Scottish minimum alcohol pricing may breach EU law

Scotland's plan to introduce a minimum price for alcohol risks breaching European Union law. Edinburgh should explore other ways to protect public health such as increasing tax, a senior adviser to the European Court of Justice said on Thursday (3 September).

Advocate General Yves Bot said in his opinion for court judges that a member state can impose a minimum price, which restricts trade and distorts competition, only if this system was superior to an alternative measure.