The Boreal biogeographical region referred to in Article 1(c)(iii) of Directive 92/43/EEC comprises parts of the territory of Finland, Sweden and Lithuania and the territory of Estonia and Latvia, as specified in the biogeographical map approved on 23 October 2000 by the Habitats Committee set up under Article 20 of the Directive.

This decision does not cover the territories of the Member States that joined the European Community on 1 May 2004. These Member States initiated the transmission of their site proposals to the Commission on that date. As a consequence, the Commission is not in a position to integrate the information from these Member States into the present initial list of sites of Community importance, within the meaning of Directive 92/43/EEC. These data will be subject to a future Commission decision, when all the pertinent information will have been collected and when an in-depth scientific evaluation of the site proposals from these Member States will have been made.

It is furthermore necessary, in the context of a process initiated since 1995, to make progress in the establishment of the Natura 2000 network, which is an essential element of the protection of biodiversity in the European Community.

For the Boreal biogeographical region, lists of sites proposed as sites of Community importance within the meaning of Article 1 of Directive 92/43/EEC have been transmitted to the Commission between January 2003 and August 2004, in accordance with Article 4(1) of the Directive, by Finland and Sweden.

The lists of proposed sites were accompanied by information on each site, supplied in the format established by Commission Decision 97/266/EC of 18 December 1996 concerning a site information format for proposed Natura 2000 sites2.

That information includes the most recent and definitive map of the site transmitted by the Member State in question, the site's name, location and extent, and the data yielded by application of the criteria specified in Annex III to Directive 92/43/EEC.

On the basis of the draft list drawn up by the Commission in agreement with each of the Member States concerned, which also identifies sites hosting priority natural habitat types or priority species, a list of sites selected as sites of Community importance should be adopted.

Knowledge of the existence and distribution of the natural habitat types and species is constantly evolving, as a result of the surveillance in accordance with Article 11 of Directive 92/43/EEC. Therefore, the evaluation and selection of sites at Community level was done using the best available information at present.

According to the settled case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, ‘to produce a draft list of sites of Community importance, capable of leading to the creation of a coherent European ecological network of special areas of conservation, the Commission must have available an exhaustive list of the sites which, at national level, have an ecological interest which is relevant from the point of view of the directive's objective of conservation of natural habitats and wild fauna and flora. […] Only in that way, moreover, is it possible to realise the objective, in the first subparagraph of Article 3(1) of the Directive, of maintaining or restoring the natural habitat types and the species' habitats concerned at a favourable conservation status in their natural range, which may lie across one or more frontiers inside the Community’3.

On the basis of available information and on the common assessments made within the framework of the biogeographic seminars, prepared by the European Topic Centre on Nature Protection and Biodiversity, and the bilateral meetings held with the Member States, some Member States have not proposed sufficient sites to meet the requirements in Directive 92/43/EEC for certain habitat types and species. It can therefore not be concluded for these species and habitat types listed in Annex 2 to this Decision that the network is complete. However, taking into account the delay in receiving the information and reaching agreement with the Member States, the Commission considers that it should adopt an initial list of sites which will need to be revised in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 of Directive 92/43/EEC for the habitat types and species listed in Annex 2 to this Decision for which indicated Member States have not proposed sufficient sites according to the requirements of Directive 92/43/EEC.

Given that knowledge on the existence and distribution of the natural habitat types of Annex I and species of Annex II to that Directive that occur in both marine territorial waters and as well as marine waters under national jurisdiction beyond territorial waters remains incomplete, it cannot be concluded that the network is either complete or incomplete for them. The relevant species and habitat types are listed in Annex 3 to this decision. Consequently, the Commission considers that the initial list will be revised, if necessary, for the different habitat types and species listed in Annex 3 to this Decision in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 of Directive 92/43/EEC.

Annex 3 to this Decision also lists the other habitat types of Annex I and species of Annex II to that Directive which are subject to scientific examination.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Habitats Committee,