Legambiente Sicilia, sponsored by the lawyers Giulia Campo of the Court of Catania and Daniela Ciancimino of the Court of Agrigento – national co-president of the Legal Action Centre, has presented an extraordinary appeal to request the annulment of the Decree of the Regional Councilor for Territory and Environment of the Sicilian Region n. . 1784 of 30 December 2023, which provided for the extension of state maritime concessions expiring on 31 December 2023, until 31 December 2024.
This extension is illegitimate as it is in open violation of European rules and jurisprudential guidelines established on maritime state concessions, protection of competition and consumer rights, as well as on environmental protection.
“Illegitimate extensions”
Not only that, in November 2021 the Council of State had already ruled the illegitimacy of the extensions of state concessions due to violation of the Bolkenstein directive, recently reaffirmed by the ruling of last April 30, but also the Catania TAR with ruling no. 1256 of 2 April 2024, passed in silence, has already ruled that the aforementioned councilor’s decree must be considered as “tamquam non esset” (as if it did not exist).
At the same time, Legambiente recalls that in Sicily it is further urgent to follow up on the ruling of the Constitutional Court n. 108 of 5 May 2022, with which the constitutional illegitimacy of article 3 of regional law no. was declared. 17 of 21 July 2021, which for a period allowed maritime state concessions to be released in the absence or without prior verification of consistency with the provisions of the Use Plans for maritime state areas (PUDM).
The motivation expressed by the Council is of extraordinary importance: these plans perform an essential function not only of regulating competition and economic management of the sea coast, but also of protecting the environment and the landscape, guaranteeing, among other things, their common use even outside the beach establishments, through the destination of a share of free beach equal to fifty percent of the coastline. The annulled Sicilian law consequently led to a lowering of the level of environmental and landscape protection in the coastal municipalities.
“Beaches are a common good – reiterates Tommaso Castronovo, president of Legambiente Sicilia – which cannot be taken away from the community, while bathing establishments often become real venues, even at night, which occupy state property all year round. Both free use and management by private individuals must take place in compliance with environmental parameters and sustainability, avoiding creating harm.”
Legambiente Sicilia therefore returns to ask once again for the immediate implementation of article 6 of regional law 32 of 2020 in the part in which it provides that the Regional Territory and Environment Department will appoint the Municipalities that have not drawn up and adopted the PUDM by the final deadline of 30 June 2021, as also reiterated and foreseen by the Resolution of the Regional Council – President Schifani n. 52 of 20 January 2023, which has remained totally unapplied for over a year.
