Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No. 577/98 on the organisation of a labour force sample survey in the Community"
Date: 2001-11-28
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: EU Member State, fight against unemployment, sample survey, statistics, working population

21.2.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 48/67

5.4.
Finally, the Committee points out that a good reception
system does not depend solely on material conditions and
efficient organisation, but also on a positive attitude on the

part of the general public, who must be properly informed
and prepared to learn why people seek asylum,
thereby
fostering a climate of understanding.

Brussels, 28 November 2001.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Göke FRERICHS

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Regulation of the European
Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No. 577/98 on the organisation
of a labour force sample survey in the Community’

(2002/C 48/15)

On 2 July 2001 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 262
of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was responsible for preparing the
Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 7 November 2001 by a unanimous vote. The
rapporteur working alone was Mr Sklavounos.

At its 386th plenary session of 28 and 29 November 2001 (meeting of 28 November 2001), the
Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 117 votes to one with one abstention.

1.

Introduction

In the Commission report on the implementation of
1.3.
the regulation (1), adopted in January 2001, one conclusion
was that a continuous survey is carried out only in ten of the
EU Member States.

1.1.
Council Regulation (EC) No. 577/98, on the organis-
ation of a labour force sample survey in the Community, lays
down the basic provisions for a labour force sample survey,
designed to provide comparable statistical
information on
the level and pattern of and trends in employment and
unemployment in the Member States.

1.3.1.
Another conclusion was that, at the time the regu-
lation was adopted, the lack of an obligation on the part of
Member States to move to a continuous survey is being
exploited by those for whom this presents both a technical
and political problem. As long as a Member State, which
accounts for a sizeable proportion of EU employment, does
not move to a continuous survey, the efforts made by the
other Member States are unacceptably devalued in a European
perspective.

1.2.
Because of the difficulty in implementing a continuous
labour force survey on the same date in all Member States, the
Council Regulation (EC) No. 577/1998 provided in
Article 1(2), that ‘those Member States which are not in a
position to implement a continuous survey may carry out an
annual survey only, to take place in the spring’.

(1) Commission report to EP and Council on ‘Implementation on the
Council Regulation (EC) No. 577/98 of a labour force in the
Community’, COM(2000) 895 final.

C 48/68

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

21.2.2002

1.4.
Sufficient time has now passed since Council Regu-
lation (EC) No. 577/98 took effect (it entered into force in
to allow all Member States to make the
March 1998)
arrangements and commitments needed fully to implement
that regulation. However, as mentioned above, not all Member
States have made such arrangements and commitments.
Therefore, the derogation that allows Member States to limit
themselves to an annual survey should be subject to a time
limit.

The following amendment to the regulation is therefore

1.5.
proposed by the Commission:

Article 1, second paragraph is replaced by the following text:

‘The survey shall be a continuous survey providing quar-
terly and annual results; however, during a transitional
period not extending beyond 2002, Member States that
are unable to implement a continuous survey shall instead
carry out an annual survey, to take place in the spring.’

2. General comments

2.1.
The Economic and Social Committee welcomes the
Commission proposal and agrees that the derogation that
allows Member States to limit themselves to an annual survey
should be subject to a time limit. The Committee approves of
the suggested time limit.

2.2.
The Economic and Social Committee would like to
reiterate what was said in its earlier opinion on the labour
force survey (1).

‘The ESC considers that the availability of reliable
2.2.1.
and detailed information on the characteristics of the labour
market, including the characteristics of employment and the
nature and extent of the unemployment situation in the

(1) Opinion on the organization of a labour force sample survey in the
Community, OJ C129, 27.4.1998, p. 65. Rapporteur Mr Walker
(points 3.1 and 3.2).

Brussels, 28 November 2001.

various Member States, and on the different regions within
individual Member States, is essential to the development of a
coherent and coordinated strategy to reduce unemployment
levels in the European Union. By the same token, it is obvious
that such statistics need to be prepared on a comparable and
consistent basis if they are to be of real value.’

‘The ESC feels that the comparability of the statistics
2.2.2.
would be greatly enhanced if all Member States were to
conduct the survey on a continuous basis, as is currently the
case in a majority of Member States. The Committee therefore
hopes that the transitional phase during which Member States
would be given the option to conduct an annual survey in the
Spring will be curtailed as much as possible and that within
the reasonably near future there will be a situation in which
every Member State conducts a continuous survey. This should
not impose an undue burden, either on the administrative
departments of the Member States or on the interviewees.’

2.3.
Unemployment is not an independent variable; it is a
rather multifaceted socio-economic phenomenon. Hence, in
addition to quarterly and annual ‘accountings’ of unemploy-
ment, adequate statistical instruments presenting the complex
reality of unemployment are needed.

Statistical data collection has to be considered not
2.3.1.
simply as a neutral accounting instrument, but as an instru-
ment of analysis and as an instrument of policy formulation.

2.3.2. We need constantly to evaluate the method and
organisation of collecting statistical data, and not simply the
sequence or the periodicity of data collection.

2.4. We also need to know, not only the causes, but also
the effects of unemployment — the direct and indirect cost of
unemployment, social and economic and cultural, and the
causes and effects in the framework of sustainable develop-
ment.

As sustainable development is becoming one of the
2.4.1.
main strategic goals of the EU, statistical data collection has to
be supportive of sustainability, understanding social and
economic phenomena, and preparing policies for their sol-
ution.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Göke FRERICHS