The Brewers of Europe: Time to reconnect
Support for hospitality sector | The Brewers of Europe invite people all over Europe to join them in showing solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of bars, pubs, cafés and restaurants across Europe that had to shut down to slow the spread of coronavirus.
“Whilst the hospitality sector is now being invited to reopen, this must be done in a safe and sustainable way, which means social distancing, limited capacity, increased costs, fragile consumer confidence and reduced customer numbers.
As the situation remains challenging and delicate, we need you to be part of the conversation – share your stories of how your sector, business or experience has been during this time. How have you had to adapt? What were the challenges, and where are opportunities to innovate? How are you feeling about the reopening? How have you begun to reconnect with your customers?
Literally overnight, people lost the meeting spots where they would come together to relax and socialise. Businesses lost the connection to their consumers; suppliers lost their customers.
A revitalised hospitality sector will mean increased value, revenues and job creation throughout the value chain, helping to reignite the wider society and economy.
Within the challenging new environment, with decreased sales and loans to repay, these establishments, typically very small businesses, will need targeted, ongoing and continued support as consumer confidence gradually recovers”, said the official statement of the Brewers of Europe.
To ensure a safe and sustainable recovery and support those most hit by the shutdowns, the Brewers of Europe urge EU, national and local governments to pursue a number of options:
- a significantly reduce of VAT rate in the hospitality sector;
- grants and flexible loans that support hospitality businesses with liquidity;
- recovery of excise tax paid on unsold beer and review and reduce tax rates.
More information on the proposals and about the campaign launched by The Brewers of Europe can be found on reconnect.beer.
