Decision No 2/2020 of the Joint Committee established by the Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the linking of their greenhouse gas emissions trading systems of 5 November 2020 on amending Annexes I and II to the Agreement and the adoption of Linking Technical Standards (LTS) (2021/1034)

THE JOINT COMMITTEE,

Having regard to the Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the linking of their greenhouse gas emissions trading systems⁽¹⁾ (‘the Agreement’) and in particular Article 3(7) and Article 13(2) thereof,

Whereas:

1. Decision No 2/2019 of the Joint Committee of 5 December 2019⁽²⁾ amended Annexes I and II to the Agreement thus fulfilling the conditions for linking set out in the Agreement.

2. Following adoption of Decision No 2/2019 of the Joint Committee and pursuant to Article 21(3) of the Agreement, the Parties exchanged their instruments of ratification or approval, since they consider all conditions for linking as set out in the Agreement to have been fulfilled.

3. In accordance with Article 21(4) of the Agreement, the Agreement entered into force on 1 January 2020.

4. Annex I to the Agreement should be amended in accordance with Article 13(2) of the Agreement to ensure a smooth transition in administration of aircraft operators attributed to Switzerland for the first time by taking account of the progress made on establishing the registry link.

5. In order to accommodate recent developments and ensure an increased level of flexibility to establish the registry link required by the Agreement, Annex II to the Agreement should be amended in accordance with Article 13(2) of the Agreement to provide for a larger, but equivalent set of technologies to set up the registry link.

6. Pursuant to Article 3(7) of the Agreement, the Swiss registry administrator and the Union central administrator should develop Linking Technical Standards (LTS) based on the principles set out in Annex II of the Agreement. The LTS should describe the detailed requirements for establishing a robust and secure connection between the Swiss Supplementary Transaction Log (SSTL) and the European Union Transaction Log (EUTL). The LTS should take effect when adopted by decision of the Joint Committee.

7. In accordance with Article 13(1) of the Agreement, the Joint Committee should agree on technical guidelines to ensure the proper implementation of the Agreement including on establishing a robust and secure connection between the SSTL and the EUTL. Technical guidelines may be developed by a working group set up pursuant to Article 12(5) of the Agreement. The working group should at least include the Swiss registry administrator and the Union central administrator and should assist the Joint Committee in its functions under Article 13 of the Agreement.

8. In view of the technical nature of the guidelines and the need to adapt them to ongoing developments, the technical guidelines developed by the Swiss registry administrator and the Union central administrator should be submitted to the Joint Committee for information or, where appropriate, approval,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: