Judgment_paragraph 51 · European Commission v Ireland (C-444/21)

51In the present case, it must be held that the national legislation invoked by Ireland, in support of its response to the first complaint in the Commission’s application, which, according to that Member State, affords sufficient protection to sites of Community importance at issue without designating them as special areas of conservation, is not such as to satisfy the specific obligation, laid down in Article 4(4) of the Habitats Directive, formally to designate sites of Community importance as special areas of conservation.