The Lithuanian parliament on Tuesday approved legislation allowing farmers providing rural tourism services to produce traditional home-distilled vodka.
The amendments to the Law on Alcohol Control were passed with 63 votes in favor, 15 against, and 22 abstentions.
The amended law defines a traditional alcoholic beverage made by a farmer as one with up to 65 percent alcohol by volume. It must be recognized as a national heritage product and produced by a farmer offering rural tourism services.
The legislation allows farmers to produce up to 100 liters of such a beverage per year, but it can only be used for personal or family needs or for on-site tasting. The drink cannot be sold or transported, and the equipment used must be marked with an identification number.
MP Vilius Semeska of the ruling conservative Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats said that the amendments finally legalize the production of traditional alcoholic beverages in Lithuania, which are currently only available illegally at regional festivals.
“Producers have to hide; they can be penalized. While the regulation is quite strict, it is beneficial for the regions and rural areas,” he told the parliament.
Agne Sirinskiene, a non-attached MP, criticized the amendments as contradicting the objectives of the Law on Alcohol Control.
“It is pathetic that the conservatives measure the level of civilization in a state by whether or not you can make strong alcohol at home,” she said.
Meanwhile, MP Eugenijus Gentvilas of the Liberal Movement described the amendments as the “legalization of cultural and gastronomic heritage.”
The parliamentary Committee on Economics said in early July that the European Commission did not object to the proposal to legalize the production of home-distilled vodka at rural tourism homesteads, as it did not provide any comments or a detailed opinion.
Source: BNS
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