Post date: Oct 05, 2017 12:33:14 AM
Any tourist management plan that proposes limiting access to public areas runs the risk of violating both Italian and European Union laws on the free movement of citizens. The San Marco Pass proposes to restrict the number of people visiting St. Mark's Square (a very public area) and Pass4Venice proposes controlling access to the entire old city of Venice. Many tourists to Venice hail from other EU states and would, by some laws, be guaranteed access to the city. Also, nearly 600,000 Italians visit Venice every year, though the majority visit Lido or Mestre. Let's take a look at some of the most pertinent laws:
Article XLV of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights guarantees the freedom of movement of EU citizens: "Every citizen of the Union has the right to move and reside freely within the Member States."
Article XLV of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union also ensures the "freedom of movement for workers [...] within the Union." Interestingly, though, it allows for limitations to be placed on this movement if "public policy, public security or public health."
The Italian constitution does something similar: in Article XVI, it promises "every citizen" the right to "travel freely in any part of the country." However, it mentions that exceptions can be made for "such general limitations as may be established by law for reasons of health or security."
The 2015 tourism IQP team looked into just that: what criteria are needed to make the situation in Venice deemed "unsafe," and thus grant some legal credence to these proposed tourist management plans. It's a nebulous legal realm that we're entering, as there is a multitude of both EU and Italian laws that guarantee the free movement of people, but also allow for restrictions on their movement if situations merit it.
- Joey