Common Position (EC) No 19/2003 of 6 March 2003 adopted by the Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, with a view to adopting a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2003-03-06
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU statistics, household, income, living conditions, statistical method

C 107 E/26

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Official Journal of the European Union

6.5.2003

COMMON POSITION (EC) No 19/2003

adopted by the Council on 6 March 2003

with a view to adopting Regulation (EC) No . . ./2003 of the European Parliament and of the
Council on Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC)

(2003/C 107 E/03)

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 285(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposals from the Commission (1),

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Economic and
Social Committee (2),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty (3),

Whereas:

measures concerning the collection and dissemination of
comparable statistics and in particular supporting the
improvement of surveys and analysis of poverty and
social exclusion.

(4) The best method of assessing the situation as regards
to compile
income, poverty and social exclusion is
Community statistics using harmonised methods and defi-
nitions. Some Member States may require additional time
to adapt their systems to these harmonised methods and
definitions.

(5) To reflect changes taking place in the distribution of
income and in the level and composition of poverty and
social exclusion, the statistics need to be updated annually.

(1)

In order to carry out the tasks assigned to it, particularly
after the Lisbon, Nice, Stockholm and Laeken European
Council meetings held in March 2000, December 2000,
the
March 2001 and December 2001 respectively,
Commission should be
income
distribution and of the level and composition of poverty
and social exclusion in the Member States.

informed of

kept

(2) The new open method of coordination in the field of
social inclusion as well as the structural indicators to be
produced for the annual synthesis report increase the need
for comparable and timely cross-sectional and longitudinal
data on income distribution and on the level and
composition of poverty and social exclusion for estab-
lishing reliable and relevant comparisons between the
Member States.

(3) Decision No 50/2002/EC of the European Parliament and
the Council of 7 December 2001 establishing a
of
programme of Community action to encourage coop-
eration between Member
social
exclusion (4) has established, under Action 1.2 of Strand
1 concerning the
the
funding of
necessary conditions

in relation to the

‘analysis of

to combat

exclusion’,

States

social

(1) OJ C 103 E, 30.4.2002, p. 198, and amended proposal of
15 November 2002 (not yet published in the Official Journal).

(2) OJ C 149, 21.6.2002, p. 24.
(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 14 May 2002 (not yet
published in the Official
Journal), Council Common Position of
6 March 2003 and Decision of the European Parliament of . . .
(not yet published in the Official Journal).

(6) To investigate major issues of social concern, especially
the Commission
at

new issues requiring specific research,
needs
cross-sectional
household and personal level.

and longitudinal micro-data

(7) Priority should be given to the production of timely and
cross-sectional data on income,

annual

comparable
poverty and social exclusion.

(8)

Flexibility in terms of data sources, in particular the use of
existing national data sources, whether they be surveys or
registers,
be
encouraged and the integration of the new source(s) into
established
be
statistical
promoted.

and national

national

systems

designs

sample

should

should

(9) Commission Regulation (EC) No 831/2002 of 17 May
2002 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97
on Community statistics, concerning access to confidential
data for scientific purposes (5) has established,
for the
purpose of enabling statistical conclusions to be drawn
for scientific purposes, the conditions pursuant to which
access to confidential data transmitted to the Community
authority may be granted.

(4) OJ L 10, 12.1.2002, p. 1.

(5) OJ L 133, 18.5.2002, p. 7.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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(10) The production of

specific Community statistics

is
governed by the rules set out in Council Regulation (EC)
No 322/97 of 17 February 1997 on Community
Statistics (1).

(e)

‘reference period’: means the period of time to which a
particular item of information relates,

(11) The measures necessary for the implementation of this
Regulation should be
adopted in accordance with
Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying
down the procedures for the exercise of implementing
powers conferred on the Commission (2).

(12) The Statistical Programme Committee (SPC) has been
consulted in accordance with Article 3 of Council
Decision 89/382/EEC/Euratom (3),

(f)

(g)

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Aim

The aim of this Regulation shall be to establish a common
the systematic production of Community
framework for
Statistics on Income
(hereinafter
encompassing comparable and
referred to as
timely cross-sectional and longitudinal data on income and
on the level and composition of poverty and social exclusion
at national and European levels.

and Living Conditions

‘EU-SILC’),

‘private household’: means a person living alone or a
group of people who live together in the same private
dwelling and share expenditures,
including the joint
provision of the essentials of living,

