Equalization of excise burden on strong alcoholic beverages a prerequisite for joining the EU

Within the project "Prepare 2 Participate" implemented by the European Policy Center, NALED and the European Western Balkans portal, a brief analyis has been made on the existing Excise Law, along with recommendations for amendments that would contribute to harmonization with the current European Union directives.

One of the key recommendations is the harmonization of excise burden on strong alcoholic beverages, as a prerequisite for opening negotation chapter 16, related to taxation. The European Commission reports from 2016 and 2017 indicated unequal excise burden on imported coffee and locally procesed coffee, as well as various categories of strong alcoholic beverages, as the key problem for opening this negotiation chapter. Amendments to the Excise Law from 2018 eliminated discrimination in terms of amount of excise on imported and local coffee products, but it missed the opportunity to also harmonize the excise treatment of strong alcoholic beverages. Amendments made this year have also failed to resolve this problem, so Chapter 16 will most likely remain closed for negotiations. The complete analysis can be downloaded via the following link.

The project "Prepare 2 Participate" is financed by the Delegation of European Union in the Republic of Serbia within Civil Society Facility Programme (CSF) aimed at strengthening the democracy and the EU integration process by empowering civil society to engage more actively in decision-making. 

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