Europeanisation of the Nordic Alcohol Monopoly Systems Collisions between Ideologies and Political Cultures 1

Abstract

The decisions of Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in 1993 to participate in the EEA, implied that the EU had become a more significant political community for policies and institutions in the Nordic nation-states. By reference to the obligations of the EEA Treaty and the EC Treaty respectively, the established alcohol monopoly systems in these countries were challenged by the EU and subsequently transformed. This transformation represents a break with the identity, traditions and dynamics of the Nordic alcohol monopolies. An examination of two collisions between ideologies and political cultures associated with the Nordic countries on the one hand, and the EU on the other, increase the understanding of why and how this transformation occurred. This process illustrates how market considerations have gained ground over health aspects, and how policy-making to an increasing extent is characterised by less national and democratic control.