‘cross-sectional data’: means the data pertaining to a given
time or a certain time period. Cross-sectional data may be
extracted either from a cross-sectional sample survey with
or without a rotational sample or from a pure panel
sample survey (on condition that cross-sectional represen-
tativeness is guaranteed); such data may be combined with
register data (data on persons, households or dwellings
compiled from a unit-level administrative or statistical
register),

(h)

‘longitudinal data’: means the data pertaining to indi-
vidual-level changes over time, observed periodically over
a certain duration. Longitudinal data may come either
from a cross-sectional survey with a rotational sample
where individuals once selected are followed up or from
a pure panel survey;
it may be combined with register
data,

Comparability of data between Member States shall be a funda-
mental objective and shall be pursued through the devel-
from the outset of
opment of methodological
studies
EU-SILC data collection, carried out
in close cooperation
between the Member States and Eurostat.

(i)

‘sample persons’: means the persons selected to constitute
the sample in the first wave of a longitudinal panel. They
may comprise all members of an initial
sample of
households, or a representative sample of individuals in
a survey of persons,

Article 2

Definitions

(j)

‘target primary areas’: means the subject areas for which
data are to be collected on an annual basis,

For the purpose of this Regulation, the following definitions
shall apply:

(k)

‘target secondary areas’: means the subject areas for which
data are to be collected every four years or less frequently,

(a)

‘Community statistics’ shall have the meaning assigned to
it in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 322/97,

(b)

‘production of statistics’ shall have the meaning assigned to
it in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 322/97,

(l)

(c)

‘year of survey’: means the year in which the survey-data
collection, or most of the collection, is carried out,

(d)

‘fieldwork period’: means the period of time in which the
survey component is collected,

(1) OJ L 52, 22.2.1997, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.
(3) OJ L 181, 28.6.1989, p. 47.

the

total monetary

income’: means

‘gross
and
non-monetary income received by the household over a
specified ‘income reference period’, before deduction of
income tax, regular taxes on wealth, employees', self-
employed
persons'
compulsory social insurance contributions and employers'
social
insurance contributions, but after including inter-
household transfers received,

unemployed

applicable)

and

(if

(m) ‘disposable income’: means gross income less income tax,
regular taxes on wealth, employees', self-employed and
unemployed (if applicable) persons' compulsory social
insurance
insurance
contributions and inter-household transfers paid.

contributions,

employers'

social

C 107 E/28

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Official Journal of the European Union

6.5.2003

Article 3

Scope

Longitudinal micro-data do not need to be linkable with cross-
sectional micro-data.

The EU-SILC shall cover cross-sectional data on income,
poverty, social exclusion and other living conditions as well
as
labour and a
limited number of non-monetary indicators of social exclusion.

longitudinal data restricted to income,

Article 4

Time reference

The

shall be
1.
cross-sectional
produced annually as from 2004.
In any given Member
State, the timing of collection shall be kept the same from
one year to the next as far as possible.

and longitudinal data

2.
the
By way of exception to paragraph 1, Germany,
Netherlands and the United Kingdom may start the annual
cross-sectional and longitudinal data collection in 2005. This
will be the case provided that those Member States supply
comparable data for the year 2004 for the cross-sectional
common European Union indicators, which have been
adopted by the Council before 1 January 2003 in the
context of the open method of coordination and which can
be derived on the basis of the EU-SILC instrument.

3.
The income reference period shall be a twelve-month
period. This may be a fixed twelve-month period (such as
the previous calendar or tax year) or a moving twelve-month
period (such as the twelve months preceding the interview) or
be based on a comparable measure.

4.
If a fixed income reference period is used, fieldwork for
the survey component shall be carried out over a limited
period as close as possible to the income reference period or
to the tax declaration period so as to minimise time lag
between income and current variables.

Article 5

Characteristics of the data

In order to permit multi-dimensional analysis at the level
1.
of households and persons and in particular investigation of
major issues of social concern that are new and require specific
research, all household and individual data shall be linkable in
the cross-sectional component.

The longitudinal component shall cover at least four years.

2.
In order to reduce response burdens, to help in income
imputation procedures and to test data quality, the national
authorities shall have access to relevant administrative data
sources in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 322/97.

Article 6

Data required

The target primary areas and corresponding reference
1.
periods to be covered by the cross-sectional and the longi-
tudinal components are laid down in Annex I.

2.
Target secondary areas shall be included every year
starting from 2005 only in the cross-sectional component.
They shall be defined in accordance with the procedure
referred to in Article 14(2). One secondary area shall be
covered each year.

Article 7

Collection unit

1.
The reference population for the EU-SILC shall be all
private households and their current members residing in the
territory of the Member State at the time of the data collection.

2.

