2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B DECISION No 2367/2002/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 16 December 2002
on the Community statistical programme 2003 to 2007
(Text with EEA relevance)
(OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1 Decision No 787/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 21 April 2004L 138 12 30.4.2004
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DECISION No 2367/2002/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIA-
MENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 16 December 2002
on the Community statistical programme 2003 to 2007
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and
in particular Article 285 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),
Following consultation of the Committee of the Regions,
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of
the Treaty (3),
Whereas:
(1) In accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 of 17
February 1997 on Community statistics (4), a Community statis-
tical programme should be established.
(2) Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 establishes the principles for
the production of Community statistics and applies to this Deci-
sion.
(3) Economic and monetary union is imposing substantial demandson the supply of monetary, balance of payments and financialstatistics for the Community.
(4) In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 322/97, the Communitymust have timely access to statistical information comparablebetween the Member States which is up to date, reliable, perti-
nent and produced as efficiently as possible for the formulation,
application, monitoring and assessment of its policies.
(5) The availability of up-to-date comparable statistics of goodquality is often a necessary condition for implementing Commu-nity policies.
(6) In order to ensure the consistency and comparability of statisticalinformation in the Community, there is a need to establish afive-year Community statistical programme which identifies theapproaches, the main fields and the objectives of the actions
envisaged in respect of these priorities.
(7) To this effect, the Community authorities should ensure compar-
able and high quality statistics.
(8) The specific method of drawing up Community statisticsrequires particularly close cooperation within a developingCommunity statistical system via the Statistical ProgrammeCommittee, set up by Council Decision 89/382/EEC,Euratom (
5), as regards the adaptation of the system, notably via
the introduction of legal instruments necessary to establish the
said Community statistics. Account is to be taken of the burdenon respondents, be they business, households or individuals.2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ C 75 E, 26.3.2002, p. 274.
(2) OJ C 125, 27.5.2002, p. 17.
(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 25 April 2002 (not yet published in
the Official Journal), Council Common Position of 30 September 2002 (OJ
C 275 E, 12.11.2002, p. 1) and Decision of the European Parliament of 20
November 2002 (not yet published in the Official Journal).
(4) OJ L 52, 22.2.1997, p. 1.
(5) OJ L 181, 28.6.1989, p. 47.
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(9) The production of Community statistics within the legislative
framework of the five-year programme is the responsibility of
the national authorities at national level and of the Communityauthority (Eurostat) at Community level.
(10) In order to achieve this objective, close, coordinated andcoherent cooperation between Eurostat and the national authori-
ties is necessary.
(11) To this effect, Eurostat should ensure the coordination under
various forms of the national authorities in a network repre-senting the European Statistical System (ESS) to assure thetimely provision of statistics in support of European Union
policy needs.
(12) Detailed implementing measures for individual statistical actions
may be entrusted to the ESS by the Commission, which shoulddecide the objectives and the measures concerned.
(13) In addition, in the implementation of this Programme, in accor-
dance with Regulation (EC) No 322/97, the Commission is
entrusted to execute certain implementing or execution tasks asthey are defined in acts concerning individual statistical actions.
(14) Consideration may be given as to whether certain of these taskscurrently performed at Commission level could be executed, for
example, by a specialised implementing body.
(15) In certain areas covered by various Community policies a break-
down of data by gender is important.
(16) This Decision lays down, for the entire duration of theprogramme, a financial framework constituting the prime refer-
ence within the meaning of point 33 of the Interinstitutional
Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the European Parliament,the Council and the Commission on the budgetary disciplineand improvement of the budgetary procedure (
1), for the
budgetary authority during the annual budgetary procedure.
(17) The guidelines for establishing this programme have beensubmitted in accordance with Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC)No 322/97 to the Statistical Programme Committee, theEuropean Advisory Committee on Statistical Information in theEconomic and Social Spheres set up by Council Decision 91/
116/EEC (
2) and the Committee on Monetary, Financial and
Balance of Payment Statistics set up by Council Decision 91/115/EEC (
3),
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Establishment of the statistical programme
The Community statistical programme for the period from 2003 to
2007 (hereinafter referred to as the programme) is hereby established.The programme is included in the Annexes.
Annex I defines the approaches, the main fields and the objectives of
the actions envisaged during that period and also provides a summaryof statistical requirements viewed from the perspective of the policyneeds of the European Union. These needs are broken down by titles
of the Treaty.
Annex II provides a summary of the Eurostat work themes.2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 3
(1) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 59, 6.3.1991, p. 21. Decision as amended by Council Decision 97/255/
EC (OJ L 102, 19.4.1997, p. 32).
(3) OJ L 59, 6.3.1991, p. 19. Decision as amended by Council Decision 96/174/
EC (OJ L 51, 1.3.1996, p. 48).
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Article 2
Objectives and policy priorities
Taking account of the available resources of the national authorities
and the Commission, this programme shall be guided by the principal
Community policy priorities of:
— economic and monetary union,
— European Union enlargement,— competitivity, sustainable development and the social agenda.
It shall also ensure the continuation of existing statistical support for
decisions in current policy areas and the additional requirements arisingfrom new Community policy initiatives. It shall take account of theneed for ongoing review of statistical priorities and of the necessity ofthe statistics produced, with a view to making best use of availableresources and minimising response burdens.
Furthermore, the Commission shall ensure comparable and high quality
statistics.
Article 3
Financing
The financial framework for the implementation of this programme for
the period 2003 to 2007 is hereby set at EUR 220,6 million. EUR170,83 million shall be for the period up to 31 December 2006.
For the period beginning on 1 January 2007, the amount proposed shall
be deemed to be confirmed if, for the phase in question, it is consistentwith the financial perspective in force for the period beginning on 1
January 2007.
The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the budgetary
authority within the limits of the financial perspectives.
Article 4
Reports
During the third year of implementation of the programme, the
Commission shall prepare an intermediate report showing its stage ofdevelopment and present it to the Statistical Programme Committee.
At the end of the period covered by the programme, the Commission,
after consulting the Statistical Programme Committee, shall present an
appropriate evaluation report on the implementation of the programme,
taking into account the views of independent experts. That report is tobe completed by the end of 2008 and subsequently submitted to theEuropean Parliament and the Council.
Article 5
Entry into force
This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
Article 6
Addressees
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 4
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ANNEX I
FIVE-YEAR STATISTICAL PROGRAMME: APPROACHES
INTRODUCTION
1.The need for statistical information for European Union Policy
EU Institutions and citizens need a factual means to assess the need for, and
progress of, European policy initiatives. High quality statistical information is
of primary importance in meeting this need. Eurostat (the Statistical Office of
the European Communities) has as its main task the compilation and dissemi-
nation of relevant and timely information across a wide range of social,
economic and environmental topics in support of existing and future policies
of the EU. In an evolving e Europe, statistical information has to be made
available in a form and at a time when the user needs it. Thus, during the
period of this programme further efforts will need to be made to ensure that
citizens have access to an increasing amount of basic information about
economic, social and environmental developments in the EU. The ESS
(European Statistical System) needs to develop further its structures and stra-
tegies to ensure that the system as whole maintains and develops the
necessary quality and effectiveness to meet all user needs.
Structure of the AnnexThis Annex concentrates on the policy determinants of the programme of
work and provides a summary of European statistical requirements viewed
from the perspective of the policy needs of the European Union. These needs
are classified by the Titles identified in the Treaty establishing the European
Community.
For each of these policy Titles, this Annex provides:
— the principal orientation of the statistical work to be carried out within
this five-year period for each policy area and the specific action plans
envisaged, including any foreseeable legal acts,
— the areas of statistical work which support the policies of the Title
according to the themes of statistical work as defined in the Activity-
Based Management framework.
2.Implementation strategies
(a) Objectives
The objectives laid down in the Eurostat Corporate Plan will underpin
the execution of the work programme, which shall be carried out taking
into account the principle of cost-effectiveness established in Article 10
of Regulation (EC) No 322/97. These objectives are:
— Eurostat at the service of the Commission,
— Eurostat at the service of other European Institutions and the wider
user community,
— Contributing to the maintenance and development of the European
Statistical System,
— Boosting staff motivation and satisfaction,
— Improving the quality of its products and services,
— Increasing internal productivity.
