Paul Abraham and Others v Région wallonne and Others.

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Celex Number: 62007CJ0002
• ECLI: ECLI:EU:C:2008:133
• Docket Number: C-2/07
• Court: Court of Justice (European Union)
• Procedure Type: Reference for a preliminary ruling
• Date: 28 February 2008

Case C-2/07

Paul Abraham and Others

v

Région wallonne and Others

(Reference for a preliminary ruling from the

Cour de cassation (Belgium))

(Directive 85/337/EEC – Assessment of the effects of projects on the environment – Airport with a runway more than 2 100 metres in length)

Summary of the Judgment

1. Environment – Assessment of the effects of certain projects on the environment – Directive 85/337

(Council Directive 85/337, Art.1(2))

2. Environment – Assessment of the effects of certain projects on the environment – Directive 85/337

(Council Directive 85/337, Annexes I, point 7, and II, point 12)

3. Environment – Assessment of the effects of certain projects on the environment – Directive 85/337

(Council Directive 85/337, Annexe II, point 12)

1. Although an agreement signed between the public authority, a company in charge of the development and promotion of an airport and an air freight company which provides for certain modifications to the infrastructure of that airport in order to enable it to be used 24 hours per day and 365 days per year is not a project within the meaning of Directive 85/337 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, it is for the national court to determine, on the basis of the applicable national legislation, whether such an agreement constitutes a development consent within the meaning of Article 1(2) of that directive. It is necessary, in that context, to consider whether that consent forms part of a procedure carried out in several stages involving a principal decision and implementing decisions and whether account is to be taken of the cumulative effect of several projects whose impact on the environment must be assessed globally.

(see para. 28, operative part 1)

2. In its original version, point 12 of Annex II to Directive 85/337 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, which refers to ‘modifications to development projects included in Annex I’, read in conjunction with point 7 of Annex I, which encompasses the ‘construction … of airports with a basic runway length of 2 100 m or more’, also encompasses works to modify the infrastructure of an existing airport, without extension of the runway, where they may be regarded, in particular because of their nature, extent and characteristics, as a modification of the airport itself. That is the case in particular for works aimed at significantly increasing the activity of the airport and air traffic. It is for the national court to establish that the competent authorities correctly assessed whether the works at issue in the main proceedings were to be subject to an environmental impact assessment.

The scope of Directive 85/337 is wide and its purpose very broad. It would be contrary to the very objective of that directive to exclude works to improve or extend the infrastructure of an existing airport from the scope of Annex II on the ground that Annex I of that directive covers the ‘construction of airports’ and not ‘airports’ as such. Such an interpretation would allow all works to modify a pre-existing airport, regardless of their extent, to fall outside the obligations resulting from Directive 85/337 and would, in that regard, thus deprive Annex II of that directive of all effect.

(see paras 32-33, 40, operative part 2)

3. As regards a project covered by point 12 of Annex II to Directive 85/337 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, the competent authorities have an obligation to take account of the projected increase in the activity of an airport in determining the environmental effect of modifications made to its infrastructure with a view to accommodating that increase in activity.

(see para. 46, operative part 3)

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Second Chamber)

28 February 2008 (*)

(Directive 85/337/EEC – Assessment of the effects of projects on the environment – Airport with a runway more than 2 100 metres in length)

In Case C‑2/07,

REFERENCE for a preliminary ruling under Article 234 EC from the Cour de cassation (Belgium), made by decision of 14 December 2006, received at the Court on 4 January 2007, in the proceedings

Paul Abraham and Others

v

Région wallonne,

Société de développement et de promotion de l’aéroport de Liège‑Bierset,

T.N.T. Express Worldwide (Euro Hub) SA,

Société nationale des voies aériennes-Belgocontrol,

État belge,

Cargo Airlines Ltd,

THE COURT (Second Chamber),

composed of C.W.A. Timmermans, President of the Chamber, L. Bay Larsen, K. Schiemann, P. Kūris and J.‑C. Bonichot (Rapporteur), Judges,

Advocate General: J. Kokott,

Registrar: M.-A. Gaudissart, Head of Unit,

having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 18 October 2007,

after considering the observations submitted on behalf of:

– Mr Abraham and Others, by L. Misson, L. Wysen and X. Close, avocats, and A. Kettels, Rechtsanwältin,

– Mr Beaujean and Others, by L. Cambier and M. t’Serstevens, avocats,

– Mr Dehalleux and Others, by L. Cambier, avocat,

– Mr Descamps and Others, by A. Lebrun, avocat,

– Région wallonne, by F. Haumont, avocat,

– Société de développement et de promotion de l’aéroport de Liège-Bierset, by P. Ramquet, avocat,

– T.N.T. Express Worldwide (Euro Hub) SA, by P. Henfling and V. Bertrand, avocats,

– the Belgian Government, by A. Hubert and C. Pochet, acting as Agents, assisted by F. Haumont, avocat,

– the Czech Government, by T. Boček, acting as Agent,

– the Commission of the European Communities, by M. Konstantinidis and J.‑B. Laignelot, acting as Agents,

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 29 November 2007,

gives the following

Judgment

1 This reference for a preliminary ruling concerns the 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; ‘Directive 85/337’), in the version existing prior to Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 (OJ 1997 L 73, p. 5; ‘Directive 97/11’), and in particular point 7 of Annex I and point 12 of Annex II thereto.

2 The reference was made in proceedings between numerous individuals who live near Liège-Bierset Airport (Belgium) and the Région wallonne (Region of Wallonia), Société de développement et de promotion de l’aéroport de Liège‑Bierset, T.N.T. Express Worldwide (Euro Hub) SA (‘TNT Express Worldwide’), Société nationale des voies aériennes‑Belgocontrol, the État belge (Belgian State) and Cargo Airlines Ltd regarding the noise pollution brought about by the establishment of an air freight centre at that airport.

Legal context

Community law

3 Pursuant to Article 1(1) thereof, Directive 85/337, applicable here in its original version, concerns the assessment of the environmental effects of those public and private projects which are likely to have significant effects on the environment.

4 Article 1(2) of Directive 85/337 states:

‘…

“project” means:

– the execution of construction works or of other installations or schemes,

– other interventions in the natural surroundings and landscape including those involving the extraction of mineral resources;

“developer” means:

the applicant for authorisation for a private project or the public authority which initiates a project;

“development consent” means:

the decision of the competent authority or authorities which entitles the developer to proceed with the project.’

5 Under Article 2(1) of the directive, ‘Member States shall adopt all measures necessary to ensure that, before consent is given, projects likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue inter alia, of their...