[pic] | COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES |

Brussels, 6.12.2005

COM(2005) 625 final

2005/0248 (COD)

.

Proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

concerning the production and development of statistics on education and lifelong learning

.

(presented by the Commission)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL |

110 | Grounds for and objectives of the proposal The Spring 2005 European Council agreed to re-launch the Lisbon Strategy. It concluded that Europe must renew the basis of its competitiveness, increase its growth potential and its productivity and strengthen social cohesion, placing the main emphasis on knowledge, innovation and the optimisation of human capital. In that respect, the European Council underlined that "human capital is Europe's most important asset". Comparable statistics and indicators on education, training and lifelong learning are of increasing importance for the European Union to support the open method of coordination in the area of education and training policy. They are also necessary for policy discussions on human capital, innovation, growth and competitiveness in the framework of employment, research and innovation and economic policies. Education and training statistics were developed in the past decade based on the agreement of countries to work in the area (gentlemen's agreement) as a response to the Council Resolution of 5 December 1994 on the promotion of education and training statistics in the European Union (94/C 374/02). However, since the Lisbon European Council the demand is increasing and both countries and the Commission acknowledge the need to specify and formalise the request in the form of a legal basis in order to be able to plan the resources necessary to achieve quality improvements and to carry out new surveys if necessary. |

120 | General context To ensure their contribution to the Lisbon strategy, Ministers of Education adopted in 2001 a "report on the future objectives of education and training systems" agreeing for the first time on shared objectives to be achieved by 2010. A year later, the Education Council and the Commission endorsed a 10-year work programme (known as "Education and Training 2010" work programme) to be implemented through the open method of coordination. The Barcelona European Council of 15-16 March 2002 endorsed the work programme, including an indicative list of indicators to be used to measure progress towards the implementation of the thirteen concrete objectives through the Open Method of Coordination, with the aim for European education and training systems of becoming "a world reference for quality by 2010". These agreements constitute the new and coherent Community strategic framework of co-operation in the fields of education and training. Indicators and reference levels of European average performance ("benchmarks") are among the instruments of the open method of co-ordination. The Ministers of Education took a decisive step in May 2003 by agreeing on five European benchmarks to be attained by 2010, while stressing they do not define national targets nor prescribe decisions to be taken by national governments[1]. The Commission and the Council have adopted a Joint Interim Report in February 2004, which underlined the need to improve the quality and comparability of existing indicators, particularly in the field of lifelong learning. In November 2004 a Commission Staff working paper has been adopted defining the strategies for developing new indicators on education and training to cover the needs expressed by the Council. |

130 | Existing provisions in the area of the proposal Council Resolution of 5 December 1994 on the promotion of education and training statistics in the European Union (94/C 374/02). Regulation (EC) No 1552/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council on statistics relating to vocational training in enterprises. Survey specific regulation covering only a specific part of enterprise based training. The regulation is due to be published soon, considering that an agreement was reached at the Council and the European Parliament. |

141 | Consistency with other policies and objectives of the Union Not applicable. |

CONSULTATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT |

Consultation of interested parties |

219 | Not relevant. |

Collection and use of expertise |

221 | Scientific/expertise domains concerned The experts consulted came from the National Statistical Systems, representing National Statistical Institutes, Ministries of education and other bodies involved in the production of education, training and lifelong learning statistics. |

222 | Methodology used Written consultation and discussion in working group meetings. |

223 | Main organisations/experts consulted A first draft of the proposed text has been sent for written comments in November 2004 to the delegates to the Education and Training Statistics (ETS) Working Group (group composed of the National Education and Training Statistics Coordinators), the Adult Education Survey task force (representatives of the Member States involved in the development of the Adult Education Survey) and the UOE subgroup (representatives of the Member States involved in the administrative data collection on education systems). A 2nd draft was then prepared and sent for a 2nd round of written comments in December 2004. In January 2005 the draft proposal was discussed at the annual meeting of the ETS WG which accepted in principle the draft text but made additional proposals for improvement. A new version was sent to the National ETS Coordinators for final comments on the 2nd of March 2005. A revised proposal was submitted for opinion at the meeting of the Statistical Programme Committee in Copenhagen on 25-27 May 2005, where the Director-Generals of the National Statistical Institutes expressed a favourable opinion. |

