CDU party conference against tax on sugary drinks

Germany’s conservative CDU does not want to tax sugary drinks to promote a healthier diet for children and young people.

The federal party conference in Stuttgart rejected the proposal by the Schleswig-Holstein state association on Saturday.

The motion proposed that the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, call for the introduction of a tax on drinks with a high sugar content. It was intended to incentivize a reduction in sugar with graduated rates and also called for consumers to be at least 16 when purchasing energy drinks.

Schleswig-Holstein’s premier, Daniel Günther, had appealed for support in the hall. A tax with a steering effect is needed to counteract “massive health problems,” he said, referring to obesity in children, for example.

Following the decision, Schleswig-Holstein’s CDU Secretary General Lukas Kilian explained that “even if the federal party conference did not follow our request, we will continue to push the issue from Schleswig-Holstein.”

The coalition in the northern state has offered a motion on the sale of energy drinks and the advertising of harmful products for children for the February plenary session of the state parliament next week.

Prior to the party conference, 46 medical and consumer associations had campaigned for the CDU to come out in favour of such a sugar tax.

The appeal was supported by the consumer organization Foodwatch, the German Medical Association, the German Dental Association and other medical associations.

Federal Agriculture Minister Alois Rainer has already rejected the idea of a sugar tax.