Germany moves to ban supervised alcohol consumption for minors

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's Health Minister Stefanie Drese has long advocated for ending the practice of allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to drink alcohol in public under parental supervision. Her efforts have now culminated in a decision by the federal cabinet to abolish this "supervised drinking."

Drese, a member of the SPD party, hailed the decision as a "major step for consistent youth protection and a great success for alcohol prevention." The proposed legislation will now be debated in the Bundestag. The draft law stipulates that individuals under 16 will no longer be permitted to consume or purchase alcohol, including beer, wine, or sparkling wine, in public, even if accompanied by their parents.

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a major step for consistent youth protection and a great success for alcohol prevention

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, under Drese's leadership, has been a driving force behind this change. In 2025, the state successfully initiated a proposal in the Bundesrat to end supervised drinking. The Conference of Health Ministers also passed resolutions supporting such measures at the state's behest. Drese emphasized that enabling young people to start drinking alcohol at 14 or 15 should not be normalized. She expressed a personal preference for an 18-year-old age limit, similar to neighboring countries, but views the 16-year-old threshold as a significant achievement given the need for broader parliamentary consensus.

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it should not be seen as normal to allow young people to start drinking alcohol at 14 or 15