COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union concerning the position of the Council at the first reading on the adoption of a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 98/70/EC relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels and amending Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (COM(2012) 595 final- 2012/0288 (COD))
Date: 2014-12-16
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: biofuel, diesel fuel, energy consumption, energy crop, greenhouse gas, petrol, quality standard, reduction of gas emissions, renewable energy

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 16.12.2014  
COM(2014) 748 final 

2012/0288 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 

concerning the 

position of the Council at the first reading on the adoption of a  
Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 98/70/EC 
relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels and amending Directive 2009/28/EC on 
the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (COM(2012) 595 final- 
2012/0288 (COD)) 

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2012/0288 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 

concerning the 

position of the Council at the first reading on the adoption of a  
Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 98/70/EC 
relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels and amending Directive 2009/28/EC on 
the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (COM(2012) 595 final- 
2012/0288 (COD)) 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

Date of transmission of the proposal to the European Parliament 
and the Council: 
Date of the position of the European Parliament, first reading 
Date of the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee  

18 October 2012 

11 September 2013 
17 April 2013 

Date of the opinion of the Committee of the Regions 
Date of political agreement and formal adoption of the position at 
first reading by the Council (by qualified majority) 

No opinion issued 
13 June 2014 (political 
agreement), 9 December 
2014 (formal adoption) 

2. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSAL FROM THE COMMISSION 

The aim of the Commission proposal is to start the transition to biofuels that deliver 
substantial  greenhouse  gas  savings  when  also  estimated  indirect  land-use  change 
(ILUC) emissions are reported. While existing investments should be protected, the 
aims of the current proposal are to: 

–  limit the contribution that conventional biofuels (with a risk of ILUC emissions) 

make towards attainment of the targets in the Renewable Energy Directive; 

–  improve  the  greenhouse  gas  performance  of  biofuel  production  processes 
(reducing associated emissions) by raising the greenhouse gas saving threshold for 
new  installations  subject  to  protecting  installations1  already  in  operation  on  1st 
July 2014; 

–  encourage  a  greater  market  penetration  of  advanced  (low-ILUC)  biofuels  by 
allowing  such  fuels  to  contribute  more  to  the  targets  in  the  Renewable  Energy 
Directive than conventional biofuels; 

–  improve  the  reporting  of  greenhouse  gas  emissions  by  obliging  Member  States 
and  fuel  suppliers  to  report  the  estimated  indirect  land-use  change  emissions  of 
biofuels. 

1 

As defined in paragraph 3.1.1 of C 160 (2010) 

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3. 

COMMENTS ON THE POSITION OF THE COUNCIL 

3.1.  General comments on the Council Position: 

The Commission regrets that, with regards to its original proposal, the Council position at first 
reading  has  significantly  lowered  the  level  of  environmental  ambition  and  contains  no 
significant  incentives  for  the  transition  towards  advanced  biofuels  and  other  low-ILUC  (or 
non-ILUC) options for using renewable energy in transport.  The elements in the Council text 
which jointly lead to a significantly lower level of environmental ambition are:  

• 

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• 

increasing the cap for conventional biofuels to 7%2 

new multipliers for renewable electricity in rail 

reduced incentives for using advanced (low-ILUC) biofuels 

weakening the ILUC reporting requirements 

The  Commission  also  regrets,  and  strongly  objects  to,  modifications  introduced  by  the 
Council  which  reduce  the  level  of  environmental  ambition  of  the  overall  renewable  energy 
target set by the Renewable Energy Directive. 

Furthermore,  the  Council  text  removes  a  series  of  delegated  acts,  and  converts  others  into 
implementing acts which is of serious concern for the Commission. 

3.2. 

European Parliament's amendments at first reading: 

The  Council  explicitly  considered  some,  but  not  all,  of  the  European  Parliament's 
amendments. The Commission's views on the European Parliament's amendments are below 
and, where appropriate, we have indicated the Council's position.  

1. 

