Milleproroghe, Mattarella’s letter on beach concessions

The news was leaked yesterday. And today the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, signed the Milleproroghe decree approved in the Chamber, accompanied however by observations on the rules on bathing concessions included in the provision. The head of state, expressing reservations on the merits and method of the decree, nevertheless decided to promulgate it so as to avoid, Colle informs us, that all the provisions contained would be skipped, which according to the Quirinale would have created countless problems also due to the retroactivity .

The reservations of Mattarella sul Milleproroghe refer specifically to the need not to further postpone the tenders for beach concessions. There is, explains the Head of State, the unavoidable need “for further government and Parliament initiatives” to correct the rules on bathing establishments which in any case would lend themselves to disputes and probable challenges with the European Union, the Council of State, local authorities and more.

The technicians of the Quirinale would in fact have recognized in the measure two critical points: in the first place, the postponement would clash with the European indication – the Bolkenstein directive – of putting state-owned spaces out to tender, under penalty of the risk of an infringement procedure; and with a sentence of the Council of State of November 2021 which set the expiry of the extensions of the existing concessions at 31 December 2023. The one-year deferral – strongly desired by Forza Italia and Lega with an amendment approved in the Senate close to the vote in Lazio – would clash with these indications.

As for instead the government’s abuse of decree and uneven rules, it transpires that the President of the Republic awaits a turnaround, as recently assured by the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.