(b) Statistical production
In association with its partners in the ESS, Eurostat will put into place
production processes that assure that European Statistics achieve the
level of quality required for EU policy management purposes. Particular
emphasis will be given to statistics for the Euro-zone requirements.
Eurostat and the ESS partners will undertake a permanent review of EU
and National Statistical information to ensure that it meets the real
requirements for both EU and National Policy purposes and that the two
aspects are fully integrated.
(c) Efficiency of implementation
The Commission will continue to assess its ways of working to ensure
that the most efficient use is made of resources. Certain tasks in the field
of statistics may be identified as being appropriate for implementation
and follow-up by an executive agency. Establishment of such an execu-
tive agency would be preceded by a full analysis in conformity with
Council and Commission provisions on such bodies. Partners in the ESS
will be consulted through the Statistical Programme Committee and kept
fully informed of this process.2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 5
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(d) Budgetary implementation of the programme
Budgetary resources made available for statistical information under this
programme are subject to the annual budgetary procedure without preju-
dice to budgetary resources made available under other legal acts. The
resources will be used:
— for the production of statistics as defined in Regulation (EC) No 322/
97, including the development and maintenance of statistical informa-
tion systems and associated necessary infrastructure,
— for grants made to partners in the ESS (Eurostat envisages concluding
framework agreements with such partners),
— for technical and administrative assistance as well as other support
measures.
3.Priorities
The priorities for statistical work are managed according to four different
categories of activity.
(a) Community policy requirements
The statistical implications of the major Community policy areas are
those currently identified by the Commission and can be summarised as
follows:
— Economic and Monetary Union: all of the statistics required for Phase
III EMU and the pact on stability and growth,
— EU enlargement: incorporating those areas of statistical indicators of
primary importance for the accession negotiations and for the integra-
tion of candidate countries into the ESS,
— competitivity, sustainable development and the social agenda: in
particular, statistics on the labour market, environment, services,
living conditions, migration and eEurope,
— open coordination: the provision of indicators and related statistics,
based on improved methodologies and harmonised outputs, in accor-
dance with the mandates given by the European Council.
(b) Major projects
This covers primary areas of work necessary to assure the functioning of
the system. These will be subject to a formal project management
approach, as follows:
— Infrastructure work
Consolidate the functioning of the ESS in a deepened and enlarged
Europe. Different instruments of cooperation between national statis-
tical organisations and Eurostat will be put in place. These will be
based mainly on the exchange of data between national statistical
authorities, the specialisation of Member States in some specific
domains and flexibility in the launching of statistical surveys to
meet European and national needs.
Develop a system capable of reacting to developing policy needs and,
at the same time, promote dialogue between statisticians and policy
makers to ensure flexibility of response and relevance of statistical
products.
The development of the technological infrastructure at Commission
and Member State level will aim to ensure greater productivity,
reduction in response burdens and easier user access to statistical
information.
Eurostat's involvement in the eCommission and eEurope initiatives,
as well as ESS access to research and development programmes and
the interchange of data between administrations (IDA) programme
will ensure cooperation and synergy between Community and
national efforts.
Quality assurance and the scientific basis of Community statistics
will be the result of close cooperation between official and academic
statisticians.
— Specific projects
Statistics on the new economy, including domains such as the infor-
mation society and innovation.
Statistics on research and development, including benchmarking of
national RTD policies.
Short-term statistics.2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 6
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Indicators to support policies for sustainable development.
Social exclusion and poverty indicators.
(c) Statistical support to ongoing policies
This covers the continuation of statistical activities, which support
existing Community policy areas such as agriculture, regional policy
and external trade.
(d) Other areas
Other areas of statistical data collection not covered above which are
nevertheless required for policy purposes.
For activities within this priority framework, the detailed range and
extent of data collected have in general been developed by Eurostat
with the Member States in the context of the SPC and CMFB. This
follows the rules defined in the Council Regulation on Community statis-
tics and is in conformity with agreed principles for such decisions
concerning work management.
4.Subsidiarity
The legislative context for this is:1. Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom establishing a Committee on the statistical
programmes of the European Communities (SPC)
2. Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97
3. Commission Decision 97/281/EC of 21 April 1997 on the role of Eurostat
as regards the production of Community statistics (
1).
Eurostat is responsible for ensuring the provision of Community statistics for
EU policy purposes. Eurostat can only carry out this task in liaison with the
statistical authorities in the Member States. Thus, activities are always based
on a fundamental principle of subsidiarity. This involves a wide range of
partner agencies but principally the national statistical institutes of the EU
Member States.
5.The balance of needs and resources
The ESS has to maintain a vigilant watch on the balance between the needs
for information for Community policy purposes and the resources required at
EU, national and regional levels to provide this information. The provision of
adequate resources in the national context is of particular importance in
pursuing the statistical information requirements of EU policy decisions. It
is also, however, important to maintain sufficient flexibility to allow the
national authorities to satisfy Community statistical information needs in the
most cost-effective manner.
To support a strategy based on balanced prioritisation, the yearly program-
ming process should include ongoing review of the continuing necessity of
existing Community statistics, identifying those which could be curtailed or
discontinued. This must be conducted in close cooperation with the main
users of statistics as an important consideration for the introduction of new
statistical initiatives.
This Annex identifies the set of statistical requirements necessary to support
Community policies. In the context of overall resource management, the allo-
cation of priorities across the various components of statistical work is
defined according to the framework described above.
FIVE-YEAR STATISTICAL PROGRAMME: OBJECTIVES AND
ACTIONS
ENLARGEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Statistical implications
It is expected that accession negotiations will be completed with an accession
treaty for a number of candidate countries during the validity of the 2003 to
2007 programme. For the follow-up and potential completion of these negotia-
tions, the Commission must be able to draw on a complete set of reliable2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 7
(1) OJ L 112, 29.4.1997, p. 56.
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statistics, methodologically comparable with those of the European Union coun-
tries. The Union will then face two somewhat different challenges:
— to integrate the potential new members in all Community mechanisms,
including e.g. own-resources budgets and structural funds and all other
issues and programmes,
— to continue to prepare the remaining candidates and help them to reach full
compliance with current Community legislation.
In both cases the high demands placed on the statistical production of the candi-
dates, to be verified and communicated through Eurostat, should not be
underestimated. Evidently, basic economic statistics are indispensable, including
sectoral and regional distribution of GDP creation, population, and employment.
Other key areas are those which measure the implementation of the single
market, i.e. activities with a cross-border effect such as trade in goods, trade in
services and freedom of establishment, balance of payments, capital flows,
mobility of persons (migrant workers, migration, asylum seekers, etc.), industrial
production and structure with a view to capacity, etc. In general, statistical
production has to support the EU policy concerned, including monetary union-
generated demands. In addition there are requirements for statistics in sectors
which are sensitive for the accession negotiations, supporting primary EU poli-
cies such as agriculture, transport, regional and environment.
Summary
During the five-year period work will concentrate on:
— consolidating the collection of harmonised data for negotiations and internal
EU purposes,
— continuing assistance to candidate countries and new members to improve
their statistical systems to meet Community requirements, including early
information about any new Community legislation.
TITLE I
Free movement of goods
Statistical implications
The entry into force of the Single Market in 1993 led to the introduction of a
system for the statistical measurement of trade in goods between Member States
(Intrastat), a lessening of the burden on information providers and thus a more
appropriate response to the needs of economic and monetary union. However,
the lessening of the burden has been limited in view of the wishes of the
national authorities and numerous professional federations to maintain a system
of detailed statistics of intra-Community trade compatible with extra-Commu-
nity statistics.
In line with the strategic plan approved in 1999 by Eurostat and the Member
States, new adaptations of the system will be examined and tested prior to any
reform of the legislation. The new system should therefore be focused on the
supply of results meeting Community needs in accordance with strict quality
requirements in terms of coverage, reliability and availability. The content of
the results should be defined in such a way as to simplify current requirements
whilst taking account of how needs develop as European integration progresses.