2249 | Summary of advice received and used The existence of potentially serious risks with irreversible consequences has not been mentioned. |

225 | Most of the comments received through out this process were taken on board and contributed to clarifying, refining and simplifying the proposed text. |

226 | Means used to make the expert advice publicly available A point by point reply to the comments was presented to the consulted groups and included, where appropriate, in the corresponding meeting minutes. |

230 | Impact assessment The main alternative option would be to continue working under gentlemen's agreement for the production of education and lifelong learning statistics. However this would not result in the sustainable system of statistical production and would not guarantee the availability of the statistics and indicators required for policy making at EU level and for efficient evidence based discussions within the open method of coordination. The second alternative examined was to develop specific legal acts for each existing or planned statistical activity (survey or data collection). However it was considered that this should be done after reaching an agreement on how to delimit the scope of work and the objectives for Community education and lifelong learning statistics. In this way any specific actions would be developed and implemented keeping an eye on the relationship of each identified aim to the overall objective is clearly defined in the proposed regulation. |

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL |

305 | Summary of the proposed action The intention of this legal basis is to establish the framework for all the current and foreseeable activities in the field of lifelong learning statistics, with the exception of vocational training in enterprises (covering the survey CVTS), for which a European Parliament and Council regulation is about to be adopted. In particular, the actions include methodological developments, having in mind the importance of the formulation of a framework of coherent concepts and comparable measures, specific data collections, in particular on education systems and on adult learning as well as the general objectives of improvement of quality and dissemination of education data. The intention is to establish the legal basis for a sustainable system of production of data on education to underpin policy discussions in different areas at the EU level. |

310 | Legal basis Article 285 provides the legal basis for Community statistics. The Council, acting in accordance with the codecision procedure, shall adopt measures for the production of statistics where necessary for the performance of the activities of the Community. This Article sets out requirements relating to the production of Community statistics and requires conformity to standards of impartiality, reliability, objectivity, scientific independence, cost-effectiveness and statistical confidentiality |

320 | Subsidiarity principle The subsidiarity principle applies insofar as the proposal does not fall under the exclusive competence of the Community. |

The objectives of the proposal cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States for the following reason(s). |

321 | In accordance with the principles of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the EC Treaty, the objective of the proposed action, namely the systematic production of comparable Community statistics on education and lifelong learning, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States acting individually and can therefore be better achieved by the Community. Although the Commission is best able to organise the collection of Community statistics, the Member States are competent in the organisation and operation of the national statistical systems. The proposal only relates to education, training and lifelong learning statistics that are to be supplied to the Commission for the production of Community statistics. There is no direct impact on the production of statistics for national purposes. Appropriate rules are laid down in Council Regulation (EC) 322/97 of 17 February 1997 on Community statistics. |

Community action will better achieve the objectives of the proposal for the following reason(s). |

324 | The further development of harmonised Community statistics on education, training and lifelong learning needs to be able to respond to the Community policy needs and to take into account relevant international practices, activities and classifications as well as practicalities of applying the definitions in the specific context of each of the Member States. This requires consultation, coordination and planning at European Union level that the Commission is best able to undertake. The statistics covered are broadly based on Eurostat's existing annual education data collection, and the new collection of individual data on participation of adults in learning activities. It accommodates however the possibility of using other sources and developing additional statistical tools if necessary to cover clearly identified emerging information needs. |

325 | It is essential that EU-wide information is available for the purposes of monitoring progress made towards the Lisbon objectives and for supporting the open method of coordination in the framework of the "Education and Training 2010" work programme. |

327 | This legislation is seen as an essential action to improve the availability of comparable community statistics on a topic that has been acknowledged as being a high priority at both European and Member State level. The failure to introduce the Regulation and subsequent implementing measures may have a serious negative impact on policy development and monitoring. |

The proposal therefore complies with the subsidiarity principle. |

Proportionality principle The proposal complies with the proportionality principle for the following reason(s). |

