EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 4.8.2021

COM(2021) 451 final

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL

on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to Directive (EU) No 2016/2284 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2016 on the reduction of national emissions of certain atmospheric pollutants, amending directive 2003/35/EC and repealing Directive 2001/81/EC

1.Introduction

Directive (EU) 2016/2284 on the reduction of national emissions of certain atmospheric pollutants is the main legislative instrument to achieve the 2030 objectives of the Clean Air Programme 1 . This Directive sets national emission reduction commitments for each EU Member State for the period 2020 to 2029 and more ambitious ones as of 2030, targeting five air pollutants responsible for significant negative impacts on human health and the environment: sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC), ammonia (NH3) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5).  

The Directive furthermore establishes monitoring and reporting requirements for national emissions of the above mentioned pollutants as well as of other pollutants, to be monitored and reported on also under the respective protocols to the UNECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP Convention) to which the EU Member States are parties. These emissions are to be reported in accordance with the methodologies laid down in the LRTAP Convention.

Directive (EU) 2016/2284 requires Member States to adopt a National Air Pollution Control Programme (NAPCP), which constitutes a central governance instrument that allows them to coordinate and agree policies and measures to ensure national emission reduction commitments are met.

Directive (EU) 2016/2284 requires Member States to monitor negative impacts of air pollution upon ecosystems.

Directive (EU) 2016/2284 empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts to amend the Directive to adapt Annexes I, III, IV and V to technical or scientific progress or developments under the LRTAP Convention.

Article 6(8) of the Directive lays down that the Commission is empowered to adapt Part 2 of Annex III to developments, including technical progress, within the framework of the LRTAP Convention. Annex III sets out emission reduction measures, including references to the UNECE Framework Code for Good Agricultural Practice for Reducing Ammonia Emissions of 2014 and UNECE guidance on Nitrogen Budgets, to be considered for inclusion in the National Air Pollution Control Programmes.

Article 8(7) of the Directive lays down that the Commission is empowered to adapt Annex I and Annex IV to developments, including technical and scientific progress, within the framework of the LRTAP Convention. Annex I sets out the pollutant emissions to be monitored by Member States and their reporting requirements largely aligned with the requirements under the LRTAP Convention. Annex IV sets out the methodologies for the preparation of national emission inventories and projections, informative inventory reports and adjusted national emission inventories.

Article 9(3) of the Directive lays down that the Commission is empowered to adapt Annex V on optional indicators for monitoring air pollution impacts on ecosystems, to technical and scientific progress and to developments within the framework of the LRTAP Convention.

2.Legal Basis

Article 16(2) of Directive (EU) 2016/2284 requires the Commission to report on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts referred to Articles 6(8), 8(7) and 9(3).

Pursuant to this provision, the power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission for a period of five years from 31 December 2016, and is automatically extended for a period of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of that period.

3.Exercise of the delegation

The empowerment was deemed necessary for complementing or adapting provisions set out in Annexes I, III, IV and V to the Directive to take account of technical and scientific progress or developments in the framework of the LRTAP Convention.

The Commission reports that it has not yet adopted relevant delegated acts.

The reasons for this relate to:

a)the absence of developments in the framework of the LRTAP Convention that would have required an adaptation of the respective Annexes to be considered;

b)the absence of technical or scientific progress that is sufficiently stable and would warrant an adaptation of the respective annexes.

4.Conclusion

The Commission has not exercised the delegated powers conferred to it under Directive (EU) 2016/2284 since its entry into force on 31 December 2016.

The Commission considers that all delegations of power should be retained, as adaptations of Annexes I, III, IV and V to technical and scientific progress or developments in the framework of the LRTAP Convention may be needed in the future.

The Commission invites the European Parliament and the Council to take note of this report.

(1)

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, A Clean Air Programme for Europe, COM (2013)918, 18.12.2013