The main information collected shall pertain to

(a) private households,

composition and basic
members; and

including data on household size,
current

characteristics of

its

(b) persons aged sixteen and over.

3.
The collection unit, together with the mode of collection
for household and personal information, shall be as laid down
in Annex I.

Article 8

Sampling and tracing rules

Similarly, all household and personal data shall be linkable in
the longitudinal component.

Cross-sectional and longitudinal data shall be based on

1.
nationally representative probability samples.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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By way of exception to paragraph 1, Germany shall
2.
supply cross-sectional data based on a nationally representative
probability sample for the first time for the year 2008. For the
year 2005, Germany shall supply data of which 25 per cent
shall be based on probability sampling and 75 per cent shall be
based on quota samples, the latter to be progressively replaced
by random selection so as to achieve fully representative prob-
ability sampling by 2008.

For the longitudinal component, Germany shall supply for the
year 2006 one third of longitudinal data (data for years 2005
and 2006) based on probability sampling and two thirds based
on quota samples. For the year 2007, half of the longitudinal
data relating to years 2005, 2006 and 2007 shall be based on
probability sampling and half on quota samples. After 2007 all
longitudinal data shall be based on probability sampling.

In the longitudinal component,

3.
individuals included in
the initial sample, that is to say, sample persons, shall be
followed over the duration of the panel. Every sample person
who has moved to a private household within the national
boundaries shall be followed up to the new location in
accordance with tracing rules and procedures to be defined
under the procedure referred to in Article 14(2).

Article 9

Sample sizes

On the basis of

1.
and practical
various
considerations and the precision requirements for the most
critical variables, the minimum effective sample sizes to be
achieved shall be as set out in the table in Annex II.

statistical

Article 10

Transmission of data

shall

1. Member States
to the Commission
in the form of micro-data files weighted cross-
(Eurostat)
sectional and longitudinal data which has been fully checked,
edited and imputed in relation to income.

transmit

Member States shall transmit the data in electronic form, in
conformity with an appropriate technical format to be adopted
in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 14(2).

2.
Regarding the cross-sectional component, Member States
shall transmit the micro-data files relating to year of survey N
to the Commission (Eurostat), preferably within eleven months
after the end of the data collection. The extreme deadline for
the
be
30 November
for Member States where data are
the end of year N or through a continuous
collected at
survey or through registers and 1 October (N+1) for other
Member States.

transmission of micro-data

Eurostat

(N+1)

shall

to

Together with the micro-data files, Member States
shall
transmit social cohesion indicators based on the cross-sectional
sample of year N which will be included in the annual Spring
report of year (N+2) to the European Council.

The dates of transmission of data also apply for the trans-
mission of comparable data for cross-sectional common EU
indicators
annual
collection of data after 2004 in accordance with Article 4(2).

those Member States which start

for

2.
Sample size for the longitudinal component refers, for
any pair of consecutive years, to the number of households
successfully interviewed in the first year in which all or at least
a majority of the household members aged 16 or over are
successfully interviewed in both the years.

3.
As for the longitudinal component, Member States shall
transmit the micro-data files up to year N to the Commission
(Eurostat) preferably within fifteen months after the end of the
fieldwork. The mandatory deadline for the transmission of
micro-data to Eurostat shall be the end of March (N+2), each
year starting from the second year of EU-SILC.

3. Member States using registers for income and other data
may use a sample of persons rather than a sample of complete
households in the interview survey. The minimum effective
sample size in terms of the number of persons aged 16 or
over to be interviewed in detail shall be taken as 75 % of the
figures shown in columns 3 and 4 of the table in Annex II, for
the cross-sectional and longitudinal components respectively.

The first transmission of data, covering longitudinally linked
data for:

— the survey years 2004 and 2005, in the case of Member
States starting annual data collection in 2004, shall take
place by the end of March 2007; and

Information on income and other data shall also be collected
for the household of each selected respondent and for all its
members.

— the survey years 2005 and 2006, in the case of Member
States starting annual data collection in 2005, shall take
place by the end of March 2008.

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6.5.2003

The next transmission shall cover the first three survey years
2004-2006 (2005-2007) and shall take place respectively by
the end of March 2008 and 2009.

2004, and the years 2005-2007 for those Member States
which start data collection in 2005.

Thereafter, each year
covering the preceding four
previous releases as necessary).

longitudinal data shall be provided
(revised from

survey years

Article 11

Publication

Thereafter, each July release shall cover longitudinal data at
Community level for the four most recent years for which
data are available.

Reports produced by the Scientific Community based on
4.
cross-sectional micro-data files for data collected during year N
shall not be disseminated before July N+2.

