Official Journal of the European Union

EN

C series

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C/2024/5404

16.9.2024

(Case C-464/24, Balneari Rimini)

(C/2024/5404)

Language of the case: Italian

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Balneari Rimini

Defendant: Comune di Rimini

Questions referred

1.Do concessions of State-owned coastal land used for tourism and recreational purposes, such as the one held by the applicant – which does not provide specific services for the awarding entity, but exercises an economic activity on State-owned land – fall into the category of service concessions and, if so, do they fall within the scope of the authorisation referred to in Directive 2006/123/EC (1) and/or Directive 2014/23/EU, (2) as certain agreements having as their object the right of an economic operator to exploit certain public domains or resources under private or public law, such as land, whereby the State establishes only general conditions for their use, according to the findings of the Court of Justice of the European Union in paragraphs 45 to 48 of the judgment of 14 July 2016, Promoimpresa S.r.l. and Melis (C-458/14 and C-67/15, EU:C:2016:558)?

2.Regardless of the Court’s answer to the first question, are beach concessions such as the one held by the applicant, which commenced prior to 28 December 2009, outside the scope of Directive 2006/123/EC pursuant to Article 44 of that directive, as would seem to be implied by paragraph 73 of the Court’s judgment of 20 April 2023 in Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato v Comune di Ginosa (C-348/22, EU:C:2023:301)?

3.Regardless of the Court’s answer to the first and second questions, must Article 195 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, particularly in the light of Article 345 TFEU and Article 1(5) of Directive 2006/123/EC, be interpreted as meaning that concessions of State-owned coastal land used for tourism and recreational purposes, such as the one held by the applicant, operating in the tourism sector, are excluded from the scope of harmonisation directives such as Directive 2006/123/EC?

4.Regardless of the Court’s answer to the first, second and third questions, must Article 51 (previously Article 45 of the EC Treaty) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 2(2)(i) of Directive 2006/123/EC be interpreted as meaning that concessions of State-owned coastal land used for tourism and recreational purposes, such as those held by the applicant, which consistently and regularly carries out activities in the public interest on State-owned land, such as the safeguarding of public property, the protection of public health and hygiene, the protection of the right of disabled people to have access to heliotherapy and bathing activities, as well as tourism, cultural and environmental activities, are excluded from the scope of both Article 49 TFEU and the Services Directive?

(1) Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on services in the internal market (OJ 2006 L 376, p. 36).

(2) Directive 2014/23/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the award of concession contracts (OJ 2014 L 94, p. 1).

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/5404/oj

ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)

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