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In those circumstances, the Simvoulio tis Epikratias decided to stay the proceedings and to refer the following questions to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling: ‘(1) Is a master plan for a metropolitan urban-planning area which sets out general objectives, guidelines and programmes for organising the spatial and urban planning of the broader metropolitan area, in particular establishing as individual general objectives the protection of the mountainous areas surrounding the metropolitan area and the containment of urban sprawl, a plan which allows the competent administrative authority not to subject a plan — which is subsequently adopted by means of a decree pursuant to the law containing the aforementioned initial master plan and which defines protection zones in one of the aforementioned mountainous areas and the related permitted land uses and activities, in order to give more specific expression to and implement the objectives for the protection of mountainous areas and the containment of urban sprawl — to the … environmental assessment procedure … within the meaning of Article 3 [of Directive 2001/42], as interpreted [in paragraph 42 of] the judgment [in] Inter-Environnement Bruxelles and Others[, C‑567/10, EU:C:2012:159]? (2) If the answer to the [first] question is in the affirmative: where, [because of the date of its adoption], no … environmental assessment [as referred to in] … Directive 2001/42… was carried out in respect of that [master] plan, must that assessment be carried out [at the time of the adoption of] the measure [giving more specific expression to the abovementioned plan, where that measure was adopted after the coming into force of the directive]? (3) If the answer to the second question is in the negative: where a decree contains rules relating to protection measures and to permitted activities and land uses in an area included in the national part of the NATURA [2000] network as a SCI, [special area of conservation] and SPA … and those rules admittedly establish a regime of absolute nature protection, permitting only fire protection installations, forest management and hiking paths, but it is not apparent from the preparatory acts for the introduction of those rules that the conservation objectives of those areas — namely the specific environmental characteristics on account of which they were selected for inclusion in the NATURA [2000] network — were taken into account, while moreover uses that are no longer permitted are also still maintained within the area in question on the basis of those rules solely due to the fact that they were compatible with the previous protection regime, is that decree a management plan, within the meaning of Article 6(3) of Directive 92/43 … the adoption of which [does not need to be preceded by an] environmental assessment, in accordance with that article … in conjunction with Article 3(2)(b) of … Directive 2001/42 …? (4) [I]f the answer to the third question is in the affirmative: when a spatial planning measure has been adopted that relates to a wider single geographical area, and requires, in principle, under Article 3(2)(b) of Directive 2001/42 … in conjunction with Article 6(3) of Directive 92/43 …, the carrying out of a[n] … environmental assessment, which did not take place, and if it is found that the carrying out of a[n] … environmental assessment was required only for certain sections of this area — on account of the rules finally imposed in relation to the land uses and activities permitted in those sections, which do not constitute mere management plans — whereas such an assessment was not required for most of the geographical area because the rules adopted, in so far as they relate to these sections, in practice constitute a management plan, for which, in accordance with Article 3(2)(b) of Directive 2001/42 … in conjunction with Article 6(3) of Directive 92/43 …, there is no obligation to carry out such an assessment, is it possible, for the purposes of Directive 2001/42 …, to find that this body of rules is partially invalid and, therefore, to annul it only in respect of the sections of the [geographical] area which, because of the rules finally imposed, require the carrying out of a[n] … environmental assessment, with the further consequence, after the partial annulment of the measure in question, that [the] … environmental assessment takes place only in relation to this part and not the overall area?’