Op-Ed: “Narrowing the Scope of Free Movement Restrictions? (C-598/22 – Società Italiana Imprese Balneari)”

The Italian seafront, although public property, is known to be largely in the hands of private beach clubs and resorts. The beautiful coastline is dotted with umbrellas and sunbeds only accessible against payment of a hefty sum. Running a business at an Italian beach requires a concession, a lucrative activity whose profitability was reinforced by the long-standing refusal of Italian authorities to open these concessions to competitive tendering, in clear violation with EU law (see Promoimpresa, Joined cases C-458/14 and C-67/15; Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, Case C-348/22). The case at hand (C-598/22) deals with another aspect of Italian law, the rule whereby the property of irremovable structures constructed by conc