Skip to content
OPINION (2023/2173(DEC))

On discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022

TRAN-AD-753748

Committee on Transport and Tourism · Rapporteur: Vlad Gheorghe

Official HTML ↗ PDF DOCX
✦ In shortFull textProcedure & committee votes
✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 7 Oct 2026

Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

The Committee on Transport and Tourism suggests that Parliament grant discharge to the Executive Director of the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking for the 2022 budget. It welcomes the Court of Auditors' finding that the 2022 transactions were legal and regular, and notes the launch of the Clean Aviation programme. It notes the Joint Undertaking's 2022 budget of €411.2 million in commitment appropriations and €415.3 million in payment appropriations, with 100% commitment and 89% payment implementation, but a low 54% administrative payment rate. It welcomes the first open call for proposals, which led to 19 grant agreements totalling EUR 654 million, and the 20 projects selected, and notes Clean Aviation became a founding member of the Alliance for Zero-Emission Aviation. It calls for more research and innovation funding for sustainable aviation, including ultra-efficient aircraft, sustainable fuels and climate-neutral technologies, and for expanding research value chains and skills. It notes a 1.56% representative error rate and 0.43% residual error rate in 2022 audits, welcomes efforts on gender balance, and urges the Joint Undertaking to resolve the pending 2021 recommendation on interim staff.

Committee position. The Committee on Transport and Tourism proposes that Parliament grant discharge to the Executive Director of the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking for the implementation of the 2022 budget, and suggests amendments welcoming the Court of Auditors' findings and calling for more research and innovation funding.

Key points

  1. The Committee on Transport and Tourism calls on the Committee on Budgetary Control to incorporate its suggestions into the discharge resolution.
  2. It welcomes the Court of Auditors' finding that the transactions underlying the Clean Sky 2 Joint Undertaking's 2022 accounts are legal and regular in all material respects.
  3. It commends the launch of the Clean Aviation programme in 2022, with projected funding of EUR 4.1 billion running until 2031.
  4. It notes that in 2022 the Joint Undertaking ran Clean Sky 2 with an EU contribution of EUR 1 755 million and Clean Aviation with an EU contribution up to EUR 1 700 million.
  5. It notes the 2022 final budget of €411.2 million in commitment appropriations and €415.3 million in payment appropriations, with 100% commitment and 89% payment implementation.
  6. It notes the low 54% implementation rate for the administrative payment budget and calls for strategic planning to improve efficiency.
  7. It notes reported in-kind contributions of EUR 2 194 million for Clean Sky 2 and at least EUR 2 400 million for Clean Aviation, with EUR 1 218.5 million certified for additional activities.
  8. It welcomes the first open call for proposals, resulting in 19 grant agreements totalling EUR 654 million across three core thrusts, with 244 participants from 24 countries.
  9. It welcomes the 20 projects selected to steer aviation towards sustainability and the Joint Undertaking becoming a founding member of the Alliance for Zero-Emission Aviation.
  10. It notes the Clean Sky 2 transition to the delivery phase and an independent study estimating a €8.6 billion socio-economic benefit for Europe.
  11. It calls for intensified research and funding for sustainable aviation technologies, including ultra-efficient aircraft and sustainable fuels, and for expanding research value chains and skills.
  12. It welcomes the 2022 audit error rates below the 2% threshold, acknowledges efforts on gender balance, and urges resolution of the pending 2021 recommendation on interim staff.

Who is affected

  • The Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking and its Executive Director, for which discharge for the 2022 budget is proposed.
  • The Committee on Budgetary Control, which is asked to incorporate the suggestions into its discharge resolution.
  • The Commission, which is urged to provide funding for new technologies and incentives for sustainable fuel production.
  • The aviation research and innovation sector, including academia, research organisations, industry and SMEs, which is called to expand integration and skills.

Figures and deadlines

  • EUR 4.1 billion projected funding for the Clean Aviation programme, running until 2031.
  • EUR 1 755 million EU financial contribution for the Clean Sky 2 programme.
  • Up to EUR 1 700 EU financial contribution for the Clean Aviation programme.
  • €411.2 million in commitment appropriations and €415.3 million in payment appropriations for the 2022 final budget.
  • 100% implementation rate for commitment appropriations and 89% for payment appropriations in 2022.
  • 54% implementation rate for the administrative payment budget (Title 2).
  • EUR 2 194 million in-kind contributions for Clean Sky 2 and at least EUR 2 400 million for Clean Aviation.
  • EUR 1 218.5 million certified cumulative in-kind contributions for additional activities out of a reported total of EUR 1 376.1 million.