Finland: EU prolonged Finland's right to curb the amount of beer that travellers could bring from Russia

EU prolonged Finland's right to curb the amount of beer that travellers could bring from Russia, aiding costlier Finnish retailers, bolstering tax revenue and addressing worries about drunkenness, The Moscow Times communicated on December 30.

Finland can limit beer carried by people arriving from non-EU countries including Russia to 16 liters until the end of 2007 under the European legislation published on Thursday. A current cap expires on December 31, and without an extension travelers would be allowed to bring an average 200 liters of beer into Finland from outside the EU.

"Between Finland and neighbouring Russia, there still exists a considerable disparity in prices," the European Commission said when recommending a prolongation in September. Cross-border shopping in this case has "negative consequences for retail shops and tax revenues" and causes "social and health problems," the commission said.

Finland applies a 16-liter cap on personal beer imports from non-EU nations through an exemption granted in 2000 from an EU law on the tax-free status of goods in the luggage of travelers. The current exemption allows for a cap of 6 liters, a limit that Finland has not fully applied, according to the commission.

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