342 COMPETITION LAW IN TOURISM objective needs of a general interest, clashing with the established principles for the protection of competition. The interventions of ICA have mainly concerned: i) the regulation of hotel and extra-hotel facilities; ii) the regulation of travel agencies and the technical directors operating there; iii) the legislation on tourist guides. 3.5. As regards point i), in the last year the Authority has also highlighted cases of discriminatory regulation at the regional level. This is the case of the Piemonte Region law no. 5/2019. This regional law was considered excessively restrictive and discriminatory by the Authority. In the opinion of ICA, the numerous rules regarding various forms of accommodation activities did not appear to be justified by the need to safeguard specific, imperative needs, resulting instead in limitations of the competitiveness of structures that hinder their operations within the market25. The Authority has also considered excessively restrictive some provisions of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region law no. 6/2019, which introduced functional, dimensional and operational requirements for the exercise of the bed-and- -breakfast activity – within the regional territory – that are particularly stringent. The Authority’s opinion, considering that these requirements contrast with the constitutional principles for the protection of competition and the freedom of economic initiative, had been requested by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers by art. 4 of the law decree 1/2012, in order to challenge the rules before the Constitutional Court for the violation of articles 41 and 117, second paragraph, letter e) of the Constitution26. Under art. 21 bis of law no. 287/90, the Authority has affirmed similar principles about the new discipline of non-hotel accommodation facilities in the Lazio Region, which introduced or tightened the requirements for the opening of this kind of activity. Such requirements were considered, in fact, an unjustified limitation regarding the access to (or exercise of ) non-hotel accommodation activities, as they can limit the operations of the facilities and subject market access to compliance requirements of a merely dimensional and functional nature27. 25 See, ICA Opinion, AS 1583, 27 March 2019, in Bull. no. 20/2019. 26 ICA Opinion, AS1594, 22 may 2019, in Bull. no. 27/2019. 27 ICA Opinion, AS1447, 2 August 2017, in Bull. no 44/2017.
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