14 Amendments of Tudor CIUHODARU related to 2021/0205(COD)
Amendment 78 #
(4) The air transport market is subject to increasingly strong competition between economic actors across the Union, whether public or private, for which a level playing field is indispensable. The stability and prosperity of the air transport market and its economic actors relies on a clear and harmonised policy framework where aircraft operators, airports and other aviation actors can operate on the basis of equal opportunities. Where market distortions occur, they risk putting aircraft operators or airports at a disadvantage with internal or external competitors. In turn, this can result in a loss of competitiveness of the air transport industry, and a loss of air connectivity for citizens and businesses.
Amendment 83 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) A key objective of the common transport policy is sustainable development. This requires an integrated approach aimed at ensuring both the effective functioning of Union transport systems and protection of the environment. Sustainable development of air transport requires the introduction of joint measures, decided by mutual agreement at European and international levels, aimed at reducing the carbon emissions from aircraft flying from Union airports. Such measures should contribute to meeting the Union’s climate objectives by 2030 and 2050.
Amendment 94 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) The Communication on a Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy10 adopted by the Commission in December 2020 sets a course of action for the EU transport system to achieve its green and digital transformation and become more resilient. The decarbonisation of the air transport sector is a necessary and challenging process, especially in the short term. Technological advancements, pursued in European and national research and innovation aviation programmes have contributed to important emission reductions in the past decades. However, the constant, global growth of air traffic hasand the increase in the number of airports and destinations have outpaced the sector’s emissions reductions. Whereas new technologies are expected to help reducing short-haul aviation’s reliance on fossil energy in the next decades, sustainable aviation fuels offer the only solution for significant decarbonisation of all flight ranges, already in the short term. However, this potential is currently largely untapped. _________________ 10Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy – putting European transport on track for the future (COM/2020/789 final), 9.12.2020.
Amendment 102 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) The gradual introduction of sustainable aviation fuels on the air transport market will represent an additional fuel cost for airlines, as such fuel technologies are currently more expensive to produce than conventional aviation fuel. This is expected to exacerbate the pre-existing issues of level playing field on the air transport market as regards aviation fuel, and to cause further distortions among aircraft operators and airports, because there is a danger that new sustainable aviation fuel production technologies will not be accessible to all. This regulation should take measures to prevent that the introduction of sustainable aviation fuels affects negatively the competitiveness of the aviation sector by defining harmonised requirements across the Union.
Amendment 113 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) At EU level, general rules on renewable energy for the transport sector are set out in Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council11. In the past, such horizontal cross-sectoral regulatory frameworks have not proven effective to operate a transition from fossil fuels to sustainable aviation fuel in air transport, with important repercussions for air transport beneficiaries. Directive (EU) 2018/2001 and its predecessor set out overarching targets across all transport modes to be supplied with renewable fuels. As aviation is a small fuels market for which renewable fuels are more costly to produce while a fully integrated European transport market, in comparison to other transport modes, such regulatory frameworks should be complemented with aviation-specific measures to effectively boost the deployment of sustainable aviation fuels. Further, national transpositions of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 risks creating significant fragmentation in the air transport market, where national rules on sustainable aviation fuels would set out widely differing targets. This would be expected to further exacerbate the issues of level playing field in air transport. _________________ 11Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (OJ L 328, 21.12.2018, p. 82).
Amendment 114 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) Therefore, uniform rules need to be laid down for the aviation internal market to complement Directive (EU) 2018/2001 and to deliver on its overall objectives by addressing the specific needs and requirements arising from the EU aviation internal market. In particular, the present Regulation aims to avoid a fragmentation of the aviation market, prevent possible competitive distortions between economic actors, or unfair practices of cost avoidance as regards the refuelling of aircraft operators, with significant effects on the prices paid by air transport beneficiaries.
Amendment 116 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) This regulation aims in the first instance to set out a framework restoring and preserving a level playing field on the air transport market as regards the use of aviation fuels. Such a framework should prevent divergent requirements across the Union that would exacerbate refuelling practices distorting competition between aircraft operators or putting some airports at competitive disadvantage with others. In a second instance, it aims to gear the EU aviation market with robust rules to ensure that gradually increasing shares of sustainable aviation fuels can be introduced at EU airports without detrimental effects on the final prices charged to beneficiaries or the competitiveness of the EU aviation internal market.
Amendment 120 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) The present Regulation should apply to aircraft engaged in civil aviation, carrying out commercial air transport flights. It should not apply to aircraft such as military aircraft and aircraft engaged in operations for humanitarian, search, rescue, disaster relief or medical purposes, as well as customs, police and fire-fighting operations. Indeed, flights operated in such circumstances are of exceptional nature and as such cannot always be planned in the same way as regular flights. Due to the nature of their operations, they may not always be in a position to fulfil obligations under this Regulation, as it may represent unnecessary burden. In order to cater for a level playing field across the EU aviation single market, this regulation should cover the largest possible share of commercial air traffic operated from airports located on EU territory. At the same time, in order to safeguard air connectivity for the benefits of EU citizens, businesses and regions, it is important to avoid imposing undue burden on air transport operations at small airports. A threshold of yearly passenger air traffic and freight traffic should be defined, below which airports would not be covered by this Regulation; however, the scope of the Regulation should cover at least 95% of total traffic departing from airports in the Union. For the same reasons, a threshold should be defined to exempt aircraft operators accountable for a very low number of departures from airports located on EU territory, especially those airports that have only recently begun operating and have not had time to consolidate their business.
