EU raises the pressure on Italy over tenders for beach licences

The licenses to rent out sun loungers and beach umbrellas are traditionally family-controlled and passed down from one generation to another in Italy, despite rival entrepreneurs saying they have been shut out unfairly from a major business. After repeated delays, the concessions were meant to be put out to tender by 2024, but Meloni's nationalist government has put this off by a year, despite pro-competition rulings also by Italy's top administrative court.

The European Union on Thursday raised the pressure on Italy over boosting competition in the beach club industry, with a ruling from the bloc's court of justice and a warning from its executive body, the European Commission.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said beach licenses for Italy's 7,500 kilometres (4,660 miles) of coastline must be subject to impartial and transparent tenders, in a ruling that the EU Commission said vindicated its longstanding position. EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton raised the issue of beach licences with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni when he visited Rome last week, Commission spokeswoman Sonya Gospodinova told reporters in Brussels.

"Meloni has guaranteed that Italian authorities will very quickly ensure the implementation of European legislation ... so it means national authorities will proceed with aligning national legislation with European rules," Gospodinova said. The licenses to rent out sun loungers and beach umbrellas are traditionally family-controlled and passed down from one generation to another in Italy, despite rival entrepreneurs saying they have been shut out unfairly from a major business.

After repeated delays, the concessions were meant to be put out to tender by 2024, but Meloni's nationalist government has put this off by a year, despite pro-competition rulings also by Italy's top administrative court. A government source told Reuters that the government is now considering returning to the 2024 deadline. If Italy continues to defy EU rules on beach concessions, it risks being exposed to hefty fines.

Meloni's coalition has pushed for existing, mostly Italian license-holders to keep their concessions, arguing that opening up the sector to foreign competition might push up prices and lead to a trampling of local traditions. However, the Luxembourg-based ECJ ruled that the licenses could not be automatically renewed. "The national courts and the administrative authorities are required to apply the relevant rules of EU law," it said.

The licenses are officially state owned but rarely come up for public bidding. In 2019, the government raised just 115 million euros ($125.96 million) from the sale of beach licenses, while the business itself is estimated to be worth some 15 billion euros annually, according to a study by the Nomisma consultancy. ($1 = 0.9130 euros)

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