The Case

On a proper construction of art4(5) of Council Directive 92-43-EEC (on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) the protective measures prescribed in art6(2), (3) and (4) of that directive were required only as regards sites which, in accordance with the third subparagraph of art4(2) of the directive, were on the list of sites selected as sites of Community importance adopted by the Commission of the European Communities in accordance with the procedure laid down in art21 of the directive. In the case of sites eligible for identification as sites of Community importance which were included in the national lists transmitted to the Commission and, in particular, sites hosting priority natural habitat types or priority species, the member states were, by virtue of the directive, required to take protective measures that were appropriate, from the point of view of the directive's conservation objective, for the purpose of safeguarding the relevant ecologist interest which those sites have at national level.