‘Liberty not libertinism’ – small business secretary defends alcohol ban

The Parliamentary Secretary for small business Jason Azzopardi has publicised a letter he sent to the GRTU today, after the chamber for SMEs accused him of pushing an alcohol ban on confectioneries against their will.

Azzopardi published minutes of a meeting with the GRTU in which the chamber demanded that a legal notice asking confectioneries to either forgo their wines and spirits licences, or close at 9pm, gets amended. Their specific demands were that confectioneries are not forced to close at 9pm.

“GRTU president Paul Abela specifically told me, on the eve of the amended legal notice, that the most important thing and of principle was that confectioneries won’t have to close at 9pm,” Azzopardi said.

The Chamber of SMEs (GRTU) says it wants the legal notice banning the sale of alcohol from confectioneries after 9pm, withdrawn. The law, described by the GRTU as retrograde, isintended at curbing so called ‘bottle-shops’ and street hawkers from selling alcohol outside entertainment areas like Paceville.

Azzopardi today also said that confectioneries have been prohibited from selling alcohol since 2002. "We humbly accepted your demands to allow confectioneries to stay open after 9pm, as long as they don't sell alcohol after that hour to respect the legal notice 186 of 2007," Azzopardi said.

Azzopardi also said that government suggested in meetings with the GRTU to give local councils the power to designate the closure of confectioneries selling alcohol after 9pm, if there is need. "Both you [Vince Farrugia] and Paul Abela vociferously disagreed with this suggestion."

GRTU director-genral Vince Farrugia said today it was unacceptable that retailers are burdened with the responsibility of people’s social behaviour, in this case alcohol abuse. “If this was a policy, the list of legal goods sold today without any restriction would dwindle drastically if such goods were abused.”

Azzopardi said that it was in consultation with the GRTU that penalties against the abusive retail of alcohol were made harsher. "We salute the law-abiding self-employed... This government is in favour of liberty, but not libertinism."

Azzopardi also said that GRTU vice-president Philip Fenech, who had actively campaigned for curbs on so called 'bottle shops' outside Paceville, who agreed with the original legal notice in March to have shops choose to either retain their wines and spirits licence and close at 9pm, or forgo the licence and stay open.

The GRTU has said the law restricts consumers from buying alcohol after a certain hour and from certain shops. “It is not government’s role to interfere in the market’s competitive structure and the GRTU is going to take legal steps as laid down in EU law.”

The GRTU also complained of “the resumption of the spectre of unnecessary police presence” inside shops and penalties against retailers. “We totally stand against the threats of suspensions of licences for six months and harsh penalties. A retailer’s livelihood and his family’s and employees’ depends on this business. For confectioneries and food stores, six months of closure means thousands of euros in wasted goods.”

The GRTU said the government was treating the self-employed like criminals and that the rules were being piloted by the parliamentary secretary responsible for small business and the self-employed, Jason Azzopardi.

Farrugia said only professional surveillance would prove effective against this phenomenon, using modern technology and specifically trained enforcement officers. “It is a problem of a social nature not commercial, and retailers should not be made to suffer because the authorities are incapable of resolving a problem through more efficient surveillance.”