Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 3 April 2014 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Consiglio di Stato - Italy) — Cascina Tre Pini s.s. v Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare, Regione Lombardia, Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri, Consorzio Parco Lombardo della Valle del Ticino, Comune di Somma Lombardo
(Case C-301/12) 1
(Request for a preliminary ruling — Environment — Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora — Directive 92/43/EEC — Sites of Community importance — Review of status in the event of pollution or degradation of the environment — National legislation not providing for persons concerned to request such a review — Attribution to the competent national authorities of a discretionary power to undertake of their own motion a review procedure of that status)
Language of the case: Italian
Referring court
Consiglio di Stato
Parties to the main proceedings
Applicant: Cascina Tre Pini s.s.
Defendants: Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare, Regione Lombardia, Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri, Consorzio Parco Lombardo della Valle del Ticino, Comune di Somma Lombardo
Re:
Request for a preliminary ruling — Consiglio di Stato — Interpretation of Articles 9 and 10 of Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (OJ 1992 L 206, p. 7) — Sites of Community importance (SCI) — Review of SCI status in the event of pollution or degradation of the environment — No provision under national legislation for the persons concerned to request such a review — Discretion conferred on the competent authorities as regards initiation of the procedure for review of SCI status — No regular appraisal of the conditions for initiating a review of SCI status — No obligation to inform the persons concerned of such a procedure
Operative part of the judgment
Articles 4(1), 9 and 11 of Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, as amended by the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded, must be interpreted as meaning that the competent authorities of the Member States are required to propose to the European Commission the declassification of a site on the list of sites of Community importance, where those authorities have received a request from the owner of land included in that site, alleging an environmental degradation of the site, provided that that request is based on the fact that, despite compliance with the provisions of Article 6(2) to (4) of that directive, that site can definitively no longer contribute to the conservation of natural habitats and of the wild fauna and flora or the setting up of the Natura 2000 network;
Articles 4(1), 9 and 11 of Directive 92/43, as amended by the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded, must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation under which a power is conferred on the regional and local authorities alone to propose the adaptation of the list of the sites of Community importance, but not on the State, even to act in lieu of the regional or local authorities in the event that they fail to act, provided that that allocation of power does not prevent the proper application of the provisions of that directive.
____________1 OJ C 258, 25.8.2012.