THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC(1), and in particular Article 21(1) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) 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.
(2) Directive 2008/101/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(2) and Directive 2009/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(3) 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 601/2012(4) laid down rules for the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and activity data, while Commission Regulation (EU) No 600/2012(5) set out rules for the verification of greenhouse gas emission reports, the accreditation and mutual recognition of verifiers, and peer evaluation of accreditation bodies.
(3) Furthermore, Commission Regulation (EU) No 389/2013(6) determined the general, operational and maintenance requirements concerning the Union Registry and Commission Decision 2011/278/EU(7) set out transitional Union-wide rules for harmonised free allocation of emission allowances pursuant to Article 10a of Directive 2003/87/EC.
(4) Commission Decision 2005/381/EC(8) 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/EC(9) amended that questionnaire in the light of the experience gained by the Member States and the Commission in using it.
(5) 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.
(6) 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.
(7) The Annex to Decision 2005/381/EC should therefore be amended.
(8) 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 Council(10),
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Directive 2008/101/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to include aviation activities in the scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community (OJ L 8, 13.1.2009, p. 3).
Directive 2009/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme of the Community (OJ L 140, 5.6.2009, p. 63).
Commission Regulation (EU) No 601/2012 of 21 June 2012 on the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 181, 12.7.2012, p. 30).
Commission Regulation (EU) No 600/2012 of 21 June 2012 on the verification of greenhouse gas emission reports and tonne-kilometre reports and the accreditation of verifiers pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 181, 12.7.2012, p. 1).
Commission Regulation (EU) No 389/2013 of 2 May 2013 establishing a Union Registry pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Decisions No 280/2004/EC and No 406/2009/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Commission Regulations (EU) No 920/2010 and No 1193/2011 (OJ L 122, 3.5.2013, p. 1).
Commission Decision 2011/278/EU of 27 April 2011 determining transitional Union-wide rules for harmonised free allocation of emission allowances pursuant to Article 10a of Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 130, 17.5.2011, p. 1).
Commission Decision 2005/381/EC of 4 May 2005 establishing a questionnaire for reporting on the application of Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC (OJ L 126, 19.5.2005, p. 43).
Commission Decision 2006/803/EC of 23 November 2006 amending Decision 2005/381/EC establishing a questionnaire for reporting on the application of Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC (OJ L 329, 25.11.2006, p. 38).
Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on a mechanism for monitoring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions and for reporting other information at national and Union level relevant to climate change and repealing Decision No 280/2004/EC (OJ L 165, 18.6.2013, p. 13).