Polish parliament debates sweeping alcohol restrictions amid lobbying claims and EU objections

Parliamentary work on revising Poland’s anti-alcohol law is progressing, with the Health Committee forwarding a report to a second reading. Lewica’s draft originally prohibited all alcohol advertising and sales at fuel stations and during night hours, while the Polska 2050 version added a ban on advertising non-alcoholic drinks and expanded municipal powers to limit sales times. Both texts contain radical clauses, such as eliminating small-store beer sales and imposing fines up to one million złoty for broad definitions of alcohol promotion.

Opposition figures Janusz Kowalski and Bartłomiej Pejo claim the bills reflect ordinary lobbying by the spirit industry and would shift consumption toward vodka, harming breweries, pubs, sports financing and cultural traditions. The European Commission, together with Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, France and Denmark, has raised objections under the EU’s TRIS procedure, warning of possible violations of Article 34 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU; Poland has not yet submitted a formal response. The legislation now proceeds to a second reading in the Sejm, then to the Senate and ultimately the president’s desk.