True to an extent, although that is a bit of a can of worms on its own. I don't know if there are any EU laws on the matter, but for what concerns Italian law they can't charge you just for accessing the beach.

Meaning, you have the right to pass through it (as it's public soil) as well as accessing the sea (cause again, it's public). If you use the beach for anything other than walking through it (including sitting, lying down and such) I think the licensee is allowed to charge you. I say it's a can of worms because in practice some places will forbid you access or make it functionally impossible with barriers and such. And usually people can't be bothered to call the cops and fill out papers, so they just go around them.