For the cross-sectional component, the Commission (Eurostat)
shall publish an annual cross-sectional report at Community
level by the end of June N+2, based on the data collected
during year N.

Reports produced by the Scientific Community based on longi-
tudinal micro-data files in relation to the year of the survey N
shall not be disseminated before July N+3.

For those Member States which start annual data collection
after 2004 in accordance with Article 4(2) the cross-sectional
report for 2004 shall include the common cross-sectional EU
indicators.

As from 2006,
available results of methodological
Article 16.

the cross-sectional report shall

studies

include the
referred to in

Article 12

Access for scientific purposes to EU-SILC confidential data

1.
The Community authority (Eurostat) may grant access on
its premises to confidential data or release sets of anonymised
micro-data from the EU-SILC source, for scientific purposes
laid down in Regulation (EC)
and under
No 831/2002.

the conditions

2.
For the cross-sectional component, micro-data files at
Community level for data collected during year N shall be
made available for scientific purposes by the end of February
N+2.

For

the longitudinal component, micro-data files at
3.
Community level
for data collected up to year N shall be
made available for scientific purposes by the end of July N+2.

issue of

longitudinal micro-data files

The first
those
Member States which start data collection in 2004 shall
cover the years 2004 and 2005 and shall take place at the
end of July 2007.

for

second issue

in July 2008 shall
for those Member States which start

the years
The
2004-2006,
the data
collection in 2004, and the years 2005 and 2006, for those
Member States which start data collection in 2005.

cover

The third issue in July 2009 shall cover the years 2004-2007,
for those Member States which start the data collection in

Article 13

Financing

For the first four years of data collection in each Member
1.
State, that Member State shall receive a financial contribution
from the Community towards the cost of the work involved.

The amount of the appropriations allocated annually for
2.
the financial contribution referred to in paragraph 1 shall be
fixed as part of the annual budgetary procedures.

The budget authority shall grant

3.
available for each year.

the appropriations

Article 14

Committee

The Commission shall be assisted by the Statistical
Decision
set

Committee,

up

by

1.
Programme
89/382/EEC/Euratom.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and
7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the
provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC
shall be set at 3 months.

3.

The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

Article 15

Implementing measures

The measures necessary for the implementation of this
1.
Regulation,
including measures to take account of economic
and technical changes, shall be taken, at least twelve months
before the beginning of the year of the survey, in accordance
with the procedure referred to in Article 14(2).

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 107 E/31

2.

Such measures shall concern:

(a) the definition of the list of target primary variables to be
included in each area for the cross-sectional component
and the list of target variables included in the longitudinal
component,
including the specification of variable codes
and the technical format of transmission to Eurostat;

(b) the detailed content of both intermediate and final quality

reports;

(c) the definitions and the updating of

in
particular the bringing into operation of the income defi-
nitions given in points (l) and (m) of Article 2 (including
the timetable for the inclusion of the various components);

the definitions,

(d) the sampling aspects, including tracing rules;

(e) the fieldwork aspects and the imputation procedures;

(f)

the list of target secondary areas and variables.

3.
By way of exception, the measures, including those which
take into account economic and technical changes, necessary
for the implementation of this Regulation regarding the 2004
data collection,
to (e) of
paragraph 2 and shall be taken at least six months before
the beginning of the year of the survey.

relate only to points

shall

(a)

4.
In each Member State the total duration of the interview
relating to the target primary and target secondary variables of
the cross-sectional component, including household and indi-
vidual interviews, shall not exceed one hour on average.

Article 16

Reports and studies

1. Member States shall produce by the end of the year N+1
an intermediate quality report relating to the common cross-
sectional EU indicators based on the cross-sectional component
of year N.

Member States shall produce by the end of year N+2, final
quality reports that cover both cross-sectional and longitudinal
components in relation to the year of the survey N, focusing
on the internal accuracy. By way of exception, the 2004 report
(for Member States starting data collection in 2004) and 2005
report (for Member States starting data collection in 2005)
shall only cover the cross-sectional component.

Small departures from common definitions, such as those
relating to private household definition and income reference
period, shall be allowed, provided they affect comparability
only marginally. The
impact on comparability shall be
reported in the quality reports.

2.
The Commission (Eurostat) shall produce by the end of
June N+2 a comparative intermediate quality report relating to
the common cross-sectional EU indicators of year N.

The Commission (Eurostat) shall produce by 30 June N+3 a
comparative final quality report that covers both cross-sectional
and longitudinal components in relation to the year of the
survey N. By way of exception, the 2004 report (for those
Member States starting data collection in 2004) and the
2005 report (for those Member States starting data collection
in 2005) shall cover only the cross-sectional component.

