Società Italiana Dragaggi SpA and Others v Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti and Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia.

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Court: Court of Justice (European Union)
• Writing for the Court: Gulmann
• ECLI: ECLI:EU:C:2005:16
• Date: 13 January 2005
• Docket Number: C-117/03
• Procedure Type: Reference for a preliminary ruling

Case C-117/03

Società Italiana Dragaggi SpA and Others

v

Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti and Regione Autonoma del Friuli Venezia Giulia

(Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Consiglio di Stato)

(Directive 92/43/EEC – Conservation of natural habitats – Wild fauna and flora – National list of sites eligible for identification as sites of Community importance – Conservation measures)

Opinion of Advocate General Kokott delivered on 8 July 2004

Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber), 13 January 2005

Summary of the Judgment

Environment – Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora – Directive 92/43 – Special areas of conservation – Sites, included in the national lists, eligible for identification as sites of Community importance – Protective measures – Inapplicability of the measures prescribed in Article 6(2), (3) and (4) – Obligation on the Member States to safeguard their ecological interest

(Council Directive 92/43, Arts 4(5), and 6(2),(3) and (4))

On a proper construction of Article 4(5) of Directive 92/43 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, the protective measures prescribed in Article 6(2), (3) and (4) of that directive are required only as regards sites which, in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 4(2) of the directive, are on the list of sites selected as sites of Community importance adopted by the Commission in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 21 of the directive. Consequently, those measures do not apply to the sites included in the national lists transmitted to the Commission pursuant to Article 4(1) of the directive.

However, by virtue of that directive, the Member States are required, as regards the latter sites, which are eligible for identification as sites of Community importance, and in particular as regards those hosting priority natural habitat types or priority species, to take protective measures that are appropriate, from the point of view of the directive’s conservation objective, for the purpose of safeguarding the relevant ecological interest which those sites have at national level.

(see paras 21-22, 25, 28-30, operative part)

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Second Chamber)
13 January 2005(1)

(Directive 92/43/EEC – Conservation of natural habitats – Wild fauna and flora – National list of sites eligible for identification as sites of Community importance – Conservation measures)

In Case C-117/03,

REFERENCE for a preliminary ruling under Article 234 EC from the Consiglio di Stato (Italy), made by order of 17 December 2002, received at the Court on 18 March 2003, in the proceedings Società Italiana Dragaggi SpA and Others

v

Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti,
Regione Autonoma del Friuli Venezia Giulia ,

THE COURT (Second Chamber),,

composed of: C.W.A. Timmermans, President of the Chamber, C. Gulmann (Rapporteur), J.-P. Puissochet, N. Colneric and J.N. Cunha Rodrigues, Judges, Advocate General: J. Kokott,
Registrar: M. Múgica Arzamendi, Principal Administrator, having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on
9 June 2004,
after considering the observations submitted on behalf of:

–

Società Italiana Dragaggi SpA, acting in its own name and as agent of Associazione Temporanea di Imprese Mantovani SpA and HAM BV, by R. Titomanlio, avvocato,

–

Regione Autonoma del Friuli Venezia Giulia, by G. Marzi, avvocato,

–

the French Republic, by C. Mercier, acting as Agent,

–

the Kingdom of Sweden, by A. Kruse, acting as Agent,

–

the Commission of the European Communities, by M. van Beek and L. Cimaglia, acting as Agents,

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 8 July 2004,

gives the following

Judgment

1

The reference for a preliminary ruling relates to the interpretation of Articles 4(5), 6(3) and 21 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; ‘the Directive’).

2

The reference was submitted in proceedings between, first, Società Italiana Dragaggi SpA (‘Dragaggi’) amongst others and, second, the Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti (Ministry for Infrastructure and Transport) and the Regione Autonoma Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Autonomous Region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia) concerning the annulment, by the contracting authority, of a tender procedure relating to dredging works and the dumping of sediment on reclaimed land in the port of Monfalcone.

Legal context

Community law

3

The sixth recital in the preamble to the Directive states that, ‘in order to ensure the restoration or maintenance of natural habitats and species of Community interest at a favourable conservation status, it is necessary to designate special areas of conservation in order to create a coherent European ecological network according to a specified timetable’.

4

According to Article 3(1) of the Directive, ‘a coherent European ecological network of special areas of conservation shall be set up under the title Natura 2000. This network, composed of sites hosting the natural habitat types listed in Annex I and habitats of the species listed in Annex II, shall enable the natural habitat types and the species’ habitats concerned to be maintained or, where appropriate, restored at a favourable conservation status in their natural range.’

5

Article 4 of the Directive is worded as follows: ‘1. On the basis of the criteria set out in Annex III (Stage 1) and relevant scientific information, each Member State shall propose a list of sites indicating which natural...