With a sentence on an appeal of three factories in the municipality of Zoagli, the Tar of Liguria defined the extension until 2027 from the seaside concessions. The Municipality therefore has the right to public tender the sections of the beach, given that the concession is to be considered expired from 31 December 2023.
The decree law that had established the latter extension He had been approved by the Council of Ministers on September 4, 2024 and then converted the law by Parliament. However, the TAR stressed that there is no documentary trace of an agreement between the Italian State and the European Commission in this regard. The judgments of the EU Court of Justice must therefore be considered valid, which require Italy to compete the beaches.
Tar of Liguria: the extension of concessions is not valid
The three bathing establishments in Zoagli had resorted to the Tar of Liguria after the city council had decided to publicly compete the stretch of beach they occupied. Strengthened by the law decree of 4 September 2024, they thought that the first degree of Italian administrative justice would protect them. The standard in fact has automatically renewed all seaside concessions Until September 2027.
However, the judges have not been of this notice, as stated in the sentence: “On the basis of the regulatory framework currently in force, by virtue of the sentences of the plenary meeting of the Council of State, the maritime state concessions for tourist-recreational activities, beneficiary of multiple extending ex lege, they ceased their effects on 31 December 2023so that the new assignments must take place through impartial and transparent selections among the potential candidates, pursuant to the directive Bolkestein“.
The TAR explained that the agreement between the Italian State and the European Commission to which the bathing establishments referred in their appeal and which allowed the extension until 2027 “is not enclosed in No document written“.
The judges proceed to underline that, in the matter of disputes between the Member States and the European Union, the last word is up to the Court of Justice. The judgments of the European Court are very clear: Italian bathing concessions expired on December 31, 2023 and must be competing.
The extension of bathing concessions to 2027
The ruling of the Tar of Liguria reopens a question that seemed to have closed. In September 2024 the government, with the approval of the European Commission, had found a compromise to rearrange the bathing concessions. For 20 years the Italian state extended, in fact, out of any European standardconcessions of the public state property that should have been public tender.
The law decree established two principles:
- By 2027, all Italian seaside concessions must be public and the new concessions will have a duration between 5 and 20 years;
- Until September 2027 all current concessions are to be considered renewed.
It is the second point of the decree that is completely dismantled by the Tar sentence. For the bathing establishments, an appeal in Council of Statethe second degree of judgment of Italian administrative justice. For Giorgia Meloni’s government, on the other hand, the question could become very complicated.
