This summer might be the last one in business for operators of the many beach clubs, or stabilimenti, that dominate the Italian coastline.
But didn’t somebody say that last summer? And the summer before that, too?
A battle over how to administer Italy’s many private beach concessions has been going on for over a decade, with successive Italian governments squeezed between the requirements of European law, the demands of the current concession holders, and the protests of activists who disagree with the system.
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So is anything actually changing this time, and what will all of this mean for you and other beach lovers?
What’s the issue with Italy’s beach clubs?
Italian beach clubs are run on concessions, or allowances from the state, to use public land. That means that the actual beaches are not private property (although it may seem that way when you’re asked to pay for a sunbed); the land is public but private businesses are allowed to operate on it.
In Italy, the law says that such concessions are automatically renewed every six years. If there are two or more contenders for the same piece of land, the current concession holder will be given priority.
This system, however, is at odds with European competition rules.
Under one of the pillars of the single market, the rules state that entities other than current concession holders, both Italian and European, should have an equal opportunity to compete for the right to use Italian beaches for commercial purposes.
Why don’t Italy’s beach clubs follow the EU-wide rules?
Since 2009, a string of legal procedures, including European infraction procedures and sentences from European and Italian courts, have been taken in an attempt to make Italy adapt to the European regulation.
In short, Italy has been asked repeatedly to organise public tenders for all existing beach concessions.
However, although both President Mattarella and previous prime minister Mario Draghi have publicly insisted on Italy’s obligation to follow European rules, Italian governments have been biding their time.
They are under pressure to change the system but fear repercussions from the beach club owners, which represent an important economic sector.
Why are beach club owners opposed to changes?
While they clearly fear losing their business and income, beach club concession holders also fear losing years of investments.
Because concessions have been automatically renewed for several years, they say, most beach club owners have made investments in their businesses – everything from modest stacks of sunbeds to entire hotels.
Nobody really knows how to compensate them for their loss should they lose the concession under the new rules.
‘Quantifying the value of the investments made over the years is a complex exercise, but we are talking about significant amounts of money’, says Marco Maurelli, President of Federbalneari, the leading organisation of beach club owners in Italy.
Beach club owners say many ordinary Italians are also against the changes, as this could mean losing an important part of the Italian way of life.
‘Italian beaches are not only tourist destinations per se, they are important elements of the local economy and of local culture,” Maurelli says.
Maurelli and his associates fear that the many small family-run beach clubs scattered around the Italian coastline will not have the resources to even take part in the bidding process.
They argue that this may pave the way for large companies and multinationals to take over what is seen as an important cornerstone of Italian life.
“Often the procedures are too complicated and require technical competences that small beach enterprises do not have,” he says.
“It is important that European rules are applied in a flexible manner, and that they respect local peculiarities.”
Why are people protesting against beach clubs?
This summer, there have been several protests organised by activists ‘reclaiming’ privately-run beaches as their number continues to grow.
“We want to restore a natural connection between people and the coast,” says Agostino
Biondo of Mare Libero, a national umbrella organisation for those protesting against the current concession system.
“That requires that we move away from the concept of ownership that is prevalent in the Italian system.”
Biondo explains that much of the Italian coastline is not in its natural state, with dunes and natural bays, but flattened and altered to suit sunbathers.
According to Biondo, the end of the concession system would be a golden opportunity to change this.
Mare Libero is campaigning for only 50 percent of current concessions to be put to tender, leaving the rest open to the public, to be managed and cleaned by the local authority.
When it comes to the remaining 50 percent of the beaches, Biondo and his colleagues are not worried that multinational companies will take over control of Italian beaches.
“Under the current system, beach club owners already sell their assets to foreign investors, including non-European, without any public control at all,” Biondo says.
“In a bidding process, everything will depend on how the tender is written.”
The group also wants to limit the maximum duration of each concession to six years and make it illegal to prevent people from entering a beach without paying.
What is the current government doing?
In an attempt to stall another infraction procedure from the European Commission, the Meloni government recently attempted to prove that there was no need to reduce the number of current concessions.
It did this by mapping the Italian coast, showing that only 33 percent of it was currently occupied by beach clubs, which it insisted means that available coastline is not a scarce commodity.
But there have been questions from all sides about the methodology used.
“While we appreciate the efforts made by the Meloni government to strike a balance between the exigencies of current Italian concessionaries and European requirements, there are several areas in which the mapping does not accurately reflect the realities on the ground,” Maurelli of Federbalneari says.
Massimo Fragola, Professor of Law at the European University of Calabria, also has doubts.
“The government measured the coastline without taking into account whether or not the area is actually suitable for beach clubs and other touristic activities’, he says.
What will happen next?
The issue of the beach clubs has deteriorated into a political quagmire for the Meloni government, which is keenly aware of the need to abide by European rules, but at the same time extremely cautious to upset the operators.
"The juridical aspects are actually not really disputable, it is the politics that is complicated", explains Fragola.
While Fragola believes that it is necessary to find a way to compensate current concession holders, he says there is no way around the European rules.
‘In 2025 all Italian beach concessions will be subject to public bidding. There really is no way around that,’ he stresses.
So while this summer life goes on as usual on Italian beaches, there will probably be changes along the Italian coastline come next year.
Nobody really knows what these will look like. But chances are that some of the current beach clubs will remain in place, while others might have to give in to competition.
Maybe, if the activists in Mare Libero are heard, some more beaches will also be completely free and open to the public.
So yes, you will most likely be able to go to the beach as usual next year, but you may not find the same guy welcoming you as you get your lettino and ombrellone – if you find anyone there at all.
Whatever happens, expect a great deal of political uproar.
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