Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the promotion of the use of biofuels for transport
Date: 2001-11-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU environmental policy, common transport policy, excise duty, mineral oil, road transport, substitute fuel

30.4.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 103 E/205

Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the promotion of the
use of biofuels for transport

(2002/C 103 E/13)

(Text with EEA relevance)

COM(2001) 547 final — 2001/0265(COD)

(Submitted by the Commission on 17 December 2001)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 175(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee,

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty,

Whereas:

(7) In its resolutions of 8 June 1998 (1) and of 5 December
2000 the Council endorsed the Commission's Strategy
and Action Plan for Renewable Energy Sources and
requested specific measures in the biofuels sector.

(8) In its

resolution of 18 June 1998 (2)

the European
Parliament called for an increase in the market share of
biofuels to 2 % over five years through a package of
measures, including tax exemption and the establishment
of a compulsory rate of biofuels for oil companies.

(9) The optimum method for increasing the share of biofuels
in the national markets depends on the availability of
resources and raw materials, on national policies
to
promote biofuels and on tax arrangements, and should
therefore be left as far as possible to the policies of the
oil companies and other parties concerned.

(1) The European Council meeting at Gothenburg on 15 and
16 June 2001 adopted a Community strategy for
sustainable development consisting in a set of measures,
which include the development of biofuels.

(10) National policies to promote the use of biofuels should
not lead to prohibition of the free movement of fuels that
meet the harmonised environmental specifications as laid
down in Community legislation.

(2) Natural resources, and their prudent and rational utili-
sation as referred to in Article 174(1) of
the Treaty,
include oil, natural gas and solid fuels, which are
essential sources of energy but also the leading sources
of carbon dioxide emissions.

(3) The transport sector accounts for more than 30 % of final
energy consumption in the Community and is expanding
— a trend which is bound to increase, along with carbon
dioxide emissions.

(4) Greater use of biofuels for transport forms a part of the
package of measures needed to comply with the Kyoto
Protocol, and of any policy package to meet
further
commitments.

(5) Increased use of biofuels for transport is one of the tools
with which the Community can influence the global fuel
market for transport and hence the security of energy
supply in the medium and long term.

(6) Promoting the use of biofuels in keeping with good
farming practices will create new opportunities
for
sustainable
in a more market-
orientated common agriculture policy.

rural development

(11) However, it will be difficult to increase the proportion of
biofuel sold above a certain level without measures to
blend it in fossil fuel. Therefore, Member States should
aim at a minimum blending of 1 % of biofuel into the
mineral oil marketed in the Community. This percentage
will be adapted on the basis of the shares obtained by
biofuels among the various fuels marketed in the Member
States and based on further detailed studies.

for

cannot be

(12) Since the objective of the proposed action, namely the
introduction of general principles providing
a
minimum percentage of biofuels to be marketed and
distributed,
sufficiently achieved by the
Member States by reason of the scale of the action, and
can therefore be better achieved at Community level, the
Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the
principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the
Treaty.
In accordance with the principle of propor-
tionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does
is necessary in order to achieve
not go beyond what
that objective.

(1) OJ C 198, 24.6.1998, p. 1.
(2) OJ C 210, 6.7.1998, p. 215.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

30.4.2002

(13) Provision should be made for the possibility of rapidly
adapting the list of biofuels, the percentage of renewable
contents, and the schedule for introducing biofuels in the
transport fuel market, to technical progress and to the
the
results of an environmental
first stage of introduction.

impact assessment of

(14) Since the measures necessary for the implementation of
this Directive are measures of general scope within the
meaning of Article 2 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC of
28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise
of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (1),
they should be adopted by use of
regulatory
procedure provided for in Article 5 of that Decision,

the

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

(b) as biofuels blended in mineral oil derivatives taking into
account the appropriate European norms describing the
technical specifications for transport
fuels (EN 228 and
EN 590);

(c) as liquids derived from biofuels, such as ETBE (ethyl-tertio-
butyl-ether), where the percentage of biofuel is specified in
Part A of the Annex.