Action will also be taken to improve the reliability of import and export price
statistics to allow the internal competitiveness of the Union's products to be
measured more effectively.
In parallel, the possible consequences of the switch to a common VAT system
will have been analysed by an evaluation of the sources of administrative or
statistical information which can be used as a reference, priority being given to
maintaining the link with the VAT system and the use of the general business
register.
Summary
At the end of the five-year programme the Commission will have adapted and
improved the systems of statistical measurement of the trade of goods between
Member States and with third countries, taking into account the development of
the information requirements and the economic and administrative environment.2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 8
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Policy needs and Eurostat outputs
Treaty Title Eurostat work themes
TITLE I
FREE MOVEMENT OF GOODS
Principal themes of work necessary for this
policy area53 Trade in goods
Other important contributory themes 44 Statistics on the economic activity of enter-
prises
45 Energy48 Transport
64 Crop production
65 Animal production66 Agro-industry statistics
TITLE II
Agriculture
Statistical implications
Agriculture
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) absorbs nearly half the Communities'
budget. The Commission thus has a major task with regard to the CAP, with
the usual role of policy formulation, monitoring, evaluation and adaptation.
The Commission has extensive delegated competence for current management.
The main effort in the 2003 to 2007 five-year period will be, as in the
programme 1998 to 2002, to operate this large set of statistics and to carry out
essential maintenance. Particular attention will continue to be given to the envir-
onmental dimension, by developing statistics needed for analysing interlinkage
between agriculture and the environment, including the improvement of statis-
tics on the use of fertilisers and pesticides, on organic farming and on action to
maintain biodiversity and rural habitats.
The Technical Action Plan for Agricultural Statistics (Tapas) management
framework provides a collective and transparent approach to steadily improving
use of available national and Community resources for producing agricultural
statistics. The statistics produced will be put to greater use (e.g. modelling,
direct access by Member States and European institutions).
Two tasks will be undertaken which look towards the future. Agricultural statis-
tics will be formulated to meet the needs of the CAP seven to ten years hence,
taking account of the way the CAP may change following the reforms resulting
from the ‘Agenda 2000’. Work on agri-environmental data will be further devel-
oped. In particular, work will continue on indicators of the integration of
environmental considerations into the CAP and on operational landscape indica-
tors. Attention will also be paid to the growing need for information in the
consumer/welfare aspects of agriculture and to statistical support for the rural
development component of the CAP. The conclusions of the comprehensive
independent review of the present system will be used to adapt the set of
Community agriculture statistics to be in a position to meet identified new or
changing needs. The second task is to establish a regular flow of comparable
data, from official sources, for all candidate countries for accession to the EU.
Forestry
In this area, particular attention has to be given to the maintenance and improve-
ment of work with international organisations above all for the development of
better quality forestry statistics, including specific criteria and indicators
required for environmental management and sustainable forest management.
Also, information on sustainable management of timber-derived industries needs
to be developed in parallel. The consequences of the Bonn arrangements in the
context of the Kyoto agreement will need to be taken into account for the devel-
opments in this work.
Fisheries
Future developments within the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) will concen-
trate on the integration of the various components, from biology to resources,2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 9
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through improved monitoring of the activities of fishing vessels. These measures
are unlikely to result in additional demand for data and the main effort in the
coming years will be on consolidating and improving data flows (completeness,
timeliness, consistency, comparability and accessibility) on the basis of existing
legislation.
The social and economic consequences of limiting the activities of fishing
vessels and reducing the size of the EU fishing fleet is producing an increased
demand for data on parameters to assess the social and economic situation.
These developments are likely to be important elements in the re-negotiation
of the CFP in 2002. Eurostat will follow these negotiations closely to ensure
that its programme of fishery statistics continues to reflect the data needs of
the CFP.
Summary
During the programme period the Commission will strive to:
— apply the TAPAS scheme for progressive improvements to the existing set
of agricultural statistics, mainly as far as quality, comparability, efficiency
savings, simplification and timeliness are concerned,
— plan the development of agricultural statistics with the aim of meeting the
future needs of the CAP,
— provide indicators for better integration of environmental considerations into
the CAP and information on the consumer/welfare aspects of agriculture,
— assist in the development of comparable data in candidate countries for
accession to the EU,
— consolidate, improve and extend (indicators) forestry statistics,
— consolidate and improve the quality of fishery statistics.
Policy needs and Eurostat outputs
Treaty Title Eurostat work themes
TITLE II
AGRICULTURE
Principal themes of work necessary for this
policy area61 Land use and landscape
62 Agricultural structures63 Agricultural monetary statistics64 Crop production
65 Animal production
66 Agro-industry statistics67 Coordination and reform of agricultural
statistics
68 Forestry statistics69 Fisheries statistics
Other important contributory themes 53 Trade in goods
70 Sustainable development
72 Regional statistics
74 Geographical and local information
TITLE III
Free movement of persons, services and capital
Statistical implications
EU balance of payment statistics provide fairly detailed information on trade in
services and direct investments. Statistics on the trade of foreign branches are
currently being developed. Although all these statistics are being developed
mainly in response to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
and therefore to provide information on operations with countries outside the
Community, the Member States consider it essential to continue to draw up a
national balance of payments (therefore including intra-EU flows) even within
economic and monetary union. Currently, the statistics produced cover both
extra-EU and intra-EU trade and thus meet the needs of the single market.
However, there is a risk of uncertainty regarding this information. Also, the
systems for collecting balance of payment data are currently being restructured2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 10
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(see Title VII). The Commission's needs in this area therefore need to be reas-
sessed and redefined.
A system of globalisation indicators will be put in place. New statistical tools
based on the exchange of data between the National Statistical Institutes and
on the collection of information on European level will be used as pillars for
the development of this domain.
The identification and monitoring of foreign affiliates (FATS) will allow the
europeanisation and internationalisation of the production systems to be
measured.
Statistics will aim more and more to analyse sustainable tourism together with
sustainable development by developing satellite accounts.
The Council's decision on audiovisual statistics will have to be implemented.
Eurostat will thus continue to consolidate the work already undertaken since
1999 to establish a Community statistical information infrastructure relating to
the industry and markets of the audiovisual and related sectors. Additionally, a
legal basis for telecommunications statistics will need to be developed.
A flexible and adaptable system for collecting information on information
society indicators will gradually be established on the basis of existing or new
surveys according to the priorities set by the Council.
Summary
During the five-year period the Commission will strive to:
— develop a stable and flexible set of indicators on globalisation,
— develop a stable and flexible set of indicators on information society,
including audiovisual services,
— progress in the development of satellite accounts in the field of tourism.
Policy needs and Eurostat outputs
Treaty Title Eurostat work themes
TITLE III
FREE MOVEMENT OF PERSONS, SERVICES
AND CAPITAL
Principal themes of work necessary for this
policy area44 Statistics on the economic activity of enter-
prises
48 Transport
49 Information society
50 Tourism54 Trade in services and balance of payments
Other important contributory themes 57 Statistics for business cycle analysis
70 Sustainable development71 Environment statistics
TITLE IV
Visas, asylum, immigration and other policies related to free movement of
persons
Statistical implications
Community competence in the field of immigration and asylum was established
by the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam on 1 May 1999. At the
request of the European Council, the Commission submitted in November 2000
two Communications to launch a debate in the Community on the long-term
aspects of a common EU policy. Both Communications address the issue of
statistics in this perspective. The Communication on a Community immigration
policy (
1) emphasises that more information is needed about migration flows and2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 11
(1) Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on a
community immigration policy, 22 November 2000 (COM (2000) 757 final).
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patterns of migration into and out of the EU. The Communication on asylum (1)
states that establishing and implementing the common European asylum system
requires an in-depth analysis on the scale of migratory flows, their origins, as
well as analysis of the characteristics of applications for protection and the
response to them. The Union's enlargement and the development of cooperation
with the countries of the Mediterranean Basin will only reinforce the needs for
statistical information in these fields.
Summary
During the five-year programme period the Commission will:
— develop a more standardised nomenclature in the areas of migration and
asylum in liaison with the national authorities,
— enhance the range and quality of statistics in this field to meet the initial
requirements contained in the Commission communications on the subject.
