The aviation sector has a strong international character. A global approach to addressing emissions from international aviation offers the best prospects for ensuring sustainability in the long term.

The Union is endeavouring to secure a future international agreement to control greenhouse gas emissions from aviation and, in the meantime, is limiting climate change impacts from aviation activities to and from aerodromes in the Union, by autonomous action. In order to ensure that those objectives are mutually supportive and not in conflict, it is appropriate to take account of developments at, and positions taken in, international fora and in particular to take account of the resolution containing the ‘Consolidated statement of continuing ICAO policies and practices related to environmental protection’ adopted on 4 October 2013 at the 38th Session of the Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

The derogations provided for in this Regulation take into account the results of bilateral and multilateral contacts with third countries, which the Commission will continue to pursue on behalf of the Union, in order to promote the use of market-based mechanisms to reduce emissions from aviation.

It is recalled that Directive 2003/87/EC envisages the possibility of adopting measures amending the aviation activities listed in Annex I to that Directive where a third country introduces measures to reduce the climate change impacts from aviation activities.

The negotiation of all Union aviation agreements with third countries should be aimed at safeguarding the Union's flexibility to take action in respect of environmental issues, including with regard to measures to mitigate the impact of aviation on climate change.

In order to avoid distortion of competition, it is important that all flights on the same route be treated in the same way.

To further avoid a disproportionate administrative burden for the smallest aircraft operators, a temporary exemption should be added to Annex I to Directive 2003/87/EC. Non-commercial aircraft operators emitting less than 1 000 tonnes CO₂ per annum should, therefore, be exempt from the scope of that Directive, from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2020.

It is appropriate to enable the use, by aircraft operators that are small emitters, of an alternative approach for the verification of their emissions in order to reduce their administrative burden further. Member States should be able to implement simplification measures that address in particular the needs of non-commercial operators that are small emitters.

Special consideration should be given to mitigating or even eliminating any accessibility and competitiveness problems arising for the outermost regions of the Union. With this in mind, flights between an aerodrome located in an outermost region within the meaning of Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and an aerodrome located in another region of the EEA should also be included in the derogation established under this Regulation.

In order to ensure legal certainty for aircraft operators and national authorities it is appropriate to allow until 2015 for the surrender and reporting deadlines for 2013 emissions.

For the application of this derogation, it is important to recall that the methods for the allocation and issuance of allowances to aircraft operators remain those established under Directive 2003/87/EC, that is to say based on the verified tonne-kilometre data in respect of the relevant periods referred to therein.

After the 2016 ICAO Assembly and in the light of its outcome, the Commission should provide a full report to the European Parliament and to the Council. In that report, the Commission should, inter alia, consider all options for the coverage of emissions from aviation activities and, if appropriate, swiftly propose measures in order to ensure that international developments can be taken into account and that any issues about the application of the derogation can be addressed. The Commission should also give particular consideration to the environmental effectiveness of the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and, in this context, to the particular contribution of the aviation sector, including to modalities for the better alignment of the rules applicable to aviation activities and stationary installations respectively.

Since the objectives of this Regulation, namely to introduce a temporary derogation for the monitoring, reporting and surrendering of allowances from flights to and from countries outside the EEA from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2016, to lighten the administrative burden and simplify the administration of the scheme, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, but can rather, by reason of scale and effects of the action, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.

It is essential to ensure legal certainty for aircraft operators and national authorities in view of the surrender deadline of 30 April 2014 as referred to in Directive 2003/87/EC. Accordingly, this Regulation should apply from the date of its adoption.

Directive 2003/87/EC should be amended accordingly,