L 181/30 Official Journal of the European Union 12.7.2012 COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 601/2012 of 21 June 2012 on the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (Text with EEA relevance) THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Having regard to the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union, Having regard to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC (') and in particular Article 14(1) thereof, Whereas: ( ( ( b %) ’) The complete, consistent, transparent and accurate moni- toring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions, in accordance with the harmonised requirements laid down in this Regulation, are fundamental for the effective operation of the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme established pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC. During the second compliance cycle of the greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme, covering the years 2008 to 2012, industrial operators, aviation operators, verifiers and competent authorities have gained experience with monitoring and reporting pursuant to Commission Decision 2007/589/EC of 18 July 2007 establishing guidelines for the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (%). The rules for the third trading period of the Union’s greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme which begins on 1 January 2013 and for the following trading periods should build on that experience. The definition of biomass in this Regulation should be consistent with the definition of the terms ‘biomass’, ‘bio- liquids’ and ‘biofuels’ set out in Article 2 of Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC (*), in particular since preferential treatment with regard to allowance surrender obligations under the Union’s greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC constitutes a 275, 25.10.2003, p. 32. oJ L 0] L 229, 31.8.2007, p. 1. oJL 140, 5.6.2009, p. 16. 0 0 O] J ‘support scheme’ within the meaning of Article 2(k) and consequently financial support within the meaning of Article 17(1)(c) of Directive 2009/28/EC. For reasons of consistency, definitions laid down in Commission Decision 2009/450/EC of 8 June 2009 on the detailed interpretation of the aviation activities listed in Annex I to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council () and Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the geological storage of catbon dioxide and amending Council Directive 85/337|EEC, European Parliament and Council Directives 2000/60/EC, 2001/80/EC, 2004/35/EC, 2006/12[EC, 2008/1/EC and Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 (°) should apply to this Regulation. To make the operation of the monitoring and reporting system optimal, the Member States which designate more than one competent authority should ensure that those competent authorities coordinate their work in line with the principles set out in this Regulation. The monitoring plan, setting out detailed, complete and transparent documentation concerning the methodology of a specific installation or aircraft operator should be a core element of the system established by this Regu- lation. Regular updates of the plan should be required, both to respond to the verifier's findings and on the basis of the operator’s or aircraft operator’s own initiative. The main responsibility for the implementation of the moni- toring methodology, parts of which are specified by procedures required by this Regulation, should remain with the operator or the aircraft operator. It is necessary to establish basic monitoring method- ologies to minimise the burden on operators and aircraft operators and facilitate the effective monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC. Those methodologies should include basic calculation and measurement methodol- ogies. The calculation methodologies should be further differentiated into a standard methodology and a mass balance methodology. Flexibility should be provided to allow a combination of measurement methodologies, standard calculation methodology and mass balance within the same installation, provided the operator ensures that omissions or double counting do not occur. L 149, 12.6.2009, p. 69. L 140, 5.6.2009, p. 114.