Opinion of the European Central Bank of 7 February 2000 at the request of the Danish authorities on a draft Act amending the Act on Danmarks Statistik (Statistics Denmark) (CON/00/03)
Date: 2000-02-07
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Denmark, central bank, exchange of information, national law, statistics

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

of 7 February 2000

at the request of the Danish authorities on a draft Act amending

the Act on Danmarks Statistik (Statistics Denmark)

(CON/00/03)

1. 

On  14  January  2000  the  European  Central  Bank  (ECB)  received  a  request  from  the  Danish

authorities  for  an  ECB  Opinion  on  a  draft  Act  amending  the  Act  on  Danmarks  Statistik

(Statistics Denmark) (hereinafter referred to as the “Draft Law”). 

2. 

The  ECB’s  competence  to  deliver  an  Opinion  is  based  on  Article  105  (4)  of  the  Treaty

establishing the European Community (hereinafter referred to as the “Treaty”) and Article 2 (1),

third  and  fourth  indents,  of  Council  Decision  No.  98/415/EC  of  29  June  1998  on  the

consultation  of  the  European  Central  Bank  by  national  authorities  regarding  draft  legislative

provisions,  as  the  Draft  Law  contains  provisions  on  Danmarks  Nationalbank  and  rules

concerning  the  collection,  compilation  and  distribution  of  monetary,  financial,  banking,

payment  systems  and  balance  of  payments  statistics.  The  Draft  Law  also  provides  for  other

amendments, which do not relate to the above-mentioned consultative competence of the ECB.

However, the present Opinion only focuses on those provisions which do so. In accordance with

Article  17 (5),  first  sentence,  of  the  Rules  of  Procedure  of  the  ECB,  this  Opinion  has  been

adopted by the Governing Council of the ECB. This Opinion is based on an unofficial English

translation of the relevant provisions of the Draft Law.

3. 

The  ECB  understands  that  the  Draft  Law  includes  provisions  which  de  facto  provide  a  legal

basis  for  the  collection,  compilation  and  publication  of  financial  statistics  by  Danmarks

Nationalbank,  made  possible  by  a  transfer  of  this  competence  from  the  national  statistical

authority,  Statistics  Denmark,  to  Danmarks  Nationalbank  via  an  agreement  being  concluded

between the two authorities. A liability agreement already exists, but the Draft Law facilitates

the  establishment  of  a  more  elaborate  co-operation  agreement.  The  transfer  of  competence

implies that, inter alia, Danmarks Nationalbank will be able to sanction an institution in breach

of  the  reporting  requirements.  Furthermore,  by  means  of  the  envisaged  division  of  labour

between  Danmarks  Nationalbank  and  Statistics  Denmark,  the  Draft  Law  provides  for  the

possibility  of  the  two  authorities  exchanging  confidential  statistical  information.  Finally,  the

Draft  Law  extends  the  present  scope  of  application  of  the  statistical  reporting  obligation,  in

terms of both the categories of institutions obliged to report and the categories of data, which

have to be reported. 

4. 

The  ECB  welcomes  the  initiative,  which  will  enhance  the  possibility  of  increasing  the

consistency of Danish financial statistics with international and European standards, including

those  set  or,  as  the  case  may  be,  followed  by  the  ECB.  In  this  connection  it  is  recalled  that

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No.  2533/98  of  23  November  1998  concerning  the  collection  of

statistical  information  by  the  European  Central  Bank  (hereinafter  referred  to  as  the  “Council

Regulation”)  states  in  recital  17  that,  inter  alia:  “while  it  is  recognised  that  the  statistical

information needed to fulfil the ECB’s statistical reporting requirement is not the same for the

participating  as  for  the  non-participating  Member  States,  Article  5  of  the  Statute  [of  the

European  System  of  Central  Banks  and  of  the  European  Central  Bank]  applies  to  both  the

participating and the non-participating Member States; whereas this fact, together with Article 5

of  the  Treaty,  implies  an  obligation  to  design  and  implement  at  the  national  level  all  the

measures  that  Member  States  consider  appropriate  in  order  to  carry  out  the  collection  of

statistical information needed to fulfil the ECB’s statistical reporting requirements”.

5. 

