Today came the first comment from the EU Court of Justice, which according to the Swedish Minister for

Public Health and Social Services Morgan Johansson, should be regarded as a victory for the Swedish alcohol monopoly.

The Swedish customs confiscates alcohol at the Swedish border because the Swedish Government wants us tho have

the benefits of EU and exceptions but not follow the directions and regulations of EU. In contrast to this, Sweden seems

to think we can meddle in other EU countries affairs. This is the case with prostitution in Germany during the upcoming

football world championship where Sweden has directed harsh criticism towards the German Football Association for

not "taking their responsibility". Sweden seems to think they are better than other EU countries and no-one should

determine what we should do. http://www.dearmrb.se is a good example of how the Swedish Government thinks they

have succeeded better than other countries and tries to give pointers to what is right and wrong.

At the same time as the Swedish Government buys vineyards and alcohol brands in Europe and the rest

of the world, the people of Sweden are not allowed to engage in trade with other EU countries. We are

told that the reason we have monopoly on sales on alcohol in Sweden are for health reasons, but it

agrees very badly with the Swedish Governments fierce alcohol advertising within VS Group. The

Systembolaget's assortment is hard to get in to and treats a lot of importers unfairly who are not chosen

for the assortment of ends up in the reservation section, which the majority of the Swedish people finds

too difficult to order from in the first place.

20 per cent of the Systembolaget range comes from the governmental VS Group. Since 1999, as our former

Minister for Industry and Trade Björn Rosengren created a scandal in Sweden as well as Norway by saying

that "Norway is the last Soviet State", the joke among Swedes has been that it is actually Sweden, not Norway,

that is the last Soviet State.

The people of Sweden can see few advantages about being part of the EU and question all exceptions we enjoy

and think that EU goes against its own basic principles when they close their eyes to Sweden's alcoholic

monopoly that negatively affects small businesses. With a scarce victory, the Swedish people chose not to be a

part of the EMU, although almost half of the Swedish population is positive to take the step and become full

members of the EU. But if this is to happen, it is important for the EU to keep to their basic principles and not hand

out too many exceptions to their members.

Stockholm, March 30 2005

Peder Molin