Greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community: inclusion of aviation activities in the scheme

To recall, at its plenary session of 8 July 2008, the European Parliament adopted a compromise package consisting of 30 amendments which had been agreed with the Council in view of reaching a second reading agreement.

The main amendments concern:

• the total quantity of allowances to be allocated to the aviation sector;
• the percentage of allowances to be auctioned;
• the use of revenues generated from the auctioning of allowances;
• the operation of the special reserve for fast growing operators;
• the timing and content of the review of the provisions of the Directive;
• the exclusions from the scheme, including the de minimis exemption.

The Commission accepts all these amendments as they are in line with the overall purpose and the general characteristics of the proposal. The Commission takes note of the agreement between the Council and the Parliament regarding the possibility to increase the levels of auctioning from 2013 in the context of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) review, where the Commission's position is set out in COM(2008)16 concerning the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading system of the Community (COD/2008/0013).

The Commission position remains that the level of auctioning in the aviation sector should be 20% in 2013.