In Italy, some beach resorts remained closed yesterday morning. In the middle of the high season, the tenants of many beach resorts went on strike for the first time. With their “parasol protest”, the powerful families who lease the private beach resorts are taking a stand against Rome and the EU. In protest against the unresolved issue of concessions, they opened two hours later than usual. In doing so, they sent a clear signal to the government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
In some regions of Italy, including Liguria in northern Italy, the strike participation rate was 90 percent, according to the trade associations. On the beach in Fiumicino near Rome, there was a flash mob of tenants who used loudspeakers to inform bathers of their concerns. “The backbone of our network is formed by traditional lidos that are working more and more to ensure customer satisfaction,” said a spokesperson for the lido operators.
- HONEY 1: Parasol strike in Italy
The consumer protection association Codacos sees the situation differently and described the strike as a “flop”. “The number of lidos that remained closed during the two-hour strike was lower than expected and the protest did not achieve the desired results. Declaring a strike in the middle of the summer season has proven to be a wrong decision, rejected by both customers and the lido operators themselves,” said the association.
State-owned beaches
Coasts and beaches in Italy are generally state-owned, and municipalities currently award 12,166 beach concessions. The problem is that the concessions are awarded without the proper tendering process required in the EU – they are routinely renewed and often without price adjustments, and sometimes the concessions are practically passed down as if they were family property.
For 18 years, beach resort operators have successfully fought against an EU directive that has required a Europe-wide tender for licenses since 2006. “We have a responsibility towards our families, who are in danger of losing everything they have built up over years of work,” said FIPE Confcommercio spokesman Antonio Capacchione. However, the beach resort operators’ front is not united. Only some of them are actually taking part in the strike.
The professional group is divided: not all tenants think the strike makes sense. Others, however, want to intensify the protest. If the Meloni government does not take action, the pools will be closed for half a day in mid-August, still during the holiday season, and then for a whole day at the end of the month.
The market opening that Brussels has been persistently demanding has so far failed due to resistance from the beach resort operators, a well-organized lobby for whom Brussels is a red rag. Corruption is also said to have played a role in the awarding of contracts. Environmental protection associations complained that several facilities had also fallen into the hands of the local mafia.
State hardly benefits
The state hardly benefits from the bathing facilities. The concessions bring Italy just over 100 million euros a year, a pittance compared to the estimated 2 billion euros turnover that the facilities generate (see box). In the delicate matter of a new regulation of the bathing facility concessions, the Italian government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is taking more time despite pressure from Brussels. A regulation for the reorganization of the licensing system for Italian bathing facilities is not to be approved by the Council of Ministers until after the summer break, according to Rome.
Lucrative business
According to the Center for European Policy (CEP), around 6,600 companies earn money from the lidos. They employ more than 44,000 people. Between 2016 and 2020, a lido earned an average of 260,000 euros per year. On average, however, the owners only paid 7,600 euros for the concession. For 18 years, lido operators have successfully fought against an EU directive that has required a Europe-wide tender for licenses since 2006.