However, the ECB notes with some concern that the primary  competence for establishing  the

financial statistics in question continues to be held by Statistics Denmark, with the possibility,

according to Article 1 (1) of the Draft Law, for it to be transferred by agreement to Danmarks

Nationalbank rather than entrusted to the central bank directly. In the ECB’s  view,  Danmarks

Nationalbank should be able to avail itself independently of its own statistical data necessary to

fulfil  its  tasks  –  particularly  in  the  field  of  monetary  policy  –  and,  therefore,  the  preferable

solution  would  be to  entrust Danmarks  Nationalbank  with  the  relevant  powers  already  at  this

stage.  Furthermore,  should  Denmark  adopt  the  euro  at  a  later  stage,  there  will  be  a  need  to

comply with the requirements of the Treaty and the Statute of the European System of Central

Banks  and  of  the  European  Central  Bank  (hereinafter  referred  to  as  the  “Statute”)  for  Stage

Three  of  Economic  and  Monetary  Union  (EMU)  and  in  particular  with  the  ECB’s  statistical

reporting requirements. These reporting requirements are derived from Article 5 of the Statute

as  further  specified  by  Community  legislation,  both  of  which  will  entrust  Danmarks

Nationalbank  with  its  own  statistical  competence.  Transferral  by  an  agreement  rather  than

entrustment  of  competencies  is  incompatible  with  Danmarks  Nationalbank  having  its  own

statistical competence and the Draft Law, once adopted, would, to this extent in any case, have

to be adapted should Denmark adopt the euro at a later stage. 

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6. 

Notwithstanding the above, the ECB appreciates the fact that in the specific Danish context the

best way to facilitate the work at this stage is considered to be transferral of the competence to

Danmarks  Nationalbank  by  means  of  an  agreement.  The  Draft  Law  is  in  any  event  an

improvement, which is expected to enable Danmarks Nationalbank to design and implement all

the  measures that  Denmark  considers  to  be  appropriate  in  order  to  carry  out  the  collection  of

statistical  information  needed  to  fulfil  the  ECB’s  statistical  reporting  requirements.  For  these

reasons the ECB does not, at this juncture, object to the envisaged transitional arrangement.

7. 

Article 1 (2) of the Draft Law governs the exchange of documents containing data on financial

statistics  and  balance  of  payments  statistics  between  Danmarks  Nationalbank  and  Statistics

Denmark, including confidential statistical information. The provision states that the documents

in question, which are exchanged between the two authorities, are exempt from the right of the

public  to  have  access  to  public  documents  according  to  the  Act  on  open  administration.  It  is

noted that, should Denmark adopt the euro at a later stage, the confidentiality regime laid down

in Article 8 of the Council Regulation would apply. This might also require, inter alia, practical

adaptations 

to 

the  proposed  exchange  of  statistical 

information  between  Danmarks

Nationalbank and Statistics Denmark. 

8.

The  ECB  welcomes  the  division  of  labour  between  Danmarks  Nationalbank  and  Statistics

Denmark,  which  is  described  in  the  motivation  to  the  Draft  Law  as  intending  to  mirror  the

existing relationship between the Commission of the European Communities (Eurostat) and the

ECB. In other words, Danmarks Nationalbank would need to have full responsibility for money

and  banking  statistics  (comprising  all  the  balance  sheet  data  of  institutions  in  the  European

System  of  Accounts  1995  (ESA  95)  sub-sectors  S.122  and  S.123,  off-balance-sheet  data

relevant to the tasks of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), data on interest rates,

yields  and  financial  asset  prices,  capital  market  issues  and  redemptions  and  on  financial

derivatives), whereas the areas of balance of payments statistics (the ECB acting under its own

responsibility in capital and financial account issues, the Commission (Eurostat) acting under its

own  responsibility  in  current  account  issues),  international  investment  position  and  financial

accounts  statistics  will  need  to  be  treated  as  a  shared  competence.  Cost  and  other  economic

statistics  are  the  responsibility  of  Eurostat  viz.  Statistics  Denmark.  Article  1 (3)  of  the  Draft

Law  is  seen  to  allow  sufficient  flexibility  for  Danmarks  Nationalbank  to  prepare  for  the

fulfilment  of  the  current  and  possible  new  future  obligations  identified  by  the  ECB  for

participating national central banks. 

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9.

The ECB confirms that it has no objection to this Opinion being made public by the competent

national authorities at their discretion.

Done at Frankfurt am Main on 7 February 2000.

The President of the ECB

[signed]

Willem F. Duisenberg

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