3.
No later than 31 December 2007, the Commission will
submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council on
the work done under this Regulation.

4.
The Commission (Eurostat) shall organise from 2004
methodological studies to estimate the impact on comparability
of the national data sources used and to identify best practices
to be followed. The results of these studies shall be included in
the report referred to in paragraph 3.

Article 17

Entry into Force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at . . .

For the European Parliament

The President

For the Council

The President

PRIMARY AREAS COVERED IN THE CROSS-SECTIONAL COMPONENT AND AREAS COVERED IN THE
LONGITUDINAL COMPONENT

ANNEX I

1. Household information

Unit (Persons or households)

Mode of collection

Domains

Areas

Reference period

Cross-sectional (X)
and/or longitudinal (L)
area

Household

Information collected from a
household member aged 16
or over or extracted from
registers

BASIC DATA

INCOME

Basic household data including degree of
urbanisation

Current

Total household
disposable)

income

(gross (1)

and

Income reference period

income components at household

Income reference period

Gross
level

SOCIAL EXCLUSION

Housing and non-housing related arrears

Last 12 months

household

Non-monetary
deprivation
including problems in making
indicators,
ends meet, extent of debt and enforced
lack of basic necessities

Physical and social environment

LABOUR INFORMATION

Child care

HOUSING

Dwelling type,
conditions

tenure status and housing

Amenities in the dwelling

Housing costs

Current

Current

Current

Current

Current

Current

X, L

X, L

X, L

X, L

X, L

X

X

X, L

X

X

C

1
0
7
E
/
3
2

E
N

O

f
f
i
c
i
a
l

J
o
u
r
n
a
l

o
f

t
h
e

E
u
r
o
p
e
a
n
U
n
o
n

i

2. Personal information

Unit (Persons or households)

Mode of collection

Domains

Areas

Reference period

All persons aged under 16

Former Household Members

Personal information collected
from a household member
aged 16 or over or extracted
from registers

BASIC DATA

Demographic data

Current

Demographic data

Income reference period

Cross-sectional (X)
and/or longitudinal (L)
area

X, L

L

.

.

6
5
2
0
0
3

Unit (Persons or households)

Mode of collection

Domains

Areas

Reference period

Cross-sectional (X)
and/or longitudinal (L)
area

INCOME

income,
Gross
components at personal level

personal

total

and

Income reference period

X, L

All persons aged 16 or over in
the household

Personal information collected
from all household members
aged 16 or over (proxy as
an exception for persons
temporarily away or
inca-
pacitated) or extracted from
registers

Preferably
personal
by
contact but proxy accepted
as a normal procedure or
extraction from registers

BASIC DATA

Basic personal data

Demographic data

EDUCATION

Education,
attained

including highest

ISCED level

LABOUR INFORMATION

Basic labour information on current activity
including
status and on current main job,
information on last main job for unem-
ployed

Current

Current

Current

Current

Basic information on activity status during
income reference period

Income reference period

At least one household member
aged 16 or over (the selected
respondent)

Personal information collected
from individual(s) (proxy as an
exception) or extraction from
registers

HEALTH

Total number of hours worked on current
second/third . . . jobs

Health,
illness or condition

including health status and chronic

Access to health care

LABOUR INFORMATION

Detailed labour information

Activity history

Current

Current

Past 12 months

Current

Working life

Calendar of activities

Income reference period

(1) Gross income components shall cover gross employee and self-employment income (monetary and non-monetary), gross employer's social insurance contributions, imputed rent, property income, gross current transfers received,

other gross income and interest payments.
Non-monetary components of employee (with the exception of company cars that is to be calculated as from the first year of the survey) and self-employed income, imputed rent and interest payments shall be optional from the first
year of the survey and compulsory from 2007. Gross employer's social insurance contributions shall only be included from 2007 if results of feasibility studies are positive.
Variables required for calculating imputed rent will be collected as from the first year of data collection for each Member State (2004 or 2005).

X, L

X, L

X, L

X, L

X

X

X, L

X

X, L

L

L

.

.

