1. 

Environment — Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora — Directive 92/43 — Sites of Community importance — Creation by the Commission of the national list of sites concerned — No designation, by the Member States, as special areas of conservation — Failure to fulfil obligations

(Council Directive 92/43, Arts 3(1), first subpara, 2 and 4(4); Commission Decision 2004/813; Commission Decision 2006/613)

(see paras 32-34, 38)

2. 

Action for failure to fulfil obligations — Examination of the merits by the Court — Situation to be taken into consideration — Situation on expiry of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion

(Art. 258 TFEU)

(see paras 36, 57)

3. 

Environment — Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora — Directive 92/43 — Special areas of conservation — Obligations of the Member States — Scope — No actual implementation of the conservation measures — Failure to fulfil obligations

(Council Directive 92/43, Arts 1(1)(l), 2(2) and 6(1), Annexes I and II)

(see paras 50-54)

4. 

Member States — Obligations — Implementation of directives — Failure to fulfil obligations — National system pleaded as justification — Not permissible

(see para. 57)

1. 

Declares that, by having failed to designate as special areas of conservation 61 sites of Community importance, which were selected by the European Commission in Commission Decision 2004/813/EC of 7 December 2004 adopting, pursuant to Council Directive 92/43/EEC, the list of sites of Community importance for the Atlantic biogeographical region, and in Commission Decision 2006/613/EC of 19 July 2006 adopting, pursuant to Council Directive 92/43/EEC, the list of sites of Community importance for the Mediterranean biogeographical region, as soon as possible and within a period of six years at most from the date on which those decisions were adopted, and, by having failed to adopt the necessary conservation measures which satisfy the ecological requirements of the types of natural habitat referred to in Annex I to Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, and of the species referred to in Annex II to that directive present on those sites of Community importance, the Portuguese Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 4(4) and Article 6(1) of that directive;

2. 

Orders the Portuguese Republic to pay the costs.