The Member States’ envoys, meeting on Tuesday 4 April in the EU Council’s Working Party on Aviation, took stock and tried to find solutions on the issues on which differences remain with the European Parliament in the interinstitutional negotiations (trilogue) on a level playing field for sustainable air transport (‘RefuelEU Aviation’) (see EUROPE 13077/3).
While the co-legislators are on the way to finding common ground - or have already done so - on a significant part of the text, several important issues remain unresolved.
In particular, solutions will have to be found on the minimum shares of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and synthetic aviation fuel made available to aircraft operators at EU airports. On this point, the European Parliament would like to see a minimum SAF share of 2%, including 0.04% of synthetic aviation fuels, from 1 January 2025. The EU Council is said to favour a simple 2% share of SAF, with no target for synthetic aviation fuels. Five years after that, the European Parliament wants the share of synthetic fuels to increase to 2%, while the EU Council wants to set this bar at 0.7%.
The gaps are widening with each passing year, with the European Parliament keen to see the share of SAF increase to 37% by 2040, including 13% of synthetic fuels. For the EU Council, the objective would be to reach the thresholds of 32% SAF by 2040, of which 8% would be synthetic air fuels. The biggest differences are in 2050, with 85% SAF for the European Parliament and 63% for the EU Council. For the European Parliament, synthetic air fuels should account for 50% of SAF by that date, compared to 28% for the EU Council.
In addition to some nuances in the definition of the different fuels, European Parliament and EU Council negotiators will also have to agree on the question of the creation - or not - of the ‘Sustainable Aviation Fund’. The European Parliament has advocated for the idea of setting up a fund for the period 2023-2050. This structure would aim to decarbonise the sector without hindering the internal market and by supporting investments. In this respect, the European Parliament wants to see the amount of administrative fines collected in case of non-compliance with the obligations of the regulation transferred to the Fund. Member States reportedly want to receive these amounts.
The future interinstitutional negotiations are also expected to resolve the issue of the Commission’s report on the application of the regulation, its impact and the development of the fuel market. The European Parliament would like the first report to be published by 1 January 2026 at the latest, and then every 3 years. When it comes to the EU Council, they want a first publication on 1 January 2027 at the latest, and then every 5 years.
To see the document: https://aeur.eu/f/689 (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)