25Secondly, it is important to note that it is undisputed that the Owenduff-Nephin Beg Complex has been classified as an SPA since October 1996. In so far as concerns land classified as an SPA, Article 7 of the Habitats Directive provides that the obligations arising under the first sentence of Article 4(4) of the Birds Directive are replaced, inter alia, by the obligations arising under Article 6(2) of the Habitats Directive as from the date of implementation of the Habitats Directive or the date of classification under the Birds Directive, where the latter date is later. It follows that, in the present case, Article 6(2) of the Habitats Directive, rather than the first sentence of Article 4(4) of the Birds Directive, has applied to the Owenduff-Nephin Beg Complex SPA since October 1996. That being so, the Commission's plea must be dismissed in so far as it is based on infringement of the first sentence of Article 4(4) of the Birds Directive and the Court must confine itself to considering whether there has been an infringement of Article 6(2) of the Habitats Directive.
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