331 | In accordance with the principle of proportionality this Regulation confines itself to the minimum required to achieve its objective and does not go beyond what is necessary for that purpose. It identifies the domains of work and the necessary actions giving information useful to delineate its scope and leaving the detailed definition of the data requests for the implementing acts to be developed after its adoption for each separate data collection activity for which this is required. The aim is to assist the Community and the national administrations in the orientation of their resources on the basis of a stable framework within which individual activities that are required may be defined more in detail. At national level, responsibility for education, training and lifelong learning statistics rests with a wide variety of different agencies. It is appreciated that the legislation may, for some Member States, imply some developments to their existing activities - for example, collecting additional variables or reducing the time delay in the availability of data. Eurostat will continue to work closely with the responsible national authorities and will seek to minimise any potential difficulties caused by the framework regulation and later Commission implementing measures. |

332 | The regulation will establish a well defined framework for the production of Community education and lifelong learning statistics and in this way facilitate the availability, planning and more efficient use of resources both at the Community and at other levels involved (national, regional, local). |

Choice of instruments |

341 | Proposed instruments: regulation. |

342 | Other means would not be adequate for the following reason(s). Selection of the appropriate category for an act of the EP/Council depends on the legislative goal. Given the information needs at European level, the trend for Community Statistics has been to use Regulations rather than Directives for basic acts. Regulation is preferable because it lays down the same law throughout the Community, leaving the Member States with no power to apply them incompletely or selectively; it is directly applicable, which means that it needs not be transposed into national law. In contrast, directives, which aim at harmonization of national laws, are binding on the Member States as regards their objective, but leave the national authorities the choice of form and methods used to attain the objective agreed upon at Community level; they must be transposed into national law. |

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION |

409 | Over the period 2007 until 2012, the budgetary implication are estimated to amount to 5.4 millions euro, essentially to allow to co funding of the first implementation of the adult education survey foreseen in 2011. Over this period, costs of the staff needed for the implementation of the regulation are estimated at 6.8 millions euro. However, the required appropriations will be covered by the amounts foreseen in the 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[2] and the future five years Community statistical programme. |

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION |

560 | European Economic Area The proposed act concerns an EEA matter and should therefore extend to the European Economic Area. |

1. 2005/0248 (COD)

Proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

concerning the production and development of statistics on education and lifelong learning (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(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission[3],

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee[4],

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty,

Whereas:

2. The Council Resolution of 5 December 1994 on the promotion of education and training statistics in the European Union[5] requested the Commission and the Member States to take action for the development of statistics in this area.

3. The Spring 2005 European Council agreed to re-launch the Lisbon Strategy. It concluded that Europe must renew the basis of its competitiveness, increase its growth potential and its productivity and strengthen social cohesion, placing the main emphasis on knowledge, innovation and the optimisation of human capital. In that respect, the employability, adaptability and mobility of citizens is vital for Europe.

4. Lifelong learning is a key element in developing and promoting a skilled, trained and adaptable workforce. The Spring 2005 European Council underlined that "human capital is Europe's most important asset"[6]. The Integrated Guidelines for Growth and Jobs including the guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States, endorsed by the Council on 12 July 2005[7], aim to contribute better to the Lisbon strategy and to establish comprehensive lifelong learning strategies.

5. The adoption in February 2001 of the Council Report "Objectives of the education and training systems" and the adoption in February 2002 of the work programme for this decade on the follow-up of this report constitute an important step in taking on the commitment to modernise and improve the quality of the education and training systems of the Member States. Indicators and reference levels of European average performance ("benchmarks") are among the instruments of the open method of co-ordination which are important for the "Education & Training 2010" work programme[8]. The Ministers of Education took a decisive step in May 2003 by agreeing on five European benchmarks to be attained by 2010, while stressing they do not define national targets nor prescribe decisions to be taken by national governments[9].

6. The Council has adopted in June 2005 Conclusions on «New indicators in Education and Training”[10]. In these Conclusions the Council invites the Commission to present to the Council strategies and proposals for the development of new indicators in nine particular areas of education and training.

7. The Council has also adopted in November 2004 Conclusions on European cooperation in vocational education and training, and agreed that priority should be given at European level to “the improvement of the scope, precision and reliability of vocational education and training statistics in order to enable evaluation of progress”[11].

