Concessioni balneari a fini turistici: tocca al (solo) legislatore statale ricomporre il conflitto tra ordinamento interno e diritto dell'Unione europea

The long-lasting saga of the Italian beach concessions enters another stage beforethe Constitutional Court. The legislative provisions issued by Regione Veneto are held in breach of Article 117, para. 2, lit. e) of the Constitution: they are stricken down for a procedural reason, namely the interference with a subject-matter labelled as ‘protection of thefree competition’ which falls within the exclusive domain of the State’s legislation. Thesubstantive criterion, enshrined in Article 117, para. 1, of the Constitution – according towhich the State’s and Regions’ legislation must comply with the duties stemming from theEU legal order – though vastly used in prior cases, has gradually been marginalised in theConstitutional Court’s case-law and looks conspicuous for its absence in this last judgment.The Italian Constitutional Court apparently wishes to leave the State with the exclusive power to legislate on this intricate subject-matter on a uniform, nation-wide basis, and setsaside the issue of the national law’s compliance with EU law. Nevertheless, as attested toby the new infringement procedure launched against Italy on December 3rd, 2020, by the Commission, the latter point, too, is far from uncontroversial.