PURPOSE: to establish the European Statistical Advisory Committee.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision No 234/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the European Statistical Advisory Committee and repealing Council Decision 91/116/EEC.

CONTENT: the European Statistical Advisory Committee assists the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission in ensuring that user requirements and the costs borne by information providers and producers are taken into account in coordinating the strategic objectives and priorities of the Community ’ s statistical information policy. That assistance shall cover all statistical domains relevant to the Community ’ s statistical information policy.

The Commission shall consult the Committee at an early stage in the preparation of the Community statistical programme. The Committee shall deliver an opinion addressing in particular: (a) the relevance of the Community statistical programme to the requirements of European integration and development, as expressed by the Community institutions, national and regional authorities, the various economic and social categories and scientific circles; (b) the relevance of the Community statistical programme in relation to the activities of the Community, taking into account economic, social and technical developments; (c) the balance as regards priorities and resources between different areas in the Community statistical programme; (d) the adequacy of the resources needed to implement the Community statistical programme; (e) the costs related to the provision of statistical information by information providers, as well as the possibilities of reducing the response burden, with particular reference to the burden on small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Committee shall comprise 24 members. Twelve members shall be appointed by the Commission, after consulting the European Parliament and the Council. Eleven members shall be appointed directly by the institutions and bodies to which they belong (one member shall represent the European Parliament).

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 15/06/2008.

Decision 2008/234
OJ L 073 15.03.2008, p. 0013

03663/2007/LEX

SP(2007)6028

Following the priorities set-out in the ECOFIN Council on 8 November 2005 on statistical governance, on 7 November 2006 on the Status Report on Information Requirements in EMU and on the public communication of major statistical revisions, and on 28 November 2006 on the reduction of the administrative burden related to statistics, the ECOFIN Council reviewed progress made in these areas. It adopted the following conclusions:

2007 EFC Status Report on Information Requirements : the Council endorses the 2007 EFC Status Report on Information Requirements in the EMU. In particular, it welcomes the progress achieved with the Principal European Economic Indicators (PEEIs), following the recommendations of the 2006 EFC Status Report. It encourages ongoing efforts to promote best practices and data sharing and reiterates the need to strengthen the accuracy and reliability of the indicators. The Council calls upon the European Statistical System to step up efforts to also ensure the regular availability and high quality of the statistics for structural analysis. Eurostat and the ECB are invited to provide an updated Status Report on the fulfilment of EMU statistical requirements in 2008 and to review the scope, timeliness and quality of the PEEIs in the light of the results achieved, the constraints encountered and the evolving users’ needs for economic and monetary policy purposes.

Reduction of statistical burden : noting that available measurements have not indicated a significant reduction in the overall statistical burden since 2006, the Council underlines that the right balance has to be found between minimising the response burden and providing sufficiently high quality statistics for Community policies. The Council in particular: i) emphasises the desirability of respondents to report only once by combining reporting for different purposes and make the best use of the data that is already available by integrating existing statistics, including administrative data, to the extent possible; ii) welcomes the examination by the Commission (Eurostat), the Statistical Programme Committee (SPC) and the Committee for Monetary, Financial and Balance of Payments Statistics (CMFB) regarding the simplification of Intrastat; iii) agrees with the objective to reduce the coverage ratio in the short term while preparing a move to an alternative method in the long term, such as the single flow method, which requires further study; iv) invites the Commission to step up its efforts to enhance the measurement of the statistical response burden with a view to develop agreed criteria to assess progress objectively and to make a further assessment of the change in overall burden by October 2008.

Statistical Governance : the Council welcomes the agreement reached with the European Parliament and the Commission on the establishment of the European Statistical Governance Advisory Board (ESGAB) and the European Statistical Advisory Committee (ESAC), and anticipates their swift establishment. Furthermore, it welcomes the initiative to modernise the current legal framework governing the development, production and dissemination of European Statistics and takes note that the Commission forwarded to the Council, in accordance with the procedure laid down in article 251 of the Treaty (co-decision), a proposal for a Regulation on European Statistics. The Council recognises the major efforts required by National Statistical Institutes and Eurostat in the peer review exercise, as well as the high commitment of the partners involved. It looks forward to the report to the European Parliament and the Council on progress with the compliance with the European Statistics Code of Practice in 2008 and underlines the importance that all Member States provide the necessary input to Eurostat according to the agreed timetable.

Communication of Major Statistical Revisions : the Council underlines that major revisions of macro-economic and social statistics in Member States can have substantive implications for European economic policies and for the credibility of the European Statistical System as a whole. It believes that a proper communication of the impacts of major revisions within the EU is crucial. Therefore, the Council welcomes the guidelines on the public communication of major statistical revisions in the European Union as set up by the CMFB, in response to the conclusions of the Ecofin Council of 7 November 2006. Lastly, it invites Member States to follow these guidelines.

