Beach resort dispute escalates Italian businesses close their parasols
Two hours in the heat: tourists in Italy stood in front of closed parasols on Friday. The reason for the action: the beach businesses are protesting against an EU directive.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Beach establishments in Italy closed their parasols for two hours on Friday afternoon.
- With this action, they want to protest against an EU directive for more competition.
- They fear losing their investments if the businesses can also be taken over by external bidders.
- The opening up of the tourism sector through the EU regulation has not yet been enforced by Italian courts.
This Friday, Italian beach businesses closed their parasols for two hours. The reason behind this is a symbolic strike: the action is intended to persuade the Italian government not to implement an EU directive for more competition that has been in place since 2006.
Beach businesses in Italy, which normally include a bar or restaurant, changing rooms, parasols and sun loungers, are often handed down from one generation to the next.
Billions in revenue
The owners of the businesses are concerned that they could lose their investment if outsiders are able to bid to take over the businesses. Competitors, on the other hand, complain that they would be excluded from the lucrative sector.
There are 6,500 beach businesses in Italy which, according to government figures, earn the equivalent of around 1.3 billion francs a year. They only pay the equivalent of 113 million francs in license fees to operate on public beaches.
The EU directive had opened up the sector. However, Italian governments have not yet implemented it. A court extended the licenses for Italian beach businesses until the end of the year.
dpa
