EN 
 
  
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 
of 11 July 2005 
at the request of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank 
on a draft regulation on the rep orting of cross border services  
(CON/2005/23) 
 1. On 27 April 2005, the European Central Bank (ECB)  received a request from the Oesterreichische 
Nationalbank (OeNB) for an opinion on a draft regulation on the reporting of cross-border services (Entwurf einer Meldeverordnung ZABIL 1/2005 der Oesterreichische Nationalbank betreffend die 
statistische Erfassung des grenzüb erschreitenden Dienstleistungsverkehrs ) (hereinafter the ‘draft 
regulation’). 
2. The ECB’s competence to deliver an opinion is based on the fourth indent of Article 2(1) of 
Council Decision 98/415/EC of 29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European Central Bank by 
national authorities regarding draft legislative provisions
1, as the draft regulation relates to the 
collection, compilation and distribution of mone tary, financial, banking, payment systems and 
balance of payments statistics. In accordance with the first sentence of Article 17.5 of the Rules of 
Procedure of the European Central Bank, th e Governing Council has adopted this opinion. 
3. The draft regulation represents the second step  in the phased introduction of a new reporting 
system in Austria for balance of payments and international investment position statistics 
(hereinafter ‘cross-border statistics’), and reflects a general change to a system that relies predominantly on direct reporting by legal entities that conduct cross-border transactions
2.  
4. In order to compile the balance of payments curre nt account, the reporting requirements defined in 
the draft regulation cover the services that reporting agents provide to or receive from non-residents. The collection of data on cross-border services of reporting agents from almost all economic sectors is entrusted to the Bundesanstalt StatistikÖsterreich (Austria’s central statistics 
authority). Only the reports on cross-border services of legal entities in the financial sector (‘credit 
institutions’ and ‘insurance undertakings’) are directly sent to the OeNB. 
                                                     
 
1  OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 
2  ZABIL Regulation 1/2004 on balance of paym ents was the first step in this adju stment to the reporting system, giving 
rise to ECB Opinion CON/2004/24 of 8 July 2004 a nd ECB Opinion CON/2004/26 of 30 July 2004.  
2 5. The draft regulation includes sector-specific thre sholds that determine the level from which 
reporting on cross-border service transactions beco mes mandatory. Reporting agents are in general 
required to report data on their cross-borde r services on a quarterly or annual basis. 
6. The ECB welcomes the draft regulation, which conti nues the adjustment of the reporting system in 
Austria. Whilst reducing the reporting burde n falling on the banking sector and financial 
intermediaries, the draft regulation should ensure the quality of the data contributed to euro area 
cross-border statistics. 
7. The ECB considers that, notwithstanding the chang es proposed to the Austrian reporting system in 
the draft regulation, it is for the OeNB to ensure that the data will continue to be collected and 
compiled in accordance with Guid eline ECB/2004/15 of 16 July 2004 on the statistical reporting 
requirements of the European Central Bank in the field of balance of payments and international 
investment position statistics, and the international reserves template3. In that light, notwithstanding 
the proposed changes, the ECB takes note that:  
(i) the definition of sector-specific thresholds  for statistically-relevant transactions is 
comprehensive enough to cover a ll statistically-relevant cross-border services so as to obtain 
sufficiently precise data for euro area cross-border statistics; and 
(ii) while data on cross-border services will be  collected on a quarterly or annual basis, the 
OeNB remains responsible for providing the E CB with aggregated data for the euro area 
monthly balance of payments statistics, which meet the quality standards set out in Guideline 
ECB/2004/15.  
8. Both the draft regulation and Regulation ZABIL 1/2004 ( Meldeverordnung der O esterreichischen 
Nationalbank ZABIL 1/2004 ) governing the new reporting system in Austria for cross-border 
statistics, cover almost all items of the current , capital and financial accounts of the balance of 
payments, and the international investment position.  Nonetheless, the ECB considers that it is for 
the OeNB to ensure that the availability and qualit y of the data on other cross-border transactions, 
for example transactions in goods or current tran sfers in all economic sect ors, are in accordance 
with Guideline ECB/2004/15. 
9. The draft regulation provides that the OeNB shal l entrust data collection to the Bundesanstalt 
Statistik Österreich, in this case data on cross- border services. The ECB does not object in principle 
to the OeNB outsourcing specific data collection activities, provided certain legal requirements are 
met4. In particular, the OeNB must retain full r esponsibility for all such activities, including the 
transmission of all relevant data to the ECB. Theref ore, the OeNB must also be able to check that 
the ECB’s statistical reporting requirements are be ing fully met. As far as reporting requirements 
vis-à-vis the ECB are concerned, any cooperation between the OeNB and any other competent 
                                                      
3  OJ L 354, 30.11.2004, p. 34. 
4  See also ECB Opinion CON/2002/21 of 14 August 2002 at the re quest of the Sveriges Riksbank on a draft legislative 
proposal to amend the Sveriges Riksbank Act (1988:1385) with re gard to the collection of ba lance-of-payments statistics 
and the liquidity criterion for securities used in monetary policy operations. 
3 authority in Austria is subject to the require ments laid down in Guideline ECB/2004/15. The ECB 
invites the OeNB to consult the ECB on any agre ement outsourcing data collection activities that 
the OeNB concludes in this context. 
10. Finally, the ECB considers that Article 1(3) of the draft regulation, which provides that the data 
collected ‘may only be used for statistical purposes’, should not be understood as denying the 
OeNB or the ECB access to such data, whether on the grounds of confidentiality or otherwise. In 
particular, it should not be understo od as conflicting with Article 8( 2) of Council Regulation (EC) 
No 2533/98 of 23 November 1998 concerning the collection of statistical information by the European Central Bank
5. Pursuant to Article 8(2) confidential data collected under the 
responsibility of the national central banks of the Eurosystem, once transmitted to the ECB, may be used to the extent and in the level of detail n ecessary to carry out European System of Central 
Banks tasks.  
11. This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website. 
  Done at Frankfurt am Main, 11 July 2005. 
   
The President of the ECB 
Jean-Claude TRICHET 
 
                                                     
 
5  OJ L 318, 27.11.1998, p. 8.