Judgment_paragraph 16 · Commission of the European Communities v République de Finlande (C-240/00)

16Article 4(1) of the Birds Directive requires Member States to classify as SPAs the most suitable territories in number and size for the conservation of the species mentioned in Annex I (Case C-3/96 Commission v Netherlands [1998] ECR I-3031, paragraph 55). Under Article 4(2), Member States are also to classify as SPAs the breeding, moulting and wintering areas and staging posts along the migration routes of migratory species (see, in that regard, Case C-166/97 Commission v France [1999] ECR I-1719, paragraphs 14 and 15, and Case C-374/98 Commission v France [2000] ECR I-10799, paragraph 16).