Regulation (EC) No 501/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2004 on quarterly financial accounts for general government (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2004-03-10
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: European accounting system, account, balance sheet, data transmission, public administration

19.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 81/1

I

(Acts whose publication is obligatory)

REGULATION (EC) No 501/2004 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 10 March 2004

on quarterly financial accounts for general government

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

(3)

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

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Central Bank (1),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty (2),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 of 25 June 1996
on the European system of national and regional
accounts in the Community (3) contains the reference
framework of common standards, definitions, classifica-
tions and accounting rules for drawing up the accounts
of the Member States for the statistical requirements of
the Community, in order to obtain comparable results
between Member States.

effective

surveillance

The report by the Monetary Committee on information
requirements, endorsed by the ECOFIN Council on 18
January 1999, underlined that,
for the proper func-
tioning of Economic and Monetary Union and the single
market,
and coordination of
economic policies are of major importance and that this
requires a comprehensive statistical information system
providing policy-makers with the necessary data on
which to base their decisions. That report also stated
that high priority should be given to short-term public
finance statistics for Member States, in particular those
participating in Economic and Monetary Union, and that
the objective was the compilation of quarterly govern-
ment
step-by-step
approach.

following

accounts

financial

a

(1) OJ C 165, 16.7.2003, p. 6.
(2) Opinion of the European Parliament of 21 October 2003 (not yet
published in the Official Journal), Council Common Position of 22
December 2003 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Posi-
tion of the European Parliament of 10 February 2004 (not yet
published in the Official Journal).

(3) OJ L 310, 30.11.1996, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-
lation (EC) No 1267/2003 of the European Parliament and of the
Council (OJ L 180, 18.7.2003, p. 1).

Quarterly national data of financial accounts (transac-
tions and balance sheets)
for the government sector
make up a large proportion of all financial transactions
and financial balance sheets in the euro area and provide
important information to support the conduct of mone-
tary policy. In this respect and for its own purpose the
Governing Council of the European Central Bank has
adopted regulations and guidelines to safeguard the
transmission of infra-annual data on financial statistics
and national financial accounts to the European Central
Bank.

(4)

(5)

(6)

Counterpart sector information on government financial
transactions and balance sheets is required to enable
comprehensive analysis of government
financing and
financial investment by counterpart sector and by instru-
ment.

Commission Regulation (EC) No 264/2000 of 3
February 2000 on the implementation of Council Regu-
lation (EC) No 2223/96 with respect
to short-term
public finance statistics (4) and Regulation (EC) No 1221/
2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of
10 June 2002 on quarterly non-financial accounts for
general government (5) specify the non-financial quar-
terly data for general government that is to be trans-
mitted to the Commission (Eurostat) by Member States.

Articles 2 and 3 of Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 lay
down the conditions under which the Commission may
adopt amendments to the methodology of the European
System of Accounts in order to clarify and improve its
contents. The compilation of government quarterly
financial accounts will require additional resources in
Member States, and cannot therefore be dealt with by a
Commission Decision but should rather be adopted by a
specific Regulation of the European Parliament and of
the Council.

(4) OJ L 29, 4.2.2000, p. 4.
(5) OJ L 179, 9.7.2002, p. 1.

L 81/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

19.3.2004

(7)

The Statistical Programme Committee (SPC) set up by
Council Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom (1), and the
Committee on Monetary, Financial and Balance of
Payments Statistics (CMFB) set up by Council Decision
91/115/EEC, (2) declared themselves in favour of
the
draft of this Regulation,

(b) currency and deposits (F.2 and AF.2);

(c) short-term securities other than shares, excluding financial

derivatives (F.331 and AF.331);

(d) long-term securities other than shares, excluding financial

derivatives (F.332 and AF.332);

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Purpose

The purpose of this Regulation is to list and define the main
characteristics of the European System of Accounts (ESA 95)
categories of financial transactions and of financial assets and
liabilities for the general government sector and for each of the
subsectors within general government, to be transmitted to the
Commission (Eurostat) quarterly following a
step-by-step
approach.

Article 2

Compilation of quarterly data: sources and methods

1. With a view to achieving high-quality statistics, quarterly
data for financial transactions and for financial assets and liabil-
ities shall be based as far as possible on information directly
available within general government. However, quarterly data
on unquoted shares (AF.512) and other equity (AF.513), as
defined and codified in ESA 95 and held by general govern-
ment units, may be estimated by interpolating and extrapo-
lating information on the respective annual data.

2.
The compilation of quarterly data for financial transac-
tions and for financial assets and liabilities shall comply with
the ESA 95 rules, especially concerning the sectoral classifica-
tion of institutional units, consolidation rules, the classification
of financial transactions and financial assets and liabilities, the
time of recording, and valuation rules.

3.
The quarterly data and the corresponding annual data
transmitted to the Commission in accordance with Regulation
(EC) No 2223/96 shall be mutually consistent.

4.
The quarterly data on financial assets and liabilities are
the outstanding amounts of financial assets and liabilities at the
end of each quarter.

Article 3

(e) financial derivatives (F.34 and AF.34);

(f) short-term loans (F.41 and AF.41);

(g) long-term loans (F.42 and AF.42);

(h) shares and other equity (F.5 and AF.5);

(i) net equity of households in life insurance reserves and in

pension fund reserves (F.61 and AF.61);

(j) prepayments of

insurance premiums and reserves

for

outstanding claims (F.62 and AF.62);

(k) other accounts receivable/payable (F.7 and AF.7).

