Advocate General Sharpston presented her opinion in a reference for a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of the Habitats Directive. The case concerns the inclusion of parts of the river Ems in the draft list of sites of Community importance (SCIs) in the Atlantic region for which the Commission has requested the agreement of the Federal Government of Germany. Before the referring court, the municipality of Papenburg argued that its right to self-government, which is protected under Article 28(2) GG (German Basic Law), would be infringed by Germany agreeing, pursuant to the first subparagraph of Article 4(2) of the Habitats Directive, to the draft list of SCIs in the Atlantic region drawn up by the Commission. Advocate General advised the Court to interpret Article 4(2) of the Habitats Directive in a way that its scopedoes not allow a Member State to refuse to agree to the Commission's draft list of sites of Community importance on grounds other than nature conservation.