Judgment_paragraph 65 · European Commission v Ireland (C-444/21)

65Thus, and taking into account also the context and purpose of Article 4(4) of the Habitats Directive, the Court has considered that, although it is apparent from that provision that the designation of special areas of conservation and the determination of conservation priorities must be carried out as soon as possible and in any event within six years at most from the moment when a site of Community importance has been selected in the context of the procedure laid down in paragraph 2 of that article, that period applies also to the establishment of the conservation objectives, given that they are necessary for the setting of those priorities and must, therefore, precede it (see, to that effect, judgment of 17 December 2020, Commission v Greece, C‑849/19, EU:C:2020:1047, paragraphs 47 to 53).