Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Umweltsenat (Austria) lodged on 19 May 2008 — Umweltanwalt von Kärnten, other parties Kärnter Landesregierung, Alpe Adria Energia SpA

(Case C-205/08)

(2008/C 209/30)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Umweltsenat

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Umweltanwalt von Kärnten

Other parties: Kärnter Landesregierung, Alpe Adria Energia SpA

Question referred

Is Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (1), as amended by the Amending Directive, 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 (2) and the Public Participation Directive, 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 (3), to be interpreted as meaning that a Member State must provide for an obligation to carry out an assessment in the case of types of projects listed in Annex I to the directive, in particular in point 20 (construction of overhead electrical power lines with a voltage of 220 kV or more and a length of more than 15 km), where the proposed scheme is to extend over the territory of two or more Member States, even if the threshold giving rise to the obligation to carry out an assessment (here, a length of 15 kilometres) is not reached or exceeded by the part of the scheme situated on its national territory but is reached or exceeded by adding the parts of the scheme proposed to be situated in a neighbouring State or States?

(1)  OJ 1985 L 175, p. 40.

(2)  OJ 1997 L 73, p. 5.

(3)  OJ 2003 L 156, p. 17.