Use  estimated  ILUC  values  for  Fuel  Quality  Directive  accounting  from  2020; 
delete  ILUC  reporting  from  Renewable  Energy  Directive  (Amendments  60  and 
164). Rejected by Commission 

ILUC  values,  based  on  the  best  available  science,  should  be  reported  in  both  the 
Renewable Energy Directive and Fuel Quality Directive but not used for accounting in 
the Fuel Quality Directive.  They should be reported in order to increase transparency 
about the real greenhouse gas performance of food and feed crop based biofuels and 
improve knowledge about the scope of the issue. The Council text does not introduce 
ILUC values for Fuel Quality Directive accounting and maintains ILUC reporting for 
both the Fuel Quality Directive and Renewable Energy Directive, albeit in an amended 
form. 

2 

The  limit  to  the  contribution that  conventional  biofuels  make  towards  attainment  of  the  targets  in  the 
Renewable Energy Directive 

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2. 

Capping/limiting the use of conventional biofuels by removing sustainability status 
(Amendment 89). Rejected by the Commission  

The  Commission  proposed  to  limit  the  contribution  which  biofuels  with  a  risk  of 
causing  ILUC  can  make  towards  the  10%  Renewable  Energy  Directive  target.  This 
provides an incentive for Member States to adjust their support schemes and mandates 
accordingly, but does not restrict the overall use of such biofuels, thus giving Member 
States  some  degree  of  flexibility.  The  Council  text  also  sets  out  that  only  the 
contribution towards the 10% target should be limited and that the sustainability status 
of “additional” conventional biofuels should not be touched upon. 

3. 

Capping/limiting the use of conventional biofuels under the Fuel Quality Directive 
(Amendment 184/REV). Accepted by the Commission. 

The  Parliament  also  wants  to  apply  the  cap  to  the  Fuel  Quality  Directive  target. 
Although  the  Commission  didn't  propose  a  cap  for  the  Fuel  Quality  Directive,  this 
provision  is  one  element  which  could  contribute  to  improving  the  level  of 
environmental  ambition  of  the  overall  text.  The  Council  text  states  that  only  the 
contribution towards the 10% Renewable Energy Directive target should be limited. 

4. 

Extending the scope of the cap to energy crops (Amendment 181). Partly accepted 
by the Commission  

Energy  crops  grown  on  cropland  may  have  ILUC  effects.  This  proposal  by  the 
European  Parliament  is  thus  one  element  which  could  strengthen  the  environmental 
ambition  and  ILUC  mitigation  effect  of  the  text.  The  Commission  can  accept  the 
change  of  scope  of  the  cap.  The  Council  retains  the  coverage  of  the  Commission 
proposal (food and feed crops). 

5. 

Introduce a binding subtarget for advanced biofuels of 0.5% in 2016 and 2.5% in 
2020 (Amendment 181 and 152/REV).  Partly accepted by the Commission 

The  Commission  could  be  open,  in  the  context  of  an  overall  compromise,  to 
considering the principle of introducing a binding sub-target as it has potential to raise 
the level of environmental ambition. While, at this stage, the Commission is not in a 
position  to  give  a  view  on  a  precise  percentage,  2.5%  seems  extremely  ambitious, 
given  that  biofuels  with  low  ILUC  risk  (Used  Cooking  Oil  and  Tallow),  which  are 
currently available at commercial scale would be excluded and given that the biofuels 
eligible  for  the  sub-target  would  just  be  counted  once  towards  targets.  The  Council 
proposes a non-binding subtarget with much lower volumes (reference 0.5 p.p.) 

6. 

Sub-target  of  7.5%  for  bioethanol  (Amendment  152/REV).  Rejected  by  the 
Commission. 

The  European  Parliament  has  proposed  that  there  should  be  a  7.5%  sub-target  for 
ethanol blended into petrol.  The Commission considers that this unduly restricts the 
flexibility  of  Member  States  to  meet  the  transport  target  in  accordance  with  their 
national conditions.  In addition it would require ethanol to be supplied at higher levels 
than could be blended into fuel for conventional vehicles and so would mandate some 
'high blend' use for which Member States may not have the infrastructure. 

