Communication from the Commission to the Council concerning the establishment of a Community position for the discussions and negotiations on aviation environmental issues to be addressed by the 32nd session of the General Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Montreal, from 22 September to 2 October 1998
Date: 1998-05-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: International Civil Aviation Organisation, aircraft, civil aviation, environmental protection, noise

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 06.05.1998 

COM(1998) 265  final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 

concerning the establishment of a Community position for the discussions and 
negotiations on aviation environmental issues to be addressed by the 32nd session of 
the General Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), 
Montreal, from 22 September to 2 October 1998 

SUMMARY 

The Secretary General of ICAO has invited the Commission to attend as observer on 
behalf of the European Community the 32nd session of the ICAO General Assembly, 
which will take place in Montreal from 22 September to 2 October 1998. 

The General Assembly will, amongst others, address aviation environmental protection 
on the basis of reports made by the ICAO Council. Topics covered by this agenda item 
include: 

•  aircraft noise; 

•  aircraft  engine emissions; 

•  environmental taxes and charges; 

• 

the  relationship  between  ICAO  and  other  United  Nations  organisations  in  charge  of 
defining environmental guidelines. 

Since  1991 the  Commission  has  participated  with  observer  status  in  the  Committee  on 
Aviation  Environmental  Protection  (CAEP).  This  committee  is  responsible  for  making 
recommendations  to  the  ICAO-Counci!  on  issues  such  as  aircraft  noise  and  aircraft 
engine emissions. 

Given  the  slow  progress  on  these  issues  within  ICAO  during  recent  years,  the 
Commission  is  concerned  that  decisions  taken  within  ICAO  might  fail  to  give  due 
consideration  to  the  specific  needs  for  environmental  protection  and  preconditions  foi-
future  development of aviation infrastructures  in the Community. 

Against this background  and in the light of existing Community competence  in the areas 
of aircraft  noise and taxation of mineral oils as well as the Community  interest in the area 
of aircraft  engine  emissions  and  of Member  States'  competencies  in certain  areas  to be 
considered  at  the  32nd  session  as  well,  the  Commission  proposes 
that  the  Council 
approves the attached conclusions concerning the position to be taken by the Community 
and by the Member States at the 32nd session. 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 

concerning the establishment of a Community position for the discussions and 
negotiations on aviation environmental issues to be addressed by the 32nd session of 
the General Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), 
Montreal, from 22 September to 2 October 1998. 

Introduction 

1.  Recommendations  to  the  ICAO-Council  on  Aviation  environmental  issues  are  the 
responsibility  of the  Committee  on  Aviation  Environmental  Protection  (CAHP), in 
which the Commission has had observer status since 1991. 

2.  According  to  the  provisional  agenda  of  the  32nd  session  of  the  ICAO  General 
Assembly, the  ICAO Council  will  present  a progress  report  on  the activities  in  the 
areas of aircraft  noise  and the  impact  of emissions  from  aircraft  engines.  As urged 
by the 31st ICAO General Assembly, the Council will also report on  environmental 
taxes  and  charges  as  well  as  on  the  relations  between  ICAO  and  other  United 
Nations organisations, which are in charge of defining environmental guidelines. 

3.  Given  that  the  matters,  which  are  to  be  discussed  and  negotiated  at  the  General 
Assembly  and  which  may  result  in 
decisions  being  taken,  are  either  within 
Community  competence  (aircraft  noise  and  taxation  of  mineral  oils)  or  are  of 
Community  interest  (aircraft  engine  emissions),  it  is  essential  to  establish  in 
advance the position to be taken by the Community. 

Community competence and/or interest 

4.  For  aircraft  noise  and  gaseous  emissions  from  aircraft  there  is  a  Community 
competence  or  at  least  a  particular  interest  for  the  Community.  In  the  area  of 
international  standards  on  aircraft  noise  the  competence  is  exclusive  since  the 
Community  has  already  introduced  several  Directives  on  this  specific  issue.  The 
most  recent  one  is'Directive  92/14/EEC  of  2 March  1992 on  the  limitation  of  the 
operations of Chapter 2 aircraft, which is currently under revision. 

In  addition,  on  9  March  1998  the  Commission  adopted  a  Proposal  for  a  Council 
Directive  on  the  use  and  registration  within  the  Community  of  Chapter  2  aircraft 
fitted with hushkits (COM(1998)98  final). 

5.  The  issue  of  emissions  from  aircraft  engines represents  a particular  interest  for  the 
Community 
industrial 
competitiveness.  In  addition,  on  3  December  1997  the  Commission  adopted  a 
Proposal for a Council Directive on the limitation of nitrogen oxides emissions  from 
aircraft  engines. 

terms  of  environmental  protection  as  well  as 

in 

6.  Environmental  taxes, and  in particular taxation  of kerosene, are within  Community 
competence  since  Directives  92/81/EEC  and  92/82/EEC  establish  a  binding 
Community  system  for  respectively  the  harmonisation  of  the  structures  of  excise 
duties on mineral oils and the approximation of the rates of excise duties on mineral 
oils. These harmonisation  Directives  oblige  Member  States to  exempt  from  excise 
duties commercial aviation fuel, thus, bringing about totally harmonised rules which 
Member  States  may  not  affect.  The  Commission  has also  adopted  a proposal  for a 
Council  Directive  restructuring  the  Community  framework  for  the  taxation  of 
energy  products  (COM(97)  30  final)  which  includes  optional  provision  for  the 
taxation of commercial aviation fuel  on certain  flights 

7. 

