New EU regulations – licensing dispute: Italy fights for its beaches

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As Italy prepares for snap parliamentary elections, a heated debate over the beaches is raging in parliament in Rome. This week, MEPs will vote on a new licensing regulation. From December 31, 2023, state beach concessions must be open to public bidding — which could spell the end of many family-run beach bars and restaurants, according to industry officials.

The government plans to increase competition on thousands of pay beaches. The public tender for the beach concessions could result in a lido operator having to leave its place for another bidder. Large foreign tour operators or wealthy financial investors can take advantage of this.

There are thousands of private bathing establishments on Italian beaches
The fee-based Stabilimenti are the epitome of Italian beach culture: this is where most Italians spend their summer holidays, even as children. However, the allocation of beach permits is opaque, the concessions are automatically extended.

Tenants of the Stabilimenti fear losing their rights. There are 29,000 bathing establishments in Italy employing up to 300,000 people each season, and they are mostly run on a family level. Many are now threatened with the end. In the future, the government wants to commit to transparent public tenders, which have not yet taken place. In many cases, corruption and favoritism will have played a role earlier.

Danger of “expropriation”
Concessions already granted in accordance with EU rules will remain valid until their expiry date, including after 2023. The others will have to be tendered again, while the operators of the family-run bathing facilities are fighting back fiercely. Operators who may have taken out loans or mortgages on their business are now at risk of losing their license. This could even be taken from them a decade earlier. They complain about the danger of “expropriation”.

Stabilimenti in the hands of the mafia?
The government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who has since been deposed, believes that new regulations are urgently needed. Time and again, the local mafia got their hands on the facilities. More than a hundred Stabilimenti have been seized in Italy in recent years alone for infiltration by organized crime. This should change through transparent tenders.

Access for all swimmers – not just for customers
In the future, Italian beach facilities must give all bathers free access to the beach, not just their customers, according to the draft law that MEPs will have to vote on in parliament. In theory bathing establishments in Italy are already obliged to do this, but in practice this rule is often ignored. Consumer and citizen groups have long complained that bathing facilities are occupying ever larger swaths of the beach.

The new legislation also aims to limit the fees for umbrellas and sun loungers. The sometimes high prices of the Stabilimenti are a hot item every summer. Due to rising inflation, the cost of beach holidays is expected to rise further. Holidaymakers will have to spend about five percent more on sun loungers and parasols than in 2021.

Monthly subscriptions are between 500 and 700 euros
For monthly subscriptions in the beach facilities, the prices are between 500 and 700 euros. The lidos now charge an average of 15 to 20 euros for entry – and customers often have to pay extra for sun loungers and umbrellas. That’s just too much for many low-income Italians. Protests erupt across the country for free beaches, where sunbathers can stretch out on a towel on the sand and enjoy the sea for free. However, these are often located between two bathing establishments and are usually hopelessly overcrowded.

Source: Krone

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