Policy needs and Eurostat outputs
Treaty Title Eurostat work themes
TITLE IV
VISAS, ASYLUM, IMMIGRATION AND
OTHER POLICIES RELATED TO FREE
MOVEMENT OF PERSONS
Principal themes of work necessary for this
policy area31 Population
TITLE V
Transport
Statistical implications
Community transport statistics are required to support the common transport
policy (Articles 70 to 80) and the transport component of the Trans-European
networks (TENs) (Articles 154 to 156).
Transport is also an important part of Community regional and environmental
policies (see Titles XVII and XIX) and particular attention will need to be
accorded to sustainable development indicators.
Community statistics should constitute a comprehensive transport information
system, including data on flows of goods and passengers, as well as on infra-
structure, equipment, traffic flows, personal mobility, safety, energy
consumption and environmental impact, as well as data on transport costs and
prices, and on transport enterprises. A key objective will be to shift the balance
between modes of transport, favouring rail and short-sea shipping over road
transport, and thereby removing the existing coupling of economic growth with
increased road traffic. It will be necessary to provide better statistics on modal
split, covering passengers as well as freight, taking account of all modes of
transport and improving timeliness aspects.
The opening up of transport markets to competition will require objective statis-
tical data to monitor developments in these markets and to assess the impact of
these developments on employment and working conditions in transport enter-
prises and on the economic viability of these businesses. It will also reinforce
the demands for statistical indicators relating to safety and service quality.
Market trends will require the collection of statistical data on freight transport
which are less centred on single modes of transport, but which provide informa-
tion on the complete inter-modal transport chain and on the transport of goods
from a market perspective.
Monitoring the relationship between transport and the environment will be a
main driving force for improved quality and coverage across all areas of trans-
port data. It will also generate some specific requirements for additional data,
for example on personal mobility and on transport equipment. There will be a
need to respond to the growing demand for traffic data expressed in vehicle-
kilometres for all modes of transport, in view of their importance in monitoring
congestion and gas emissions.2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 12
(1) Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament
‘Towards a common asylum procedure and a uniform status, valid throughout the
Union, for persons granted asylum’, 22 November 2000 (COM (2000) 755 final).
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The continued high level of investment in European transport infrastructure, and
in particular the transport TEN, will generate specific needs for statistics on
infrastructure and on market trends. The TEN, together with Community
regional policies, will continue to generate demands for more spatially broken-
down data on transport networks and flows, which should be considered an inte-
gral part of the overall transport information system.
Summary
During the five-year period the Commission will strive to:
— complete the coverage of Community transport statistics across all modes of
transport and all types of information,
— continue to adapt and complete, where necessary, the legal basis for trans-
port statistics,
— promote the collection of additional statistics on intermodal transport chains
as well as those additional data needed to monitor the integration of environ-
mental considerations into transport policies (the TERM exercise).
Policy needs and Eurostat outputs
Treaty Title Eurostat work themes
TITLE V
TRANSPORT
Principal themes of work necessary for this
policy area48 Transport
72 Regional statistics
Other important contributory themes 44 Statistics on the economic activity of enter-
prises
45 Energy
49 Information society50 Tourism53 Trade in goods
61 Land use and landscape
70 Sustainable development71 Environment statistics
74 Geographical and local information
TITLE VI
Common rules on competition, taxation and approximation of laws
No direct statistical programme is required. Statistical information for this title
is derived as needed from data and indicators generated for other titles in the
programme.
Policy needs and Eurostat outputs
Treaty Title Eurostat work themes
TITLE VI
COMMON RULES ON COMPETITION,
TAXATION AND APPROXIMATION OF
LAWS
Principal themes of work necessary for this
policy area32 Labour market
53 Trade in goods2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 13
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Treaty Title Eurostat work themes
Other important contributory themes 44 Statistics on the economic activity of enter-
prises
45 Energy48 Transport49 Information society
63 Agricultural monetary statistics
64 Crop production65 Animal production
66 Agro-industry statistics
TITLE VII
Economic and monetary policy
Statistical implications
The implementation of Economic and Monetary Union requires very close
statistical monitoring to support macroeconomic policy coordination and the
monetary policy functions of the European System of Central Banks. The Stabi-
lity and Growth Pact presents new statistical requirements. Meanwhile,
measuring the extent of economic convergence achieved by Member States
remains important.
In order to provide statistics with the necessary breadth, comparability, timeli-
ness and frequency to coordinate macroeconomic policy and support the
monetary policy functions of the European System of Central Banks, work will
be pursued on short-term indicators of demand, output, the labour market, prices
and costs. New methods (e.g. flash-estimation, nowcasting, etc.) will be applied
to improve the service for business cycle analysts. This work will complement
further development of monetary and financial indicators.
The permanent improvement of timeliness and coverage of data is needed in the
framework of the Action Plan on EMU statistical requirements. The calculation
of euro-zone aggregates in the shortest possible time will require the timely
production of quarterly national accounts and the implementation of flash esti-
mates. Moreover, major work will be necessary in the field of quarterly
institutional sector non-financial and financial accounts fully consistent with
annual accounts and short-term public finances. The request for counterpart
information in the financial accounts, which shows the relationships from
‘whom-to-whom’ between sectors, is an important tool for monetary policy
analysis. In a step-by-step approach, this information is to be collected during
this five-year programme.
During the period of this programme, 2003 to 2007, the most significant single
feature is expected to be the enlargement of the EU from 15 members to 20 or
more. This will entail substantial work on data supply by the new members and
on validation by Eurostat. To support fully the Commission's enlargement
policy, assistance to the candidate countries will be pursued and developed, in
order to ensure proper availability, quality, timeliness and comparability of the
data.
For all Member States increased attention will be paid to the quality of the data,
at both constant and current prices. One administrative use, own resources based
on gross national income, will represent 60 % of the EU budget. Much of the
task will be to continue and supplement the efforts made to harmonise statistics
on the convergence criteria. The goal of maintaining price stability (Article 105
of the Treaty) and providing information for the euro-zone monetary policy of
the ECB requires that, pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 2494/95 of 23
October 1995 concerning harmonized indices of consumer prices (
1), the quality
of the Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (HICPs) should be maintained
and further improved. HICP methodology is to be completed and consolidated
within the framework of the abovementioned Council Regulation on HICPs.
Monitoring of the budgetary situation and of the stock of government debt
(Article 104 of the Treaty and the Stability and Growth Pact agreed upon in
Dublin) will be based on the accounts of general government drawn up using
the ESA 95 methodology approved by Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 of2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 14
(1) OJ L 257, 27.10.1995, p. 1.
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25 June 1996 on the European system of national and regional accounts in the
Community (1). Harmonisation and comparability will be kept under review in
order to provide the institutional decision-makers with high quality and compar-
able statistical instruments so as not to create any distortions in the judgements
made of the budgetary situation in each Member State.
The monitoring of the economic development in the Member States as provided
for in Article 99 of the Treaty strengthens the need to implement fully the
existing data transmission programme on national accounts according to the
ESA 95 Regulation, especially as far as timeliness and coverage are concerned,
and to extend it progressively to new areas through revision and extension of the
legislation in force.
Work on drawing up the principal aggregates of the accounts in terms of
purchasing power parities will be continued. The revision work on the metho-
dology for purchasing power parities to make the results more reliable for
comparative analyses, which started under the previous five-year programme,
should be concluded with the adoption of the PPP Council Regulation.
The establishment of Economic and Monetary Union has considerable implica-
tions for the balance of payments statistics. Of particular importance here are
the reporting thresholds, which if modified as currently foreseen, will require
significant development work to ensure that the quality of this data can be main-
tained. Many Member States (especially those where bank reporting is the main
source for balance of payments compilers) are currently revising their balance of
payments collection systems in order to cope with the new circumstances. Work
will be pursued in the coming years in order to ensure that Member States keep
providing good quality and relevant data to the EU institutions and the ECB,
especially on trade in services, foreign direct investment, and foreign affiliated
trade statistics. Also the collection (and analysis) of data from candidate coun-
tries will have priority. These data are requested by several Commission
services, especially those dealing with economic monitoring, trade policy, and
external relations.