6
5
2
0
0
3

E
N

O

f
f
i
c
i
a
l

J
o
u
r
n
a
l

o
f

t
h
e

E
u
r
o
p
e
a
n
U
n
o
n

i

C

1
0
7
E
/
3
3

C 107 E/34

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Official Journal of the European Union

6.5.2003

ANNEX II

MINIMUM EFFECTIVE SAMPLE SIZES

EU Member States

Cross-sectional

Longitudinal

Cross-sectional

Longitudinal

Households

Persons aged 16 or over to be interviewed

Belgium

Denmark

Germany

Greece

Spain

France

Ireland

Italy

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Austria

Portugal

Finland

Sweden

United Kingdom

1

4 750

4 250

8 250

4 750

6 500

7 250

3 750

7 250

3 250

5 000

4 500

4 500

4 000

4 500

7 500

Total of EU Member States

80 000

Iceland

Norway

2 250

3 750

2

3 500

3 250

6 000

3 500

5 000

5 500

2 750

5 500

2 500

3 750

3 250

3 250

3 000

3 500

5 750

60 000

1 700

2 750

3

8 750

7 250

14 500

10 000

16 000

13 500

8 000

15 500

6 500

8 750

8 750

10 500

6 750

7 500

13 750

156 000

3 750

6 250

4

6 500

5 500

10 500

7 250

12 250

10 250

6 000

11 750

5 000

6 500

6 250

7 500

5 000

5 750

10 500

116 500

2 800

4 650

Total including Iceland and
Norway

86 000

64 450

166 000

123 950

Note:

The reference is to the effective sample size which is the size required if the survey were based on simple random
sampling (design effect in relation to the ‘risk of poverty rate’ variable = 1,0). The actual sample sizes will have to be
larger to the extent that the design effects exceed 1,0 and to compensate for non-response of all kinds. Furthermore, the
sample size refers to the number of valid households which are households for which, and for all members of which, all
or nearly all the required information has been obtained.

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STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL'S REASONS

I. INTRODUCTION

1. On 13 December 2001, the Commission forwarded to the Council a proposal for a European
Parliament and Council Regulation concerning community statistics on income and living conditions
(EU-SILC).

2. The above proposal is based on Article 285 of the Treaty according to which the procedure of

co-decision with the European Parliament prescribed in Article 251 of the Treaty applies.

3. The Economic and Social Committee adopted its Opinion on 24 April 2002.

4. The European Parliament adopted its amendments to the proposal on 14 May 2002.

5. On 15 November 2002, the Commission presented to the Council, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the

EC Treaty, an amended proposal incorporating all amendments of the European Parliament.

6. On 6 March 2003, the Council adopted its common position pursuant to Article 251 of the Treaty.

II. OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSAL

The objective of the proposal is to establish a common framework for the production of Community
statistics on Income and Living Conditions, so as to provide a reference source of comparative statistics
on income distribution and social exclusion at EU level. Such a statistical reference source is needed to
allow more effective pursuit of Community objectives of achieving improved living conditions and
tackling social exclusion.

III. ANALYSIS OF THE COMMON POSITION

The Council's common position reflects closely the proposal of the Commission, the amendments put
forward by the Parliament and the Commission's response to the Parliament's amendments in its
amended proposal, while introducing a number of adjustments to meet the concerns of the Member
States.

The changes introduced by the Council are as follows:

In Recital 1, the Council includes a full list of the European Councils whose outcomes reflect the need
for data on poverty and social exclusion: Stockholm and Laeken are added.

In Recital 2, the European Parliament's first amendment is incorporated.

In Recital 11 and Article 14, paragraphs 2 and 3, the Council has changed the comitology
procedure from management to regulatory procedure, as this is felt to be more appropriate to the
type of measures to be adopted to implement the Regulation.

In Article 1, the Council has introduced an additional aim of ensuring comparability of data, to be
pursued through methodological studies. This is felt to be necessary to ensure that the data collected
give a sufficiently accurate comparative picture across the Union to enable better policy-making in the
fields of poverty and social exclusion.

In Article 2(c), the Council has introduced the words ‘survey-data collection’ to clarify the meaning of
the definition.

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In Article 2(f), the Council has deleted the second and third sub-paragraphs. The idea of small
departures from the definition is introduced in Article 16 on the quality reports instead. It is felt
that the Article on definitions should stick closely to definitions, and departures can more appropriately
be treated in the Article on the reports.

In Article 2(l), the Council has incorporated the Parliament's proposed amendment in the way
suggested by the Commission in its amended proposal, using the phrase ‘monetary and non-monetary
income’, as well as the deductions for ‘self-employed and unemployed’ persons, so as to give a complete
picture of compulsory contributions. The Council has also clarified that in accordance with the recom-
mendations of the Canberra Group Handbook, only ‘inter-household transfers received’ should be used for
the calculation. The concept of
imputed rent and non-cash income from employment or self-
employment proposed by the Parliament in its amendment is incorporated in the footnote to Annex
1, where the level of detail of variables is specified: this is felt to be a more appropriate place to treat
this concept.