7. 

Amendments to the contribution that different biofuels make to the transport sub-
target (amendments 185 and 186).  Partly accepted by the Commission 

The  original  Commission  proposal  sought  to  incentivise  advanced  (low-ILUC) 
biofuels  through  increasing  the  contribution  they  make  to  the  transport  sub-target.  
Under  the  proposal  the  most  advanced  biofuels  would  count  four  times  while  used 

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cooking oil and tallow would count twice.  The European Parliament wants to amend 
this  by  severely  restricting  the  list  of  biofuel  feedstocks  that  would  count  four  times 
and  instead  having  the  majority  of  feedstocks  count  only  once.    The  Commission's 
view is that this creates a contradictory incentive regime for advanced biofuels as the 
result of the change is that biofuels that are already being made with used cooking oil 
and  animal  fat,  using  simple  technologies,  would  receive  twice  the  incentive  of 
biofuels  using  novel  technologies  that  are  much  more  expensive  to  produce.    In 
addition  changes  to  the  lists  should  be  fully  consistent  with  the  overall  scope  of  the 
Directives,  with  the  scope  of  the  cap,  with  introducing/removing  accounting 
multipliers as well as with definitions of feedstocks. 

The Council has inserted a number of new provisions into the text some of which the 
3.3. 
Commission can accept and others of which significantly weaken the proposal and to which 
the Commission objects.  These changes are as follows: 

1. 

Increasing the cap to 7%.  

The  5%  cap  on  the  contribution  of  conventional  biofuels  towards  the  Renewable 
Energy  Directive  targets  is  the  central  element  of  the  Commission  proposal  and  the 
Commission has strongly defended it, as a higher cap would reduce ILUC mitigation. 
That said, the Commission has recognised that some flexibility towards a higher cap 
may  be  required  to  reach  an  overall  compromise  between  the  Council  and  the 
European Parliament.  However, the Commission has also been clear that, should it be 
necessary to show flexibility on the cap, the Commission will endeavour to preserve 
the overall level of environmental ambition in the proposal. The 7% cap as proposed 
by the Council does not sufficiently limit ILUC nor does it create enough incentives 
for  low-ILUC  options  in  transport.  The  Commission  also  regrets  the  deletion  of 
recitals indicating its views for the post-2020 period. The Commission could support a 
7% cap, if the text is strengthened on the following elements (i) changing the scope of 
the  cap  in  accordance  with  the  European  Parliament  amendments  (181)  already 
accepted by the Commission so as to include all land-using biofuels and extending the 
cap also to the Fuel Quality Directive (184/REV); (ii) providing clarity on the political 
message of a transition to advanced biofuels (by bringing back the recital on post-2020 
and adding a  mandatory sub-target of 0.5% for advanced biofuels to at least cover and 
protect  existing  investments),  (iii)  re-instate  certain  delegations  of  power  or  secure 
transitional clauses for these provisions (iv) the multiplier for renewable electricity in 
rail  is  deleted  and  (v)  double  counting  for  the  overall  Renewable  Energy  Directive 
target is deleted. 

2. 

Extension of multiple counting of advanced biofuels that currently applies only to 
the 10% transport target to the overall Renewable Energy Directive target.   

