COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2020/1493

of 12 October 2020

on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union within the Joint Committee, established by the Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the linking of their greenhouse gas emissions trading systems, as regards amending Annexes I and II to the Agreement and the adoption of Linking Technical Standards

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 192(1), in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Whereas:

(1) The Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the linking of their greenhouse gas emissions trading systems (1) (‘the Agreement’) was concluded by the Union by Council Decision (EU) 2018/219 (2) and entered into force on 1 January 2020.

(2) Pursuant to the Agreement, the Joint Committee established by the Agreement (‘the Joint Committee’) may adopt a decision on Linking Technical Standards (LTS) developed by the Swiss registry administrator and the Union central administrator and based on the principles set out in Annex II to the Agreement, describing the detailed requirements for establishing a robust and secure connection between the Swiss Supplementary Transaction Log (SSTL) and the European Union Transaction Log (EUTL). The LTS are then to take effect following their adoption by decision of the Joint Committee.

(3) Annex I to the Agreement should be amended in accordance with the Agreement to ensure a smooth transition in administration of aircraft operators attributed to Switzerland for the first time after the entry into force of the Agreement, by taking account of the progress made on establishing the registry link.

(4) Annex II should be amended to provide for a larger, but equivalent set of technologies to set up the registry link required by the Agreement.

(5) The Joint Committee, during its third meeting, to be held in 2020, is to adopt the developed Linking Technical Standards.

(6) It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf within the Joint Committee, as the LTS will be binding on the Union.

(7) Adoption of the LTS is an important element of the implementation of the Agreement, in order to allow establishing the technical foundations of the link and to outline the baseline for the technical specifications in terms of architectural, service and security requirements.

(8) It is appropriate for the Joint Committee to set up a working group pursuant to the Agreement to assist the Joint Committee in its functions under the Agreement as regards the development of technical guidelines to ensure the proper implementation of the Agreement including establishing a robust and secure connection between the SSTL and the EUTL. The working group should at least include the Swiss Registry administrator and the Union central administrator.

(9) The position of the Union within the Joint Committee should therefore be based on the draft Decision of the Joint Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1 The position to be taken on the Union’s behalf in the third meeting of the Joint Committee established by the Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the linking of their greenhouse gas emissions trading systems, as regards amending Annexes I and II to the Agreement, the adoption of Linking Technical Standards and the setting up of a working group pursuant to Article 12(5) of the Agreement, shall be based on the draft Decision of the Joint Committee (3). Minor changes to the draft Decision of the Joint Committee may be agreed to by the representatives of the Union within the Joint Committee without a further decision of the Council.

Article 2 This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

Done at Luxembourg, 12 October 2020. For the Council The President J. BORRELL FONTELLES

(1) OJ L 322, 7.12.2017, p. 3.

(2) Council Decision (EU) 2018/219 of 23 January 2018 on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the linking of their greenhouse gas emissions trading systems (OJ L 43, 16.2.2018, p. 1).

(3) See document ST 10836/20 on http://register.consilium.europa.eu