Most countries in
Europe have set 18 as the minimum age to purchase alcohol. Although
Austria,
Belgium,
Denmark,
Germany,
Gibraltar,
Liechtenstein,
Luxembourg,
Malta,
Portugal and
Switzerland (except
Ticino) maintain a minimum purchase age below 18 years, minors are permitted either full or limited access to alcohol. In 2005, 2007 and 2015 harmonization at the
European Union level toward a minimum purchase age of 18 was discussed, but not agreed. Timeline of changes to drinking/purchase age or laws restricting the access to alcohol for minors: • In 2002 the Spanish autonomous communities of
Madrid,
Valencia and
Catalonia raised their minimum purchase age to 18 years. Previously, Valencia and Madrid had a minimum purchase age of 16 years, and in Catalonia minors aged 16 or 17 could purchase alcohol up to 23% ABV on- and off-premise. • In 2004
Denmark raised its off-premise purchase age from 15 to 16 years. • In November 2005 Switzerland passed its Food and Commodities Regulation (German: Lebensmittel- und Gebrauchsgegenständeverordnung), introducing a ban on alcohol sales to anyone under the age of 16. The Alcohol Law (German: Alkoholgesetz) passed in 1980 requires a minimum age of 18 years for the retail sale of distilled spirits. Therefore, it is prohibited to sell fermented alcohol (e.g.
beer,
wine,
sparkling wine or
cider) to anyone under the age of 16, and any distilled alcohol beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years. The canton of Ticino has a cantonal law since 1989 that makes the purchase age limit for all alcohol beverages 18 years. • In 2006 the Spanish autonomous community
Castile and León raised its minimum purchase age from 16 to 18 years. • In late 2006,
Gibraltar lawmakers passed the
Children and Young Persons (Alcohol, Tobacco and Gaming) Act 2006, which raised the minimum purchase age from 16 to 18 years. But the new law made an exception: minors aged 16 or 17 can purchase and consume beer, wine or cider under 15% ABV on-premise, and pre-packed containers of an alcohol strength not exceeding 5.5% ABV (e.g.
alcopops). • In 2009
France raised its minimum purchase age to 18 years, and fines were increased for selling or serving alcohol to a minor (up to €7,500). Previously, the minimum age was 16 years for off-premise and on-premise purchases of low-alcohol beverages (up to 3% ABV) such as wine, beer, cider, perry, mead, crème de cassis and juices from fermented fruits or vegetables that contain 1.2 to 3° alcohol, natural sweet wines from controlled cultivation and 18 for higher-ABV beverages. • In October 2009, the government of
Malta passed a new law raising its drinking and purchase age from 16 to 17 years. • In 2010 the Spanish autonomous community of
Galicia raised its minimum purchase age from 16 to 18 years. • In 2011
Denmark passed a law raising the minimum age for off-premise sale of alcohol beverages of >16.5% ABV to 18 years of age. The minimum age to purchase alcohol beverages of <16.5% ABV remains 16. • In March 2012
Moldova raised the minimum purchase age to 18, from 16 previously. • , the minimum legal purchase and consumption age was raised from 16 to 18 in the
Netherlands. Previously young people over the age of 16 could purchase and consume alcohol beverages of <15% ABV, and those aged 18 and over could purchase all alcohol beverages. • , the Spanish autonomous community of
Asturias raised its drinking age from 16 to 18 years. Asturias was Spain's last community with a drinking age of 16 years. The new law brings the drinking age into line with the rest of Spain, with the exception of Balearic Islands where no purchase age limit is set. • In 2013 the government of
Portugal restricted alcohol sales to young people: distilled spirits cannot be sold to anyone under the age of 18, and other alcohol beverages (e.g. beer, wine, or cider) cannot be sold to anyone under the age of 16. Previously the minimum age for all alcohol beverages was 16 years. ,
Portugal harmonized its minimum drinking age to 18 years across all beverage types. Previously the purchase age was 16 years for low-alcohol beverages such as beer, wine or cider. • ,
Lithuania raised its minimum drinking age from 18 to 20 years. } • It is illegal for persons under 14 to be given alcohol, and then only for medical purposes. • It is prohibited to sell, serve, or offer alcohol beverages to anyone under the age of 18. Minors are prohibited to consume alcohol beverages in public and the police can confiscate alcohol from under 18s in public. ==Oceania==