Tourism Law in Europe

7 seating requires permit from the police authority. Due to the Swedish climate outdoor seating is only possible in the summer and in many regions and cities there are local restrictions for outdoor seating setting up periods during which it is permitted. Sweden has very strict politics on alcohol beverages. Almost every aspect of the providing of alcoholic beverages is regulated through the Act on Alcohol 9 . Apart from serving alcohol beverages in restaurants, there is a state monopoly, where the government owned company, Systembolaget AB, is the only one allowed to sell alcohol beverages to the public. Restaurants that want to serve alcohol beverages, need to apply for a permit with the local municipality. Bars and restaurants may only serve alcohol beverages if they also serve food. As a main rule a restaurant or bar is only permitted to serve alcohol beverages between 11.00 and 01.00. There are a few exemptions from this rule, where certain nightclubs have permits for the serving of alcohol after 01.00. 6. Transportation It is almost 1 600 km from the northern part of Sweden to the south. This has led to a well-developed infrastructure, for transports of goods and passengers by road, train, inland waterways and air. The different modes of transportation are regulated in detail by various acts. These acts regularly implement different EU directives or international conventions which has been entered into by Sweden, which means that the rules are quite similar to other EU member states. The Swedish Transport Agency is the authority in charge of all transport modes. 6.1. Railway There is a highly developed railway network in Sweden covering almost the entire country. The first railways was built from the middle of the 19 th century. After the second world war the entire network became national and the transportation of passengers by train was monopolised. This monopoly was carried out by SJ AB, a company fully owned by the state. The monopoly was abandoned in 2009 with the aim to get a wider range of 9 Alkohollag (2010:1622).