Germany had a “high alcohol consumption” compared with other countries, with each person drinking an average of 10 liters per year, its Health Ministry said.

It was legal in the country for children aged 14 and 15 to buy and drink alcohol as long as they were with their parents.

The policy, called “accompanied drinking,” however, would soon be abolished to “protect young people from the considerable health and social effects of alcohol consumption,” the government said, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

It would push for a new law raising the minimum age for drinking beer, wine and champagne to 16, and for spirits and other harder drinks to 18, according to AFP.

Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, London’s city council planned to curb a drinking custom in pubs in the West End, a popular nightlife hub.

A feature of many of the pubs was the crowd of drinkers who milled around sharing drinks with friends, often spilling out into the street, Associated Press (AP) reported.

The Westminster City Council had come up with a draft business licensing policy that encouraged bars and restaurants to serve more people at their tables to reduce noise and disorderly behavior and discourage “excessive drunkenness,” according to AP.

Newspaper reports of the plan prompted Prime Minister Andy Burnham, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, other politicians and some pub owners to decry the idea.

A spokesperson for Burnham said pubs full of people standing around sharing a pint were not a nuisance but were part of “British life,” AP reported.

Council leader Paul Swaddle responded with a press statement stressing that the proposed policy did not bar so-called “vertical drinking” or anyone from having a drink while standing.

“Let me be clear about what we’re trying to achieve,” AP quoted Swaddle as saying. “This is about safety, not stopping anyone standing at a bar with a pint in their hand.”

Swaddle added that the draft policy was still open for public comment, AP reported.