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28 Sep 2012
The European Commission has challenged the Scottish Government’s plans to press ahead with minimum unit pricing for alcohol.
It follows formal objections from several European countries.
Scottish Conservative health spokesman and deputy leader Jackson Carlaw MSP said:
“The reason we decided to support minimum pricing was on the condition it was legally copper bottomed before going any further.
“It is extremely disappointing that the Scottish Government has continued the assertion that this was legally competent when it seems not to be the case.
“We want minimum pricing to work, and we gave our support on the condition it would be legally sound and that it could be dropped in future years if it wasn’t working.
“We await to see what will happen now, but any legal challenge in the European Courts could be both costly to Holyrood and cause significant delays.
“But it is better to address these legal issues now than several years down the line.”
