Decision No 406/2009/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council2 lays down annual emission allocations for each Member State for each year of the period 2013 to 2020 and a mechanism to annually assess compliance with those limits. Member States’ annual emission allocations expressed in tonnes of CO₂ equivalent are contained in Commission Decision 2013/162/EU3. The adjustments to the annual emission allocations for each Member State are set in Commission Implementing Decision 2013/634/EU4.

Article 19 of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 provides for a procedure for the review of Member States’ greenhouse gas emissions inventories for the purpose of assessing compliance with Decision No 406/2009/EC. The comprehensive review referred to in Article 19(1) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 was carried out on the basis of the 2018 emissions data reported to the Commission in April 2020 in accordance with the procedures laid down in Chapter III of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 749/20145 and Annex XVI to that Regulation.

The total amount of greenhouse gas emissions covered by Decision No 406/2009/EC for the year 2018 for each Member State should take into consideration the technical corrections and revised estimates calculated during the comprehensive review as contained in the final review reports drawn up pursuant to Article 35(2) of Regulation (EU) No 749/2014.

This Decision should enter into force on the day of its publication in order to be aligned with the provisions of Article 19(7) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 which sets the date of publication of this Decision as the starting point for the four-month period when Member States are allowed to use the flexibility mechanisms under Decision No 406/2009/EC,