GermanyAdvancing
Tax on sugar-sweetened beverages
Draft law approved by the federal cabinet on 14 October 2026.
Next: Bundestag vote; planned start 1 July 2027
Who decides how much sugar Europe eats?
SugarWatch Europe follows the rules that decide how much sugar ends up in Europe's food: taxes, labels, limits on advertising, court cases, and the lobbying around them. We are a small, independent non-profit.
In the press
Press review on sugar policy in Europe · updated 30 October 2026
France26 Oct 2026 · Just FoodFrench MPs vote to scrap the proposed tax on sugary processed foodsRead · EN
France22 Oct 2026 · LCPNational Assembly deletes the extension of the soda levy to sugary foods from the 2027 social security budgetRead · FR
Germany14 Oct 2026 · Lebensmittel PraxisCoalition agrees on a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks after months of disputeRead · DE
Germany14 Oct 2026 · Pharmazeutische ZeitungCabinet approves the sugar tax; the Bundestag vote is still to come and the issue splits the coalitionRead · DE
France30 Sep 2026 · LCPGovernment puts a new tax on sugary products on the table for the 2027 budgetRead · FR
Italy29 Sep 2026 · Money.itItaly's sugar tax heads for a ninth postponement in the 2027 budget lawRead · IT
Headlines summarised in English by SugarWatch Europe. Links open the original articles. Illustrative photos: Unsplash.
On our radar
Status at 30 October 2026 · All 11 filesFranceRejected
Levy extended to sugary foods
Deleted by the National Assembly on 22 October 2026, by 86 votes to 58.
Next: Senate debate, November 2026
EUIn court
Nutri-Score and front-of-pack labels
Case referred to the EU Court of Justice on 16 June 2026.
Next: Court of Justice ruling
ItalyPostponed
Tax on sugar-sweetened beverages
Postponed eight times since 2020. The 2027 budget bill would delay it a ninth time, to 1 July 2027.
Next: Parliament votes the budget, December 2026
Why added sugars
The World Health Organization recommends keeping free sugars below 10% of daily energy intake, and ideally below 5%. Surveys in Europe find that children get 11 to 17% of their energy from added sugars. Much of it comes with the food they are offered: recipes, prices, school meals, and the advertising aimed at them.
Governments decide a good part of this, in Brussels and in national capitals, and children and lower-income households have the most at stake.
What we stand for
Transparency
Who lobbies on which file, with what budget and how many meetings, taken from public registers.
Public health
What the research says about added sugars, including where the evidence is still weak.
Accountability
An announcement is not a rule. We track what the EU promises on sugar and what it actually adopts, and we use what Member States have done to argue for action at EU level.
Equity
Rules should protect children first, and the households with the least choice about what they buy.
What we do
Watch
Legislation, consultations, court cases and national measures, and who lobbies on them, through public registers.
Analyse
Independent data such as the Sugar & Health Index. Every figure is sourced, so that anyone can check it.
Speak up
We bring the evidence to policymakers, journalists and the public, and take public positions.
Independent. Sourced. Non‑profit.
We rely on primary sources first: official journals, parliamentary records, Commission documents and court rulings.
How we work and how we are funded
SugarWatch Europe
An independent observatory of sugar policy in the EU. Non-profit association under French law.
© 2026 SugarWatch Europe. All rights reserved.