Amendment 139 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) The present Regulation should aim to ensure that aircraft operators can compete on the basis of equal opportunities as regards the access to sustainable aviation fuels. To avoid any distortions on the air services market, all Union airports covered by this Regulation should be supplied with uniform minimum shares of sustainable aviation fuels, in strict proportion to the traffic at the airport concerned. Whereas the market is free to supply and use larger quantities of sustainable fuel, this Regulation should ensure that the mandatory minimum shares of sustainable aviation fuels are the same across all the covered airports and take into account the traffic at the airports concerned. It supersedes any requirements established directly or indirectly at national or regional level requiring aircraft operators or aviation fuel suppliers to uptake or supply sustainable aviation fuels with different targets than the ones prescribed under this Regulation. In order to create a clear and predictable legal framework and in doing so encourage the market development and deployment of the most sustainable and innovative with growth potential to meet future needs fuel technologies, this Regulation should set out gradually increasing minimum shares of synthetic aviation fuels over time. Setting out a dedicated sub-obligation on synthetic aviation fuels is necessary in view of the significant decarbonisation potential of such fuels, and in view of their current estimated production costs. When produced from renewable electricity and carbon captured directly from the air, synthetic aviation fuels can achieve as high as 100% emissions savings compared to conventional aviation fuel. They also have notable advantages compared to other types of sustainable aviation fuels with regards to resource efficiency (in particular for water needs) of the production process. However, synthetic aviation fuels’ production costs are currently estimated at 3 to 6 times higher than the market price of conventional aviation fuel. Therefore, this Regulation should establish a dedicated sub-obligation for this technology. Other types of synthetic fuels, such as low carbon synthetic fuels achieving high greenhouse gas reductions, could be considered for inclusion in the scope of this Regulation in the course of future revisions, where such fuels become defined under the Renewable Energy Directive.
Amendment 143 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 20
Recital 20
(20) It is essential to ensure that the minimum shares of sustainable aviation fuels can be successfully supplied to the aviation market without supply shortages. For this purpose, sufficient lead-time should be planned to allow the renewable fuels industry to develop production capacity accordingly, and also the storage capacity in order to meet demand. The supply of sustainable aviation fuels should become mandatory starting in 2025. Similarly, in order to provide legal certainty and predictability to the market and drive investments durably towards sustainable aviation fuels production capacity, the terms of this Regulation should be stable over a long period of time.
Amendment 148 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) With the introduction and ramp-up of sustainable aviation fuels at Union airports, practices of fuel tankering may be exacerbated as a consequence of aviation fuel costs increases. Tankering practices are unstainable and should be avoided as they undermine the Union’s efforts to reduce environmental impacts from transport. Those would be contrary to the aviation decarbonisation objectives as increased aircraft weight would increase fuel consumption and related emissions on a given flight, and may also have undesirable effects on flight safety in the case of a heavier aircraft. Tankering practices also put at risk the level playing field in the Union between aircraft operators, and also between airports. This Regulation should therefore require aircraft operators to refuel prior to departure from a given Union airport. The amount of fuel uplifted prior to departures from a given Union airport should be commensurate with the amount of fuel necessary to operate the flights departing from that airport, taking into account the necessary compliance with fuel safety rules. The requirement ensures that equal conditions for operations in the Union applying equally to Union and foreign operators, while ensuring high level of environmental protection. As the Regulation does not define a maximum share of sustainable aviation fuels in all aviation fuels, airlines and fuel suppliers may pursue more ambitious environmental policies with higher sustainable aviation fuels uptake and supply in their overall network of operations, while avoiding fuel tankering.
Amendment 287 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 2
Article 11 – paragraph 2
(2) Member States shall ensure that any aircraft operator failing to comply with the obligations laid down in Article 5 is liable to an administrative fine. That fine shall be at least twice as high as the multiplication of the yearly average price of aviation fuel per tonne and of the total yearly non- tanked quantity, and may be increased for repeat violations;
Amendment 294 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 3
Article 11 – paragraph 3
(3) Member States shall ensure that any aviation fuel supplier failing to comply with the obligations laid down in Article 4 relative to the minimum share of sustainable aviation fuels is liable to an administrative fine. That fine shall be at least twice as high as the multiplication of the difference between the yearly average price of conventional aviation fuel and sustainable aviation fuel per tonne and of the quantity of aviation fuels not complying with the minimum share referred to in Article 4 and Annex I, and may be increased for repeat violations;
Amendment 308 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 7
Article 11 – paragraph 7
(7) Member States shallould prepare themselves in good time to have the necessary legal and administrative framework in place at national level to ensure the fulfilment of the obligations and the collection of the administrative fines. Member States shall transfer the amount collected through those administrative fines as contribution to the InvestEU Green Transition Investment Facility, as a top-up to the EU guarantee.