Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community statistics on migration and international protection
Date: 2005-09-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU statistics, migration, right of asylum, statistics

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 14.9.2005 
COM(2005) 375 final 

2005/0156 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on Community statistics on migration and international protection 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

- 

Grounds for and objectives of the proposal 

The  development  of  Community  policies  and  legislation  on  migration  and  asylum 
has highlighted the need for comprehensive and comparable European statistics on a 
range  of  migration-related  issues.  The  further  development,  implementation  and 
monitoring  of  common  immigration  and  asylum  systems  implies  a  need  for  much 
better statistical information than is currently available. The Thessaloniki European 
Council of 20 June 2003 concluded that more effective mechanisms were needed for 
the collection and analysis of information on migration and asylum in the European 
Union. 

The European Parliament in its resolution of 6 November 2003 noted that legislation 
was required to ensure the production of  comprehensive statistics necessary for the 
development of fair and effective Community policies on migration. 

- 

General context 

Major  efforts  have  been  made  since  the  Treaty  of  Amsterdam  came  into  force  to 
develop common systems for asylum and immigration in the European Union. This 
has formed an important part of an ambitious work programme for the establishment 
of an area of freedom, security and justice that was set as a priority for the European 
Union  at  the  Tampere  European  Council  in  1999.  In  April  2003,  the  Commission 
published an Action Plan (COM (2003) 179 final)1 setting  out  its  short-to  medium-
term  aims  for  the  development  of  its  statistical  activities  on  migration  and  asylum. 
The  proposal  here  follows  the  Commission's  intention  stated  in  the  Action  Plan  to 
introduce a legislative base for these statistics. 

- 

Existing provisions in the area of the proposal / Repeal of existing legislation 

New  community  needs  on  statistics  on  migration  and  asylum  render  obsolete  the 
provisions  of  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  311/76  of  9  February  1976  on  the 
compilation of statistics on foreign workers2, which should therefore be repealed. 

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

- 

Summary of the proposed action 

The objective  of this Regulation shall be to establish a  common framework for the 
collection  and  compilation  of  Community  statistics  on  international  migration  and 
asylum. It is recognised that Member States differ greatly in terms of how statistics 
on  migration  are  produced,  and  indeed,  in  terms  of  which  persons  are  defined  as 

1 
2 

Adopted by the Commission on 15.4.2003. 
OJ L 39, 14.2.1976, p.1 

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migrants in the statistics. The situation with regard to the needs for different types of 
migration  statistics  and  the  availability  of  different  data  sources  is  not  static.  This 
Regulation  attempts  to  reconcile  the  great  differences  that  exist  across  Europe  in 
terms  of  administrative  systems  and  data  sources,  with  the  increasing  need  for 
comparable  migration  statistics  for  the  European  Union  and  its  Member  States. 
Although the aim of the legislation is to reduce the impact of these definitional and 
data  source  differences  on  the  comparability  of  the  statistics,  it  is  understood  that 
progress  towards  harmonisation  must  be  gradual.  The  proposed  legislation  obliges 
Member States to make the best use of available data to produce statistics that meet 
as closely as possible harmonised definitions. It is not proposed, however, to place a 
duty  on  the  Member  States  to  introduce  completely  new  data  sources  or  to  compel 
changes  to  the  administrative  systems  for  immigration  or  asylum.  Member  States 
will,  though,  have  to  explain  the  choice  of  data  source  and  explain  the  anticipated 
effects  of  the  data  source  on  the  degree  of  compliance  with  the  harmonised 
definitions.  This  information  will  be  used  as  a  guide  to  the  interpretation  of  the 
statistics. 

- 

Legal basis: Article 285 EC Treaty 

Article 285 provides the legal basis for Community statistics. The Council, acting in 
accordance with the codecision procedure, shall adopt measures for the production of 
statistics  where  necessary  for  the  performance  of  the  activities  of  the  Community. 
This Article sets out requirements relating to the production of Community statistics 
and requires conformity to standards of impartiality, reliability, objectivity, scientific 
independence, cost-effectiveness and statistical confidentiality. 

- 

Subsidiarity principle 

The  current  situation  involves  many  different  statistical  definitions  and  concepts  of 
migration. This prevents the production of comparable migration statistics. Attempts 
have  been  made  for  a  number  of  years  to  collect  data  based  on  harmonised 
definitions using a series of gentlemen's agreements but Member States have failed 
to apply these definitions. In accordance with the principles of subsidiarity as set out 
in  Article  5  of  the  EC  Treaty,  the  objective  of  the  proposed  action,  namely  the 
systematic production of harmonised Community statistics on international migration 
and  asylum,  cannot  be  sufficiently  achieved  by  the  Member  States  acting 
individually and can therefore be better achieved by the Community. The European 
Parliament  in  its  resolution  of  6  November  2003  concluded  that  further  progress 
towards  improving  migration  statistics  would  require  legislation.  In  addition  to 
improving counts of the numbers of migrants, there is an increasing need for better 
demographic  and  socio-economic  information  about  migrants.  For  example,  in  the 
case of statistics on enforcement measures against illegal migration, it is important to 
develop the data collections so that they yield information on the age and sex of the 
persons concerned. These  details, which are not currently available, are required to 
evaluate  policies  against  human  trafficking.  Similarly,  better  socio-economic 
information is needed to research issues such as the integration of migrants and their 
participation in labour markets. 