Summary
During the five-year period the Commission will aim to:
— pursue the development and production of statistics in the framework of the
EMU Action Plan for the conduct of macroeconomic policy coordination
and of monetary policy, for the Stability and Growth Pact and for the
continued assessment of economic convergence,
— intensify implementation of the ESA 95 Regulation,
— revise the collection system for balance of payments statistics.
Policy needs and Eurostat outputs
Treaty Title Eurostat work themes
TITLE VII
ECONOMIC AND MONETARY POLICY
Principal themes of work necessary for this
policy area32 Labour market
40 Annual economic accounts41 Quarterly accounts
42 Financial accounts
44 Statistics on the economic activity of enter-
prises
52 Money and finance54 Trade in services and balance of payments55 Prices
57 Statistics for business cycle analysis
Other important contributory themes 53 Trade in goods2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 15
(1) OJ L 310, 30.11.1996, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 359/
2002 (OJ L 58, 28.2.2002, p. 1).
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TITLE VIII
Employment
Statistical implications
EU labour statistics development will be driven by the following political
processes: EU enlargement, European employment strategy, economic and
monetary union and the benchmarking exercise (with structural indicators to be
presented every year in spring to the European Council).
Labour statistics are largely governed by EU regulations. Thanks to this the
candidate countries will have made major steps towards complying with EU
requirements before 2003. Full compliance, regular data transmission and
keeping pace with new developments will be the challenge during 2003 to 2007.
By fixing new employment rate objectives to be reached in 2005 and 2010, the
European Council has reinforced the need to monitor the implementation of the
European employment strategy and in particular the yearly implementation of
the employment guidelines. This monitoring will need to record the implemen-
tation of the continuous labour force survey and the adaptation of its list of
variables. The monitoring will require more frequent and complete statistics to
measure the gender gap (in particular the wage gap in all economic activities)
and the skill gap. This will involve structural statistics on earnings and studies
on the implementation of a Community job vacancy survey.
In a zone as large as the EMU, the labour cost trend is the main potential infla-
tionary pressure and has thus to be monitored by quick short term statistics of
high quality. The implementation of the Labour Cost Index regulation and the
continuous improvement of short term labour cost statistics are of utmost impor-
tance, as well as improved labour productivity measurement (implying an
improved series on volume of work).
Summary
— implementation of a continuous LFS providing quarterly results in all
Member States,
— harmonisation of part of the questionnaires,— collection/analysis of the results of the 2002 structure of earnings survey,— implementation of the 2004 labour cost survey covering NACE M-N-O,— full implementation of the Council Regulation on labour cost index,— implementation of the 2006 structure of earnings survey,— designing a target system for European labour cost statistics.
Policy needs and Eurostat outputs
Treaty Title Eurostat work themes
TITLE VIII
EMPLOYMENT
Principal themes of work necessary for this
policy area32 Labour market
33 Education35 Health and safety36 Distribution of incomes and living condi-
tions
37 Social protection
Other important contributory themes 44 Statistics on the economic activity of enter-
prises
49 Information society
50 Tourism63 Agricultural monetary statistics2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 16
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TITLE IX
Common commercial policy
Statistical implications
Article 133 of the Treaty gives responsibility to the European Commission for
conducting negotiations on commercial agreements with third countries. This
includes the trade agreements on services (GATS). For this purpose good quality
data are essential.
Work will be pursued in the coming years in order to ensure that data on cross-
border trade in services (both geographical breakdown and detail by compo-
nents), foreign direct investment, and foreign affiliated trade maintain the
quality standards, the level of detail, and the degree of harmonisation required
by the Commission services in charge of conducting the commercial policy.
The Doha Round, launched in November 2001, will make sustainable develop-
ment and the impact of the common commercial policy on developing countries
a key issue. Coordination work on collecting global data will need to be under-
taken.
The collection and analysis of data from candidate countries will also have first
priority in the coming years. Work will also be undertaken to coordinate further
the methodological discussion among Member States, notwithstanding the fact
that a significant degree of harmonisation has already been achieved in this
field. The drawing-up of Community BOP statistics is also indispensable to
obtain a comprehensive BOP for the EU.
Work on harmonising the statistical rules will continue within a methodological
framework which is more in line with the international recommendations
recently adopted by the United Nations. Statistical information will be improved
by more efficient use of the customs declaration's content and the needs ensuing
from changes in the European Union and international trade (enlargement,
globalisation, trade liberalisation) will be taken into account. Action will also
be taken to improve the reliability of import and export price statistics to ensure
better measurement of the external competitiveness of the Union's products.
Summary
By the end of the five-year programme the Commission will have:
— progressively integrated the candidate countries' data,
— adapted and improved the data collection and production systems,— improved and further developed the methodological framework taking into
account the international recommendations, new information requirements
and the development of the economic and customs environment,
— enhanced the use of existing data and analysis on global sustainable devel-
opment.
Policy needs and Eurostat outputs
Treaty Title Eurostat work themes
TITLE IX
COMMON COMMERCIAL POLICY
Principal themes of work necessary for this
policy area53 Trade in goods
54 Trade in services and balance of payments
Other important contributory themes 19 Statistical cooperation with the candidate
countries
21 Statistical cooperation with other third
countries
42 Financial accounts52 Money and finance
TITLE X
Customs cooperation
No direct statistical programme is required. Statistical information for this title
is derived as needed from data and indicators generated for other titles in the
programme.2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 17
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TITLE XI
Social policy, education, vocational training and youth
Statistical implications
During this programme a coherent strategy will be developed to ensure the
availability of a complete set of indicators covering all the social fields in close
coordination with actions under Title VIII. The quality of existing information
will be improved and new indicators are to be introduced to cover areas which
have been identified as a priority, such as social exclusion and lifelong learning.
In the context of the ‘report on the concrete objectives of education and training
systems’ ratified by the Stockholm European Council, close cooperation
between DG EAC and Eurostat will have to be pursued. In addition to the conti-
nuation of the statistical work on the three priorities defined for 2002 (basis
skills, information and communication technologies, mathematical sciences and
technology), the implementation of other objectives will require new work. Indi-
cators for which data do not exist, or which do not meet the necessary quality
criteria but which would be essential with regard to achieving the objectives laid
down, will need to be developed.
Geographically the scope of social statistics will have to be extended to cover
all the candidate countries and also areas lying outside the confines of Europe,
such as the MEDSTAT (Euro-Mediterranean Programme of Statistical Coopera-
tion) countries. The benchmark for this development will be demographic data;
as the results of the 2001 census round are processed and published, this process
will merge into the programme of regular updating and preparation for the next
round, promoting a harmonised approach throughout the enlarged geographical
area described above. Population projections for the entire area will also be
needed at national level.
During this programme, improvements in data-gathering and processing in
respect of international mobility in higher education and research, will play a
particularly important role. The first task is to harmonise the basic definitions
and the most important indicators.
The theme of ‘lifelong learning’ will be vital throughout this period, reflecting
the fact that economic changes will require job and social skills to be constantly
updated. A comprehensive system of ‘learning’ statistics will be required to
serve employment, economic and education policies, giving special attention to
public and private investment in education. The current range of information on
education and training will need to be supplemented with further data on adult
education.
The Commission Communication in 2002 on a new Community strategy on
health and safety at work requires the full implementation of the last phase of
the European statistics on accidents at work (ESAW) and the first phase of the
European Occupational Diseases Statistics (EODS). Indicators on the quality of
work, work-related health problems and the socioeconomic costs of health and
safety at work will also be further developed.
In the context of Article 13 of the Treaty and the action to combat discrimina-
tion, a methodology will be set up to provide regular statistics on the integration
of disabled people into society.
Significant social changes, most of which are already discernible, are expected
to continue throughout the programme period (for example in the population
pyramid, household structure, migration trends, working patterns, educational
systems, etc.) and a new type of instrument will be required in addition to those
described above. The EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC)
will be based on a wide selection of sources and will draw upon the experiences
acquired during the 1990s in implementing successive waves of the European
Community household panel. It will be set in place to provide a range of infor-
mation on the living conditions of European citizens during the five-year period
and beyond.
