Port of Talamone: the blitz by the Municipality of Orbetello sparks a national case
The issue of the redevelopment of the port of Talamone, the jewel of the Maremma, is becoming a national issue. The blitz by the Municipality of Orbetello (recounted, most recently, here https://www.affaritaliani.it/amp/economia/porto-di-talamone-costi-da-42-milioni-ma-in-cassa-ci-sono-solo-45mila-euro-933812.html) that has put in the fast lane a small LLC of local entrepreneurscould be a sort of pilot case of attempted speculation on expiring maritime concessions.
The mix between the obligations imposed by the Bolkestein directive and the Burlando law runs the risk of crystallizing a perverse situation. In fact, a step backwards compared to the current situation with a few subjects who get their hands on all the maritime licenses to the detriment of users and small operators. Unimpresa, an association that represents more than 100 thousand SMEs throughout the country, has noticed this. «The expiration of the maritime and beach concessions, set for December 31st, runs the risk of turning into a big business for a few, large subjects, to the detriment of small local entrepreneurs.
In fact, in the landing places or tourist ports, by virtue of the Burlando law, municipal administrations could assign all the concessions in force to a single entitycreating, in essence, de facto monopolies that would guarantee the new owner of all the licenses an unacceptable dominant position. All this configures the concrete risk of speculation, which would be detrimental to the principles aimed at promoting greater competition between companies. Competition conceived, by its nature, in order to guarantee competitiveness, better prices and more efficient services to end users, and which instead, would end up being circumvented.
We have read with attention, with amazement and also with concern, what is happening in the Municipality of Orbetello: the administration of the local authority in the province of Grosseto, in fact, approved, on August 15th, the project for the transformation into a tourist port of the landing place that currently exists in the town of Talamone. At the moment there is only one private entity in the race which, from January, could be assigned all the current 18 concessionsso far distributed between small private businesses and amateur sports clubs. A situation that would not only harm local operators, cutting out, causing them to die, activities, appreciated by holidaymakers and residents, that have histories spanning over decades; but that, furthermore, would also penalize sailing activities managed by associations adhering to national sports federations, with damage to sport, health and young people” declared the president of Unimpresa, Giovanna Ferrara. “Important discussions are underway with the EU Commission, aimed at obtaining a softened regulatory framework, which allows three-year extensions of existing concessions.
Meanwhile, the government is called to constantly monitor and supervise what is happening in the territories. We would find ourselves facing a paradox: a reform that was born to improve services and to grow the economy could translate into a sensational business for a select few. The future of micro, small businesses must be safeguarded at all costs and it is unacceptable that, while the national government fights in Brussels, to prevent the EU avalanche from overwhelming the seaside resorts, the municipal administrations go in the opposite direction, digging the grave of small local operators” added Ferrara.
In Talamone, meanwhile, the level of alert remains high regarding the process for the pier project. Experts and lawyers are sharpening their weapons, to try to intervene as soon as possible on several fronts. And the local community, worried about the repercussions on several fronts, is in turmoil. The Salviamo Talamone Committee is acting as spokesperson for the town’s requests, both for holidaymakers and operators: the association has asked that the Municipality of Orbetello guarantee maximum transparency for the matter relating to the transformation of the landing place of Talamone – a town in the province of Grosseto – into a tourist port. In particular, the municipal administration led by mayor Andrea Casamenti must clarify the discussions with the Talamone Tourist Port Company, whose project for the Maremma dock, approved around mid-August, seems to enjoy an unprecedented preferential lane. It is not clear under what title, as emerges verbatim from the minutes of the meeting of the same Company, held last June 25, the Municipality has anticipated its wishes and political determinations to a subject competing for a public concession.
In the minutes, it is expressly stated that “on July 3, the board of directors and the lawyers will go to the Municipality for an initial meeting to clarify the many points of the procedural path. After this meeting and after the date of July 10 by which the Municipality has committed to produce a council resolution in favor of the publication of the project, we will organize a new meeting to inform and deliberate on the commitments for any continuation”. On June 25, therefore, the Società Porto Turistico di Talamone was previously aware of what the Orbetello municipal administration would subsequently implement. The issue, therefore, deserves further investigation and raises some important questions. Why did the Municipality anticipate official documents, not yet formally existing, to a private entity and in the competition, thus guaranteeing a competitive advantage to the detriment of potential competitors? And why did the Municipality itself publicly speak about the tender in question, on August 29, only after our public positions taken last week and not in conjunction with the resolution of August 16? The answer to these questions becomes central to ensuring transparency in this operation that, for now, appears shrouded in shadow and managed with logics that are at least apparently far from the protection of collective interests.
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