Commissioner of non-compliant Municipalities and full implementation of the ruling of the Constitutional Court on stopping new concessions in the absence of plans
[6 Maggio 2024]
Legambiente Sicilia 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. For the environmental association «This extension is illegitimate as it is in open violation of European standards and guidelines jurisprudential experts trained in the field of maritime state concessions, protection of competition and consumer rights, as well as in the field of environmental protection. 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)”.
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 protection of the environment and landscape in the coastal municipalities”.
Tommaso Castronovo, president of Legambiente Sicilia, reiterates that «Beaches are a common good that cannot be taken away from the community, while bathing establishments often become real clubs, 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.”
For this reason, Legambiente Sicilia therefore returns to ask once again «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 takes care of placing the Municipalities that have not drawn up and adopted the PUDM by the deadline of 30 June 2021, as also reiterated and provided for by the Resolution of the Regional Council – President Schifani n. 52 of 20 January 2023, which has remained totally unapplied for over a year”.
