The European Union is set to change legislation surrounding marina concessions in member states to provide greater flexibility on durations and extensions, and to encourage sustained, climate-conscious investment.
The European Commission’s new Public Procurement Act, which was published on 9 September, is set to combine all procurement-related legislation into a single regulation. This will include the 2014 EU Concessions Directive that currently governs concession contracts that are critical to boating businesses such as marinas and boatyards.
Marina World understands that European Boating Industry, a Brussels-based lobby group that represents European boating and the nautical tourism industry, has responded to the consultation on the proposed act and that several of their recommendations are reflected in the draft legislation.
As far as the marina industry is concerned, the Public Procurement Act is set to provide clearer and simpler rules on the awarding and operation of concessions, as well as outline stronger legislative preferences for contracts with clear environmental, social and innovation goals. Security, resilience and a “European preference” will also be considered, however authorities will have the discretion to decide which criteria apply and to what extent.
Other changes to the Public Procurement Act that will affect the marina industry include clarifying the scope and calculation of threshold values, allowing or obliging authorities to consider contractual obligations relating to public needs, and mandating performance requirements on promoting environmental sustainability and technological innovation. Additional clarity on concession duration as well as possible adjustments to concession contracts in response to market dynamics are also included in the draft legislation.
“Confidence to continue investing”
“A lot of what the European Commission has proposed would change the concession legislation in a positive direction and follows our recommendations,” said Philip Easthill, secretary general of EBI in an exclusive comment to Marina World. “Marinas are a fundamental part of Europe’s boating and nautical tourism infrastructure, and we need the regulatory framework to recognise the realities of operating and investing in them.
“Marinas are capital-intensive businesses that make decisions over the long term, so clear and predictable concession rules are essential. The EU framework should allow for sufficiently long concession periods, ensure fair treatment of investments that have not yet been fully recovered, and provide flexibility when substantial new investment is needed during a concession. The Commission’s proposal shows that this is on a good track, but needs to be improved in the legislative process.
“It is also good news that the new evaluation model will look beyond price alone when concessions are awarded. If we get this framework right, we can give marina operators the confidence to continue investing, modernising their facilities and contributing to a competitive and more sustainable European boating and tourism sector. We are now in touch with the co-legislators at the EU level to bring our concerns and input into the process,” he concluded.
Following discussion by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament, during which changes to the legislation are possible, the Public Procurement Act would come into force two years after its approval and would be directly applicable in all EU countries.