Results of vote in Parliament

The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Ieke van den BURG (PES, NL) on the proposal for a decision setting up a European Advisory Committee on Community Statistical Information Policy. Compromise amendments were agreed between the rapporteur, the Commission and the Council Presidency. The main amendments were as follows:

Name: the name of the Committee is changed to the European Statistical Advisory Committee.

Tasks : Parliament’s re-definition of the tasks of the Committee now include delivering an opinion on the following, inter alia: the balance between different areas in the Community statistical programme, the annual statistical work programme of the Commission, and possibilities of re-prioritising statistical work; the sufficiency of the resources needed to implement the Community statistical programme, and whether the scope, level of detail, and costs of European statistics are commensurate with users' needs; the costs related to the provision of statistical information by information providers and possibilities of reducing the response burden, with particular reference to the burden on SMEs. The Statistical Advisory Committee will also draw the Commission's attention to areas in which it may be necessary to develop new statistical activities and shall advise the Commission on how to improve the relevance of the European statistics to users. For the performance of its tasks the Statistical Advisory Council may commission studies and hold seminars.

The Statistical Advisory Council shall cooperate with the Statistical Programme Committee and the Committee on Monetary, Financial and Balance of Payments Statistics. It shall regularly inform those two committees of its opinions regarding the tasks and shall send them opinions and reports that it has drawn up.

Composition : the Statistical Advisory Board shall consist of 24 members. a) 12 members of the Statistical Advisory Board shall be appointed by the Commission after consultation of the European Parliament and the Council. They shall act independently. With a view to the appointment of these members, each Member State shall provide the Commission with a list of three candidates with a well-established qualification in the field of statistics. The Commission shall endeavour to ensure that the selection of those twelve members represents equally users, respondents and other stakeholders in European statistics (including the scientific community, the social partners and civil society). Those members shall perform their duties in their personal capacity b) 11 members shall be directly appointed by the bodies to which they belong (including one from the European Data Protection Supervisor). The Director-General of Eurostat shall be an ex-officio member of the Statistical Advisory Board without a voting right.

Duration of mandate : Members of the Statistical Advisory Council shall be appointed for a term of 5 years (as opposed to 4 as proposed by the Commission), renewable once. The Chair shall be appointed for a term of five years, renewable once.

Operation : the expenses of the Statistical Advisory Committee shall be included in the budgetary estimates of the Commission.

Lastly, Parliament stated that the decision should enter into force three months after publication in the Official Journal.

This proposal is closely linked to the proposal for the establishment of a European Statistical Governance Advisory Board (please see COD/2006/0199 ).

T6-0462/2007

Debate in Parliament

A6-0328/2007

A6-0328/2007

The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs adopted, at first reading of the codecision procedure, the report by Ieke van den BURG (PES, NL) on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council setting up a European Advisory Committee on Community Statistical Information Policy.

Firstly, the committee proposes changing the name of the committee to the “ European Statistical Advisory Council ”. The report underlines that i n some Member States the body assigned to the national statistical offices (NSOs) on which all stakeholders not belonging to the NSO are represented is known as the Statistical Council. The UN’s 2003 Handbook of Statistical Organization also calls bodies with a supervisory or advisory function assigned to NSOs “National Statistical Councils”. This choice of title thus gives stakeholders some idea of the nature of the body in question.

The main amendments adopted by the committee are as follows :

- the decision-makers (the European Parliament, Council and Commission) should be able to obtain information on the cost-benefit ratio of individual sets of data in the Statistical Programme ;

- the Statistical Advisory Council shall also draw the Commission's attention to areas in which it may be necessary to develop new statistical activities and shall advise the Commission how to improve the relevance of the European Statistical System to users, taking into account the costs for information providers and producers;

- in order to accomplish its task, the Statistical Advisory Council shall cooperate with the Statistical Programme Committee and the Committee on Monetary, Financial and Balance of Payments Statistics. It shall regularly inform those two committees of its opinions regarding the tasks and shall send them opinions and reports that it has drawn up. Close cooperation between the Statistical Advisory Council and the two committees in the programme-planning process is to improve the governance of the European Statistical System and enhance the quality of Community statistics;

- the Statistical Advisory Board shall consist of 24 members. a) 12 members of the Statistical Advisory Board shall be appointed by the Commission after consultation of the European Parliament and the Council. The Commission shall endeavour to ensure that the composition of those twelve members reflects an equal representation of users, producers, respondents and members of civil society, including the scientific community; b) 11 members shall be directly appointed by the bodies to which they belong (including one from the European Data Protection Supervisor). The Director-General of Eurostat shall be an ex-officio member of the Statistical Advisory Board without voting right;

