Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has opened a prior public consultation to amend the General Coastal Regulation (RD 876/2014), following an infringement procedure launched by the European Commission concerning the management of coastal concessions within the public maritime-terrestrial domain.
The reform stems from infringement case related to the implementation of Directive 2006/123/EC on services in the internal market. According to the Commission, Spain’s current coastal framework does not ensure sufficiently transparent and impartial selection procedures for granting concessions and allows extensions of up to 75 years without a competitive process.
In December 2024, the Commission issued a reasoned opinion concluding that certain provisions of the Spanish Coastal Law and its implementing regulation fail to comply with Article 12 of the Services Directive. The Government has opted to amend the regulation in order to address issues concerning the duration of concessions, award procedures, renewal mechanisms and the management and termination of occupation titles within the public coastal domain. Legislative amendments to the Coastal law itself and expected at a late stage.
The stated objective is to prevent the infringement procedure from escalating to a ruling before the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Although the consultation document does not yet detail the specific regulatory changes, the revision may have significant implications for aquaculture operations located in coastal public domain areas or within protection zones. Any modification affecting the duration or renewal of concessions is particularly relevant for land-based farms situated on the coastal, hatcheries, purification centres and other production-related infrastructures.
As a capital-intensive industry with long amortisation periods, aquaculture relies heavily on concession stability and regulatory predictability. Changes to the concession framework may therefore influence investment planning and asset valutation.
The prior public consultation will remain open until 19 February. Stakeholders may submit comments before the draft RD (Royal Decree) is prepared. Once the draft is published, it will undergo the formal public hearing and consultation process. However, early engagement at this stage may provide greater influence over the overall design of the reform.
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