When and where are you allowed to drink in Europe?

In Europe, there exists currently no general legislation on the purchase and consumption of alcohol by young people. Therefore, there are big differences in age and circumstances in which that first drink may be consumed. Let’s straighten some things out.

In Belgium, we make a distinction between low-alcoholic beverages and strong drinks with a higher percentage. For example, you cannot sell, donate or offer alcohol to youngsters under the age of sixteen. After your sixteenth birthday you can buy and drink a pint but not a rum and coke or other strong liquor. You can only buy and drink those once you’re eighteen.
In France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Poland and the Czech Republic, you have to be eighteen to buy and drink any kind of alcoholic beverages.

Accompanied by your dad?

Germany has the same distinction as Belgium for sixteen and eighteen-year-olds, but still has a special exception. Youngsters between fourteen and sixteen years old may drink beer and wine when accompanied by their parents. So, when you’re traveling to Berlin as a fourteen year old with your parents, make sure to take them with you to a bar or pub. However, if you then misbehave, they will still be held accountable.

Don’t worry though, there are still other countries in Europe where you can quench your thirst as a minor. Indeed, some countries don’t even have a minimum age at all! For example, in Bulgaria you cannot buy alcohol under the age of 18, but you can drink it. The bottles you happen to get your hand on can be enjoyed to the fullest without having to worry about the legality of it all. In Romania you can basically do the same thing, but in the confounds of your (or someone else’s home). In Denmark and Cyprus you can already drink from the age of sixteen, but you can only enter a bar once you’re eighteen. A cool gesture from the legislators in Luxembourg and Italy is that you can choose any drink to celebrate your sixteenth birthday. Not too bad…

Expensive booze

In Finland, the rules are much stricter. You must be eighteen to buy any alcoholic drink. From then on you can buy beer, cider and other low-alcoholic beverages in the supermarket. For heavier beers, wine and spirits you must turn to Alko, a shop run by the Finnish state where prices are (very) high. You can only buy something if you are twenty and with a valid ID.

Even if you can buy an alcoholic drink legally and binge it with your friends, you still have to pay attention to what exactly you are going to do (and where you’re going to do it). For example, in the Netherlands, under the age of eighteen, young people may not consume alcoholic beverages in a public place. Having a cosy drink in the park is therefore punishable, but at home or in a pub it is possible (and legal). In Austria they take it one step further and there is a curfew for all minors in some parts of the country. There the government has the opinion that after a certain hour, teenagers should be in bed instead of sharing a pint with their friends. They should then lie in bed instead of hanging in the bed. Not sure if a nightcap is allowed.

Cheers!