Tourism, state beach concessions and beach clubs

9.10.2014

Question for written answer E-007759-14
to the Commission
Rule 130
Nicola Caputo (S&D)

Seaside tourism is a highly strategic industry, and a strong driving force for many other sectors of the economy: there are around 30 thousand beach clubs throughout Italy. The European Directive on services, the so-called Bolkestein Directive, provides that state concessions of Italian beaches to beach clubs must be tendered at European level and that such concessions must be of limited duration. The sector, which is already in crisis, is largely made up of family-managed businesses, and if the directive were to be implemented, this could potentially have dire ramifications on the sector as a whole, and on its more than 300 000 direct employees in Italy and a further million or so workers in the supply chain.

1. Does the Commission intend to modulate the implementation of the directive differently as regards the seaside tourism sector, which needs to be subsidised at a time of economic crisis?

2. Does it intend to put in place measures to protect existing beach clubs and to regulate the state concessions sector in a clear and definite manner?