- MEPs have also stated that the members shall act independently ;

- Members of the Statistical Advisory Council shall be appointed for a term of 5 years (as opposed to 4 as proposed by the Commission), renewable once;

- the Supervisory Council may, in agreement with the Commission, set up temporary working parties to be chaired by a Statistical Advisory Council member. For the performance of its tasks the Statistical Advisory Council may commission studies and hold seminars;

- s ecretarial services shall be provided for the Statistical Advisory Council and the working parties by the Commission. This shall not affect the independence of the Statistical Advisory Council;

- the expenditure for the Statistical Advisory Council shall be entered in the Commission budget;

- in order to clarify the voting procedure, an opinion delivered by the Statistical Advisory Council shall be valid if all its members have been convened and notified of the agenda, no later than two weeks before the meeting and two thirds of its members are present in person or by other means to be specified in the internal rules of procedure;

- this Decision shall enter into force three months after publication in the Official Journal.

PE390.649

PE388.658

CES0202/2007

PURPOSE: the establishment of a “European Advisory Committee on Community Statistical Information Policy”

PROPOSED ACT: Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council.

BACKGROUND: the “European Advisory Committee on Statistical Information in the Economic and Social Spheres” or CEIES was set up in 1991 on the initiative of the then President of the European Commission Jacques Delors. Its purpose is to assist in the co-ordination of the Community’s statistical information policy. CEIES helps assess the relevance of the Community’s statistical programme; it helps monitor the statistical programmes; and it assesses costs incurred.

Both the Commission, in its 2005 Communication on the independence, integrity and accountability of national and Community statistical authorities, and the Council in November 2005, recognised the need to reform CEIES. Reforming CEIES should lead to greater improvements in the governance of the European Statistical system and enhance the quality of Community statistics.

CONTENT: the purpose of this proposal is to repeal Decision 91/116/EEC on the establishment of CEIES and to propose a new Decision setting up a reformed committee. The reform takes account of EU expansion and the increase in EU members from 15 to 25. Concretely speaking the proposed provisions are as follows:

- Name change: The Commission is proposing to drop “Economic and Social Spheres” from the existing heading and rename it: The “European Advisory Committee on Community Statistical Information Policy.”

- More vigorous provisions are proposed regarding the preparation of the Community’s statistical programme as well as the Commission’s annual statistical work programme.

- The Committee may offer advice on user’s needs.

- The Commission will have to report annually on how it has taken the Committee’s views into account when formulating policies.

- Membership of the Committee will be reduced from 79 members to 20 members. Composition of the new committee will include representatives from civil society as well as statisticians. The Director General of Eurostat will be a member.

- Temporary working parties may be set up to report to the Committee.

COM(2006)0653
EUR-Lex

PURPOSE: the establishment of a “European Advisory Committee on Community Statistical Information Policy”

PROPOSED ACT: Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council.

BACKGROUND: the “European Advisory Committee on Statistical Information in the Economic and Social Spheres” or CEIES was set up in 1991 on the initiative of the then President of the European Commission Jacques Delors. Its purpose is to assist in the co-ordination of the Community’s statistical information policy. CEIES helps assess the relevance of the Community’s statistical programme; it helps monitor the statistical programmes; and it assesses costs incurred.

Both the Commission, in its 2005 Communication on the independence, integrity and accountability of national and Community statistical authorities, and the Council in November 2005, recognised the need to reform CEIES. Reforming CEIES should lead to greater improvements in the governance of the European Statistical system and enhance the quality of Community statistics.

CONTENT: the purpose of this proposal is to repeal Decision 91/116/EEC on the establishment of CEIES and to propose a new Decision setting up a reformed committee. The reform takes account of EU expansion and the increase in EU members from 15 to 25. Concretely speaking the proposed provisions are as follows:

- Name change: The Commission is proposing to drop “Economic and Social Spheres” from the existing heading and rename it: The “European Advisory Committee on Community Statistical Information Policy.”

- More vigorous provisions are proposed regarding the preparation of the Community’s statistical programme as well as the Commission’s annual statistical work programme.

- The Committee may offer advice on user’s needs.

- The Commission will have to report annually on how it has taken the Committee’s views into account when formulating policies.

- Membership of the Committee will be reduced from 79 members to 20 members. Composition of the new committee will include representatives from civil society as well as statisticians. The Director General of Eurostat will be a member.

- Temporary working parties may be set up to report to the Committee.

COM(2006)0653
EUR-Lex