The expected reminder of the head of state on the measures on bathing establishments included in the milleproroghe decree has arrived loud and clear.
After days of rumors and moral suasion, Colle - in a letter to the presidents of the chambers and to the prime minister accompanying the promulgation of the law - points out all his reservations about the provision, in terms of merit and method, making clear how the signature has arrived, in fact, only in order not to invalidate other important measures contained in the text but with the invitation to an unavoidable corrective action.
Already in the aftermath of the approval of the amendment to the milleproroghe which provides for the postponement of the ban by one year (and until 2025 "in the presence of objective reasons that prevent the completion of the selection procedure"), Europe, through a Commission spokesman had once again insisted on the
need for tenders since the land (of the beaches) was public and therefore owned by the State
.
"Italian citizens and businesses" - said the spokesman - "need, without further delay, transparent, impartial and open procedures" to decide "which business should be granted the right to use public land, in this case the beaches, to offer their services".
Brussels "continues to closely follow developments on the reform of concessions in Italy" which, the spokesman points out, "is already the subject of an infringement procedure" launched against Italy in 2020 and reiterated in November 2021.
What can happen
According to the former president of the Council of State and of the Constitutional Court Giancarlo Coraggio "
the risk of an infringement procedure is serious
. And there are strong signs of a rapid ruling, because a preliminary question is already pending before the Court of Justice EU, which has decided on the accelerated procedure, which is a prelude to a quick sentence with an easily predictable outcome, given the crystalline terms of the matter".
Assobalneari's position
Assobalneari has always supported the need for an extension to preserve employment levels and has expressed itself in positive terms on the introduction of the amendment on the extension within the milleproroghe.
The provision, according to the president of the association Fabrizio Licordari, protects "Italian companies from the attacks of Brussels who would like tenders for all the activities of our country that still resist the assaults of the multinationals as instead they have not been able to support the small commercial activities of I am referring to seaside businesses, campsites, marinas, restaurants, hotels, mooring operators, nautical companies, but also taxis, street vendors, to name a few".
The formal notice of Italy by the EU on 3 December 2020
the Commission asks ITALY to ensure transparency and equal treatment as regards beach concessions
The Commission decided today to send a letter of formal notice to Italy
regarding
the granting of authorizations relating to the use of maritime state property for seaside tourism and recreational services (bathing concessions).
Member States are required to ensure that
permits, the number of which are limited due to the scarcity of natural resources (e.g. beaches), are granted for a limited period and through an open, public and non-criteria selection procedure discriminatory, transparent and objective.
The aim is to provide all relevant current and future service providers with the opportunity to compete for access to these limited resources, to promote innovation and fair competition, and to benefit consumers and businesses while protecting at the same time citizens from the risk of monopolizing these resources.
In a judgment of 14 July 2016 issued following a preliminary reference from the Regional Administrative Court of Lombardy (joined cases C-458/14 and C-67/15), the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the relevant legislation and the existing practice in Italy at that time of automatically extending the existing authorizations of beach concessions were incompatible with EU law.
Italy has not implemented the Court's ruling.
Furthermore, Italy has since further extended the existing authorizations until the end of 2033 and has prohibited local authorities from initiating or continuing public selection procedures for the award of concessions, which would otherwise have expired, in violation of EU law.
The Commission considers that the Italian legislation,
in addition to being incompatible with EU law, is contrary to the substance of the aforementioned CJEU ruling and creates legal uncertainty for seaside tourist services, discourages investment in a sector that is fundamental to the Italian economy and already severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, while causing a potentially significant loss of income for Italian local authorities.
Italy now has 2 months to respond to the arguments raised by the Commission, after which the Commission may decide to send a reasoned opinion.
discourage investment in a sector vital to the Italian economy and already severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, while causing a potentially significant loss of income for Italian local authorities.
Italy now has 2 months to respond to the arguments raised by the Commission, after which the Commission may decide to send a reasoned opinion.
discourage investment in a sector vital to the Italian economy and already severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, while causing a potentially significant loss of income for Italian local authorities.
Italy now has 2 months to respond to the arguments raised by the Commission, after which the Commission may decide to send a reasoned opinion.