3. Member States shall monitor the effect of the use of
biofuels in diesel blends above 5 % by non-adapted vehicles
to ensure
and shall, where
compliance with the
relevant Community legislation on
emission standards.

take measures

appropriate,

Article 1

Article 4

This Directive sets a minimum percentage of biofuels to replace
diesel or gasoline for transport purposes in each Member State.

1. Member States shall report to the Commission, before
1 July each year, on the total sales of transport fuel and the
share of biofuels in such sales for the preceding year.

Article 2

1. For the purpose of this Directive, the following definitions

shall apply:

(a)

‘biofuels’ means liquid or gaseous fuel
produced from biomass;

for transport

(b) ‘biomass’ means the biodegradable fraction of products,
waste and residues from agriculture (including vegetal
and animal substances), forestry and related industries,
as well as the biodegradable fraction of industrial and
municipal waste;

(c)

‘energy content’ means the lower caloric value of a fuel.

2. The products listed in Part A of

the Annex shall be

considered biofuels.

2.
By 31 December 2006 at the latest, the Commission shall
report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the
progress made in the use of biofuels in the Member States, on
the economical aspects and on the environmental
impact of
further increasing the share of biofuels. On the basis of this
report, the Commission will propose, where appropriate, an
adaptation of the system of targets as laid down in Article 3.

Article 5

The Annex may be adapted to technical progress in

1.
accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 6(2).

2.
The schedule of Part B of the Annex may be adapted in
accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 6(2), on
the basis of
technologies,
technical development of biofuel
market penetration and applications in means of transport.

Article 3

Article 6

1. Member States shall ensure that the minimum proportion
of biofuels sold on their markets is 2 %, calculated on the basis
of energy content, of all gasoline and diesel sold for transport
purposes on their markets by 31 December 2005 and that this
share increases, aiming towards a minimum level of blending,
in accordance with the schedule set out in Part B of the Annex.

Biofuels may be made available in any of the following

2.
forms:

The Commission shall be assisted by the committee
1.
instituted by Article 4(2) of Council Decision 1999/21/EC
Euratom (2).

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, the regulatory
procedure laid down in Article 5 of Decision 1999/468/EC
shall apply, in compliance with Article 7 and Article 8 thereof.

(a) as pure biofuels;

The period provided for in Article 5(6) of Decision

3.
1999/468/EC shall be three months.

(1) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

(2) OJ L 7, 13.1.1999, p. 16.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 103 E/207

Article 7

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations
and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this
the latest. They shall
Directive by 31 December 2004 at
forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain
a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such
reference on the occasion of
their official publication.
Member States shall determine how such reference is to be
made.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the
provisions of national
in the field
covered by this Directive.

law which they adopt

Article 8

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.

Article 9

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

ANNEX

A. LIST OF BIOFUELS AND PERCENTAGE OF RENEWABLE CONTENTS

‘Bioethanol’: ethanol produced from biomass and/or the biodegradable fraction of waste, to be used as biofuel;

‘Biodiesel’: a diesel quality liquid fuel produced from biomass or used fried oils, to be used as biofuel;

‘Biogas’: a fuel gas produced by the anaerobic fermentation of biomass and/or the biodegradable fraction of waste that
can be purified to natural gas quality, to be used as biofuel;

‘Biomethanol’: methanol produced from biomass and/or the biodegradable fraction of waste, to be used as biofuel;

‘Biodimethylether’: dimethylether produced from biomass and/or the biodegradable fraction of waste, to be used as
biofuel;

‘Biooil’: a pyrolysis oil fuel produced from biomass, to be used as biofuel.

‘BioETBE (ethyl-tertio-butyl-ether)’: ETBE produced on the basis of bioethanol.

The percentage of volume bioETBE that is calculated as biofuel is 45 %.

B. MINIMUM AMOUNT OF SOLD BIOFUEL AS A PERCENTAGE OF SOLD GASOLINE AND DIESEL

Year

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

%

2

2.75

3.5

4.25

5

5.75

Of which as a minimum in the form
of blending
(%)

—

—

—

—

1

1.75