Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council (Transport), 9 December 2021

Source: Council of the European Union (Council) i, published on Thursday, December 9 2021, 20:00.

Main results

Overview of the Fit for 55 package

The Council started the meeting by taking note of the overall progress on the Fit for 55 package of legislative proposals in different Council configurations. The Fit for 55 package aims to help the EU reach its target of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990, and become climate-neutral by 2050.

Ministers then had their first formal discussion on each of the three Fit for 55 transport proposals -- ReFuelEU Aviation, FuelEU Maritime and alternative fuels infrastructure -- in order to guide further work on these files.

These proposals will play a significant role in the EU’s efforts to cut its transport emissions by 90%, which is a pre-requisite for meeting the 2050 climate neutrality goal.

Sustainable air transport

The Council took note of progress and held a policy debate on a proposal aimed at ensuring a level playing field for sustainable air transport (ReFuelEU Aviation).

The proposal aims to increase both demand for and supply of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), including synthetic aviation fuels, while ensuring a level playing field across the EU air transport market.

Air transport has been hit very hard by the pandemic. However, the only way for the industry to recover is to act on climate ambitions, while ensuring air connectivity for citizens and a competitive market.

Jernej Vrtovec, Slovenian Minister for Infrastructure and chair of the Council meeting

During the Council debate, ministers largely supported the objectives of the proposal. They presented their views on how such objectives would be achieved by using different types of fuels and by using different levels of uptake of fuels in the coming years. Several delegations highlighted the need to preserve connectivity and to take account of the specific situations of different member states. Ministers also underlined the need to maintain the competitiveness of the European aviation sector, which is facing the consequences of the pandemic. They stressed the importance of ensuring sufficient production and distribution capacity to supply the sustainable aviation fuels needed for the sector and to avoid market fragmentation. Some member states expressed concerns about budgetary rules when it comes to the use of revenue from fines.

Renewable and low-carbon fuels in maritime transport

The Council took note of progress and held a policy debate on a proposal to promote the use of renewable and low-carbon fuels in maritime transport (FuelEU Maritime).

The proposal aims to increase the demand for and consistent use of renewable and low-carbon fuels in the maritime sector, while ensuring the smooth operation of maritime traffic and avoiding distortions in the internal market.

Maritime transport is an essential vector for the EU’s internal and external trade and connectivity. We cannot reduce our carbon footprint sufficiently without the maritime sector’s contribution, even though this has its challenges, not least because of the global nature of shipping.

Jernej Vrtovec, Slovenian Minister for Infrastructure and chair of the Council meeting

During their discussion, ministers largely agreed on most of the objectives of the proposal, insofar as it promotes the use of renewable and low-carbon fuels in a sector that still relies almost entirely on fossil fuels. A number of ministers stressed the importance of the global dimension, both for the ambitions to be pursued, especially within the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), but also to address concerns related to carbon leakage or re-routing which could be caused by the obligations to reduce ships’ greenhouse gas intensity and obligations imposed on European ports.

A number of ministers highlighted the complexity of the proposal and its strong link with other Fit for 55 initiatives, in particular the renewable energy directive, the EU emissions trading system and the rules supporting the rollout of alternative fuels infrastructure, stressing the need to have a clear view of the overall impact on the sector. Several ministers expressed concerns about governance aspects, such as the imposition of penalties and their use, as well as the role of public authorities in enforcing the regulation. Further work was overall considered necessary so that the proposal could be examined properly.

Alternative fuels infrastructure

The Council took note of progress and held a policy debate on a draft regulation on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure (AFIR).

The objective of the proposal is to support EU-wide deployment of publicly accessible recharging and refuelling infrastructure for alternative fuels in road transport, aviation and the waterborne sector. It also aims to ensure that infrastructure is interoperable and user-friendly.

Currently, the chicken and egg dilemma is still hampering the shift to greener fuels. On the one hand, limited infrastructure puts many people off from buying vehicles powered with alternative fuels; on the other hand, we do not progress fast enough in building the infrastructure out of fear of ending up with a stranded investment. These wide-ranging revised rules are key to solving this problem, as they will ensure legal certainty, increase consumer confidence and provide a clear signal to the industry, car manufacturers and other stakeholders.

Jernej Vrtovec, Slovenian Minister for Infrastructure and chair of the Council meeting

During the debate, ministers expressed broad support for the objectives and approach of the proposal. However, many ministers emphasised that one size does not fit all and that flexibility would be needed to take account of national specificities, such as surface area, population and traffic density and geography. A number of ministers considered that emissions-free technologies are still being developed, particularly for heavy-duty road vehicles. It would therefore be important to monitor the development of different technologies and markets to see where solutions are viable and cost-efficient. Accompanying measures and incentives would be needed for a fast initial market development, but these should not hamper private investment.

Some ministers mentioned the need to keep in mind the interlinkages with the other Fit for 55 proposals and the importance of establishing an ecosystem for transformation towards clean mobility. A number of member states said that the return of the vehicle provisions in the Mobility package were contradictory to the climate goals and asked the Commission to take action to cancel this measure.

Any other business

Under any other business, the presidency briefed ministers on the state of play of current legislative proposals.

On revised rules for the use of hired vehicles for the carriage of goods by road, the presidency reached a provisional agreement with the European Parliament in October. It is planning to submit the text for adoption at this year’s last Council meeting.

On the European air traffic management reform known as the Single European Sky, the presidency held two ‘trilogue’ meetings with the European Parliament. Some progress was made in those meetings, in particular on technical issues.

In addition, the Council preparatory bodies are examining the draft decision on the implementation of the offsetting notification under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) for EU-based aircraft operators.

The Belgian delegation expressed its concerns about new trends in road freight transport in terms of the number of driver attestations for third-country drivers, which it considers a challenge for social conditions and the modal shift.

The Cyprus delegation, on behalf of the Cyprus, Bulgarian, Estonian, Greek, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese and Slovak delegations, briefed ministers on the issue of air connectivity. It called for measures to address the connectivity gap across the EU resulting from the pandemic, to facilitate the speedy recovery of the sector and to ensure a smooth and just green transition for all member states.

The Commission updated ministers on the issues of Passenger Locator Forms and transport workers. It highlighted the need for member states to cooperate on containing the spread of the new COVID-19 variant. It also stressed the need to ensure the protection of the single market, which requires that transport workers’ essential role is recognised and their special treatment maintained.

In addition, the incoming French presidency presented its work programme for the first half of 2022.

Meeting information

  • Meeting n°3836
  • Brussels
  • 9 December 2021

Preparatory documents

Outcome documents


1.

Relevant EU dossiers