Taxis, mayors and municipal companies of local transport, bathing establishments: the assault of the categories has started Competition law 2021. And history repeats itself: the competition bill – one of the first acts of the Draghi government, by virtue of the commitments requested by the EU for the Pnrr (Recovery and resilience plan) – is immediately targeted in Parliament. The hearings that marked the beginning of the discussion in the Senate on Tuesday made it clear what the mood is.
Competition law 2021, the assault of the categories
A rain of criticisms and objections has been raised by the artisans who ask for the removal of the standards tidying up in taxis (and taxi drivers). The chorus continued with mayors and regional presidents who have started the attack of article 7, the one that provides for the obligation to tender to assign the local public transport. And they asked for a two-year postponement, therefore from 2022 to 2024. At that point, the categories will face a different Parliament from today, by virtue of the political elections scheduled for spring 2023. The protests also concern the fact that – finally it could be added – the obligation to hold tenders is correctly sanctioned – if they are not done – with a 15% cut of the national fund for transport.
Competition and transport, the mayors want the postponement
Obligation and sanctions, the experts explain, already exist but are not applied as there is no one race census and therefore it is not known who made them and who did not. However, the census was ordered by the new law on competition and thus becomes effective, therefore feared by the administrators. The inhabitants of Rome know how the transport managed by Atac works, the strikes scheduled with recurring frequency and always on Fridays, the difficulties of moving around a large capital. Apparently it is still not enough and there is an attempt to postpone a serious reorganization in two years.
Taxi attack, they ask for the excerpt
No less fierce the taxi sector. In the first round of hearings Confartigianato, CNA, Alleanza delle Cooperative, supported by the Regions, requested the removal of article 8. In that article the "adaptation of the offer of services to the forms of mobility that take place through the 'use of web applications”, which is a serious discipline for Apps such as Uber.
Bathing establishments: no to competitions
Finally, the latest assault came by Assobalneari and Sib, the representatives of the bathing establishments. They insisted that the new beach concessions protect the concessionaires and the investments made. However, the government, pressed by Brussels which has been asking for concessions to be tendered for years, will have to issue a law sooner or later. The topic is hot and it is no coincidence that it was also discussed in Palazzo Chigi - shortly before the hearing in the Senate - in the presence of Prime Minister Draghi, the ministers of development Giorgetti and tourism Garofoli.
Competition law 2021, a story that repeats itself
The hearings on the Competition Bill continue throughout the week in the Industry Commission at an intense pace. Then the discussion will begin. The text arrived in the Senate on December 3 and was assigned to the committee on December 23. It is worth recalling a passage from the report that accompanies it:
The PNRR sets as a goal the entry into force of the 2021 annual competition law by the end of 2022.
Although it has been envisaged since 2009, as already mentioned, the annual law for the market and competition was actually adopted only in 2017 (law n. 124/2017).
In the PNRR, the Government has undertaken to implement the annual frequency, since this law is "essential for continuously reviewing the state of the legislation in order to verify whether there are still regulatory constraints on competitive gaming and the efficient functioning of the markets, taking account of the socio-economic background. A first series of competition-related measures will be envisaged by the law for the market and competition for 2021, while others will be considered in the annual laws for subsequent years"
Source: File 11 January 2022 – Senate of the Republic
