
Article 1 
By way of derogation from Article 16 of Directive 2003/87/EC, Member States shall take no action against aircraft operators in respect of the requirements set out in Article 12(2a) and Article 14(3) of that Directive for the calendar years 2010, 2011 and 2012 in respect of activity to and from aerodromes in countries outside the Union that are not members of EFTA, dependencies and territories of States in the EEA or countries having signed a Treaty of Accession with the Union, where such aircraft operators have not been issued free allowances for such activity in respect of 2012 or, if they have been issued such allowances, have returned, by the thirtieth day following the entry into force of this Decision, to Member States for cancellation a number of 2012 aviation allowances corresponding to the share of verified tonne-kilometres of such activity in the reference year 2010.
Article 2 

1. Member States shall cancel all 2012 aviation allowances that have either not been issued or, if issued, have been returned to them, in respect of flights to and from the aerodromes referred to in Article 1.
2. In respect of the cancellation referred to in paragraph 1, Member States shall auction a reduced number of 2012 aviation allowances. That reduction shall be proportional to the lower number of total aviation allowances in circulation. To the extent that the reduced number of those allowances has not been auctioned prior to 1 May 2013, Member States shall adjust accordingly the number of aviation allowances to be auctioned in 2013.
Article 3 
Aviation allowances cancelled pursuant to Article 2 shall not be taken into account for the purposes of calculating entitlements to use international credits within the framework of Directive 2003/87/EC.
Article 4 
The Commission shall issue the guidance necessary for the implementation of this Decision.
Article 5 
The Commission shall regularly inform the European Parliament and the Council on the progress of ICAO negotiations and shall provide a full report to them on the results achieved at the 38th session of the ICAO Assembly.
Article 6 
This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 24 April 2013.
Article 7 
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 24 April 2013.
For the European Parliament
The President
M. SCHULZ
For the Council
The President
S. COVENEY
The Commission recalls that, according to Article 3d of Directive 2003/87/EC, revenues generated from the auctioning of aviation allowances should be used to tackle climate change in the EU and third countries, inter alia, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to adapt to the impacts of climate change in the EU and third countries, especially developing countries, to fund research and development for mitigation and adaptation, including in particular in the fields of aeronautics and air transport, to reduce emissions through low-emission transport and to cover the cost of administering the Community scheme. The proceeds of auctioning should also be used to fund contributions to the Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund, and measures to avoid deforestation.
The Commission notes that Member States shall inform the Commission of actions taken pursuant to Article 3d of the Directive 2003/87/EC on the use of revenues generated from the auctioning of aviation allowances. Specific provisions on the content of this reporting are set out in Regulation (EU) No …/2013 on a mechanism for monitoring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions and for reporting other information at national and Union level relevant to climate change and repealing Decision No 280/2004/EC. Further details will be set out in a Commission implementing act under Article 18 of that Regulation. Member States will make the reports public, and the Commission will publish aggregate Union information on these in an easily accessible form.
The Commission emphasises that a global market-based mechanism putting an international price on carbon emissions from international aviation transport could, in addition to achieving its primary goal of emission reductions, help provide the necessary resources to support international climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.
