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SPANISH LAW

Spain’s Galicia to ban minors from drinking energy drinks

Authorities in the northwestern region of Galicia are looking to pass legislation which will fine under-18s who own or drink energy drinks between €600 and €3,000, the same penalties as for small amounts of illicit drugs. 

Published: 10 November 2023 16:23 CET
Spain’s Galicia to ban minors from drinking energy drinks
The draft law remains open to suggestions until November 28th, but Galicia’s Xunta expects the legislation to come into force in early 2024. Photo: Jorge Franganillo/Unsplash

Galicia plans to wage war on energy drinks with eye-opening legislation that will prohibit their ownership and consumption among minors. 

The Xunta regional government has presented a draft law that in effect classifies taurine-based drinks by brands such as Red Bull and Monster in the same category as alcohol, illegal for those who are under age in Spain. 

The fines the law plans to hand out to misbehaving kids and teens – or presumably their parents – will range from a minimum of €600 to €3,000, similar amounts can be given to people of all ages caught with small amounts of cocaine, cannabis or other illicit substances.

READ MORE: What are the penalties for drug possession in Spain?

However, the most serious crimes (mass sale of energy drinks to minors, for example) could see offenders receive far stiffer penalties – between €15,025 and €600,000. 

If the law is passed, vendors will have to ask customers who could be under the age of 18 for ID if they are looking to buy these drinks.

It will no longer be possible to sell them in vending machines or establishments where minors could have easy access to said beverages, nor will energy drink advertising that targets young people be permitted.

Even in bars and nightclubs in the region where minors are not allowed, 2 for 1 promotions involving bebidas energéticas will be banned.  

According to the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN), the regular and excessive consumption of energy drinks can pose a health problem for consumers.

Drinking more than 200 millilitres of these drinks reportedly causes sleep disturbances in teenagers due to their high caffeine content, whilst consuming 500 millilitres can lead to psychological side effects, behavioural alterations and cardiovascular disorders.

The draft bill also looks to tighten legislation for tobacco and vaping products in the region of 2.7 million inhabitants.

The draft law remains open to suggestions until November 28th, but Galicia’s Xunta expects the legislation to come into force in early 2024.

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POLITICS

‘Pedro stay!’: Thousands of Spanish PM’s supporters take to the streets

Thousands of supporters of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez rallied at the headquarters of his Socialist party imploring him not to step down over a graft investigation against his wife.

Published: 27 April 2024 15:50 CEST
'Pedro stay!': Thousands of Spanish PM's supporters take to the streets

The 52-year-old, who has been in office since 2018, stunned Spain on Wednesday when he put his resignation on the line after a Madrid court opened a preliminary investigation into suspected influence peddling and corruption against his spouse Begona Gomez.

Sanchez said he would suspend all public duties until he announces his decision on Monday. The normally hyperactive premier has since remained out of sight and silent.

“I need to stop and think whether I should continue to head the government or whether I should give up this honour,” he wrote in a four-page letter posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Supporters on Saturday held up placards saying “Spain needs you”, “Pedro don’t abandon us’, and shouted slogans such as “Pedro leader”.

“I hope that Sanchez will say on Monday that he will stay,” said Sara Domínguez, a consultant in her 30’s, adding that his government had “taken good steps for women, the LGBT community and minorities”.

Jose María Diez, a 44-year-old government official who came from Valladolid in northern Spain to express his support, said there was a real possibility that the far-right could take power if Sanchez quit.

“This will mean a step backwards for our rights and liberties,” he warned.

Inside the party headquarters, there were similar passionate appeals.

‘Pedro stay’

“Pedro stay. We are together and together we can … take the country forward, Spain can’t step back,” said Budget Minister Maria Jesus Montero, the government number two.

“Today all democrats, all progressives, are summoned to Madrid against a pack whose only aim is to overthrow a democratic and legitimate government,” said Felix Bolanos, Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Parliamentary Relations.

At one point, Socialist leaders took to the streets to thank those gathered. “They won’t succeed,” government spokeswoman Pilar Alegria told the crowd.

The court opened the investigation into Sanchez’s wife in response to a complaint from anti-corruption pressure group Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), whose leader is linked to the far right.

The group, which has presented a litany of unsuccessful lawsuits against politicians in the past, said on Wednesday its complaint was based on media reports and could not vouch for their veracity.

While the court did not give details of the case, online news site El Confidencial said it focused on links Gomez had to Spanish tourism group Globalia when carrier Air Europa was in talks with the government to secure a huge bailout.

The airline sought the bailout after it was badly hit by plunging paseenger numbers during the Covid-19 crisis.

At the time, Gomez was running IE Africa Centre, a foundation linked to Madrid’s Instituto de Empresa (IE) business school, which had signed a sponsorship agreement with Globalia in 2020.

Spain’s public prosecutors office on Thursday requested the dismissal of the investigation, which Sanchez said was part of a campaign of “harassment” against him and his wife waged by “media heavily influenced by the right and far right”.

If Sanchez decides to remain in office, he could choose to file a confidence motion in parliament to show that he and his minority government are still supported by a majority of lawmakers.

If he resigns, an early election could be called from July — a year after the last one — with or without Sanchez at the helm of the Socialist party.

The right-wing opposition has accused the prime minister of being irresponsible for putting the country on hold while he mulls his decision.

“It’s very clear to us that this is all a tactic… We know Pedro Sanchez and things with him always turn out like a soap opera,” Cuca Gamarra, the number two of the main opposition conservative Popular Party, said on Friday.

“He is making us all wait and the country is at a standstill,” she added.

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