Official Journal of the European Union

(Case C-205/08)

(Reference for a preliminary hearing - Article 234 EC - Concept of ‘national court or tribunal’ - Admissibility - Directive 85/337/EEC - Environmental impact assessment - Construction of overhead electrical power lines - Length of more than 15 km - Transboundary constructions - Transboundary power line - Total length exceeding the threshold - Line mainly situated in the territory of a neighbouring Member State - Length of national section below the threshold)

2010/C 24/10

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Umweltanwalt von Kärnten

Defendant: Kärntner Landesregierung

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Umweltsenat (Austria) — Interpretation of Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (OJ 1985 L 175, p. 40), as amended by Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 amending Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (OJ 1997 L 73, p. 5) and by Directive 2003/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 providing for public participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment and amending with regard to public participation and access to justice Council Directives 85/337/EEC and 96/61/EC (OJ 2003 L 156, p. 17) — Requirement for an environment impact assessment for constructions of overhead electrical power lines of a length of more than 15 km — Length to be taken into account in the case of trans-frontier constructions — Scheme for an electrical power line with a total length exceeding the threshold but with only a section of 7.4 km on national territory, the remainder being situated on the territory of the neighbouring Member State.

Operative part of the judgment

Articles 2(1) and 4(1) of Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, as amended by Directive 2003/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003, are to be interpreted as meaning that the competent authorities of a Member State must make a project referred to in point 20 of Annex I to the Directive, such as the construction of overhead electrical power lines with a voltage of 220 kV or more and a length of more than 15 km, subject to the environmental impact assessment procedure even where the project is transboundary in nature and less than 15 km of it is situated on the territory of that Member State.

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(1) OJ C 209, 15.8.2008.