The  Commission  is  strongly  opposed  to  the  idea  of  applying  double  counting  for 
advanced  biofuels  towards  the  overall  20%  Renewable  Energy  Directive  target  and 
includes  this  position  in  its  statements  to  the  minutes  (see  below).  Although  the 
impacts on the deployment of RES as stated above are expected to be low, this would 
open a very problematic political precedent as we approach 2020 - there is no reason 
to lower the level of ambition for a key headline target of the 2008 energy and climate 
package.  At  the  March  European  Council  this  year,  Member  States  confirmed  their 
commitments to reach the 2020 targets. The 2008 package offers enough flexibility to 

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Member States to avoid excessive compliance costs. Through applying multipliers in 
various  instances  less  'real'  energy  is  required  and  so  the  transport  target  shrinks 
significantly.  Instead,  if  there  is  a  need  to  further  reduce  compliance  costs  while 
limiting  ILUC  within  the  transport  target,  the  Commission  considers  the  European 
Parliament amendments 153 and 154, which would take into account additional efforts 
to improve energy efficiency and energy savings in transport, more appropriate.  

3. 

Accounting  multiplier  of  5  for  renewable  electricity  in  electric  road  vehicles  and 
one of 2.5 for electric trains. 

The  Commission  did  not  include  accounting  multipliers  for  electric  vehicles  and 
electric  trains  in  its  proposal.  However,  the  Commission  could,  as  part  of  an  overall 
compromise,  agree  with  the  establishment  of  an  accounting  multiplier  of  5  in  road 
vehicles.  The  Commission  opposes  the  introduction  of  an  accounting  multiplier  for 
renewable electricity in trains, as it would substantially lower the level of ambition of 
the transport target and not create an additional incentive for low carbon transport. The 
European  Parliament,  as  in  the  Commission  proposal,  does  not  introduce  new  or 
increased multipliers. 

4. 

Introduction  of  a  non-binding  sub-target  for  biofuels  produced  from  feedstocks 
listed in Part A of Annex IX.  

As discussed above, the Council text introduced a requirement for Member States to 
set  a  non-binding  sub-target  for  biofuels  produced  from  certain  feedstocks  for  2020 
with  a  reference  value  of  0.5  percentage  points  in  energy  terms,  i.e.  before  double 
counting.    However,  Member  States  can  deviate  from  this  reference  value  using  a 
range  of  justifications  and  there  is  no  sanction  for  non-compliance.  In  the  overall 
context  of  the  Council  text,  this  provision  provides  little  incentive  to  move  to 
advanced  biofuels  as  non-ILUC  options  in  transport.  The  Commission  favours 
strengthening  this  element  and,  in  principle,  welcomes  the  corresponding  European 
Parliament  amendment  (181)  but  has  already  signalled  that  the  sub-target  in  the 
European  Parliament  amendment  seems  to  be  overly  ambitious  and  will  likely  to  be 
very costly to achieve. 

5. 

Additional feedstocks added into the list in Annex IX. 

 The  Commission's  proposal  included  a  list  of  feedstocks  that  should  receive 
additional  incentives  when  supplied  as  biofuel.    The  Council  position  includes  a 
number  of  additional  feedstocks  and  it  will  be  important  to  ensure  that  these  can  be 
considered  advanced  (low-ILUC)  biofuel  feedstocks  and  that  this  is  consistent  with 
other elements of the final text (i.e. what substances are included under the cap). 

6. 

Additional feedstocks beyond the list in Annex IX.  

The  Council  position  includes  a  provision  that  "biofuels  made  from  feedstocks  not 
listed  in  Annex  IX  that  were  determined  to  be  wastes,  residues,  non-food  cellulosic 
material or ligno-cellulosic material by the competent national authorities and are used 
in existing installations prior to the adoption of this Directive" would also be counted 
towards  the  sub-target  mentioned  in  point  4  above.    The  Commission  considers  that 
this provision is too broad in scope, involves the risk of inconsistent application across 
the EU and goes beyond grandfathering existing investments as it allows changes until 
the adoption of the ILUC Directive.  Furthermore, such a provision seems to give the 

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‘competent  national  authorities’  the  right  of    the  ultimate  interpretation  of  the 
corresponding part of the Renewable Energy Directive – against the legal rule which 
generally applies for the interpretation of an European Union directive. 

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Weakened ILUC reporting provisions.  