Summary
During the five year programme period the Commission will:
— develop a coherent strategy that will ensure the availability of a complete set
of indicators covering all the social fields,
— provide regular information on living conditions of citizens through newly
developed indicators,
— provide information on care and childcare facilities.2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 18
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Policy needs and Eurostat outputs
Treaty Title Eurostat work themes
TITLE XI
SOCIAL POLICY, EDUCATION, VOCA-
TIONAL TRAINING AND YOUTH
Principal themes of work necessary for this
policy area31 Population
32 Labour market
33 Education
35 Health and safety36 Distribution of incomes and living condi-
tions
37 Social protection38 Other work in the field of demographic and
social statistics (housing statistics)
72 Regional statistics
Other important contributory themes 70 Sustainable development
TITLE XII
Culture
Statistical implications
Community action in the cultural field is based on Article 151 of the Treaty.
Improving the knowledge and dissemination of information on key cultural
aspects of Europeans constitutes a main element in the Community competen-
cies in this area. Moreover, it has been clearly stipulated that the Community
must take cultural aspects into account in the definition and implementation of
its policies as a whole.
In the framework of the 2003 to 2007 Community statistical programme, the
priority for cultural statistics will be the consolidation of the pilot work on
culture employment, participation in cultural activities and statistics on culture
expenditure. At the same time and in close cooperation with Member States
and competent international organisations, the statistical programme will supportmethodological work and development of statistics related to the issue of returns
on investing in culture. Particular attention will be given to the development of
international methodologies which allow the statistical measurement and
analysis of the impact that participation in cultural activities can have in contri-
buting to social goals such as increasing educational levels and employment
rates and reducing crime and inequalities in the health sphere.
Summary
During the five-year programme period the Commission will:
— consolidate the existing statistical information on culture,
— develop and implement methodologies to measure culture impacts in society.
Policy needs and Eurostat outputs
Treaty Title Eurostat work themes
TITLE XII
CULTURE
Principal themes of work necessary for this
policy area34 Culture
Other important contributory themes 49 Information society2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 19
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TITLE XIII
Public health
Statistical implications
According to Article 152 of the Treaty, Community action in the area of public
health covers health information. A basic framework of statistics on public
health, covering health status, health determinants and health resources has
been established within the European Statistical System in support of the
Community action programmes on public health. The adoption of the new
Community action programme on Public Health (1), the statistical element of
health information will be further developed in the context of the Community
Statistical Programme, including data collection broken down, as necessary, by
gender, age, geographical location and, where available, by level of income.
During 2003 to 2007, activities will be continued on further developing the set
of health statistics in order to respond to the specific requirements that result
from the new action programme on public health. The particular need for
sustainable development indicators will have to be addressed.
The general emphasis will be on reinforcement of the infrastructure for the basic
system on public health statistics (at Member State and EU level), on harmoni-
sation and improvement of the comparability of existing data in cooperation
with international organisations competent in the field of public health (WHO
and OECD).
In order to ensure consistency and complementarity, specific action under this
programme will also be directed towards ensuring that basic concepts, defini-
tions and classifications on health statistics will be used for the whole area of
health information.
In accordance with the relevant agreements with the countries concerned, the
scope of statistics on public health will be progressively extended to cover all
candidate countries.
Summary
During the five year programme period the Commission will:
— further develop the set of health statistics in order to respond to the specific
requirements that may result from the action programme on public health,
— reinforce the infrastructure for the basic system on public health statistics.
Policy needs and Eurostat outputs
Treaty Title Eurostat work themes
TITLE XIII
PUBLIC HEALTH
Principal themes of work necessary for this
policy area35 Health and safety
37 Social protection
Other important contributory themes 39 Consumer protection
70 Sustainable development
TITLE XIV
Consumer protection
Statistical implications
Consumer policy has achieved a much higher profile within the EC institutions
during recent years (Article 153 of the Treaty).
The Commission has set up an Action Plan for Consumer Policy 1999 to 2001
which will be followed by activities in favour of consumers. The current Action
Plan, as well as its predecessors, has been handicapped by the limited avail-
ability of data necessary to arrive at an informed judgement. The Consumer2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 20
(1) Commission communication on the health strategy of the European Community and
proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and the Council adopting aprogramme of Community action in the field of public health (2001 to 2006) —
COM (2000)285 final of 16 May 2000.
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Policy Action Plan 2002 to 2005 is at present being prepared. It will put
emphasis on the need to make a more systematic and comprehensive effort in
order to develop a suitable ‘knowledge base’ as an essential tool to assist policy
development.
The purpose of Eurostat's efforts in this area is to provide statistical data gener-
ally interesting for the public to shed light on consumption and consumer issues
at the European, national and regional levels.
Summary
During the five-year programme period the Commission will:
— make statistics for consumer protection available in a more user-friendly
format, in particular publications,
— pursue the methodological support relating to injuries in the home,
— raise the awareness of the subject consumer protection across all relevant
statistical themes of work,
— ensure that consumer protection aspects are taken into consideration for new
statistical policies,
— promote the development of statistics for consumer protection in the statis-
tical services in the Member States.
Policy needs and Eurostat outputs
Treaty Title Eurostat work themes
TITLE XIV
CONSUMER PROTECTION
Principal themes of work necessary for this
policy area36 Distribution of incomes and living condi-
tions
39 Consumer protection
Other important contributory themes 61 Land use and landscape
64 Crop production
65 Animal production66 Agro-industry statistics
69 Fisheries statistics
70 Sustainable development
TITLE XV
Trans-European networks
No direct statistical programme is required. Statistical information for this title
is derived as needed from data and indicators generated for other titles in the
programme.
Policy needs and Eurostat outputs
Treaty Title Eurostat work themes
TITLE XV
TRANS-EUROPEAN NETWORKS
Principal themes of work necessary for this
policy area48 Transport
49 Information society
Other important contributory themes 45 Energy
53 Trade in goods61 Land use and landscape71 Environment statistics
72 Regional statistics
73 Science and technology74 Geographical and local information2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 21
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TITLE XVI
Industry
Statistical implications
Statistical work in the field of industry in the broad sense of the term (including,
in particular, construction, services, energy and agri-foodstuffs) will be centred
on support for the policies decided on the basis of the Treaty of Amsterdam, and
at various summits held subsequently (in particular, the Lisbon Summit of
March 2000). These developments are in particular planned for the areas globa-
lisation, internal and external organisation of businesses (and more generally,
the production system) as well as cooperation between businesses, the spirit of
enterprise and governance, demand, and finally employment and human
resources.
The first priority will be the implementation of the different regulations on busi-
ness statistics. Particular emphasis will be placed on the quality of results.
In order to follow the structural changes in industry, a programme for devel-
oping business statistics will be pursued in close cooperation with the national
statistical systems. This development will cover the adaptation of existing regu-
lations, as well as the support for the major European policies, in particular, the
single market, enlargement, economic and monetary policy, the information
society, employment, as well as support for the structural indicators underlying
the Union's annual report.
Eurostat will study with the Member States possibilities for maximum rationali-
sation of the national collection methods as well as their coordination to reduce
the burden on enterprises as far as possible. A special effort will be made to
improve the analysis of the single market using existing statistical tools or tools
yet to be developed, and in particular Prodcom (and similar developments in the
services domain).
Energy
In the field of energy statistics, work will consist in improving the quality of
energy balances, especially in the area of the consumption, in order to respond
better to requirements arising from the GHG emissions monitoring mechanism.
The present system will be extended in order to respond better to sustainable
development issues (energy efficiency, cogeneration, renewables), and the effec-
tiveness of competition in liberalised markets and its impact on consumers and
the energy industry will be followed up.
Summary
During the five-year programme period work will progress in the following
areas:
— improve the system for developing structural business statistics, based on
political needs and with a capacity of quick reaction to changing factors
such as environment, policies and users,
— strive for maintaining the infrastructure needed such as Business Registers
and Classifications,
— focus on the quality assessment and improvement of the data produced.
