18In addition, it is not disputed that a large number and area of the sites listed in the IBA Inventory 89 have not been classified as SPAs by the Italian authorities. In that regard, it is necessary to point out that the Italian Government, although it maintained, at the hearing, that that inventory required revision, admitted that it had not been in a position to challenge it with a more persuasive document. In those circumstances, in view of the scientific nature of the IBA Inventory 89, and of the absence of any scientific evidence adduced by the Italian Republic, tending particularly to show that the obligations flowing from Article 4(1) and (2) of the Directive could be satisfied by classifying as SPAs sites other than those appearing in that inventory and covering a smaller total area, that inventory, although not legally binding on the Member State concerned, can be used by the Court as a basis of reference for assessing whether the Italian Republic has classified a sufficient number and area of territories as SPAs for the purposes of the abovementioned provisions of the Directive (see, to that effect, Commission v Netherlands, cited above, paragraphs 68 to 70).
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