2. Member States shall also transmit to the Commission
(Eurostat) quarterly data for the central government subsector
(S.1311) as referred to in Article 4 as follows:

(a) quoted shares (F.511 and AF.511), in respect of financial

asset transactions and financial assets;

(b) currency (F.21 and AF.21), in respect of liability transac-

tions and liabilities.

Article 4

Coverage of the general government sector and subsectors

Member States shall transmit quarterly data for the general
government sector and its subsectors as defined and codified in
ESA 95, as general government (S.13), comprising:

— central government (S.1311),

— State government (S.1312),

— local government (S.1313),

Transmission of quarterly data on financial transactions,
financial assets and liabilities

— social security funds (S.1314).

1. Member States shall transmit to the Commission (Euro-
stat) quarterly data on financial transactions (F.) and on finan-
cial assets and liabilities (AF.) for the following list of instru-
ments as defined and codified in ESA 95:

Article 5

(a) monetary gold and special drawing rights (SDRs) (F.1 and

Nature of the quarterly data covered by the transmission

AF.1);

(1) OJ L 181, 28.6.1989, p. 47.
(2) OJ L 59, 6.3.1991, p. 19. Decision as amended by Decision 96/

174/EC (OJ L 51, 1.3.1996, p. 48).

1.
Quarterly data as referred to in Article 3 shall be trans-
mitted on a consolidated basis for the general government
subsectors as referred to in Article 4.

19.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 81/3

Quarterly data as referred to in Article 3 shall be trans-
2.
mitted on both a consolidated and a non-consolidated basis for
the general government sector (S.13) as referred to in Article 4.

Quarterly data with breakdown by counterpart sector
3.
shall be provided for
the subsectors central government
(S.1311) and social security funds (S.1314) as referred to in
Article 4 and described in the Annex to this Regulation.

The first transmission to the Commission (Eurostat) of
4.
quarterly data for other accounts receivable/payable (F.7 and
AF.7) and for the general government sector (S.13) and its
subsectors as referred to in Article 4 shall be no later than 30
June 2005. The Commission may grant a derogation, not
exceeding six months, for the starting date of transmission of
those data, in so far as the national statistical systems require
major adaptations.

Article 6

Timetable for the transmission of quarterly data

1.
Quarterly data as referred to in Articles 3, 4 and 5 shall
be transmitted to the Commission (Eurostat) at the latest by
three months after the end of the quarter to which the data
relate.

Any revision of quarterly data for previous quarters shall

2.
be transmitted at the same time.

3.
The first transmission of quarterly data as referred to in
Articles 3, with the exception of other accounts receivable/
payable (F.7 and AF.7), 4 and 5 shall be made in accordance
with the following timetable:

(a) for the central government subsector (S.1311) and for the
social security funds subsector (S.1314), no later than 30
June 2004; the Commission may grant a derogation, not
exceeding 18 months, for the starting date of transmission
of data with breakdown by counterpart sector and of some
data on financial transactions and financial assets and liabil-
in so far as the national statistical systems require
ities,
major adaptations;

(b) for the State government (S.1312) and local government

(S.1313) subsectors:

(i) no later than 30 June 2004 for the transactions in
liabilities and liabilities as detailed under Article 3(1);
the Commission may grant a derogation, not exceeding
18 months, for the starting date of transmission of
those data, in so far as the national statistical systems
require major adaptations;

(ii) no later than 30 June 2005 for the transactions in
financial assets and assets as detailed under Article 3(1);
the Commission may grant a derogation, not exceeding
six months, for the starting date of transmission of
those data, in so far as the national statistical systems
require major adaptations;

Article 7

Provisions relating to back data

1.
Quarterly data as referred to in Article 6 shall cover back
data for financial transactions from the first quarter of 1999
and financial balance sheets from the fourth quarter of 1998 in
accordance with the timetable specified in Article 6(3) and (4)
for the first transmission of data.

2. Where necessary, back data may be based on ‘best esti-
mates’, respecting in particular the provisions of Article 2(2)
and (3).

Article 8

Implementation

1. Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat)
with a description of the sources and methods used to compile
the quarterly data referred to in Article 3 (initial description),
when they first start to transmit quarterly data in accordance
with the timetable referred to in Article 6(3) and (4).

2. Member States shall inform the Commission (Eurostat) of
any changes to this initial description when they communicate
the revised data.

The Commission (Eurostat)

3.
shall keep the Statistical
Programme Committee (SPC) and the Committee on Monetary,
Financial and Balance of Payments Statistics (CMFB) informed
of the sources and methods used by each Member State.

Article 9

Report

(c) for the general government sector (S.13), no later than 30
June 2005; the Commission may grant a derogation, not
exceeding six months, for the starting date of transmission
of those data, in so far as the national statistical systems
require major adaptations.

On the basis of the transmission of data referred to in Articles
3, 4, and 5, and after consulting the SPC and the CMFB, the
Commission shall, by 31 December 2005 at the latest, submit
to the European Parliament and the Council a report containing
an assessment of the reliability of the quarterly data delivered
by Member States.

L 81/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

19.3.2004

Article 10

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 Strasbourg, 10 March 2004.

For the European Parliament

The President

P. COX

For the Council

The President

D. ROCHE

19.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 81/5

ANNEX

BREAKDOWN BY COUNTERPART SECTOR (1)

Central government (S.1311) and social security funds (S.1314) financial transactions and financial balance sheets (2)

(1) Framed boxes indicate the reporting requirements.
(2) The codes, taken from ESA 95, indicate: S: sectors/subsectors; F: financial transactions; and AF: financial balance sheet items.