On the case of beach concessions expired on Codacons submitted an application to Captaincies of port of Toasts, Gallipoli, Manfredonia, Molfetta, Tarantoin which action is requested to ensure compliance with the ruling of the Council of State and allow citizens free use of the beaches located in the territory of competence.
The analysis of Codacons Lecce
«In 2006, the so-called. Bolkestein Directive (2006/123/EC) imposed on Member States, in the name of market competition, the liberalization of the sector, with the obligation, therefore, to put beach concessions up for tender and to eliminate the system of automatic renewal of existing concessions – Codacons writes in the request – Despite what has been established by the European Union, Italy, over the years, has repeatedly authorized the extensions of concessions by the Municipalities, so much so as to push the European Union to open a procedure of infringement. In this context, the Council of State recently intervened, with ruling no. 3940/2024 established that the extension of the beach concessions to 31.12.2024 cannot be considered legitimate. Basically, the Council of State stated that local administrations are obliged to disapply any extension that goes beyond 31 December 2023, precisely because of the limits established by European law”.
«Given the above, it is clear that, to date, considering the aforementioned jurisprudential halt, the extensions of beach concessions to establishments must be considered invalid. Here we do not intend to deny that other parts of the jurisprudence have considered the continuation of the activity of the establishments pending legislative intervention to be legitimate: however, it is believed that the cited Council of State ruling has correctly interpreted the EU Directive. Therefore Italian beaches, in the absence of valid concessions, since they belong to the heritage of the State, can be used freely by all citizens. At present it is legitimate to believe that citizens can use the beaches as “free”, bringing umbrellas and sunbeds even where the establishments are located. And, on the other hand, the managers of these establishments, where they hold expired concessions, can have no objections to the behavior described.”
«There is therefore an obligation on the territorially competent Port Authorities based on the Navigation Code (RD 327/1942) which assigns them the tasks of control and supervision to guarantee compliance with the rules on the correct use of maritime property, to adopt all appropriate and necessary measures to monitor, ascertain and possibly sanction the use of beach concessions subject to illegitimate extension pursuant to and for the purposes of the provisions of the Council of State ruling no. 3940/2024 and in contrast with what is established by the Bolkestein Directive, thus guaranteeing the full use of Italian beaches for citizens” – concludes Codacons.
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