(1)

It is necessary to adopt benchmarks to be used to allocate allowances free of charge to aircraft operators in the trading period from 1 January to 31 December 2012, referred to in Article 3c(1) of Directive 2003/87/EC and in the trading period from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2020, referred to in Article 13(1) in conjunction with Article 3c(2) of that Directive.

(2)

Allocations according to those benchmarks should be fixed until 2020 except where acts adopted pursuant to Article 25a of Directive 2003/87/EC require consequential modifications.

(3)

Following the incorporation into the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement of Directive 2008/101/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to include aviation activities in the scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community (2) by Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 6/2011 of 1 April 2011 amending Annex XX (Environment) to the EEA Agreement (3), the benchmarks are to be applied within the EEA.

(4)

It is therefore necessary to base the benchmarks on the EEA-wide number of free allowances fixed by Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 93/2011 of 20 July 2011 amending Annex XX (Environment) to the EEA Agreement (4).

(5)

The benchmarks should be calculated by dividing the EEA-wide numbers of allowances applicable to the trading period from 1 January to 31 December 2012 and those applicable to the trading period from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2020 by the sum of figures in the tonne-kilometre data included in applications submitted to the Commission in accordance with Article 3e(2) of Directive 2003/87/EC,