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The occupation concessions of Italian beaches cannot be automatically renewed but must be subject to an impartial and transparent selection procedure". This was established by the EU Court of Justice ruling on a dispute involving the Italian Competition and Market Authority and the municipality of Ginosa (Taranto). "Italian national courts and administrative authorities are required to apply the relevant rules" of European law, "disapplying non-compliant national provisions", adds the Court.

The Luxembourg judges were called upon to rule on the interpretation of the Italian law that provides for the automatic extension of bathing concessions, clarifying the validity, binding character and direct effect of the EU directive for services in the internal market, known as Bolkestein.

In detail, the dispute under examination dates back to December 2020, when the municipality of Ginosa, applying national legislation, decided to automatically extend the concessions meeting the dispute by the AGCM.

In today's judgment, the Court recalls that the EU provisions apply "to all concessions of occupation of maritime property" and that, in assessing the scarcity of natural resources that can be used for the ban, member countries are called to base themselves "on objective, non-discriminatory, transparent and proportionate parameters". The judges underline that "no element capable of affecting the validity of the directive" of the European directive has emerged, and that in approving it, in 2006, the EU Council - which represents the Twenty-seven - "correctly deliberated by qualified majority".

The Court also considers that "the obligation for Member States to apply an impartial and transparent selection procedure" for the award of concessions, and "the prohibition on automatic renewal of an authorisation" are "set out unconditionally and sufficiently precisely by the Directive". In the light of these elements, the European professional have therefore established that "national courts and administrative authorities, including municipal ones, are obliged to apply" European provisions, while disapplying "non-compliant rules of national law".