The Italian Budget Law 2019 laid the ground for a reorganization of the entire discipline of maritime state property concessions, providing – inter alia – a regime of “automatic renewal” of the same. However, according to the EU Court of Justice, the automatic and general extension for the tourist exploitation of maritime state properties set forth by the Italian law “prevents to carry out an impartial and transparent selection of the candidates under the EU competition principles”. According to EU (see EU Directive 2006/123/EC, better known as “Bolkestein Directive”), in fact, the tourist exploitation of maritime state properties consists in “services over public soil” and, as such, it has to be subject to free competition.
The partnership started at the new offices in Foggia, between Tonucci&Partners and the BM Avvocati law firm, specialized for many years in the Maritime State Property practice, allows us to provide our clients with a strategic, innovative and highly specialized advice in a sector characterized by a particularly fragmented and uncertain regulatory framework.