This promise comes after a previous reform of the Coastal Regulation in 2022 was annulled in 2024 by the Supreme Court due to a formal defect, as the mandatory public consultation process was omitted. The executive has stressed that the main objective of the reform is to adapt the regulations to the demands of the European Commission regarding transparency and competitive concurrency.
“"The Government believes that these measures guarantee legal certainty and integrated coastal management in accordance with the community framework."
Likewise, it has been noted that the modification of the General Coastal Regulation does not contemplate a reduction of the current concession periods in the maritime-terrestrial public domain. On the contrary, it plans to extend the period for marine cultivation to 75 years, from the 50 years approved in the 2014 legislation.
The processing period has included a prior consultation from February 4 to February 19 of this year, and a public hearing and information from March 9 to April 1, 2026. The opinion of the Council of State will be requested at a later stage of the process, in accordance with established regulations.
In parallel, several coastal Autonomous Communities of Spain held the II National Coastal Summit in Valencia in March. At this meeting, they formed a common front to demand from the Government a new coastal law that provides greater legal certainty and is "more current, more real" and "more sensitive to the reality" of each region, overcoming the current "delimitation policy".
The autonomous communities agreed on a manifesto that demands a new coastal law, rejects the regulations promoted by the Government, and calls for an urgent meeting of the sectoral commission with the presence of the third vice-president and minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. Additionally, they will create a working group to draft a new regulation "with an autonomous vision, incorporating Atlantic, Mediterranean, and island sensitivities."
