Eurovent

During the 66th Annual Meeting of Eurovent, Francesco Scuderi has been appointed Secretary General of the association. He succeeds retiring Felix Van Eyken and will be supported by new Deputy Secretary General Stijn Renneboog.

On behalf of the entire Eurovent family, our President Raul Corredera Haener wishes you all a happy and healthy holiday season and successful New Year. Thank you very much for your continued support, commitment and hard work in bringing our joint European industry ideals forward.

The Briefing Paper announced in GEN - 1229.00 was released on Friday, 30 April. The 40-page paper provides the preliminary findings from the study to support the evaluation of the Regulation and lists initial possible policy options.

From 29 June to 07 September 2020, the Commission asked for feedback on its inception impact assessment relating to the F-Gas Regulation. This was followed by a public consultation between 15 September and 29 December 2020. Eurovent provided via the Task Force F-Gas its input. On 26 April, EPEE invited associations to a gathering where the Commission and the UK authorities would provide insight into the developments.

The UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and the Environment Agency have updated their February 2020 guidance on how to comply with Fluorinated Gas (F-Gas) and Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) regulations from 1 January 2021.

From 29 June to 07 September 2020, the Commission asked for feedback on its inception impact assessment relating to the F-Gas Regulation. On 15 September 2020, this was followed by a public consultation supported by a questionnaire. This consultation runs until 29 December 2020.

During the fourth F-Gas Consultation Forum, scheduled for 25 March 2020, the consultants appointed by the Commission were to make presentations and have a discussion with the stakeholders. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, stakeholders are now requested to comment on the available presentations by 20 April.

Pre-charged equipment exported outside the European Union is included in the quota system set up by F-Gas Regulation 2014/517. A consequence is that the quota available in Europe is reduced by those exported. The Commissioner Cañete had reiterated in April that the exemption in article 15 applies to bulk gases only. This has been reconfirmed on 20 June in the answer to the question asked by the Member of Parliament (MEP) Tamburrano on 21 March.

During the recent F-Gas Roundtable it was assumed that most illegal refrigerants relate to automotive air conditioning. The recent report by the Environmental Investigation Agency EIA shows that, according to customs declarations, the issue of illegal imports in Europe is more widespread than previously estimated.

The Regulation 2019/661 provides details for the smooth functioning of the electronic registry for quota. It contains an update regarding refusal, suspension and cancellation of registrations to avoid abuse by beneficial owners that apply for quota.