Brussels, 14/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - The Danish Minister of the Environment, Hans Christian Schmidt, announced on Monday morning that from 23 January, his government would allow the sales of canned beer and soft drinks in aluminium cans. Denmark banned the use of cans on 1 January 1982 for environmental reasons. This decision meant the Commission taking Denmark before the European Court of Justice for breach of Community provisions on packaging and hindering the free circulation of goods. By abandoning a position defended for twenty years, Denmark hopes to put an end to the case by the Commission against it. Commissioner for the Environment, Margot Wallström, welcomed the Danish U-turn, recalling that "The commission has for years argued that a high level of environmental protection and a free market for packaging go hand in hand." She also declared that as soon as the Commission received the Danish plans and they were able to determine the exact details of the Danish proposal, she hoped that the Commission would be able to stop the case "in a few days"