Norway considers expanding farm sales of alcohol amid EEA concerns

Inger Lise Hansen 

01.09.2026 - Norway is considering a significant expansion of direct alcohol sales from producers, a move that Actis warns could weaken Vinmonopolet and raise questions about whether the Norwegian alcohol retail system remains compatible with EEA rules.

The debate follows a 2023 decision by the Norwegian Parliament asking the government to examine how farm sales of alcohol could be expanded, using the Swedish model as a reference. The government later commissioned law firm Lund & Co to assess the legal room for such a change under the EEA Agreement.

According to Actis, the legal assessment found a significant risk that expanding the scheme to include products such as beer, strong beer and wine could trigger objections under EEA law.

In May 2026, the Norwegian Parliament's Standing Committee on Business and Industry asked the government to return as soon as possible with proposals for the necessary legislative changes. The government has now sent a proposal for expanded farm sales out for consultation, with a deadline of 5 September 2026.

Under the current system, producers can sell certain alcoholic beverages containing between 4.7 and 22 percent alcohol directly from the production site. In practice, this includes cider, mead and fruit or berry wines, but not grape wine. Each sales outlet may sell a maximum of 15,000 litres per year.

Actis opposes extending the scheme to wine, beer and spirits that are currently sold through Vinmonopolet.

“Opening up for the sale of wine, beer and spirits outside Vinmonopolet is a mistake,” Actis Secretary General Inger Lise Hansen has warned.

Actis argues that the issue is not only about small-scale producers or tourism, but about the wider basis for Norway's alcohol retail monopoly. Vinmonopolet operates as a non-discriminatory state monopoly, treating Norwegian and imported products under the same rules. This is an important reason why the system is accepted under the EEA Agreement despite rules on the free movement of goods.

According to Actis, allowing selected Norwegian producers to sell alcohol directly outside Vinmonopolet could raise questions about whether domestic producers are receiving an advantage that is not equally available to producers elsewhere in the EEA.

Actis points to Iceland as an important warning. Like Norway, Iceland has a state alcohol monopoly, but has gradually opened more sales channels outside it, including direct producer sales. EFTA's surveillance authority, ESA, is now examining whether Iceland's alcohol sales arrangements remain compatible with the EEA Agreement.

ESA has not concluded that Iceland is violating EEA rules, but Actis argues that the investigation shows that the relationship between farm sales, wider liberalisation and the continued existence of a state alcohol monopoly is a real legal issue.

“There is, after all, a limit to how far an alcohol monopoly can be hollowed out before it is challenged,” Hansen said, according to Actis.

Actis also warns that an initial expansion could create pressure for further liberalisation. Once more products or producers are allowed outside Vinmonopolet, pressure could increase for higher sales volumes, broader eligibility, more marketing and eventually stronger alcohol sales in ordinary grocery stores.

For Actis, the core issue is public health. The organisation argues that alcohol should not be treated as an ordinary consumer product and that Norwegian alcohol policy should primarily be understood as health policy.

Actis maintains that the combination of limited availability, restrictions on marketing and the state retail monopoly has helped Norway keep alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm lower than in many comparable countries. It warns that a series of small liberalising measures can gradually weaken this model, even if each individual change appears limited.

Actis therefore believes the government should ultimately reject an expansion of the current farm sales scheme. If the proposal nevertheless moves forward, the organisation argues that it should be tightly restricted.

Its proposed principles include requiring sales to take place at the production site, linking sales clearly to tourism and the overall character of the location, limiting both annual sales volumes and purchases per visit, and restricting eligibility to small-scale or niche producers.

With the consultation deadline approaching on 5 September, the Norwegian debate is increasingly about more than whether tourists should be able to buy alcohol directly from producers. It is also about how far Norway can liberalise alcohol sales without weakening the public health and legal foundations of Vinmonopolet.

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Source: Actis