Action by the Member States alone will be insufficient to ensure the availability of 
comparable  statistics  required  for  the  development  and  monitoring  of  fair  and 
increasing 
effective  Community  policies  on 

immigration  and  asylum.  The 

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importance of migration as a factor in many public policy areas means that reliable 
and  comparable  statistics  are  needed  by  the  Member  States.  For  example,  good 
information  on  migration  is  needed  when  forecasting  future  developments  in  the 
labour  market.  Action  by  the  Member  States  alone,  without  coordination  and 
harmonisation  at  Union  level,  will  be  an  inefficient  and  ineffective  approach  to 
meeting this need. 

The introduction of harmonised Community statistics on migration and asylum will 
be  a  complex  procedure  that  must  take  into  account  the  policy  needs  for  statistics, 
international  practices  and  recommendations,  and  the  practicalities  of  applying  the 
definitions  in  each  of  the  Member  States.  This  requires  consultation,  coordination 
and planning at European Union level that the Commission is best able to undertake. 
It is essential  that  EU-wide information is  available  for  the  purposes  of  monitoring 
the  development  and  implementation  of  Community  legislation  and  policy.  In  the 
main,  current  practice  does  not  sufficiently  ensure  uniformly  regular,  timely  and 
rapid  delivery  and  dissemination  of  data,  or  public  availability.  The  statistics  to  be 
collected under the proposed legislation will, as far as is possible, be in accordance 
with  the  United  Nations  Recommendations  on  Statistics  of  International  Migration. 
The statistics covered are broadly based on Eurostat's existing annual migration data 
collection,  and  the  monthly  data  collections  on  asylum  and  enforcement  measures 
against illegal migration. An additional migration-related topic to be covered is the 
legal immigration of non-EU citizens. This is the subject of a number of Commission 
legislative and policy developments. 

individually,  and  despite  extensive  non-legislative  attempts  by 

Acting 
the 
Commission  to  improve  coordination  in  this  domain,  Member  States  have  been 
unable to supply to the Commission the harmonised data necessary for comparable 
Community  statistics  on  migration  and  asylum.  Although  there  have  been 
developments and  improvements in  the  past few years, it is  clear that the  available 
European statistics on migration and asylum are not adequate for the preparation and 
monitoring  of  legislation  and  policy.  There  are  particular  concerns  about  the  large 
amounts  of  data  that  are  missing  from  the  data  collections.  There  are  also  serious 
problems relating to a lack of harmonisation-both in terms of the data sources used 
and the definitions applied to the statistics. 

Although  the  Commission  is  best  able  to  organise  the  collection  of  Community 
statistics, the Member States are competent in the organisation and operation of the 
national statistical systems. The proposal only relates to international migration and 
asylum  statistics  that  are  to  be  supplied  to  the  Commission  for  the  production  of 
Community  statistics.  There  is  no  direct  impact  on  the  production  of  statistics  for 
national purposes or on other types of population statistics such as internal migration 
within  the  Member  State  territory.  Appropriate  rules  are  laid  down  in  Council 
Regulation (EC) 322/97 of 17 February 1997 on Community statistics3. 

This  legislation  is  seen  as  an  essential  action  to  improve  the  availability  of 
harmonised community statistics on a topic that has been acknowledged as being a 
very high priority at both European and Member State level. The failure to introduce 

3 

OJ  L  52,  22.2.1997,  p.  61  Regulation  as  last  amended  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  1882/2003  of  the 
European Parliament and of the Council (JO L 284, 31.10.2003, p.1). 

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the Regulation and subsequent implementing measures will have a serious negative 
impact on policy development and monitoring. 

- 

Proportionality principle 

In accordance with the principle of proportionality this Regulation confines itself to 
the  minimum  required  to  achieve  this  objective  and  does  not  go  beyond  what  is 
necessary for that purpose. Given the variation across the EU with regard to the data 
sources  used  to  produce  migration  statistics,  it  is  not  feasible  to  legislate  for  a 
specific data source to be used in every Member State. Instead, the aim is to allow 
some degree of flexibility under the legislation for national administrations to use the 
best available data sources to supply statistics based on harmonised definitions. An 
important aspect will be the supply of detailed metadata to explain the data sources 
used and to allow an assessment of the probable effects of these data sources on the 
degree to which the statistics comply with the harmonised definitions. 

The proposed Regulation only applies harmonised statistical definitions for migration 
and  asylum.  Member  States  remain  free  to  compile  these  statistics  using  any 
appropriate national data sources, taking into account national statistical systems and 
practices. There is no obligation to make changes to administrative systems related to 
migration  and  asylum.  At  national  level,  responsibility  for  migration  and  asylum 
statistics  rests  with  a  wide  variety  of  different  agencies.  It  is  appreciated  that  the 
legislation may, for some Member States, imply some developments to their existing 
migration statistics activities-for example, collecting additional variables or reducing 
the time delay in the availability of data. Eurostat will continue to work closely with 
the  responsible  national  authorities  and  will  seek  to  minimise  any  potential 
difficulties caused by the framework regulation and later Commission implementing 
measures. 

