28However, 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 (see Case C-117/00 Commission v Ireland [2002] ECR I-5335, paragraph 25). Thus, areas which have not been classified as SPAs but should have been so classified continue to fall under the regime governed by the first sentence of Article 4(4) of the Birds Directive (see Case C-374/98 Commission v France [2000] ECR I-10799, paragraph 47).
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