Article 21(1) of Directive 2003/87/EC requires Member States to submit annual reports to the Commission on the application of that Directive. Since its adoption, Directive 2003/87/EC has been substantially amended and the Commission has adopted various legislative instruments to further implement it.

Directive 2008/101/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council2 and Directive 2009/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council3 amended Directive 2003/87/EC so as to include aviation activities in the scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Union and to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme of the Union, respectively. Commission Regulation (EU) No 601/20124 laid down rules for the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and activity data, while Commission Regulation (EU) No 600/20125 set out rules for the verification of greenhouse gas emission reports, the accreditation and mutual recognition of verifiers, and peer evaluation of accreditation bodies.

Furthermore, Commission Regulation (EU) No 389/20136 determined the general, operational and maintenance requirements concerning the Union Registry and Commission Decision 2011/278/EU7 set out transitional Union-wide rules for harmonised free allocation of emission allowances pursuant to Article 10a of Directive 2003/87/EC.

Commission Decision 2005/381/EC8 set out a questionnaire to be used by the Member States for the drawing up of annual reports aimed at establishing a detailed account of the application of Directive 2003/87/EC. Commission Decision 2006/803/EC9 amended that questionnaire in the light of the experience gained by the Member States and the Commission in using it.

The application of Directive 2003/87/EC as amended and the legislative instruments adopted by the Commission as well as further experience gained by the Member States and the Commission in using the questionnaire have shown the need to increase synergies and the coherence of the information reported.

In particular, the reporting requirements set out in that questionnaire should be modified in line with the legislative instruments mentioned and should be further improved in a harmonised manner in order to enhance the effectiveness of the reporting process and the quality of the information reported by the Member States.

The Annex to Decision 2005/381/EC should therefore be amended.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Climate Change Committee established in accordance with Article 26 of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council10,