It was made public by the Ministry of National Economy and Finance
Briefing note with ten questions-answers about the new framework on beaches and in public property on the coast, announced the Ministry of National Economy and Finance.
1. How will the online tenders for coastal and beach concessions work?
The goal of the new system is transparency, acceleration and standardization of the process. Tenders will henceforth be conducted exclusively by the Public Real Estate Service through the electronic system (e-Auctions), which was already used by it, with a minimum price linked to the objective values and an increased weighting factor depending on the area and maximum duration three years. If there is no offer of at least the minimum rent in two auctions, the concession will be cancelled. Concession contracts will be standardized and will include the area granted in the form of a polygon, the minimum specifications and obligations provided for by law, the duration of the lease, the amount of the lease. At the end of the tender, the contract draft will be sent by e-mail to the concessionaire. It is noted that the State will continue to pay the Municipalities 60% of the compensation from the concessions.
2. What are “cheat beaches”?
The unlicensed beaches are established by the draft law and are the highly protected beaches located in Natura areas and for which concessions and, by extension, the placement of umbrellas, sunbeds, etc. will be prohibited. The unclaimed beaches will be determined by a joint decision of the Ministers of National Economy and Finance and Environment and Energy based on the characteristics of each area (e.g. the existence of protected habitats, rare species of flora/fauna, their designation as key biodiversity areas), then by proposal of OFYPEKA and the general director of Environmental Policy.
3. How is free access of citizens to the rest of the beaches ensured and how are they protected?
In addition to the “fraudulent beaches”, the draft law places a ceiling on the area of the granted area: up to 500 sq.m. each concession and not more than 50% of the total area of the beach. Thus, if a beach has an area of e.g. 10 acres, at least 5 acres should be free.
Furthermore, a ceiling is placed on the area in which umbrellas, sunbeds, etc. are allowed to be placed. which is up to 60% of the granted area and 30% for Natura areas.
It is also provided that the old seafront bordering “deceited beaches” is shared, while the remaining parts of the old seafront return to the private property of the State and therefore can be used by ETAD for soft uses if possible.
In the same direction, a series of obligations set for the concessionaires, such as the regular cleaning of the beach, the installation of hygiene infrastructure for bathers, the removal of the equipment at the end of the summer season as well as at the end of the concession contract, works in the same direction.
4. How is the expansion of controls ensured by utilizing modern technology?
Two new tools are being used. The first is the digital application through which citizens will be able to directly file complaints about any violation they find, which can be related to the occupation of the beach to the non-fulfillment of the new obligations set by the legislation from now on for the concessionaires for free spaces, cleanliness, bather service facilities and security. The second is the controls that will be carried out without the on-site presence of the controllers, through drones and satellite images, as a result of which wider areas will be monitored. The government’s goal is compliance, not punishment, but any illegality will be severely penalized. In addition to these, the control mechanism is strengthened with mixed levels of control of executives of the State Real Estate Service, ELAS, AADE, Municipalities, Prosecution Authorities, headed by a prosecutor or an executive of the State Real Estate Service.
5. How severe are the penalties for offenders?
The fines are significantly tightened and will be confirmed immediately through the AADE. Specifically:
In case of arbitrary occupation of a beach – i.e. without a concession contract – a fine will be imposed 4 times the consideration that the company would have paid if it had a concession contract based on the minimum price provided for in the new framework. The same (4 times the normal consideration) is the fine if there is a concession agreement but the allotted space is exceeded. In both cases, an act of immediate removal is issued within 48 hours of the elements that have been placed. In addition, if there is no concession agreement, a sealing and business shutdown order is issued, which is implemented within 24 hours. The costs for both the demolition and the removal of the equipment are borne by the person responsible.
6. Last year, however, the phenomenon of sunbeds returning as soon as the inspectors left was observed. How will you make sure it doesn’t happen again this year?
