§ Mr. Nicholas BakerTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make representations to the European Commission about the benefits to customers, tenants and independent brewers of the tied house system. [37551]
Mr. John M. TaylorThe block exemption which deals with the tie between brewer and landlord will first be considered as part of a wider debate on the treatment of distribution agreements under EC competition law. The Commission will publish a Green Paper on this issue later this year. Consideration of specific types of agreement such as the tie will follow on from this Green Paper. At that stage, I will be making representations to the European Commission on the tie.
To that end, I am inviting those involved in the beer industry to provide me with their views on the future of this important regulation.