Case C-57/89 Commission of the European Communities v Federal Republic of Germany [1991] ECR I-0883

Although the Member States do have a certain discretion with regard to the choice of the territories which are most suitable for classification as special protection areas pursuant to Art 4(4) of Directive 79/409 on the conservation of wild birds, they do not have the same discretion to modify or reduce the extent of such areas, which contain the most suitable environments for the species listed in Annex I, and thus unilaterally escape from the obligations imposed on them by Art 4(4) of the Directive. The power of the Member States to reduce the extent of special protection areas can be justified only on exceptional grounds corresponding to a general interest which is superior to the general interest represented by the ecological objective of the Directive. In that context the economic and recreational requirements referred to in Art 2 of the Directive do not enter into consideration, since that provision does not constitute an autonomous derogation from the system of protection established by the Directive.