Confindustria Sardegna urges regional action on maritime concessions

Confindustria Sardegna has issued an urgent call to regional authorities to implement regulations regarding maritime state property concessions. With less than 12 months remaining before current concessions expire, the association warns that a lack of legislative intervention puts the sector at risk, potentially impacting employment and planned summer investments.

The association is not opposing the application of the EU Services Directive (Bolkestein Directive) but is calling for a specific interpretation. Confindustria Sardegna argues that the scarcity of beach space—a key prerequisite for certain directive applications—is not an issue in the region, noting that only 9% of beach square footage is currently occupied by tourist-recreational concessions.

Citing rulings from the European Court of Justice, the association emphasizes that assessments of scarcity must be based on the specific characteristics of individual territories and fall under the jurisdiction of national authorities.