannot sell their products to visitors. Permit farm sales of alcohol to strengthen the tourism industry and develop the countryside.”
• clear unnecessary rules»Dyra, krångliga och innovationshämmande regelverk ligger som en våt filt över delar av landsbygden. Vi ska rensa upp bland överflödiga regler och byråkrati.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Costly, complicated and innovation-hindering regulations lie like a wet blanket over parts of the countryside. We will clear out unnecessary rules and bureaucracy.”
• strengthen tourism industry»Det är viktigt för företagandet i våra gles- och landsbygder — såväl för de gröna näringarna som för den viktiga besöksnäringen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It is important for business in our sparsely populated and rural areas — both for the green industries and for the important tourism industry.”

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The party programme explicitly establishes that the requirement for meal service for alcohol service at restaurants shall be removed, which is exactly what the counter-proposal requests. The relief occurs within an otherwise restrictive alcohol policy where the state retail monopoly is kept and complemented with regulated licensed stores, so it applies to the serving sector and not to total consumption. The plan thus supports the counter-proposal's demand in substance.

• removed meal service requirementdecisive»Krav på matservering för alkoholservering på restaurang ska tas bort.« (party programme ↗)“Requirement for meal service for alcohol service at restaurants shall be removed.”
• continued restrictive alcohol policy»Sverige ska ha en restriktiv alkoholpolitik.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden shall have a restrictive alcohol policy.”
• kept retail monopoly»Systembolagets detaljhandelsmonopol ska behållas« (party programme ↗)“Systembolaget's retail monopoly shall be kept”
• regulated licensed stores»Licensbutiker ska, som komplement till Systembolaget och under reglerade former« (party programme ↗)“Licensed stores shall, as complement to Systembolaget and under regulated forms”

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's alcohol policy commitment is to minimize alcohol harm through low total consumption with the help of, among other things, a sales monopoly and restrictive legislation. Completely removing the food and kitchen requirement for permanent serving licence would loosen precisely that restrictive regulation. The plan's small business perspective weighs lighter, since the programme explicitly accepts competition restrictions for public health reasons.

• low total alcohol consumptiondecisive»alkoholskador genom en låg totalkonsumtion« (party programme ↗)“alcohol harm through low total consumption”
• restrictive alcohol legislation»försäljningsmonopol och en restriktiv lagstiftning« (party programme ↗)“sales monopoly and a restrictive legislation”
• competition restriction for public health reasons»Monopol och konkurrensbegränsningar får endast förekomma undantagsvis« (party programme ↗)“Monopoly and competition restrictions may only occur exceptionally”
• small business perspective on rules»Tillkommande lagar bör prövas ur ett småföretagarperspektiv.« (party programme ↗)“Incoming laws should be tested from a small business perspective.”

The plan says nothing about the alcohol act, but it is clear that complicated permit processes and regulatory burden prevent entrepreneurship and should be removed. A requirement for own kitchen and catering is precisely such a permit rule that excludes activities. Based on the commitment to remove one-third of red tape, the plan speaks for the counter-proposal's requirement.

• reduced red tapedecisive»Ta bort en tredjedel av företagens administrationskostnader och en tredjedel av regelkrånglet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Remove one-third of companies' administrative costs and one-third of red tape”
• simplified permit processes»höga skatter, krångliga tillståndsprocesser och byråkrati sätter käppar i hjulet för innovation och tillväxt« (2022 manifesto ↗)“high taxes, complicated permit processes and bureaucracy put sticks in the wheels of innovation and growth”
• good conditions for business»Villkoren för att starta, växa och expandera behöver vara goda« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The conditions for starting, growing and expanding need to be good”

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.

The plan lacks positions on alcohol policy but explicitly requires that unnecessary rules be removed where the costs to businesses do not match the benefit to society, and that small businesses' administrative burden be reduced. The requirement for food service and own kitchen is such a threshold that makes it difficult for smaller actors to enter the market. The plan thereby speaks in favour of the counter-proposal's requirement that the requirement be abolished.

• remove unnecessary rulesdecisive»För att få fler och växande företag är det viktigt att ta bort onödiga regler där kostnaderna för företagen inte motsvarar nyttan för samhället.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“To get more and growing businesses it is important to remove unnecessary rules where the costs to businesses do not match the benefit to society.”
• lower thresholds for small actors»Onödigt stränga villkor i branschstandarder och i upphandlingar gör det ofta svårt för mindre aktörer att slå sig in på marknaden.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Unnecessarily strict conditions in industry standards and in procurement often make it difficult for smaller actors to enter the market.”
• regulatory simplification for small businesses»Verka för regelförenkling och avlasta småföretagens administrativa börda« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Work for regulatory simplification and reduce small businesses' administrative burden”
• promote new business establishment»Skapa förutsättningar för nyföretagande och entreprenörskap« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Create conditions for new business establishment and entrepreneurship”

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.