Opinion on the proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) on the European System of National and Regional Accounts in the European Community

(95/C 133/02)

On 29 March 1995, the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the abovementioned proposal.

The Section for Economic, Financial and Monetary Questions, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 7 March 1995. The Rapporteur was Mr Bento Gonçalves.

At its 324th Plenary Session (meeting of 29 March 1995), the Economic and Social Committee unanimously adopted the following Opinion.

1. General considerations

1.1. The purpose of the proposal is to set up the European System of Accounts (ESA), which will serve as a reference framework for the compiling of national accounts. The ESA will be used in drawing up comparable accounts and tables for EU requirements. A schedule is also to be established for transmitting the ESA-based accounts and tables to the Commission on specific dates.

The Regulation and its Annexes are to be binding on all EU Member States.

1.2. The ESA is based on the System of National Accounts (SNA) adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission in February 1993 for the purpose of improving the reliability and comparability of data worldwide and adopting statistical systems and models which are consistent with those of the OECD.

1.3. The data to be obtained will be used for determining GNP at market prices so that the third and fourth Community budget resources can be calculated accurately.

1.4. The Structural Fund objectives also stipulate that regions' eligibility for assistance under Objectives 1 and 5(b) is to be determined in the main by comparing their per capita GDP with the Community's overall GDP.

1.5. The proposal and all its annexes were the subject of numerous preparatory meetings at Community level involving the Member States and international bodies.

1.6. The proposed system is to apply solely to Member States' national accounts and to national statistical institutes. No obligations will be imposed on businesses directly.

It may be possible eventually to coordinate the methods used by each Member State to collect data from businesses by modifying the data-collection forms used at present.

1.7. Responsibility for the project is to be shared with the Member States, the aim being to harmonize the concepts and nomenclatures for data collection and to detail the information needed by the main users, viz.:

- Community institutions,

- National, regional and local government,

- International organizations,

- Economic operators,

- Research institutes.

1.7.1. The methods used to collect the data and the collection itself are the responsibility of the Member States.

1.7.2. The aim is to adapt statistical definitions, common classifications and accounting rules to technical and socio-economic developments, as the basis for establishing the list of necessary data.

These data are already collected by the Member States, but collection and presentation should be standardized so that the consolidation of the data produces identical, comparable concepts in all EU Member States.

1.8. The proposed Regulation will lay down the reference framework (concepts, classifications, list of necessary information), while leaving detailed arrangements for the organization and compilation of the accounts to the Member States.

1.9. The Member States will have to bring their statistical systems into line with the Regulation's standards. They will be obliged to supply only such information as is vital for EU requirements.

2. Specific comments

2.1. The ESC notes that Member States will not be obliged to comply with ESA 95 when compiling accounts for their own needs.

2.2. Annex A describes the methodology comprising common standards, definitions, classifications and accounting rules which form the European System of Accounts 95 (ESA 95).

2.3. Annex B lists the tables which the national statistical institutes will have to forward to the Commission, together with the corresponding schedule.

2.4. The ESC underlines the importance of setting up the Statistical Programme Committee, as provided for in Article 4.

2.5. The Committee would urge that the deadline laid down in Article 7 for the 'first transmission' be the same for all Member States. Exceptions should be reduced to a minimum or, better still, avoided so that statistical data are collected as quickly as possible in the Community in accordance with comparable concepts and transmission programmes.

3. The Economic and Social Committee approves the proposal and its annexes.

Done at Brussels, 29 March 1995.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Carlos FERRER