By 30 September 2027, except in exceptional cases, all seaside concessions on Italian beaches must be reassigned through a tender. This was established by the Council of State, which set this maximum limit and ruled out the possibility of further extensions, such as those which have occurred in recent years.
Beach concessions have been a problem for several years in Italy. In fact, our country has been violating European regulations, and those it has taken to comply with them, since 2009, allowing beach establishment managers to have their concessions reassigned without tenders. This has generated a lack of investment and high costs for consumers due to the lack of competition.
The beach concessions will be put up for tender, with no further extensions
With a ruling dated 18 August, the Council of State, the second level of administrative justice in Italy, established that all Italian municipalities must have completed the tenders for beach concessions by 30 September 2027 and that there will be no further extensions.
The dates indicated as deadlines, including exceptional cases, are:
- 30 March 2027 (six months before 30 September), deadline for the publication of notices by the Municipalities;
- 30 June 2027, activation of the first application phase of the results of the tenders;
- 30 September 2027, expiry of the old beach concessions;
- 31 March 2028, expiry of extensions of the validity of concessions for exceptional and justified cases.
Even in the event of an extension of the concession until March 2028, the tender for the factories will have to be made within the deadlines of all the other tenders. This is only an extension of the validity of the old concession.
The question of subsidies
To avoid the complaints of the current managers of the bathing establishments, the Government had provided compensation to those who had to abandon the management of an establishment following the tender. However, the Council of State has restricted these compensations only to cases in which the concessionaire demonstrates, at his expense, the presence of investments that have not yet been amortized.
Because the concessions were not put up for tender before
Until 2009, Italian law provided that whoever managed a state asset under concession had a preference in reassignment at the time of expiry. It was called the right to insist, but it was abolished after the European competition reform.
Despite this, for almost 20 years various governments have postponed the application of this rule, with various extensions:
- 2009, the fourth Berlusconi government extends the concessions until 2015;
- 2012, the Monti Government extends the concessions until 2020;
- 2016, first sentence of the European Court of Justice declaring the extensions illegitimate;
- 2018, the Conte I Government extends the concessions until 2033;
- 2021, the Council of State cancels Conte’s extension and imposes tenders by 2023;
- 2022, the Draghi Government extends the concessions to 2024 to allow the late Municipalities to adapt to the ruling of the Council of State;
- 2022, the Government changes and Meloni extends the concessions to 31 December 2025;
- 2024, the Meloni Government extends the concessions to September 2027 to allow the late Municipalities to adapt.
What were the consequences of the extensions?
All Italian beaches are public and, where physically possible, public access by land must be guaranteed. The managers of the beach establishments are in concession, that is to say they pay the State a fee to be able to use those beaches for their profit.
The absence of tenders for these concessions has allowed the managers themselves to maintain their establishment for generations, without having to ensure investments or improve services. This has led to a total absence of competition and the creation of a static category. The main consequence for consumers is prices.
How much does it cost to go to an establishment in Italy and abroad
According to data from Altroconsumo, in Italy the average weekly cost of an establishment, considering an umbrella and two sunbeds, is 225 euros, with peaks reaching up to 400 euros per week. In other European countries, according to a survey by Messengerthe situation is very different:
- Albania, between 50 and 140 euros per week;
- Greece, between 105 and 210 euros per week;
- Spain, between 84 and 140 euros per week.
