Opinion of the European Central Bank of 8 July 2004 at the request of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank on a draft regulation on the collection of statistics concerning imports and exports of services (CON/2004/24)
Date: 2004-07-08
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Austria, balance of payments, central bank, cross-border dimension, financial transaction, statistics

EN 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 8 July 2004 

at the request of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank  

on a draft regulation on the collection of statistics concerning imports and exports of services 

(CON/2004/24) 

1. 

On 9 June 2004, the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the Oesterreichische 

Nationalbank  (OeNB)  for  an  opinion  on  a  draft  regulation  of  the  OeNB  on  the  collection  of 

statistics  concerning  imports  and  exports  of  services  (Verordnung  der  Oesterreichischen 

Nationalbank  betreffend  statistische  Erhebungen  über  die 

Importe  und  Exporte  von 

Dienstleistungen) (hereinafter the ‘draft regulation’). 

2. 

The  ECB’s  competence  to  deliver  an  opinion  is  based  on  the  fourth  indent  of  Article  2(1)  of 

Council Decision 98/415/EC of 29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European Central Bank by 
national  authorities  regarding  draft  legislative  provisions1,  as  the  draft  regulation  relates  to  the 

collection,  compilation  and  distribution  of  monetary,  financial,  banking,  payment  systems  and 

balance of payments statistics. In accordance with the first sentence of Article 17.5 of the Rules of 

Procedure of the European Central Bank, the Governing Council has adopted this opinion. 

3. 

The draft regulation will form part of the new reporting system in Austria in the area of balance of 

payments and international investment position statistics (hereinafter ‘cross-border statistics’) and 

reflects a general change from indirect reporting by the banking sector of cross-border payments to 

a system that relies predominantly on direct reporting by resident legal entities that conduct cross-

border transactions. The reporting requirements cover the services that reporting agents provide to 

or  receive  from  non-residents.  The  ECB  notes  that  notwithstanding  the  proposed  changes,  the 

Austrian reporting system will have the following features: 

(a)  The geographical classification of transactions with non-residents is in accordance with the 

geographical breakdown requested by the ECB and will thus allow the OeNB to continue to 

contribute data to euro area cross-border statistics. 

(b)  The reporting population of resident legal entities is defined by means of thresholds relating 

to  number  of  employees  or  turnover,  allowing  a  sample-based  estimation  of  the  services 

provided  to  or  received  from  non-residents.  The  definition  of  reporting  population  is 

sufficiently  wide  to  cover  all  legal  entities  resident  in  Austria  from  which  statistical  data 

1  

OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 

 
 
 
                                                      
need  to  be  collected  to  enable  precise  euro  area  cross-border  statistics  to  continue  to  be 

compiled. 

(c)  The  scope  of  services  covered  will  continue  to  allow  different  types  of  transactions  to  be 

recorded  comprehensively  in  an  adequately  structured  form.  This  will  continue  to  enable 

Austria  to  contribute  precise  data  to  euro  area  statistics  on  cross-border  services  and 

compensation of employees. 

4. 

The  ECB  welcomes  the  initiative  of  adjusting  the  reporting  system  in  Austria,  which,  whilst 

reducing  the  reporting  burden  falling  on  the  banking  sector  and  financial  intermediaries,  should 

ensure the quality of the data contributed to euro area cross-border statistics.  

5. 

The ECB notes that the draft regulation allows the OeNB to entrust data collection in the area of 

balance  of  payments  to  third  parties.  The  ECB  does  not  object  in  principle  to  the  OeNB 

outsourcing  specific  data  collection  activities,  provided  certain  legal  requirements  are  met.  In 

particular,  the  OeNB  must  retain  full  responsibility  for  all  such  activities,  including  the 

transmission  of  all  relevant  data  to  the  ECB.  The  OeNB  must  also  be  able  to  check  whether 

reporting  agents  are  complying  with  its  own  and  thereby  with  the  ECB’s  statistical  reporting 

requirements. As far as reporting requirements vis-à-vis the ECB are concerned, any cooperation 

between  the  OeNB  and  other  competent  authorities  in  Austria  is  subject  to  the  requirements  laid 

down  in  Guideline  ECB/2003/7  of  2  May  2003  on  the  statistical  reporting  requirements  of  the 

European Central Bank in the field of  balance of payments and international investment position 
statistics and the international reserves template2. The ECB invites the OeNB to consult the ECB 

on  any  agreement  that  the  OeNB  concludes  in  this  context  regarding  the  outsourcing  of  data 

collection activities. 

6. 

The  ECB  confirms  that  it  has  no  objection  to  the  competent  national  authorities  making  this 

opinion publicly available at their discretion. This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website 

six months after the date of its adoption. 

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 8 July 2004. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Jean-Claude TRICHET 

2  

OJ L 131, 28.5.2003, p. 20. 

2