EN 
 
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 
of 1 February 2008 
at the request of the Portuguese Parliament 
on a draft law on the principles, rules and st ructure of the National Statistical System 
(CON/2008/6) 
 
Introduction and legal basis  
On 26 November 2007 the European Central Bank (E CB) received a request from the Parliamentary 
Commission for Budget and Finance for an opinion on a draft law on the principles, rules and structure of 
the National Statistical System (hereinafter the ‘draft law’). 
The ECB’s competence to deliver an  opinion is based on Article 105(4) of the Treaty establishing the 
European Community and on the third and fourth inde nts 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 provisions1, as the draft law relates to a national central bank and to the collection, 
compilation, and distribution of monetary, financial,  banking payment systems and balance of payments 
statistics. In accordance with the fi rst sentence of Article 17.5 of the Rules of Procedure of the European 
Central Bank, the Governing Council has adopted this opinion. 
 1.  Purpose of the draft law 
1.1 The draft law introduces substantial changes to  the current legal framework of the National 
Statistical System (NSS) and of the National Sta tistical Institute (INE). The Banco de Portugal, 
whose role in the statistical field is reinforced by the draft law, is formally incorporated in the NSS 
structure and, as such, is designated as a statis tical authority. It is also entitled to have a 
representative in the Higher Statistical Counc il, whose composition and powers are revised. 
1.2 Furthermore, the new draft law fully endorses the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics 
adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commiss ion, namely by regulating in Chapter II aspects 
such as technical independence, qua lity, access to official statistics and individual data protection. 
The guidelines contained in the European Statis tics Code of Practice were also adopted and 
reflected in the fundamental principles of the NSS. With regard to statistical secrecy, the draft law 
regulates the circumstances in which access to indi vidual statistical data can be granted for 
scientific purposes (
Article 6(7) and (8)). 
 
                                                 
1  OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42.  
2 2. General observations  
2.1 Ensuring effective co-operation between the nationa l central bank, as a producer of statistics, and 
other statistical authorities is very important fo r the quality and cost-effectiveness of statistics. 
Depending on national circumstances and choices, this aim can be pursued through different 
institutional settings. Whatever the general se tting, the specific arrangements should aim to 
optimise the reliability and efficiency of the st atistical production process, while preserving in all 
respects the independence of the central bank. 
2.2 A significant feature of the draft law refers to the recognition of the Banco de Portugal as a 
statistical authority (Article 3(1)(c)). Althoug h the statistical responsibilities of the Banco de 
Portugal have always been established by its Or ganic Law, there was no such explicit recognition 
of this function in the Law on the national statisti cal system. Furthermore, Articles 19 and 20 of the 
draft law are fully in line with the Organic Law, so that both legal acts are consistent with national 
practice, according to which the Banco de Port ugal has always been the national producer of 
official statistics in the fields of monetary, fina ncial, foreign exchange and balance of payments 
statistics. The ECB also notes that Article 20 expr essly states that the participation of the Banco de 
Portugal in the NSS shall not prejudice the guarantees of independence deriving from its 
participation in the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), in particular, with regard to the 
performance of its duty to collaborate w ith the ECB on statistical matters. 
2.3 The new structure of the Higher Statistical C ouncil now ensures a more accurate and up to date 
representation of the producers and users of official statistics (Article 10). This new structure will permit the definition of a coordinated and efficien t national statistical working plan, including the 
efficient allocation of tasks on the execution of statistical operations; adoption of common 
methodology, concepts and nomenclature (Article 13); and sharing of lists of statistical units and of 
administrative data (Article 8). The new structur e of the NSS relies on and promotes coordination 
between statistical authorities (Article 9), in par ticular between the Banco de Portugal and the INE 
(Article 21). The Banco de Portugal and the INE ar e party to several agreements for the purpose of 
statistical production, e.g., fina ncial and non-financial accounts; government finance statistics; 
surveys of tourism expenditure and cross-bor der movements; and the simplified corporate 
information project. This is again the case where th e new legal text formalises a practice that is 
already being followed by the pr oducers of official statistics. 
2.4 The ECB welcomes the new draft law as it clar ifies the division of responsibilities between the 
various statistical authorities and formalises curre nt best practices. The draft law will make the 
Portuguese statistical system more integrated and coordinated and will have  a positive impact, both 
in terms of the quality of official  statistics and with regard to cost savings. The ECB also welcomes 
that this system is more operationally effective and consequently more capable of responding to the 
existing and foreseeable future needs for official statistical data at both national and Community 
level. 
 
3 This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website. 
  Done at Frankfurt am Main, 1 February 2008. 
 
[signed] 
 
The President of the ECB 
Jean-Claude TRICHET