8. Comparable statistical information at Community level is essential for the development of education and lifelong learning strategies and for the monitoring of progress in their implementation. Statistical production should be based on a framework of coherent concepts and comparable data in view of the establishment of an integrated European Statistical Information System on education, training and lifelong learning.

9. The Commission (Eurostat) is collecting data on vocational training in enterprises according to the "Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the statistics relating to vocational training in enterprises"[12]. However a broader legal framework is necessary to ensure the sustainable production and development of statistics on education and lifelong learning, covering at least all relevant existing and planned activities. The Commission (Eurostat) is collecting annual data on education from the Member States on a voluntary basis, through a joint action carried out with the OECD and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), usually referred to as the "UOE data collection". The Commission (Eurostat) is also collecting data on education, training and lifelong learning through other household sources like the European Union Labour Force Survey[13] and the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions[14] as well as through their ad hoc modules.

10. Since the objectives of this Regulation, namely the creation of common statistical standards that permit the production of harmonised data cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve those objectives.

11. The production of specific Community statistics is governed by the rules set out in Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 of 17 February 1997 on Community Statistics[15].

12. The transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality is governed by the rules set out in Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 and in Council Regulation (Euratom, EEC) No 1588/90 of 11 June 1990 on the transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality to the Statistical office of the European Communities[16].

13. Commission Regulation (EC) No 831/2002 of 17 May 2002 implementing Regulation (EC) No 322/97 concerning access to confidential data for scientific purposes[17] established the conditions pursuant to which access to confidential data transmitted to the Community authority may be granted.

14. The Statistical Programme Committee has been consulted in accordance with Article 3 of Council Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom of 19 June 1989 establishing a Committee on the Statistical Programmes of the European Communities.

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Subject matter

This Regulation establishes a common framework for the systematic production of Community statistics in the field of education and lifelong learning.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purpose of this Regulation:

(a) 'Community statistics' means Community statistics as defined in the first indent of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 322/97;

(b) 'production of statistics' means production of statistics as defined in the second indent of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 322/97;

(c) 'national authorities' means national authorities as defined in the third indent of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 322/97;

(d) 'education' means organized and sustained communication designed to bring about learning[18];

(e) 'lifelong learning' means all learning activity undertaken throughout life, with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competences within a personal, civic, social and/or employment-related perspective[19].

Article 3

Domains

This Regulation shall apply to the production of statistics in three domains:

15. Domain 1 shall cover statistics on education and training systems;

16. Domain 2 shall cover statistics on participation of adults in lifelong learning;

17. Domain 3 shall cover other statistics on education and lifelong learning, such as statistics on human capital, social and economic benefits of education, not covered by Domains 1 and 2.

The production of statistics in those domains shall be carried out in accordance withthe Annex.

Article 4

Statistical actions

1. The production of Community statistics in the field of education and lifelong learning shall be implemented by individual statistical actions as follows:

- the regular delivery of statistics on education and lifelong learning by the Member States, within specified deadlines for the Domains 1 and 2;

- the use of other statistical information systems and surveys, to provide additional statistical variables and indicators on education and lifelong learning, corresponding to Domain 3;

- the development, improvement and updating of standards and manuals on statistical frameworks, concepts and methods.

- the improvement of data quality, specifically comparability, accuracy and timeliness.

- the improvement of the dissemination, accessibility and documentation of statistical information.

Available capacities within the Member States for data collection and processing and development of concepts and methods will be taken into account by the Commission.

Where appropriate, special attention and consideration shall be given to regional and gender dimensions of the data collected.

2. Whenever possible, the Commission (Eurostat) shall seek cooperation with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and other international organisations with a view to ensuring international comparability of data and to avoid duplication of efforts, in particular as regards the development and improvements of statistical concepts and methods and the delivery of statistics by the Member States.

3. Whenever significant new data requirements or insufficient quality of data are identified and before any data collection, the Commission (Eurostat) shall institute pilot studies to be completed on a voluntary basis by the Member States. Such pilot studies shall be carried out in order to assess the feasibility of the relevant data collection, taking into consideration the benefits of the availability of the data in relation to the collection costs and the burden on respondents.

