EU overturns Sweden alcohol import ban

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled Sweden's ban on private consumers importing alcoholic beverages is an “unjustified quantitative restriction on the free movement of goods” under European Union (EU) law and cannot be legally justified by claim

The European Union (EU)'s top court ruled on Tuesday that
Sweden's monopoly on alcohol imports is unjustified, thus forcing the nation to
review its ban on importing alcohol.
"That measure is inappropriate for attaining the
objective of limiting alcohol consumption generally," the Luxembourg -based
court ruled.
The Swedish law, which limits citizens to buying alcohol in
the country from the state's own stores, was introduced in 1994 after alcohol
consumption increased 30 percent in a decade.
Eleven Swedes sued their home country after being barred
from receiving wine they had ordered online from Spain. While Swedes are
allowed to bring back alcohol themselves from other EU countries, they may not
have the drinks imported on their behalf such as via an Internet order or a
vineyard visited on vacation.
According to the EU rules, the Swedish courts must now rule
on the case in line with the EU judgment.