Scottish Minimum Pricing on Alcohol: The Court of Justice Speaks

The recent EU court preliminary ruling on Scotland’s alcohol minimum pricing illustrates the conflict in EU law between upholding the integrity of the internal market and allowing measures designed to protect public health, writes Arianna Andreangeli. She explains that the case has rested on whether minimum pricing or taxation can better achieve the public health objectives while limiting market distortions, and that debate will continue as the case returns to the Scottish courts.