Article 5

Transmission of microdata of individuals

When necessary for the production of Community statistics, Member States shall transmit the micro data of individuals to the Commission (Eurostat) in accordance with the provisions on transmission of data subject to confidentiality set out in Regulation (EC) No 322/97 and in Regulation (Euratom, EEC) No 1588/90. Member States shall ensure that the transmitted data do not permit the direct identification of the statistical units (individuals).

Article 6

Implementing measures

18. The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation, including measures to take account of economic and technical developments concerning the collection, transmission and processing of the data, shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 7 (2).

19. The implementing measures concerning the statistical actions provided for in Article 4 (1) shall concern:

a) the selection and specification, adjustment and modification of subjects covered by the domains and their characteristics;

b) the breakdowns of characteristics;

c) the periodicity and deadlines for transmission of results,

20. When those measures are adopted, particular account shall be taken of the following:

a) for Domain 1, the latest agreements between UIS, OECD and the Commission (Eurostat) on concepts, definitions, data collection format and data processing;

b) for Domain 2, the results from the first implementation of the Adult Education Survey in 2005-2007 and further developments;

c) for Domain 3, the specific context of implementation of the sources used after due examination of need and non-availability of the statistics required in existing sources.

Article 7

Committee

1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Statistical Programme Committee.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be three months.

3. The Committee shall adopt its Rules of Procedure.

Article 8

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

ANNEX

Domains

DOMAIN 1: EDUCATION AND TRAINING SYSTEMS

1. Aim

The aim of this data collection is to provide comparable data on key aspects of education and training systems, specifically on the participation and completion of education programmes, as well as on the cost and type of resources dedicated to education and training.

2. Scope

The data collection shall cover all domestic educational activities regardless of their ownership or sponsorship by the institutions concerned (whether public or private, national or foreign) and of the education delivery mechanism. Correspondingly, the coverage of the data collections shall extend to all student types and age groups.

3. Subjects covered

Data shall be collected on students, personnel and expenditure allowing the calculation of indicators on the input, process and output of the education and training systems.

Appropriate information (metadata) shall be transmitted by Member States, describing specificities of national education and training systems and their correspondence to international classifications as well as any deviations from the specifications of the data request and any other information which is essential for the interpretation of data and the compilation of comparable indicators.

4. Periodicity

Data and metadata shall be supplied annually, if not otherwise specified, within the deadlines agreed between the Commission (Eurostat) and the national authorities.

DOMAIN 2: PARTICIPATION OF ADULTS IN LIFELONG LEARNING

1. Aim

The aim of this data collection shall be to provide comparable data on participation and non participation of adults in lifelong learning.

2. Scope

The statistical unit shall be the individual, covering at least the population age range of 25-64 years. In the case of the collection of information through a survey, proxy answers should be avoided, wherever possible.

3. Subjects covered

Microdata shall be transmitted to the Commission (Eurostat) on participation in learning activities and on the characteristics of these learning activities. Socio-demographic information shall also be collected. Information on self-reported skills and participation in social and cultural activities shall also be collected primarily as explanatory variables useful for further analysis of the participants and non participants’ profiles.

4. Periodicity

Data shall be provided every five years.

DOMAIN 3: OTHER STATISTICS ON EDUCATION AND LIFELONG LEARNING

1. Aim

The aim of this data collection shall be to provide further comparable data on education and lifelong learning to support specific policies at the Community level not included in domains 1 and 2.

2. Scope

Other statistics on education and lifelong learning could in particular refer to the following aspects:

(a) statistics on education and economy, required at the Community level for monitoring policies on education, research, competitiveness and growth;

(b) statistics on education and the labour market, required at the Community level for monitoring employment policies;

(c) statistics on education and social inclusion, required at the Community level for monitoring policies on poverty and social inclusion.

For the domains listed in this section, the necessary data will mostly be acquired through existing statistical or other data sources (e.g. in the area of social or economic statistics).

LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT

1. NAME OF THE PROPOSAL

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the production and development of statistics on education and lifelong learning.