The  Commission's  proposal  included  a  requirement  for  Member  States  to  report  the 
estimated  ILUC  emissions  of  the  biofuels  supplied  to  meet  their  domestic  targets, 
using  estimated  values  from  the  IFPRI  modelling.    The  Council  has  changed  this 
requirement  such  that  Member  States  report  only  the  biofuel  feedstock  and  the 
Commission produces a report on Member States' biofuel consumption adding ILUC 
values,  also  meaning  this  information  will  be  provided  later  than  if  provided  by 
Member States.  In addition the Council has added language stressing the provisional 
and  uncertain  character  of  the  ILUC  values.    The  Commission  favours  the 
reintroduction  of  its  original  reporting  requirements.    See  also  the  Commission's 
position on the European Parliament's amendments 60 and 164. 

8. 

Extension  of  'statistical  transfers'  of  renewable  energy  to  include  the  transport 
sub-target.  

The  Council  text  introduces  the  ability  to  make  statistical  transfers  towards  meeting 
the  transport  target,  something  already  allowed  for  the  overall  Renewable  Energy 
Directive target.  While the Commission does not see this change as necessary given 
that transport fuels can be easily traded between Member States, the Commission also 
acknowledges the potential to lower the cost of compliance.  

9. 

Mutual recognition of Voluntary Schemes. 

According to the Commission, the concept of mutual recognition between Voluntary 
Schemes  approved  by  the  Commission  pursuant  to  Renewable  Energy  Directive 
Article 18(6) is redundant in light of Article 18(7). The latter ensures that verification 
through  such  Voluntary  Schemes  must  be  recognised  in  Member  States  without 
requiring  further  evidence  for  compliance.  Mutual  recognition  between  Voluntary 
Schemes approved by the Commission pursuant to Article 18(6) is also detrimental to 
the  idea  that  they  may  certify  further  sustainability  aspects  beyond  the  harmonised 
criteria in accordance to Art 18(4). The Commission welcomes the Council text in so 
far as it introduces the possibility for the Commission to assess and explicitly approve 
a  national  scheme.  The  legal  consequence,  however,  should  be  the  same  level  of 
recognition as  for  Voluntary  Schemes  pursuant  to  Article  18(6).  See  also  European 
Parliament  amendment  102  which  would  establish  mutual  recognition  between  all 
verification  schemes.  The  Commission  supports  the  idea  of  mutual  recognition 
between  national  systems;  Voluntary  Schemes  should  not  be  forced  to  recognise 
national systems. 

10. 

Enhanced reporting by and on Voluntary Schemes.  

According to the Council text, Voluntary Schemes are required to report on a regular 
basis, these reports will be made public by the Commission and the Commission has 
to  review  how  the  Voluntary  Schemes  work.  To  the  Commission,  this  text  is 
acceptable  but  legal  clarification  is  needed  regarding  whether  these  changes  can  be 
applied to existing Voluntary Schemes. The European Parliament (amendments 58 and 
103) wants the Commission to report on the functioning of Voluntary Schemes and to 

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make  a  proposal  if  appropriate  which  the  Commission  could  accept  in  principle 
(further improvements and clarifications needed). 

11. 

Degraded land bonus. 

The  Council  text  keeps  the  degraded  land  bonus  for  greenhouse  gas  saving 
calculations.  The  Commission  has  deleted  this  element  from  the  greenhouse  gas 
calculation  as  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  greenhouse  gas  methodology  and  ILUC 
reporting and as it seems difficult to identify this type of land. The Commission can 
accept keeping this element in the context of an overall satisfactory compromise but 
would prefer provisions are made for the safe physical segregation of crops grown on 
heavily  contaminated  land.  The  European  Parliament  accepted  the  deletion  of  this 
element in the Commission text.  

12. 

Merge land-use categories "cropland" and "perennial cropland". 

