Transformation of Cape Figari lighthouse into luxury hotel

Subject: Transformation of Cape Figari lighthouse into luxury hotel

Newfari S.r.l. has submitted a proposal for a project to transform the old semaphore station / lighthouse in Cape Figari in the municipality of Golfo Aranci (province of Sassari, Italy) into a luxury hotel.

In addition to holding historical significance, having served as the site for Guglielmo Marconi's short wave radio signal transmission experiments in 1932, the semaphore station / lighthouse situated at Cape Figari is located within a Special Protection Area (SPA) designated by the Italian Ministry of the Environment, in accordance with Directive 79/409/EEC (commonly known as the Birds Directive), and forms part of the Natura 2000 network.

In the light of the above and the European Union’s recent efforts to protect biodiversity, can the Commission say whether the construction of a luxury hotel is compatible with the objective of ‘conservation of all species of naturally occurring birds in the wild state in the European territory of the Member States’ as set out in Directive 79/409/EEC?

Submitted:18.7.2023

Answer given by Mr Sinkevičius on behalf of the European Commission (15 September 2023)

The Commission has no information about the project referred to by the Honourable Member. Without prejudice to the Commission’s role as guardian of the Treaties, Member States are primarily responsible to ensure compliance with EU law, including in relation to assessing projects’ possible impacts on Natura 2000 sites.

According to Article 6(3) of the Habitats Directive (1), any plan or project that is likely to have a significant impact on a Natura 2000 site, either individually or in combination with other plans or projects, must be subject to an assessment of its impacts in view of the site's conservation objectives.

The Commission published several guidance documents to help Member States’ authorities implement the above-mentioned provisions (2).

Italy has transposed these provisions in its national legislation (3) and, in 2019, adopted tailored national guidelines to facilitate and ensure their consistent implementation across its regions (4).

Region Sardinia has also adopted relevant guidelines (5). In addition, Article 5 of the Birds Directive (6) requires that Member States take the requisite measures to establish a general system of protection for all species of birds covered by the directive.

It is therefore for the competent Italian authorities to assess the project in question and to correctly apply the above-mentioned provisions.

1 ∙ ⸱ Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7 ‐50.

2 ∙ ⸱ https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/management/guidance_en.htm

3 ∙ ⸱ https://www.mase.gov.it/pagina/la-valutazione-di-incidenza-vinca#:~:text=Si%20tratta%20del%20processo%20d,di%20significativit%C3%A0%20di%20tali

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4 ∙ ⸱ https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2019/12/28/19A07968/SG

5 ∙ ⸱ https://portal.sardegnasira.it/-/delib-g-r-n-30-54-del-30-09-2022-direttive-regionali-per-la-valutazione-di-incidenza-ambientale-v-inc-a ‐

6 ∙ ⸱ Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds, OJ L 20, 26.1.2010, p. 7 ‐25.