2. ABM / ABB FRAMEWORK

Policy Area(s) concerned and associated Activity/Activities:

Education and Culture Education

Employment and social affairs Employment and European Social Fund

Statistics Production of statistical information

3. BUDGET LINES

3.1. Budget lines (operational lines and related technical and administrative assistance lines (ex- B.A. lines)) including headings:

29 02 01 – Statistical information policy

3.2. Duration of the action and of the financial impact:

The proposal does not foresee a termination of the action. It foresees the annual production of statistics on education and training systems and the production of statistics on participation of adults to lifelong learning every five years, starting in 2011. Grants for Members States are limited to the first implementation of the survey on participation of adults to lifelong learning.

3.3. Budgetary characteristics ( add rows if necessary ):

Budget line | Type of expenditure | New | EFTA contribution | Contributions from applicant countries | Heading in financial perspective |

29 0201 | Non-comp | Diff | NO | YES | NO | No 3 – internal policies |

29 0101 | Non-comp | Non-Diff | NO | NO | NO | No 3 – internal policies |

29 0102 | Non-comp | Non-Diff | NO | NO | NO | No 3 – internal policies |

4. SUMMARY OF RESOURCES

4.1. Financial Resources

Indicative financial statement. The amount of the resources required is included in the five year statistical programme of the Commission (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, OJ L358, p. 1).

4.1.1. Summary of commitment appropriations (CA) and payment appropriations (PA)

EUR million (to 3 decimal places)

Expenditure type | Section no. | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | Total |

Operational expenditure[20] |

Commitment Appropriations (CA) | 8.1 | a | 0.200 | 0.300 | 0.300 | 0.200 | 4.200 | 0.200 | 5.400 |

Payment Appropriations (PA) | b | 0.100 | 0.250 | 0.300 | 0.250 | 2.125 | 2.375 | 5.400 |

Administrative expenditure within reference amount[21] |

Technical & administrative assistance (NDA) | 8.2.4 | c | 0 |

TOTAL REFERENCE AMOUNT |

Commitment Appropriations | a+c | 0.200 | 0.300 | 0.300 | 0.200 | 4.200 | 0.200 | 5.400 |

Payment Appropriations | b+c | 0.100 | 0.250 | 0.300 | 0.250 | 2.125 | 2.375 | 5.400 |

Administrative expenditure not included in reference amount[22] |

Human resources and associated expenditure (NDA) | 8.2.5 | d | 1.134 | 1.134 | 1.134 | 1.134 | 1.134 | 1.134 | 6.804 |

Administrative costs, other than human resources and associated costs, not included in reference amount (NDA) | 8.2.6 | e | 0.085 | 0.085 | 0.085 | 0.085 | 0.085 | 0.085 | 0.510 |

Total indicative financial cost of intervention

TOTAL CA including cost of Human Resources | a+c+d+e | 1.419 | 1.519 | 1.519 | 1.419 | 5.419 | 1.419 | 12.714 |

TOTAL PA including cost of Human Resources | b+c+d+e | 1.319 | 1.469 | 1.519 | 1.469 | 3.344 | 3.594 | 12.714 |

Co-financing details

If the proposal involves co-financing by Member Sates, or other bodies (please specify which), an estimate of the level of this co-financing should be indicated in the table below (additional lines may be added if different bodies are foreseen for the provision of the co-financing):

EUR million (to 3 decimal places)

Co-financing body | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | Total |

Member Sates | F | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 4.000 | 0.000 | 4.000 |

TOTAL CA including co-financing | a+c+d+e+f | 1.419 | 1.519 | 1.519 | 1.419 | 9.419 | 1.419 | 16.714 |

4.1.2. Compatibility with Financial Programming

( Proposal is compatible with existing financial programming and with next financial programming (Commission’s February 2004 Communication on the financial perspectives 2007-2013 COM (2004) 101).

( Proposal will entail reprogramming of the relevant heading in the financial perspective.

( Proposal may require application of the provisions of the Interinstitutional Agreement[23] (i.e. flexibility instrument or revision of the financial perspective).

4.1.3. Financial impact on Revenue

( Proposal has no financial implications on revenue

( Proposal has financial impact – the effect on revenue is as follows:

NB: All details and observations relating to the method of calculating the effect on revenue should be shown in a separate annex.