In  addition,  Article  2  Paragraph  2  of  the  Kyoto  Protocol  to  the  United  Nations 
Framework  Convention  on  Climate  Change  states  that  "the  parties  included  in 
Annex  I shall  pursue  limitation  on reduction  of emissions  of  greenhouse  gases  not 
..through  the  Internationa! 
controlled  by  the  Montreal  Protocol  from  aviation 
Civil  Aviation  Organisation"........  The  forthcoming  ratification  by  the  Community 
and  its  Member  States  of the Kyoto  Protocol  implies that, the  Community  and  the 
Member States shall act together to negotiate such a reduction with ICAO . 

8.  The aforementioned  Council Directives and proposals for Council Directives  reflect 
the  general  competence  of  the  Community  for  matters  related  to  the  proper 
functioning  of  the  internal  market,  the  common  transport  and  environment  policy 
This  implies  not  only  that  the  Member  States  whether  acting  individually  or 
collectively, may not enter into obligations with non member countries which  affect 
such  common  rules  but  also,  especially  in  the  light  of  Member  States'  duties  to 
facilitate  the  achievement  of  the  Community's  tasks,  that  decisions  taken  or 
guidelines  adopted  in  these  areas  cannot  be  so  taken  or  adopted  by  individual 
Member  States as this  would  pre-empt  the  legislative  process  at  Community  level. 
Therefore, it is essential firstly that decisions to be taken or guidelines to be adopted 
at  the ICAO General  Assembly  commit  the Community  process through an agreed 
Community position. This is, in particular, the case for NOx emissions from  aircraft 
engines. Decisions taken on this issue by the 32nd session will be fed  into the ICAO 
decision  making  process  and may  well  result  in  amendments  to  the  standards  laid 
down  in  Annex  16 (Environmental  protection)  to  the  Convention  on  International 
Civil Aviation. 

9.  However, the Community is not a signatory to the Convention on International Civil 
Aviation  (Chicago  Convention).  Although  ICAO  decided  in  1988  to  give  the 
Community  observer  status, this status does not  include the right to take  initiatives 
in  the  ICAO  institutions,  such  as  the  Council  or  the  General  Assembly.  It  will, 
foresee  that, where it is not possible  for the  Commission 
therefore,  be essential  to 
to  present  entirely  the  Community  position,  the  Presidency  of  the  Council  shall 
present the same on behalf of the Community. 

0.  Since  the  matters  to  be  discussed  fall  mainly  within  Community  competence  but 
also  partly  within  the  competence  of  Member  States,  it  is  essential  secondly  to 
define  the  substance  of  the  position  to  be  taken  by  the  Member  States  as  well  as 
procedures  for  an  appropriate  coordination  between  that  position  and  that  of  the 
Community. 

Council Conclusions concerning the position to be taken by the Community 
and by the Member States at the 32nd session of the ICAO General Assembly 

In the light of the above, the Commission proposes that the Council concludes as 
follows : 

The  Community  position  for  the discussions  and  negotiations  at  the  32lul  session  of  the 
ICAO  General  Assembly  as  well  as  at  the  Committee  meetings  preceding  the  General 
Assembly  (namely  the  legal,  economic  and  administrative  committee)  shall  be  as 
follows : 

- to ensure consistency  between the Resolutions taken by the ICAO-General  Assembly 

and the relevant existing and evolving Community legislation. 

- to carry out the negotiations with a view to : 

•  obtaining a commitment  of the ICAO-Assembly to launch a work programme to 
investigate the technical and economic feasibility  of establishing  more stringent 
aircraft  noise  standards, taking  into account ongoing  research  activities, as well 
as  capacity  and  operating  constraints  at  airports  imposed  on  environmental 
protection grounds ; 

• 

taking a decision of the ICAO assembly  on technical  standards on the  limitation 
into  account 
of  nitrogen  oxides  emissions  from  aircraft  engines 
technological  knowledge  and  cost-effectiveness  criteria  as  well  as 
the 
Commission's proposal of 3 December  1997 on this matter ; 

taking 

•  obtaining a commitment of the ICAO-Assembly to continue the preparatory work 
on  the  progressive  introduction  of  economic  measures  aimed  at  improving  the 
environmental impact of aviation taking into account their  cost-effectiveness; 

•  obtaining  a  commitment  of  the  ICAO-Assembly  to  launch  a  work  programme 
aimed  at  ensuring  that  air  transport  contributes  to  the  achievement  of 
internationally agreed reduction targets for the emission of greenhouse gases. 

The Community position shall be put forward  by the Commission and, where this is 
necessary, by the presidency speaking on behalf of the Community. 

Since  the  matters  to  be  discussed  fall  also  in  part  within  the  competence  of  the 
Member States, the position to be put forward by them shall correspond  with that set 
out  hereabove.  Furthermore,  coordination  will  take  place  (either  on  the  sport  or 
where  appropriate  within  the  Council  bodies  in  Brussels)  in  order  to  ensure  close 
cooperation  between  the  Community  and  its  Member  States  and  thus  unity  in  the 
international  representation of the Community. 

If the results of the negotiations and discussions in the 32ml ICAO General  Assembly 
conform  essentially  to the  position  set out  above, such  results  shall  be endorsed  by 
the Community  and  its Member States. 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(98) 265 final 

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ISBN  92-78-35440-6 

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