COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 448/98 of 16 February 1998 completing and amending Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 with respect to the allocation of financial intermediation services indirectly measured (FISIM) within the European system of national and regional accounts (ESA)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 213 thereof,
Having regard to the draft Regulation submitted by the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Monetary Institute (3),
Whereas Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 of 25 June 1996 on the European System of National and Regional Accounts in the Community (4) contains the reference framework of common standards, definitions, classifications and accounting rules for drawing up the accounts of the Member States for the statistical requirements of the European Community, in order to obtain comparable results between Member States;
Whereas Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 provides that a decision on the allocation of financial intermediation services indirectly measured (FISIM) will be taken no later than 31 December 1997;
Whereas solving the problem of allocating FISIM should lead to major improvements in the methodology of the ESA and to a more accurate intra-European Union comparison of gross domestic product (GDP) levels;
Whereas the purpose of this Regulation is to introduce the principle of allocation of FISIM and the detailed rules of its implementation;
Whereas the effectiveness of the allocation of FISIM and the detailed rules of its implementation need to be evaluated by means of calculations to be carried out by the Member States according to the trial methods described in Annex III to this Regulation during a trial period which is sufficiently long in order to test whether this allocation yields more reliable results for the correct measurement of the economic activity concerned than the present zero allocation;
Whereas, it is appropriate that the Commission on the basis of the calculations carried out during the trial period, presents evaluation reports on the quality of the data, in particular, on their availability and a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the stability in time and the sensitivity of the results in respect of the different trial methods;
Whereas it is appropriate in case of a positive evaluation of reliability of the results obtained that the Commission decides on the most suitable method for the allocation of FISIM;
Whereas in case the trial methods do not yield more reliable results for the correct measurement of the economic activity concerned than the present zero allocation it is however appropriate that the Commission submits to the Council an appropriate proposal for modification of Regulation (EC) No 2223/96;
Whereas it is appropriate that the decision to allocate FISIM for the establishment of the GNP used for the purposes of the Community's budget and its own resources will be adopted by the Council, acting unanimously, on a proposal from the Commission;
Whereas it is appropriate not to allocate FISIM for the purposes of other Community policies until the Commission has decided on the method to be used for allocating FISIM in case the results obtained are judged to be more reliable;
Whereas, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, the objectives pursued by this Regulation can be better achieved at the Community level than at the level of Member States because only the Commission can coordinate the necessary harmonisation of the statistical methods for calculating and allocating FISIM at Community level; whereas, however, the calculation and allocation proper as well as the infrastructure required to monitor application of the methods, should be organised by the Member States; whereas for this reason it is necessary to prescribe that the competent national authorities have access to all available data at national level;
Whereas the Committee on the Statistical Programmes of the European Communities, established by Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom (5), and the Committee on Monetary, Financial and Balance of Payments Statistics, established by Decision 91/115/EEC (6), have been respectively consulted in accordance with Article 3 of each of the aforesaid Decisions,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Purpose
1. The purpose of this Regulation is to introduce the principle, using reliable methodology, for allocating financial intermediation services indirectly measured (FISIM), described in Annex I of Annex A to Regulation (EC) No 2223/96.
2. For this purpose, Annexes I and II of Annex A to Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 shall be amended in accordance with Annexes I and II to this Regulation.
Article 2
Methods
1. The Member States shall carry out calculations in accordance with the methods described in Annex III to this Regulation during the trial period described in Article 4.
2. On the basis of an evaluation of the results of these calculations a decision on the method to be used for the allocation of FISIM shall be taken in accordance with Article 5.
Article 3
Means
1. The Member States shall ensure that the necessary data or appropriate estimates for carrying out these calculations shall forthwith be put at the disposal of the national authority in charge of conducting the calculations referred to in Article 2(1).
2. The national authority shall be responsible for the collection of supplementary data it deems necessary for the calculations.
Article 4
Submission of the results of calculations during the trial period
The Member States shall submit to the Commission the results of the calculations referred to in Article 2(1), in accordance with the following schedule:
The results for calendar years 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998 shall be submitted no later than 1 November 1999.
The results for calendar year 1999 as well as revised results for calendar years 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998 shall be submitted no later than 1 November 2000.
The results for calendar year 2000 as well as revised results for calendar years 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 shall be submitted no later than 1 November 2001.
The first estimates for calendar year 2001 as well as revised results for calendar years 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 shall be submitted no later than 30 April 2002.
Article 5
Evaluation of results
1. On the basis of the results referred to in Article 4, the Commission, after consulting the Statistical Programme Committee, shall submit before 31 December 2000 a mid-term report and before 1 July 2002 a final report to the European Parliament and the Council containing a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the implications of the trial methods for allocating and calculating FISIM as described in Annex III.
2. The necessary measures for the application of this Regulation, including measures to clarify and improve the trial methods described in Annex III, shall be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the procedure of Article 7.
3. Before 31 December 2002, the Commission shall, after consulting the Committee for Monetary, Financial and Balance of Payments Statistics and in accordance with the procedure of Article 7, adopt the method to be used for the allocation of FISIM in case the findings of the final evaluation report on the reliability of the results obtained during the trial period are positive.
4. In case the Commission in its final evaluation report referred to in paragraph 1 finds that none of the trial methods for allocating FISIM are more reliable for the correct measurement of the economic activity than the present zero allocation, the Commission shall submit, if necessary, an appropriate proposal to the Council for the modification of Regulation (EC) No 2223/96.
Article 6
Transmission to the Commission
From 1 January 2003 the Member States shall transmit to the Commission the results of the calculations made pursuant to this Regulation as part of the tables referred to in Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 2223/96.
Article 7
Procedure
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Statistical Programme Committee, hereinafter referred to as 'the Committee`.
2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the Chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter.
The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148(2) of the Treaty establishing the European Community in the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member States within the Committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The Chairman shall not vote.
3. (a) The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if they are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee.
(b) If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the opinion of the Committee, or if no opinion is delivered, the Commission shall, without delay, submit to the Council a proposal relating to the measures to be taken. The Council shall act by a qualified majority.
If, upon expiry of a period of three months the Council has not acted, the proposed measures shall be adopted by the Commission.
Article 8
Derogations
By way of derogation from this Regulation:
1. The decision to allocate FISIM for the establishment of the GNP used for the purposes of the Community's budget and its own resources shall be adopted by the Council, acting unanimously, on a proposal from the Commission.
2. FISIM shall not be allocated for the purposes of other Community policies until the Commission has adopted the method to be used for the allocation of FISIM in accordance with Article 5(3).
Article 9
Final provisions
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 16 February 1998.