Policy needs and Eurostat outputs
Treaty Title Eurostat work themes
TITLE XVI
INDUSTRY
Principal themes of work necessary for this
policy area44 Statistics on the economic activity of enter-
prises
45 Energy
66 Agro-industry statistics
Other important contributory themes 49 Information society
51 Business registers
53 Trade in goods
70 Sustainable development71 Environment statistics2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 22
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TITLE XVII
Economic and social cohesion
Statistical implications
One of the key elements of the building of the European Union is the correction
of social and regional imbalances. This is, indeed, the primary objective of the
Structural Funds. Since their reform in 1988, the Commission has put in place
an integrated policy for social and economic cohesion within which regional
statistics play an essential role in the decision implementation process: elig-
ibility of zones under regional objectives is defined on the basis of
socioeconomic criteria with respect to certain thresholds; financial allocations
to Member States are decided objectively on the basis of statistical indicators.
In addition, evaluation of the impact of Community policies at regional level,
and the quantification of regional disparities, are possible only with access to
extensive regionally based statistics.
The regular evaluation reports drawn up by the Commission (Report on
economic and social cohesion (1)) on socioeconomic trends in the regions
require a significant reserve of statistical information. Urban issues deserve
particular attention, given that political decision-makers are increasingly
clamouring for an evaluation of the quality of life in Europe's cities. As the
basis for their action in the future, they require comparable data on all EU towns
and cities. The Communications issued by the Commission in 1997 (Towards an
urban agenda in the European Union) and 1998 (Sustainable urban development
in the European Union: a framework for action) highlighted in particular this
need for more comparable information.
The work to be undertaken under the 2003 to 2007 statistical programme will,
accordingly, be very largely determined by the shape of Community regional
policy within an enlarged European Union, and by the arrival of the new
programming period for the Structural Funds. The third Cohesion Report is
scheduled for adoption by the Commission in early 2004, while its conclusions
are due to be implemented (as draft Regulations) over the rest of that year. The
information required will include population projections at regional level and
data on regional demography.
Geographical Information
A large number of departments within the Commission make use of geogra-
phical information systems for the drafting, implementation and evaluation of
the policies for which they are responsible. This trend will become increasingly
evident in the next few years as technology advances and data become more
extensively available. The initiatives on a European spatial data infrastructure
will lead to new challenges in this area. Eurostat, as manager of the Commis-
sion's reference database, must meet these challenges.
Summary
During the five-years work will progress in the following areas:
— implement the statistical indicators required for the next phase of the struc-
tural funds,
— provide the necessary data for the cohesion report and to support Commis-
sion proposals for the structural funds after 2006,
— further integrate the use of Geographical Information systems for policy
management.
Policy needs and Eurostat outputs
Treaty Title Eurostat work themes
TITLE XVII
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COHESION
Principal themes of work necessary for this
policy area55 Prices
72 Regional statistics
74 Geographical and local information2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 23
(1) See ‘Unity, solidarity, diversity for Europe, its people and its territory’; the Second
report on economic and social cohesion, European Commission, January 2001.
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Treaty Title Eurostat work themes
Other important contributory themes 31 Population
32 Labour market
40 Annual economic accounts
44 Statistics on the economic activity of enter-
prises
50 Tourism
63 Agricultural monetary statistics71 Environment statistics
TITLE XVIII
Research and technological development
Science and technology and innovation statistics
Statistical implications
The overall objective of RTD Community policy is to strengthen the scientific
and technological basis of the European economy and to improve its competi-
tiveness at international level. At the 2000 Lisbon Summit, the European
Council set a clear strategic objective for Europe for the next decade. The
measurement of harmonised inputs, outputs and the socioeconomic impacts of
the knowledge-based economy will continue to have a high priority on the
European research agenda as is clearly evident in the debate on the European
research area.
All recent R&D and Innovation policies have called for timely and harmonised
data, the collection of which must be negotiated with the Member States and
coordinated by Eurostat. Annual updates of the indicators for both initiatives
will require more frequent surveys in Member States, as well as quality
improvements. The ability to produce statistics on human resources in science
and technology and by gender must be developed in order to provide policy
makers with the necessary data to assess the effectiveness of related Community
policies.
Summary
During the next five years, main efforts will be undertaken to:
— improve the quality of existing indicators and continue the conceptual work
leading to the production and further development of new indicators to
benchmark national Research and Innovation policies, and in particular, to
measure human resources and their mobility in research and development,
— develop further statistics on RTD and innovation in the context of the
European Research Area and, in particular, to develop a theoretical frame-
work for more frequent RTD and innovation statistics,
— develop a general framework for the measurement of the knowledge society,
— measure the technological trends with harmonised statistics on patents,
— associate the candidate countries in the overall framework of the develop-
ment of harmonised and comparable RTD and innovation statistics.
Research in statisticsStatistical implications
As part of its R&D policy, the Community promotes research activities, which
support its own policies. Official statistics have been identified in various frame-
work programmes (including the draft documents for the Sixth Framework
Programme) as an area in which R&D activities will be launched at Community
level.
The increased use of statistics for political decision-making in the late 1990s has
led to the demand for more accurate and comparable statistics, in particular for
short-term indicators to monitor the evolution of the Single European Market
and the Monetary Union. The foreseeable enlargement of the European Union
reinforces this need for prompt access to such information.
In parallel, technology provides new possibilities for collecting data and disse-
minating statistics. At the same time, respondents (enterprises and individuals)2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 24
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complain about the response burden, and request that it be reduced, through
more automation and a better use of existing information. R&D in statistics
has an important European dimension, because statistical production is interna-
tional by nature as only few Member States could afford it on their own.
Combined with the increasing emphasis on cost-benefit analysis of the statistics
produced, this implies new requirements for the production of European statis-
tics. European official statisticians must therefore reconsider the procedures used
today for collecting and compiling statistics on an expanding range of
phenomena.
These requirements underline the importance of using existing data sources for
the production of statistics for more in-depth statistical analysis. This implies
that methods and tools that support the combined use of data (from, for
example, administrative data and sample surveys, or infra-annual statistics and
structural statistics) should be developed.
Summary
During the next five years, efforts will be concentrated on:
— the development of new tools and methods for official statistics,
— the better conceptualisation and development of statistics to measure new
emerging socioeconomic phenomena,
— the transfer of technology and know-how within the European Statistical
System,
— the improvement of the quality of the statistical production process and the
statistical output.
Policy needs and Eurostat outputs
Treaty Title Eurostat work themes
TITLE XVIII
RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGICAL
DEVELOPMENT
Principal themes of work necessary for this
policy area22 Statistical research and methodology
73 Science and technology
Other important contributory themes 44 Statistics on the economic activity of enter-
prises
49 Information society
TITLE XIX
Environment
Statistical implications
The main objective of environment statistics is to serve as an efficient tool for
implementation and evaluation of the environmental policy of the European
Union. The main environmental priorities are covered under the Sixth Environ-
mental Action Programme, the sustainable development strategy and the Cardiff
strategy of integration of environment into other sectoral policies.
The European Commission's proposal for the sixth environment action
programme ‘Environment 2010: Our future, our choice’, indicates the priority
areas for environment statistics. The new programme identifies four main policy
areas: climate change, nature and biodiversity, environment and health and
quality of life, natural resources and waste. It emphasises the need to continue
the process to integrate environmental concerns into all relevant policy areas
and to ensure better and more accessible information on the environment for
citizens. A more environmentally conscious attitude towards land use is also to
be developed.
The European Council at Gothenburg in June 2001 adopted an EU strategy for
sustainable development. The strategy builds on four themes (climate change,
transport, health and natural resources) and it will be monitored on a yearlybasis. The strategy will influence the needs for environmentally related statistics
to a large extent, but the sustainability aspect will also have impacts on social
and economic statistics. In order to measure progress, sustainable development
will be included in the list of structural indicators for the synthesis report, and
presented each year at the European Spring Council, starting from 2002.2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 25
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The Gothenburg Council also called for a strategy on the external dimension of
sustainable development and an overall agenda is expected to be adopted in
view of the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development.
For the environmental part of the statistical programme, the action programme
and the strategy for sustainable development imply that the present working
areas should continue, but also that these should be extended and adapted. The
main orientation of the statistical programme will continue to be focused on
statistics with a close link to socioeconomic statistics, such as pressures on the
environment from human activities and responses from society's representatives.