The tools with which controls are multiplied (mixed levels of inspectors, drones, application for submitting complaints by citizens) have already been mentioned, as well as the tightening of penalties. Furthermore:
-If the violation is extensive, even if there is a concession contract, the firm will be permanently sealed. If the violator does not remove the premises within 48 hours, the Municipality will do so and will charge the relevant costs to the violator.
– For those who are punished as co-conspirators, exclusion from new concessions will be provided.
In case of operation of a business despite the seal, article 178 of the Penal Code regarding violation of seals set by the Authority, which provides for imprisonment of up to one year or a fine, applies to anyone who is inside the sealed area.
7. What obligations do concessionaires undertake by law?
New obligations are established for concessionaires who must:
a) To ensure the free, unhindered and safe passage of the public on the foreshore and the beach, taking special care of the access of the disabled and people with mobility problems.
b) To limit the development of umbrellas, deckchairs and marine recreational equipment to a percentage of the area of the granted area that does not exceed 60% or 30% in the case of beaches in Natura areas in order to ensure the free passage of the public vertically and parallel to the sea and maintain a free zone from the coastline of at least four meters wide,
c) To keep the beach area and beach area clean every day,
d) Post a sign with the coordinates of the concession, the concession decision number, the rights and obligations of the public and the concession holder, as well as a unique QR code for each concession, in a visible place on the seafront or beach
e) To place mobile elements (e.g. showers, changing rooms), to serve the public.
f) To take care of maintaining the balance of the ecosystem of the granted area, such as by maintaining the morphology of the coast and the coastline,
g) To ensure the presence of a lifeguard and the installation of sea tracks, if this obligation is not covered by the relevant municipality,
h) To remove the equipment (umbrellas, etc.) at the end of the period of use as well as at the end of the concession and to return the space to its original state.
These are the minimum obligations set by law. The declaration may provide for additional obligations of the concession holder for the protection, conservation and development of the granted coastline and beach and the strengthening of common use.
These obligations will be gradually extended (as the old contracts expire) to all concessions to the extent that they are not already provided for by the existing contracts.
8. How can a citizen find out if a concessionaire is violating the contract (or not at all) and where to file a complaint?
One of the obligations provided for the concessionaires is the posting of a sign with the area and other characteristics of the concession. There will also be a QR code on the sign, unique for each concession that will link to the Ministry of National Economy and Finance’s complaint receiving platform. Each QR-code will be posted on the website of the Public Land Service, the relevant Municipality as well as the Ministry of National Economy and Finance. By scanning the QR-code with the special application (application) that will be available free of charge, every citizen will be able to see the diagram of the granted beach and immediately submit a complaint if they find that the concession has been exceeded. The application will provide the possibility to send a complaint immediately even if there is no marking on the seashore or beach. If there is no sign, the citizen immediately realizes that the occupation is arbitrary.
9. What about the businesses (taverns, hotels, etc.) that are adjacent to the beaches?
These companies can, if they so request, take over the exploitation of the beach with which they border. Between concessions there should be a free zone of a total width of 6 meters (3 meters on each side) for free public access. It is also pointed out that the restriction that stipulates that at least 50% of the beach must be free applies everywhere, and for beaches where there are contiguous neighboring businesses.
At the same time, a one-stop shop is created for those cases where a property belonging to ETAD is interposed between a business and the beach. The interested party will receive a single concession from the State Real Estate Service which will also include the area of the ETAD following its approval within a short period.
10. When will the new framework be implemented? Will it also apply to existing contracts?
All the new tenders that will be held from this year for concessions will be conducted with the new system and will provide for the new framework of obligations and penalties. For this reason, while it is foreseen that the tenders must be completed by March 31 of each year so that there is time to prepare in view of the tourist season, exceptionally for the first application of the new legislation this year the deadline is until May 15.
The terms of the concession contracts that have already been concluded and are in force are not affected, but the new imposition of administrative measures and sanctions will apply.