 The Council text merges the land-use categories "cropland" and "perennial cropland" 
for  the  purpose  of  the  calculation  of  greenhouse  gas  savings.    This  is  in  order  to 
address  a  potential  issue  with  the  greenhouse  gas  accounting  methodology  when 
'cropland' is converted to 'perennial cropland' and back again. While the Commission 
could accept the Council’s proposed changes in the context of an overall satisfactory 
compromise the Commission remains seriously concerned about the possible impacts 
on third country biofuel sustainability and believes this issue could be addressed in a 
different  way.  (This  element  is  not  contained  in  either  the  Commission  or  European 
Parliament texts).  

13. 

Review clause.  

According to the Council text, the Commission would have to report one year after the 
entry  into  force  of  the  Directive  on  advanced  biofuels,  ILUC  science  and  the 
identification and certification of low-ILUC biofuels. The Commission would have to 
report  in  2017  on  ILUC  measures  including  again  on  certification  of  low-ILUC 
biofuels,  fraud  prevention,  and  Voluntary  Schemes.  The  Commission  strongly 
suggests having one review in 2017 for all items. The Commission also questions the 
usefulness of introducing any legal definitions for low-ILUC risk biofuels before such 
review  is  conducted.  Furthermore,  the  Council  adds  text  regarding  the  “provisional” 
character  of  the  estimated  ILUC  values  to  be  used  for  reporting.  The  review  clause 
should  clarify  what  the  next  steps  should  be,  i.e.  whether  the  “provisional”  values 
should be retained until 2020 or “final” values should be suggested. According to the 
Commission, European Parliament amendments 107, 189 and 190 (if made consistent) 
could provide useful orientation. 

14. 

Concept of 'Low-ILUC risk' biofuels.  

 As  mentioned  above,  the  Council  text  introduced  a  definition  of  'Low-ILUC  risk' 
biofuels and a requirement for the Commission to provide a report which will 'set out 
criteria for the identification and certification of low-ILUC risk biofuels' in the review 
clause.    The  Council  text's  definition  distinguishes  these  types  of  biofuels  from 
biofuels made from feedstocks in part A of Annex IX.  While the Commission could 
accept  further  work  in  this  area  (with  the  caveat  that  it  should  be  conducted  as  one 
piece  of  work  in  2017)  a  cautious  approach  should  be  taken  to  ensure  that  any 

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feedstocks  determined  to  be  'low-ILUC  risk'  genuinely  are  low  risk.    Neither  the 
Commission nor the European Parliament have referred to this category of biofuels. 

15. 

Fraud prevention.  

The  Council  text  calls  for  better  cooperation  amongst  national  systems  and  between 
voluntary  schemes  and  national  systems,  Member  States  shall  encourage  the 
development and use of track and trace systems, Member States have to report on their 
anti-fraud measures, and, in 2017, the Commission has to assess the effectiveness of 
these measures and submit a proposal if appropriate. The Commission can accept the 
Council’s proposed additions. The European Parliament is also concerned about fraud 
(amendment 185). 

16. 

Removal of delegated acts. 

 In the Council text, delegated acts with limited scope are only kept for adding default 
values to Annexes IV of the Fuel Quality Directive and V of the Renewable Energy 
Directive, and for adding feedstocks to Annex IX of the Renewable Energy Directive. 
The  Council  has  introduced  the  no-opinion  clause  in  Article  11(4)  of  Directive 
98/70/EC  and  in  Article  25,  paragraphs  3  and  4  of  Directive  2009/28/EC  for  the 
adoption of implementing acts.  