EUR million (to one decimal place)

Prior to action [Year n-1] | Situation following action |

Total number of human resources | 10.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 |

5. CHARACTERISTICS AND OBJECTIVES

Details of the context of the proposal are required in the Explanatory Memorandum. This section of the Legislative Financial Statement should include the following specific complementary information:

5.1. Need to be met in the short or long term

To meet the need of the Commission policy making and monitoring by the production of statistics on education and lifelong learning

5.2. Value-added of Community involvement and coherence of the proposal with other financial instruments and possible synergy

Without Community involvement, these statistics would not be produced

5.3. Objectives, expected results and related indicators of the proposal in the context of the ABM framework

1- Annual production of statistics on educations systems

2- Production every 5 years of statistics on adult learning

3- Production of other statistics on education and lifelong learning relevant for EU policies

5.4. Method of Implementation (indicative)

Centralised Management , Directly by the Commission

6. MONITORING AND EVALUATION

6.1. Monitoring system

The implementation of this regulation will be treated in a Comitology procedure foreseen in article 6 of the regulation.

As proper monitoring system, data produced will be the subject of regular standardised quality reports, that will describe the data according to the main quality dimensions: Relevance, Accuracy, Timeliness and punctuality, Accessibility and clarity Comparability Coherence as well as Cost and burden, a complementary and indissociable aspect of quality.

6.2. Evaluation

6.2.1. Ex-ante evaluation

Objective 2 (production of statistical data on adult education) has been the subject of an ex-ante evaluation, carried out internally by Eurostat during 2004. The main conclusions were that a data collection on adult education is desirable and feasible, that a pilot should start in 2005-2007, an evaluation carried out in 2008 in order to prepare the 2011 data collection. Furthermore, the ex-ante evaluation concluded that in the mid-term, the data collection should be framed with a proper regulation.

The two other objectives are the continuation of existing actions, currently done on a voluntary basis by the Member Sates for the data collection on education systems (objective 1), and done in the context of other existing regulation (objective 3).

6.2.2. Measures taken following an intermediate/ex-post evaluation (lessons learned from similar experiences in the past)

N/A

6.2.3. Terms and frequency of future evaluation

The pilot decided to prepare objective 2 (production of statistical data on adult education) will be evaluated in 2008, in order to prepare the next data collection, and will describe the data according to the main quality dimensions: Relevance, Accuracy, Timeliness and punctuality, Accessibility and clarity Comparability Coherence as well as Cost and burden, a complementary and indissociable aspect of quality.

As said under 6.1 data produced will be the subject of regular(every 4-5 years) standardised quality reports, that will describe the data according to the main quality dimensions: Relevance, Accuracy, Timeliness and punctuality, Accessibility and clarity Comparability Coherence as well as Cost and burden, a complementary and indissociable aspect of quality.

7. ANTI-FRAUD MEASURES

A revised system of internal management and control was put in place following the Commission’s Reform initiative on financial management. This system included a reinforced internal audit capacity.

Annual monitoring of progress with implementation of the Commission’s Internal Control Standards is designed to give assurance on the existence and functioning of procedures for prevention and detection of fraud and irregularities.

New rules and procedures have been adopted for the principal budgetary process: calls for tenders, grants, commitments, contracts and payments. The manual of procedures are made available to all those intervening in financial acts with a view to clarify responsibilities, simplify workflows and indicate key control points. Training on their use is provided. The manuals are subject to regular review and updating.

8. DETAILS OF RESOURCES

8.1. Objectives of the proposal in terms of their financial cost

Commitment appropriations in EUR million (to 3 decimal places)

The posts included in the table exist and are currently allocated to the tasks covered by the proposed regulation.

8.2.2. Description of tasks deriving from the action

The tasks are the classical tasks of statistical production that include:

- Methodological development in order to ensure comparability of concept

- Pilot and feasibility studies

- Design of questionnaire and guidelines

- Data collection from the Member States

- Data check and validation

- Data dissemination and publication

- Quality analysis

8.2.3. Sources of human resources (statutory)

(When more than one source is stated, please indicate the number of posts originating from each of the sources)

( Posts currently allocated to the management of the programme to be replaced or extended

( Posts pre-allocated within the APS/PDB exercise for year n

( Posts to be requested in the next APS/PDB procedure

( Posts to be redeployed using existing resources within the managing service (internal redeployment)

( Posts required for year n although not foreseen in the APS/PDB exercise of the year in question

