Denmark & Germany: Danish government is to ask EC to intervene in beer cans’ dispute with Germany
Danish government is to ask the European Commission to intervene in a long dispute over cans of beer and other drinks, according to EUobserver. "We will now ask the Commission to make sure that the Germans do not export a waste problem and at the same time cause obvious unfair competition", the Danish trade and environment ministries said in a statement on Monday 27 March.
Each year, thousands of Danes cross the border to Germany for a few hours to buy 400 million cans of beer at cheaper prices. Danes have no obligation to pay the required recycling deposit in Germany’s border shops if they sign a so-called "declaration of export" stating they will take the cans out of Germany.
After the Danish retailers, this would amount to unfair competition, while environmentalists are concerned about the effects the cans will have on Denmark’s environment. In both countries, an extra fee is added to the price of canned beers in an attempt to make consumers return the cans for recycling and therefore limit the effect they might have on the environment.
But canned beers bought in Germany and brought to Denmark fall into a loophole and generally end up as waste in the Danish ecosystem. It takes 200 years for nature to break down a beer can, Danish environment Connie Hedegaard stated.
Germany promised to solve the problem by 1 May and Denmark is pressuring them to keep this promise.
"Apart from the environmental problems with German cans in Danish nature, there is also the obvious fact of unfair competition in the border area to the disadvantage of Danish retailers," trade minister Bendt Bendtsen. He said he will raise the topic when he meets German Chancellor Angela Merkel later this week.
Wstecz
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