ROME/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union has stepped up pressure on Italy over beach concessions, with a ruling from the European Court of Justice, and a warning from the Commission.
According to the EU Court of Justice, concessions on Italian beaches, which extend over 7,500 kilometers of coastline, must be subject to an impartial and transparent selection procedure. The ban on automatic renewal is stated “in an unconditional and sufficiently precise way” by the Bolkestein directive of 2006, the Court specifies.
Also this morning, Commission spokeswoman Sonya Gospodinova told reporters in Brussels that Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, raised the issue of beach concessions during a meeting in Rome with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni last week.
“Meloni assured that the Italian authorities will guarantee the implementation of the European directive very quickly… this means that the national authorities will proceed to align the national rules with the European ones”, added Gospodinova.
Sunbed and umbrella rental licenses are traditionally family-run and handed down from generation to generation in Italy, despite entrepreneurs interested in entering the sector claiming they are being unfairly excluded from a major business.
After repeated delays, the tenders for the concessions should have been held by 2024, but the Meloni government postponed them for a year, despite the rulings in favor of competition also by the Tar.
A government source told Reuters the government is considering returning to the 2024 deadline. If Italy continues to defy EU rules on beach concessions, it risks being exposed to heavy fines.
The centre-right coalition has pushed for current licensees, mostly Italians, to keep their licences, arguing that opening up the sector to foreign competition could drive up prices.
However, the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice ruled that concessions cannot be automatically renewed: “National courts and administrative authorities are required to apply the relevant rules of EU law”.
The licenses are officially owned by the state, but are rarely subject to public tenders. In 2019, the government made just 115 million euros from concessions, although the business is estimated to be worth around 15 billion euros a year, according to a Nomisma study.
(Alvise Armellini, Giuseppe Fonte, Marine Strauss, editing Sabina Suzzi, Francesca Piscioneri)