ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how the shift in the Nordic countries’ relations to the European Union has affected Finland, Norway, and Sweden in the realm of alcohol control. It looks at the general developments and history of the European integration, and the Nordic countries’ roles in it. The chapter deals with the general developments that led to the founding of the European Union (EU), and also looks at regulations concerning alcoholic beverages from an EU perspective. Restrictive alcohol control policies were supported by large-scale social forces, and temperance was considered by many to be “a key to a better life, high social morality and general welfare”. The chapter focuses on the processes that led to the challenge of the three components supporting the Nordic alcohol control model, namely the existence of state alcohol monopolies on production, import, and wholesale; the off-premise retail alcohol monopolies; and the high taxes on alcoholic beverages.