In Article 2(m), the Council has again introduced the contributions paid by the ‘self-employed and
unemployed’, in order to provide a full picture of compulsory contributions.

The Council has also clarified that, in accordance with Canberra Group Handbook, inter-household
transfers paid have to be deducted from gross income to get disposable income.

In Article 3, the Council has deleted the words ‘comparable and timely’, since these do not actually relate
to scope and are covered in other Articles dealing with the data required and the timetable for
transmission.

In Article 4(1), the Council has introduced the word ‘produced’ in order to allow for the range of
appropriate methods for Member States to compile or estimate the required data. The first year of
production of data has been changed to 2004, reflecting the earliest realistic date for implementation of
the Regulation. Dates throughout the Regulation have been adapted to reflect this change (such as
those in Articles 6(2) and 15(3)).

In Article 4(2), the derogations for France and Italy are deleted, since they will be able to provide data
from 2004. Germany, the Netherlands and the UK need a derogation until 2005 — the condition for
this derogation to be granted is that they supply data for the cross-sectional indicators in the context of
the open method of co-ordination. The wording of this paragraph has been amended to reflect the
exact requirement for such data.

In Article 4(3), the possibility of basing data on a comparable measure is included in the first
sub-paragraph, allowing deletion of
the second sub-paragraph. The third sub-paragraph is also
deleted, as this issue is fully covered in Article 16.

A new Article 8(2) has been introduced by the Council, allowing transition periods for Germany
during which it moves to full use of probability sampling for both cross-sectional and longitudinal data.
These transitional periods reflect the earliest possible implementation of the technical changes necessary
to provide all data based fully on probability sampling.

In Article 9(3), the Council has specified that the detailed personal interview should only be conducted
for ‘persons aged 16 or over’.

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In Article 10(1), the Council has introduced a provision that the technical format for electronic
transmission of data should be laid down by the comitology committee, not by the Commission, in
order to ensure that Member States' technical capacities and preferences are respected.

In Article 10(2), the Council has extended deadlines for the transmission of data by one month, since
the Commission's proposed deadlines were felt to be too demanding to be met by all Member States.
The Council has deleted paragraph 2 since the Regulation no longer covers 2003. The Council has also
introduced a reference to the countries with a derogation under Article 4(2), so as to be complete in
coverage.

The dates in Article 10(3) are also adjusted to take account of the later implementation date of the
Regulation and the derogations granted to certain Member States.

Article 11 is adjusted to take into account the arrangements for Member States with derogations under
Article 4(2), and the performance of methodological studies as set out in Article 16 — the Council feels
it will be important to include both these elements in reports to ensure full and consistent application
of the Regulation over time.

Article 12(1) is adjusted to reproduce the wording of Regulation (EC) No 831/2002 of 17 May 2002
regarding access to data for scientific purposes — this Regulation was adopted during consideration of
the proposed EU-SILC Regulation, and its wording gives a more precise indication of the applicable
conditions for granting access to data.

The second sub-paragraph of Article 12(2) is deleted, since the Regulation no longer covers 2003.

In Article 12(3), dates are adjusted to take account of the later implementation date of the Regulation
and the derogations granted to certain Member States.

A new Article 12(4) is added, specifying that reports based on cross-sectional micro-data for the year
N should not be published before July of year N+2: this is necessary to ensure that scientific reports do
not release the data before the publication of the Commission's cross-sectional report (under Article 11,
this will be published by the end of June N+2). Scientific reports based on longitudinal data should not
be published before July N+3,
required to compile longitudinal
reflecting the additional year
comparative figures.

Article 13(1) has been amended to refer to ‘the first four years of data collection in each country’, so as to
provide funding for four years to all Member States, including those whose derogations allow them to
begin collecting data later than others.

Article 13(3) notes that the budget authority shall actually grant the available appropriations, rather
than simply determine them.

Article 14, as noted above, is adjusted to establish a regulatory procedure instead of a management
procedure.

In Article 15(1), the Council lays down a minimum period of twelve months, instead of nine, between
the adoption of implementing measures and their application in the survey, so as to ensure that
Member States have sufficient time to introduce the technical changes necessary.

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Article 15(2)(b) is adjusted to refer to both intermediate and final quality reports,
introduction of an intermediate report in Article 16(1).

in line with the

Article 15(2)(c) is amended to include initial definitions as well as updating of definitions, since the
initial definitions should also be established by the committee.

