Brussels Brewing
THE PUBLIC NEWSLETTER OF THE BREWERS OF EUROPE
ISSUE 2 – DECEMBER 2024
SEASONS GREETINGS FROM THE SECRETARY GENERAL
What a year 2024 has been! In Brussels (and often Strasbourg) it started off with the EU Institutions already winding down, or winding up, their legislative work. The European Commission, Parliament and Council looked to tie up loose ends, finalise what could be finished and quietly file away under “to be continued” whatever work couldn’t be finished! EU elections in June then shuffled in change as 50% of MEPs were replaced, the balance in the European Parliament shifted and new political groupings sprung up.
The Belgian Presidency of the Council handed over to the Hungarian Presidency mid-year and MEPs got to work with organising themselves into committees, creating new committees and grilling the candidates submitted (following proposals from the capitals) by the newly re-elected Ursula von der Leyen to make up her College of Commissioners. Then white smoke and the new Commission, as did the new President of the European Council, got to work on 1 December.
And all this was going on as war raged on at the EU’s eastern border, the EU economy continued to be buffeted and the US electorate chose its next President, all factors that are sure to have a big impact in 2025 too.
And I also had a big change this year too, taking up the job as Secretary General of The Brewers of Europe in the last throes of summer, with a packed calendar to the end of the year and the full knowledge that the European beer industry faces challenging times over the coming years, at the market and the policy level.
For now though, I wish you a pleasant read of this latest newsletter, a wonderful festive season and a happy new year. Cheers!
Julia Leferman
NEW EU COMMISSION TAKES OFFICE
With the new political leadership of the European Commission taking office on 1 December, we now have a clearer picture of which politicians are going to be leading on the priority dossiers for Europe’s beer industry over the next five years.
Whether it be the Agriculture & Food Commissioner, the Environment, Water & Circular Economy Commissioner, the Health Commissioner, or indeed any of the others, these people will have to decide whether a sustainable, responsible, prosperous beer industry should be placed at the heart of the EU’s growth and competitiveness mission. It’s well worth taking another look at the mission letters of the Commissioners to get an idea what will be top of their agendas.
RELAUNCH OF THE EUROPEAN BEER GROUP
On 3 December, MEPs Tomáš Zdechovský and Hannes Heide, the new Co-Presidents, relaunched the European Beer Group, which is the new manifestation of the long-running European Parliament Beer Club. With their ambition to have a cross-party network of MEPs from across the EU working in support of a responsible, sustainable and prosperous European beer sector, both Zdechovsky (Czech Republic – EPP) and Heide (Austria – S&D) have ambitions for a busy calendar of activities in 2025. There are now over 60 MEP members of the EBG, showing once again the capacity of beer to bring together people of all nationalities and backgrounds. Registration to the group remains open via the European Beer Group site.
EU’S PACKAGING AND PACKAGING WASTE REGULATION FINALLY ADOPTED
Following the legal-linguistic checks and adjustments to the compromise text hurriedly adopted in trilogue negotiations involving the Commission, Parliament and Council Presidency before the EU elections, the European Parliament approved the final text in November. This meant just one final step, the Member States’ approval – they adopted the PPWR without further amendments at the Environment Council meeting in Brussels on 16 December.
The European Commission expects publication of the Regulation in the second half of January 2025. Rather than the end of the process this actually heralds the start, or even the continuation, of discussions on the all-important secondary, implementing legislation. A Q&A session organised by the European Commission for literally hundreds of concerned stakeholder organisations, coincidentally also on 16 December, shows that this will by no means be plain sailing. Watch this space in 2025!
BEER SERVES EUROPE XI
On 3 December, The Brewers of Europe offices hosted the 11th edition of Beer Serves Europe, our annual flagship event bringing together 200 leaders from Europe’s brewing community and decision-makers from EU institutions. A celebration of European brewing, the event was also a serious opportunity to debate the issues that really matter for the brewing sector. We were delighted to welcome a distinguished panel to discuss what beer means for Europe – and how Europe can help brewing and the whole chain from grain to glass.
The discussions included Giulia del Brenna, the European Commission’s Head of Food, Retail and Health in DG GROW, who was emphatic about the importance of beer. “The brewing sector is a symbol of what the European Union is: united in diversity,” she said. We had Belgian Brewers CEO Krishan Maudgal, who said, “We need to push back on the demonisation of alcohol, in particular beer,” and we had EUROMALT Secretary General Gianluca Nurra, who underlined the value of his sector, recalling that European malt is used to brew one-third of beers worldwide.
But the fact is that we face challenges in our sector. Beer production, consumption and exports have fallen and the sector is still struggling to recover from the Covid pandemic and its aftermath. Many of the gains brewers, maltsters and the horeca had made in starting recovery from the pandemic were lost again thanks to new factors like high inflation, increased production costs, and rising prices for raw materials, energy and logistics.
However, we can recover. We face challenges – climate change, shifting consumer expectations, economic uncertainty – but we also have incredible strengths. And the energy, enthusiasm and support at Beer Serves Europe shows that beer has a bright future if given the right policy framework.
The event was topped off by a fantastic celebration of Hungarian beer (kindly provided by the members of the national brewers’ association and its Secretary General, Sándor Kántor) and food. Videos and photos from the event can be seen here and here.
LAUNCH OF THE 2024 BEER TRENDS REPORT
Our December event was also the moment for us to release the 2024 edition of the European Beer Trends Report, our annual snapshot of production, consumption and trade patterns. The European brewing industry is a dynamic reflection of our continent’s cultural, economic and social transformations. In the face of challenges that range from a global pandemic to economic turbulence, its importance shines through.
The Beer Trends Report offers valuable insights for brewers as they adapt to a landscape that demands innovation, sustainability and strategic agility. The Covid pandemic may be in our rear-view mirror, but its aftershocks are still being felt by the beer industry, particularly the on-trade sector, which includes bars, restaurants and pubs.
Whilst in 2022 we were able to witness a steady, but difficult recovery of over half the beer volumes lost during the pandemic, 2023 told a different story, with many of the gains falling back again, as economic pressures continued to bite and consumer spend decreased. High inflation, increased production costs, rising prices for raw materials, energy and logistics, coupled with reduced consumer spending power and changing consumer trends, have slowed production and export growth.
These factors sit alongside supply chain bottlenecks exacerbated by geopolitical instability, including the war in Ukraine. Beer production in the European Union reached 346 million hectolitres in 2023, more than 3% down on 2022. The hospitality sector, traditionally the lifeblood of the beer industry, continues to face pressures. Reinvigorating beer hospitality is absolutely crucial as this is where the majority of the value added and jobs are generated by beer.
One of the trends that is still just about bucking the trend is actually the continued proliferation of breweries. An estimated 9,723 breweries were operating in the EU by the end of 2023, up 40 since the previous year, but a far cry from the growth last decade when the EU was seeing a thousand new breweries popping up every year. Even if the numbers of breweries are increasing at not nearly the same annual rate they were, this still signals a continued appetite for innovation and diversity in beer offerings. The fragile situation, with many brewery closures in amongst the brewery openings, shows nevertheless how support is needed.
