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DRAFT OPINION (COM(2021)0563 – C90362/2021 – 2021/0213(CNS))

On the proposal for a Council directive restructuring the Union framework for the taxation of energy products and electricity (recast)

TRAN-PA-704637

Committee on Transport and Tourism · Rapporteur: Maria Grapini

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The Committee on Transport and Tourism's draft opinion responds to the proposed Council directive restructuring EU energy taxation. It welcomes ending the full tax exemption for aviation kerosene and maritime heavy oil on intra-EU voyages, with minimum rates rising over ten years and sustainable fuels taxed at zero. It asks to exclude fishing from the directive's scope and to apply a zero minimum rate to sustainable fuels and electricity used by rail for ten years. It proposes amendments to recitals and articles, including delaying application to 1 January 2025, aligning minimum rates to inflation from 1 January 2026, and limiting delegated powers to five years. It also requires the Commission to report to both the Council and Parliament every three years, and to review the directive with a possible new proposal.

Committee position. The Committee on Transport and Tourism calls on the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs to take into account its amendments. It welcomes the proposal but seeks to exclude fishing from the directive's scope, apply a zero minimum rate to sustainable fuels and electricity in rail, and delay application to 1 January 2025.

Key points

  1. The rapporteur welcomes the proposal to end the full exemption from energy taxation for kerosene used in aviation and heavy oil used in maritime for intra-EU voyages.
  2. Minimum tax rates for these fuels would gradually increase over ten years, while sustainable fuels for these sectors would benefit from a minimum rate of zero.
  3. The rapporteur believes sustainable fuels and electricity used in rail should also benefit from a minimum tax rate of zero.
  4. The rapporteur would prefer to exclude fishing from the scope of the directive, arguing that lifting the fuel de-taxation scheme would create an uneven playing field and harm small-scale EU producers.
  5. The rapporteur insists that delegated powers should not be given for an indeterminate period and that the report on applying the directive should go to both the Council and Parliament.
  6. Amendment 1 removes the reference to a 55% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 from Recital 3.
  7. Amendment 4 deletes Recital 8, which referred to the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
  8. Amendment 6 deletes Recital 11, which provided for annual alignment of minimum levels of energy taxation to the harmonised index of consumer prices.
  9. Amendment 8 adds a new Recital 15a allowing differentiated national rates of taxation for the same product under certain conditions, provided EU minimum levels and internal market and competition rules are respected.
  10. Amendment 12 changes Recital 23 to exclude fishing from waterborne navigation taxation and allows lower taxation for intra-EU regular service navigation and freight transport, with sustainable fuels and electricity exempt for ten years.
  11. Amendment 16 changes the Commission's reporting frequency from every five years to every three years and requires the report to go to both the Council and Parliament.
  12. Amendments 19 to 34 delay the application of minimum tax levels and the repeal of Directive 2003/96/EC from 1 January 2023 to 1 January 2025, and extend transitional increases until 1 January 2035.

Who is affected

  • EU fishing sector: the rapporteur wants it excluded from the directive's scope to avoid an uneven playing field and harm to small-scale producers.
  • Aviation and maritime industries: kerosene and heavy oil for intra-EU voyages would lose their full tax exemption, with rates rising over ten years.
  • Rail sector: sustainable fuels and electricity used by rail would benefit from a zero minimum tax rate for ten years.
  • Member states: they would have to apply the amended rules, including new deadlines and reporting obligations.
  • European Commission: it would have to report to both the Council and Parliament every three years and review the directive.

Figures and deadlines

  • Minimum tax rates for aviation and maritime fuels would gradually increase over a period of ten years.
  • Sustainable fuels and electricity used in rail would benefit from a minimum tax rate of zero for a period of ten years.
  • The Commission should report every three years and for the first time three years after the entry into force of the directive.
  • The power to adopt delegated acts would be conferred for a period of five years from 1 January 2025.
  • Minimum levels of taxation would be adapted every year starting from 1 January 2026.
  • Minimum levels of taxation applicable to motor fuels, heating fuels and electricity would apply from 1 January 2025.
  • Transitional increases in minimum levels of taxation would be fixed at one tenth per year until 1 January 2035.
  • Directive 2003/96/EC would be repealed with effect from 1 January 2025.