Imputation procedures have been added to Article 15(2)(e) in line with the provision in Article 4 that
not all data need be collected through fieldwork — the committee should lay down the appropriate
imputation procedures where these are to be used.

Articles 15 and 16 have also been re-ordered and divided into 4 paragraphs each to provide greater
clarity — the wording of the new Article 15(3) reflects this.

The new Article 16(1) introduces a new first sub-paragraph establishing an intermediate quality
report, to ensure appropriate progress is made to achieving high-quality comparable indicators. At
this early stage,
indicators. The dates in the second
sub-paragraph have been adjusted to be consistent with the revised timetable for implementation of
the Regulation. A third sub-paragraph is introduced, dealing with departures from common definitions —
this element had previously been included in the definitions in Articles 2(f) and 4(3), but is more
properly treated in relation to the reports which will justify any departures.

the report can only address cross-sectional

The new Article 16(2) also introduces a new sub-paragraph establishing an intermediate quality
report by the Commission.

The new Article 16(4) establishes methodology studies, whose aim will be to evaluate the effect on
comparability of the use of different data sources in different Member States — the results of these
studies will be used to improve comparability where this is necessary.

In Annex 1, as a general rule, the Council has incorporated the amendments proposed by the
European Parliament to the extent that collection of the data is technically feasible and not dispro-
portionately costly.

Under ‘Mode of collection’, the Council has changed the wording to reflect the methods of collection used
in some Member States which are not based on an individual personal interview.

In response to the European Parliament's third amendment and the Commission's response to it, the
Council has added the words ‘including degree of urbanisation’ to the ‘Basic Household data’ area. The
Parliament's suggested wording was felt to be too vague to be implemented in such a way as to provide
meaningful, comparable data.

The European Parliament's fourth amendment, relating to the issue of the components of gross income,
is incorporated by the Council in the footnote relating to the ‘Total household income’ area. The Council
feels this is the clearest way to incorporate the concepts applicable into the legal text. The footnote also
indicates that certain non-monetary components shall be optional until 2007 (and that social insurance
contributions will only be included from 2007 if the results of feasibility studies are positive). This is
because a number of Member States have significant difficulties with the practical collection of such
information, and a transition period during which appropriate collection methodologies are developed
is required. Variables required to compute imputed rent, however, will be compulsory from the first
year of data collection.

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The European Parliament's fifth amendment is incorporated, using the wording suggested in the
Commission's amended proposal:
to be the
clearest way to give a global arrears figure (rather than a debt
figure, which is not a reliable
indicator of social exclusion) and to differentiate between housing arrears and other arrears.

‘Housing and non-housing related arrears’. This is felt

The European Parliament's sixth amendment is incorporated, again using the wording suggested in the
Commission's amended proposal, since this reflects the standard term used to describe the deprivation
indicators in common use.

The European Parliament's seventh amendment is not incorporated, since Member States feel that a
specification of the elements making up physical and social environment data need not be defined in the
Regulation, and any attempt at a definition might lead to a focus on elements which are not necessarily
the key problems of the physical and social environment in particular areas. Under Labour information,
the Council has introduced an area of ‘Child care’, since the availability or lack of child care facilities is
felt to be a key factor in contributing to exclusion from the labour market.

The European Parliament's eighth amendment has been incorporated.

is incorporated as regards ISCED level attained for
The European Parliament's ninth amendment
respondents, but not for respondents' parents — this is in line with the Commission's response to
the European Parliament's amendment.

In line with the European Parliament's tenth and eleventh amendments, the Council has included more
detail in the areas under Labour information, so as to include references to ‘current activity status and
current main job, including last main job for unemployed’, as well as ‘the activity status during the income
reference period’ and a further area relating to additional jobs. For additional jobs, the Council feels
precise data on the second and any further jobs should be provided in hours worked, so as to give a
clearer overall picture of patterns of employment.

The European Parliament's twelfth amendment regarding health is incorporated.

In Annex II, the Council has changed the wording of the second column heading in the table to reflect
that personal interviews relate to persons aged 16 and over. The minimum effective sample sizes for
Iceland and Norway have also been added, along with a new total figure including these two countries.
The Council has also added a clarification that the design effect = 1.0 refers to the risk of poverty rate
variable.

IV. CONCLUSION

The Council considers that the modifications introduced in its common position are fully in line with
the objectives of the proposed Regulation. It also considers that these modifications improve the legal
act in terms of its implementability, in respect of the timing of implementation by the Member States,
the transitional period for feasibility studies before compulsory collection of certain non-monetary
income data, and in respect of the precise description of the data to be collected.