The  Commission  is  of  the  view  that  the  Directives  need  to  be  updated  in  line  with 
scientific  progress  and  new  technological  developments.  Doing  this  through  the 
ordinary legislative procedure would be too cumbersome and too slow and does not 
adequately  ensure  the  need  for  flexibility/efficiency  in  dealing  with  adaptation  of 
strictly  technical  aspects  in  the  Fuel  Quality  and  Renewable  Energy  Directives 
reflecting  scientific  progress  in  view  of  the  achievement  of  their  environmental 
objectives  (reduction  of  greenhouse  gas  in  transport  sector).  Most  of  the  proposed 
delegated  acts  are  intended  to  replace  acts  adopted  under  the  former  regulatory 
procedure  with  scrutiny  contained  in  the  Directives  ("Lisbonisation").  In  the 
Commission's view the approach, recently proposed by the Presidency, of repealing 
conferral of powers on the Commission for adoption of delegated acts/implementing 
acts  and  including  all  the  provisions  in  the  legislative  act  risks  to  compromise  the  
distinction  between  the  modification/adaptation  of  non-essential  and  essential 
elements  of  the  Directives.  The  technical  adaptation  obviously  belongs  to  the  first 
category.  Where  appropriate,  the  Commission  will  explore  compromise  texts, 
keeping consistency with its approach on conferral of powers under the treaty rules, 
which  is  that  the  scope  of  Articles  290  and  291  TFEU  is  mutually  exclusive.  The 
Commission welcomes the position of the European Parliament which fully supports 
the  Commission’s  view  and  continues  to  seek  compromises  that  grant  use  of 
delegated acts.  

The  Commission  strongly  opposes  any  removal  of  delegated  powers  affecting 
ongoing procedures under Decision 1999/468/EC or procedures starting on [date to 
be  determined  by  Commission]  at  the  latest  supplementing  both  Directives.  
Alternatively,  a  transition  period  for  applying  procedures  under  Regulation  (EU) 
182/2011 must be incorporated. 

Furthermore,  the  Council  has  introduced  the  no-opinion  clause  for  the  adoption  of 
implementing  acts.  The  Commission  considers  that  there  is  no  specific  justification 
for  the  inclusion  of  the  non-opinion  clause  and  asks  for  a  recital  justifying  the 
introduction of such a clause. If at the end of the process, such a recital were not to 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

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be  accepted,  the  Commission  will  make  the  standard  statement  in  relation  to  this 
issue. 

4. 

CONCLUSION/GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 

Although  it  considers  that  the  Council's  political  agreement  at  first  reading  does  not  meet 
some of the essential aims of its initial proposal, the Commission perceives that the only way 
of allowing the ordinary legislative procedure to continue is to refrain from opposing it. The 
Commission aims to keep the elements of the proposal which can contribute to mitigate the 
ILUC  impacts  and  preserve  the  overall  level  of  environmental  ambition  of  biofuels  use  in 
transport, including some of the elements which are part of the position at first reading of the 
European Parliament. 

5. 

STATEMENTS BY THE COMMISSION 

The Commission has drafted a statement to be included in the Council minutes as follows: 

Statement from the Commission on the Council's position at first reading on the ILUC 
proposal 

[Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending 
Directive 98/70/EC relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels and amending 
Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources] 

COM(2012) 595 final - 2012/0288 (COD) 

The Commission regrets that, with regard to its original proposal, the Council position at first 
reading  has  significantly  lowered  the  level  of  ambition  in  mitigating  the  ILUC  impacts  of 
conventional  biofuels  and  contains  no  significant  incentives  for  the  transition  towards 
advanced biofuels and other non-ILUC options for using renewable energy in transport. The 
Commission  also  regrets  that  modifications  introduced  by  the  Council  reduce  the  level  of 
environmental ambition of the overall renewable energy target set by the Renewable Energy 
Directive3.  

However, in order to allow the legislative process to move forward, the Commission will not 
oppose the Council's position at first reading. 

The  Commission  will  therefore  continue  to  closely  cooperate  with  the  co-legislators  in  the 
next steps of the legislative procedure. The Commission aims at keeping the elements of the 
proposal which can contribute to mitigate the ILUC impacts and preserve the overall level of 
environmental ambition of biofuels use in transport, including some of the elements which are 
part of the position at first reading of the European Parliament. The Commission will do so in 
the hope that a solution reflecting the European interest in combating negative environmental 
effects of conventional biofuels can be found.  

3 

2009/28/EC 

EN 

10 

   EN