WRITTEN QUESTION E-2465/02 by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission. Trade.
Date: 2002-09-04
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU statistics, European Central Bank, data collection, dissemination of EU information, economic statistics, trade statistics

6.2.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 28 E/243

Does it agree that
unnecessarily complicated for users by the precise public institution collecting those figures?

the collection and publication of

figures is a public good, and should not be

(1) OJ C 205 E, 29.8.2002, p. 244.

(2003/C 28 E/274)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2465/02

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(4 September 2002)

Subject: Trade

Further to the Commission’s answer to questions E-0992/02 to E-0994/02 and E-1106/02 (1), will the
Commission update its answer to include figures for 2001?

If these figures are still unavailable, will the Commission state when they are likely to be made available?

(1) OJ C 205 E, 29.8.2002, p. 244.

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-2464/02 and E-2465/02
given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(11 October 2002)

Further to its answer to written questions E-0992/02 to E-0994/02 and E-1106/02 by the Honourable
the Commission has frequent contacts with the European Central Bank (ECB) on data
Member,
dissemination and the ECB does not intend to publish the Balance of Payments (BOP) data of the Member
States with the extra Euro-zone used to compile the Euro-zone aggregate. Moreover, data on BOP
transactions between members of the Euro-zone one are not a primary concern to the ECB. Following the
request of the Honourable Member, the Commission has contacted the European Central Bank on the
public dissemination of individual Member States data. The ECB confirmed its former position.

Also the Commission does not
intend to publish these data, although for different reasons. The
Commission agrees with the principle that statistics collected are a public good and should be
disseminated. However, the Commission considers not every data collected nationally for the purpose of
creating an European aggregate to be of public interest. This is the case for the data used as input for the
Euro-zone aggregates of the balance of payments. As Member States produce and publish their own
balance of payments data using a methodology (principle of origin) different from the one used for
creating the European aggregate (principle of consignment), the public user might be confused by two sets
of data whose differences are difficult to interpret.

Nevertheless, in order to satisfy the present demand, the Commission has agreed with some Member States
to provide these data. The Honourable Member will find them enclosed. It should be stressed again that
these data are used by Eurostat to compile the Community’s Balance of Payments. They are different from
the national data Member States disseminate to the public. However, they are fully compatible with the
aggregate Community’s Balance of Payments published by Eurostat.

Finally, the 2001 data with a detailed geographical breakdown are not yet available, and will be available
by the end of October 2002. The provisional 2001 data for the Union with partners World, Extra-EU 15,
Intra-EU 15, United States, Japan and Canada were published in July 2002 (statistics in focus 34/2002) and
in New Cronos, and is sent direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament’s Secretariat.