37Lastly, it should be noted that SACs are designated by the three-stage process set out in Article 4 of the Habitats Directive. At the first stage, under Article 4(1) of that directive, each Member State proposes a list of sites indicating which natural habitat types and native species they host, and that list is transmitted to the Commission. At the second stage, under Article 4(2), the Commission establishes, in agreement with each Member State, a draft list of SCIs drawn from the Member States’ lists. On the basis of that draft list, the Commission adopts the list of selected sites. At the third stage, under Article 4(4), once an SCI has been adopted, the Member State concerned designates it as an SAC as soon as possible and within 6 years at most, establishing priorities in the light of the importance of the sites for the maintenance or restoration, at a favourable conservation status, of a natural habitat type or species and for the coherence of Natura 2000.
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