8.2.4. Other Administrative expenditure included in reference amount(XX 01 04/05 – Expenditure on administrative management)

EUR million (to 3 decimal places)

Budget line (number and heading) | Year n | Year n+1 | Year n+2 | Year n+3 | Year n+4 | Year n+5 and later | TOTAL |

Other technical and administrative assistance |

intra muros |

extra muros |

Total Technical and administrative assistance |

8.2.5. Financial cost of human resources and associated costs not included in the reference amount

EUR million (to 3 decimal places)

Type of human resources | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |

Officials and temporary staff (29 01 01) | 0.702 | 0.702 | 0.702 | 0.702 | 0.702 | 0.702 |

Staff financed by Art 29 01 02 (auxiliary, END, contract staff, etc.) | 0.432 | 0.432 | 0.432 | 0.432 | 0.432 | 0.432 |

Total cost of Human Resources and associated costs (NOT in reference amount) | 1.134 | 1.134 | 1.134 | 1.134 | 1.134 | 1.134 |

Calculation – Officials and Temporary agents

Reference should be made to Point 8.2.1, if applicable

An average of 0.108 EUR million per person and per year

Calculation – Staff financed under art. XX 01 02

Reference should be made to Point 8.2.1, if applicable

An average of 0.108 EUR million per person and per year

8.2.6. Other administrative expenditure not included in reference amount EUR million (to 3 decimal places) |

29 01 02 11 02 Meetings & Conferences | 0.060 | 0.060 | 0.060 | 0.060 | 0.060 | 0.060 | 0.360 |

29 01 02 11 03 Committees[28] |

29 01 02 11 04 Studies & consultations |

29 01 02 11 05 Information systems |

2. Total Other Management Expenditure (XX 01 02 11) |

3 Other expenditure of an administrative nature (specify including reference to budget line) |

Total Administrative expenditure, other than human resources and associated costs (NOT included in reference amount) | 0.085 | 0.085 | 0.085 | 0.085 | 0.085 | 0.085 | 0.510 |

Calculation - Other administrative expenditure not included in reference amount

[1] Council Conclusions of 5 May 2003 on reference levels of European average performance in education and training (benchmarks). OJ C 134 of 7.6.2003.

[2] OJ L 358 of 31.12.2002.

[3] OJ C […], […], p. […].

[4] OJ C […], […], p. […].

[5] OJ C 374, 30.12.1994, p. 4-6.

[6] Doc. 7619/05, paragraph 34.

[7] OJ L 205, 6.8.2005 p. 21–27.

[8] The March 2003 Brussels European Council stressed the relevance of "benchmarks to identify best practice and to ensure efficient and effective investment in human resources".

[9] Council Conclusions of 5 May 2003 on reference levels of European average performance in education and training (benchmarks). OJ C 134 of 7.6.2003.

[10] OJ 141, 10.6.2005, p. 7-8.

[11] 13832/04/EDUC 204 SOC 499,p .6

[12] OJ L 255, 30.9.2005, p. 1.

[13] Commission regulation (EC) No 2104/2002, OJ L 324, 29/11/2002, p. 14.

[14] Commission Regulation (EC) No 1983/2003, OJ L298, 17.11.2003, p. 34.

[15] OJ L 52, 22.2.1997, p. 61.

[16] OJ L 151, 15.6.1990, p. 1, Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No. 322/97.

[17] OJ L 133, 18.5.2002, p. 7.

[18] According to the 1997 version of the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED).

[19] Council resolution of 27/06/2002 on lifelong learning OJ 2002/C 163/01, p. 1.

[20] Expenditure that does not fall under Chapter xx 01 of the Title xx concerned.

[21] Expenditure within article xx 01 04 of Title xx.

[22] Expenditure within chapter xx 01 other than articles xx 01 04 or xx 01 05.

[23] See points 19 and 24 of the Interinstitutional agreement.

[24] Cost of which is NOT covered by the reference amount.

[25] Cost of which is NOT covered by the reference amount.

[26] Cost of which is included within the reference amount.

[27] Reference should be made to the specific legislative financial statement for the Executive Agency(ies) concerned.

[28] Specify the type of committee and the group to which it belongs.