27Turning next to the context in which those provisions are situated, the Court notes that they relate to a special scheme which is an exception to the general scheme under the Sixth Directive. It is settled case-law that any derogation from or exception to a general rule must be interpreted strictly (see, inter alia, Case C-399/93 Oude Luttikhuis and Others [1995] ECR I-4515, paragraph 23, and Case C-5/01 Belgium v Commission [2002] ECR I-11991, paragraph 56). Like the other special schemes provided for in the Sixth Directive, the scheme under Article 25 must therefore be applied only to the extent necessary to achieve its objective (see Harbs, paragraph 27).
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