Source: European Parliament
1. The applicability of Directive 2006/123/EC[1] (the Services Directive) to authorisations for the use of state-owned coastal properties for leisure and touristic activities (so called beach concessions) was clarified by the Court of Justice of the European Union on 14 July 2016[2] and, more recently, on 20 April 2023[3]. No amendments or supplements to the Services Directive are foreseen in this respect.
2. It should be recalled, first, that, in accordance with Article 12(2) of the Services Directive, no advantage to incumbents shall be provided at the moment of assigning beach concessions, whatever their size. However, the Commission is of course in support of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in general, and will therefore monitor that the application of the national laws in this sector does not pose barriers that could prevent all interested providers, particularly SMEs, from taking full advantage of economic opportunities in the internal market.
- [1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32006L0123
- [2] Judgment of 14 July 2016, Promoimpresa srl and Others v Consorzio dei comuni della Sponda Bresciana del Lago di Garda e del Lago di Idro and Others, Joined Cases C-458/14 and C-67/15, EU:C:2016:558.
- [3] Judgment of 20 April 2023, Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (Commune de Ginosa), C-348/22, EU:C:2023:301.