SEZIONE IV - PORTI

The chapter focuses on the managing bodies of seaports' contractual activity under the EU directives on public procurement and the Codice dei contratti pubblici. It describes the external limits of the legal notion of 'Seaport' and the mismatch between the notions of concession as defined by the EU directives and the Italian law concerning seaports administration. The conclusions reached are different for cargo-handling operations and passengers services, on the one hand, and services of general economic interest, on the other hand. The writing highlights that to face many interpretative doubts it is necessary distinguishing between the ports directly conducted by State or regional authorities' administration and the ones managed by Port Authorities. A core problem, indeed, is qualifying the Port Authorities as non-economic public bodies or as economic entities