The capacity of the statistics to describe the interaction between social,
economic and environmental development will require further work. The
programme has been designed to meet the needs for statistics together with the
information from the European Environment Agency and working areas will
continue to be complementary.
A crucial factor for sustainable development is the integration of environmental
aspects into other policies, but major progress has been achieved in just three of
the nine sectors (Transport, Agriculture and Energy). To serve as a tool for such
integrated policies, work on fully harmonising the environmental component of
Community statistics with the relevant socio-economic statistics will continue.
Substantial progress has been made in recent years regarding the compilation
of some relevant statistics. Corresponding action will be essential also for other
policy areas. Major importance should be given also to the biodiversity indica-
tors, resource use/intensity and toxic chemicals and their effects on human
health. Land use statistics are being improved through landscape statistics.
Fishery statistics will be important to show the development of this scarce
resource (See Title II). Aggregated indicators using production and trade statis-
tics as well as other sources can make a contribution to the description of
society's dependence on chemicals. An environmental component needs also to
be added to social statistics in order to reflect consumption patterns and possible
health effects from pollution and use of chemicals.
The implementation of the Regulation for waste statistics will be an essential
task. New policies linking waste to resource management will also require
statistical actions to describe material flows, resource use, waste, reuse and
eco-efficiency in a consistent way. Implementation of the Water Framework
Directive will require statistical support and better harmonisation of water statis-
tics. A better legal foundation for such statistics is essential. Statistical support
for the implementation of the IPPC (integrated pollution and prevention control)
directive will be important to ensure comparability with business statistics. A
review of reporting obligations and coordination between statistical and compli-
ance reporting will be an essential task.
Environmental accounts linked to the national accounts have also been devel-
oped. These accounts constitute an essential basis for environmental analysis
and the development of more comprehensive models for the interaction between
the economy and the environment. They will be further adapted and extended to
serve as an essential statistical tool for analyses of sustainable development.
Summary
The main effort in the next five years will be to:
— improve core environmental statistics, mainly waste, water and environ-
mental expenditure statistics, with a focus on statistics needed for
environmental indicators and to put in place the necessary legislation for
such statistics,
— produce easily understandable environmental and sustainability indicators in
cooperation with other Commission services and the European Environment
Agency,
— continue work to produce an environmental component to socioeconomic
statistics, with the aim of responding to needs relating to indicators for inte-
gration of environmental and sustainability concerns into other policies,
— continue work to add an environmental domain to national accounts, through
regular production of a set of environmental accounts and to adapt them to
the priority sustainability issues,
— participate in reviewing reporting obligations and to continue the close coop-
eration with the European Environment Agency with coordinated actions and
by making data collection by the two institutions complementary,
— enhance data collection and analysis on global sustainable development.2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 26
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Policy needs and Eurostat outputs
Treaty Title Eurostat work themes
TITLE XIX
ENVIRONMENT
Principal themes of work necessary for this
policy area45 Energy
65 Animal production
70 Sustainable development
71 Environment statistics74 Geographical and local information
Other important contributory themes 35 Health and safety
39 Consumer protection44 Statistics on the economic activity of enter-
prises
48 Transport50 Tourism
61 Land use and landscape
62 Agricultural structures64 Crop production
67 Coordination and reform of agricultural
statistics
68 Forestry statistics
69 Fisheries statistics
72 Regional statistics
TITLE XX
Development Cooperation (and other external actions)
Statistical implications
The overall objective is to support the EU external relations policies by
providing appropriate and focused statistical technical assistance in order to
strengthen statistical capacity in countries benefiting from EU aid. The future
strategy, however, recognises the need to adapt in response to the changing EU
policy context.
Reflecting EU policy in statistical cooperation activities
The most significant policy change is the increased and explicit focus on
poverty reduction in the EC's development policy, in particular with ACP coun-
tries. Consequently, statistical cooperation will have an increased focus on
strengthening the measurement and monitoring of poverty; this will entail an
increase in activities mainly in the social statistics domain. Similarly, technical
advice and support will be provided to DG Development, DG External Rela-
tions, and Europeaid in the area of measuring the poverty impact of the EC's
development programmes.
Regional integration will be a continuing emphasis of the programme, mirroring
the increased moves amongst countries themselves to strengthen their regional
structures. Areas for support will include multilateral surveillance, improvement
of national accounts, price statistics, agricultural statistics, foreign trade, busi-
ness statistics and statistical training.
With the 12 Mediterranean partner countries, institutional and inter-institutional
strengthening of the national statistical systems will constitute the central objec-
tive. Statistical harmonisation, production and improved data access for users
will be supported in order to provide a solid basis for political decision-making
and for good governance. Apart from socioeconomic statistics, priority areas are
migration, tourism and environment.
Statistical cooperation between EU and NIS countries is aimed at supporting and
monitoring economic cooperation and the reform process as well as promoting
the market economy. Key demands concern economic and foreign trade statis-
tics.2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 27
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Eurostat will continue and strengthen its efforts to improve coordination
amongst the donor community (i.e. bilateral and multilateral donors). Accord-
ingly, Eurostat will support work, in particular in the OECD/DAC, UN and
World Bank contexts, to assess the impact of development cooperation on
reaching the ‘millennium development goals’ adopted at the UN Millennium
Summit in 2000. As such, it will play an active part in the PARIS 21 initiative
and in the Balkans. In particular, technical cooperation activities will stress the
importance of a user focus, and will promote the value of multiannual program-
ming.
Innovative work will be undertaken with the aim of developing approaches and
methods for the measurement and monitoring of human rights and good govern-
ance.
Summary
During the five-year period work will concentrate on:
— providing statistical technical assistance in order to strengthen statistical
capacity in countries benefiting from EU aid,
— increasing focus on strengthening the measurement and monitoring of
poverty,
— developing approaches and methods for the measurement and monitoring of
human rights and good governance.
Policy needs and Eurostat outputs
Treaty Title Eurostat work themes
TITLE XX
DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION
Principal themes of work necessary for this
policy area21 Statistical cooperation with other third
countries2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 28
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ANNEX II
Five year statistical programme 2003 to 2007: Eurostat work themes
Chapter (Subactivity) Theme (action)
I. Support for statistical outputs, tech-
nical infrastructure10 Quality management and evaluation
11 Classifications
12 Statistical training13 IT-infrastructures and services for Eurostat14 IT-normalisation and collaborative infrastructures
for the ESS
15 Reference data and meta-data warehouses16 Information
17 Dissemination
18 Statistical coordination19 Statistical cooperation with the candidate countries
21 Statistical cooperation with other third countries
22 Statistical research and methodology25 Data security and statistical confidentiality
II. Demographic and social statistics 31 Population
32 Labour market33 Education
34 Culture
35 Health and safety36 Distribution of incomes and living conditions37 Social protection
38 Other work in the field of demographic and social
statistics
39 Consumer protection
III.
III.A. Macroeconomic statistics 40 Annual economic accounts
41 Quarterly accounts42 Financial accounts
43 Monitoring own resources
55 Prices57 Statistics for business cycle analysis
III.B. Business statistics 44 Statistics on the economic activity of enterprises
45 Energy48 Transport
49 Information society
50 Tourism51 Business registers
III.C. Monetary, financial, trade and
balance of payments statistics52 Money and finance
53 Trade in goods
54 Trade in services and balance of payments
IV. Agriculture, forestry and fisheries 61 Land use and landscape
62 Agricultural structures
63 Agricultural monetary statistics64 Crop production65 Animal production
66 Agro-industry statistics
67 Coordination and reform of agricultural statistics68 Forestry statistics69 Fisheries statistics2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 29
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Chapter (Subactivity) Theme (action)
V. Multi-domain statistics 70 Sustainable development
71 Environment statistics
72 Regional statistics
73 Science and technology74 Geographical and local information
VII. Resources and management 91 International and interinstitutional relations
92 Management and statistical programmes93 Management of human resources
94 Management of financial resources
95 Management of legal bases96 Audit
97 General administration
99 Decentralised management2002D2367 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 30