The contribution made by beer to the European economy 2006 (ENG)

The Brewers of Europe commissioned a study on the economic impact of the brewing sector. The economic impact of the brewing sector has been analysed and described at both the level of Europe as a whole and at the level of individual countries. The study has focused on the 25 member states of the enlarged European Union (EU-25) and also on Norway, Switzerland, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.

The economic impact of the brewing sector has been described in terms of employment due to the production and sale of beer, the contribution to the European economy in terms of value added and in terms of tax revenues collected by national governments. In the study we have distinguished between the direct and indirect impacts of the brewing sector, with the latter describing both the impact on supply sectors to the brewing sector and the impact of the sale of
beer on the retail and hospitality sectors. The report therefore gives some measure of the contribution that the brewing sector is making to the EU’s aims, within the Lisbon Strategy, of ensuring a more dynamic and stronger EU economy in the future.