EHYT: Alcohol law changes must be re-prepared

Heikki Luoto

23.02.2026 - Ehkäisevä päihdetyö EHYT ry has issued a statement calling for the current reform of Finland’s Alcohol Act to be prepared again. As a national organisation working on preventive substance abuse, EHYT questions both the substance of the proposal and the way the legislative process has been handled.

Ehkäisevä päihdetyö EHYT ry has expressed serious concern about how the ongoing reform of Finland’s alcohol law has been prepared. According to EHYT, the law has been amended in parts, without a comprehensive assessment of all health, social, and economic impacts. Documents published by the Parliamentary Social Affairs and Health Committee show that the EU law assessment has also been incomplete. Based on these documents, EHYT argues that the interests of Finnish citizens have not been sufficiently considered.

On 19 February 2026, the Social Affairs and Health Committee discussed a legislative proposal that would allow home delivery of alcohol, cross-border distance sales, and increased marketing. During the meeting, a previously confidential memorandum from 16 November 2022 was presented. It concerned a meeting between the European Commission and Finnish officials. According to the memorandum, the Commission had been willing to discuss percentage limits for cross-border distance sales. The Commission reportedly considered Finland’s earlier proposal, limiting distance sales to products up to 5.5 percent alcohol content, to be clear and possible.

However, the current proposal was not discussed with the European Commission during its preparation, even though the Commission had earlier expressed openness to percentage limits. Instead, it was suggested during the drafting process that EU law would not allow such restrictions. EHYT had requested access to EU Pilot procedure documents from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, but these were not disclosed due to the ongoing process. The documents now indicate that no negotiations with the Commission have taken place during the current government term. According to EHYT, the confidentiality of these documents limited public and expert discussion and contributed to the perception that the government’s proposal was the only EU-law compliant option.

EHYT’s Development Director, Heikki Luoto, states that allowing distance sales of alcoholic beverages up to 80 percent alcohol content without assessing alternatives represents irresponsible policy. He argues that permitting distance sales of all alcoholic beverages and favoring foreign production is a political choice, not a legal necessity. According to EHYT, such a decision would weaken public health, increase costs for taxpayers, reduce tax revenues, and place Finnish companies at a disadvantage compared to foreign competitors.

EHYT also maintains that the preparation has not followed Parliament’s previously expressed will. During the previous comprehensive reform of the alcohol law, Parliament unanimously required that any legislation on distance sales must ensure that Alko’s retail monopoly and the equal position of Finnish companies are not jeopardized. EHYT notes that during the consultation round, several bodies, including Valvira and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), supported aligning distance sales limits with domestic retail limits. According to EHYT, these statements were not taken into account.

The preparation has referred to the Supreme Court decision KKO:2025:71. However, EHYT emphasizes that the case concerned the definition of distance sales in taxation and did not provide a general ruling on whether alcohol distance sales are permitted or prohibited under the Alcohol Act. The Supreme Court applies existing law and does not determine what the law should be. Legislative power belongs to Parliament. As an EU Member State, Finland must comply with EU law, and the final interpretation rests with the Court of Justice of the European Union. According to the now public documents, the European Commission would have been prepared to accept percentage limits if Finland had pursued them.

EHYT concludes that it is time for an open discussion about the government’s alcohol policy. The main objective of the current Alcohol Act is the prevention of harm. According to EHYT, recent developments have instead promoted harm. The organization calls on Parliament to suspend the handling of the proposal and return it for new preparation.

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Source: EHYT ry