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The proposal has no implication for the Community budget. 

BUDGET IMPLICATIONS 

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2005/0156 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on Community statistics on migration and international protection 

(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 proposal from the Commission4, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee5, 

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions6, 

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty7, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

The  conclusions  of  the  Justice  and  Home  Affairs  Council  of  28-29  May  2001 
considered,  regarding  common  analysis  and  the  improved  exchange  of  statistics  on 
asylum  and  migration,  that  there  is  a  need  for  a  comprehensive  and  coherent 
framework for future action on improving statistics. 

In  April  2003,  the  Commission  released  a  Communication  to  the  Council  and  to  the 
European  Parliament,  setting  out  an  Action  Plan  for  the  collection  and  analysis  of 
Community Statistics in the field of migration8. This included a number of important 
changes designed to improve the completeness and degree of harmonisation of these 
statistics.  Under  the  Action  Plan,  the  Commission  aims  to  propose  legislation  on 
Community statistics on migration and asylum. 

(3) 

The  Thessaloniki  European  Council  of  20  June  2003  concluded  that  more  effective 
mechanisms were needed for the collection and analysis of information on migration 
and asylum in the European Union. 

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 

OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
COM (2003) 179. 

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(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

The European Parliament in its resolution of 6 November 2003 noted that legislation 
was  required  to  ensure  the  production  of  comprehensive  statistics  necessary  for  the 
development  of  fair  and  effective  Community  policies  on  migration.  The  resolution 
supports  the  Commission  plans  to  propose  legislation  for  migration  and  asylum 
statistics. 

Enlargement of the European Union has brought an added geographical and political 
dimension to the scale of the phenomena associated with migration. It has also brought 
a  further  impetus  to  the  demand  for  accurate,  timely  and  harmonised  statistical 
information. There is also an increasing need for statistical information regarding the 
profession, education, qualifications and type of activity of migrants. 

Harmonised  and  comparable  Community  statistics  on  migration  and  asylum  are 
essential  for  the  development  and  monitoring  of  Community  legislation  and  policies 
relating to immigration and asylum, and to the free movement of persons. 

There  is  a  need  to  reinforce  the  exchange  of  statistical  information  on  asylum  and 
migration and to improve the quality of Community statistical collections and outputs 
which have, hitherto, taken place on the basis of a series of “gentlemen’s agreements”. 

It is essential that European Union wide information  is available for the purposes of 
monitoring the development and implementation of Community legislation and policy. 
In the main, current practice does not sufficiently ensure uniformly regular, timely and 
rapid delivery and dissemination of harmonised data. 

New  community  needs  on  statistics  on  migration  and  asylum  render  obsolete  the 
provisions  of  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  311/76  of  9  February  1976  on  the 
compilation of statistics on foreign workers9. 

(10)  Regulation (EEC) No 311/76 should therefore be repealed. 

(11)  Since the objectives of the action to be taken with a view to establishing common rules 
for  the  collection  and  compilation  of  Community  statistics  on  migration  and 
international protection cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can 
therefore, by reason of the scale of the action, be better achieved at Community level, 
the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity 
as  set  out  in  Article  5  of  the  Treaty.  In  accordance  with  the  principle  of 
proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is 
necessary in order to achieve those objectives. 

(12)  Council  Regulation  (EC)  N°  322/97  of  17  February  1997  on  Community  Statistics 
constitutes the reference framework for the provisions of this Regulation. In particular 
it  requires  conformity  to  standards  of  impartiality,  reliability,  objectivity,  scientific 
independence, cost-effectiveness and statistical confidentiality10. 

9 
10 

OJ L 39, 14.2.1976, p. 1. 
OJ  L  52,  22.2.1997,  p.  1.  Regulation  as  last  amended  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  1882/2003  (OJ  L  284, 
31.10.2003, p. 1). 

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(13)  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 Commission11. 

(14)  The Statistical Programme Committee, established by Council Decision 89/382/EEC, 
Euratom of 19 June 1989 establishing a Committee on the Statistical Programmes of 
the European Communities12, has been consulted in accordance with Article 3 of that 
Decision, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Subject matter 

This Regulation establishes common rules for the collection and compilation of Community 
statistics on: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

immigration  to  and  emigration  from  the  Member  State  territories,  including  flows 
from  the  territory  of  one  Member  State  to  that  of  another  Member  State  and  flows 
between a Member State and the territory of a third country 

the citizenship and country of birth of natural persons usually resident in the territory 
of the Member States 

administrative and judicial procedures and processes in the Member States relating to 
immigration, granting of permission to reside, citizenship, asylum and other forms of 
international protection and the prevention of illegal immigration. 

Article 2 

Definitions 

1. 

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

(a) 

(b) 

“usual residence” means the place in which a person normally spends the daily 
period  of  rest,  regardless  of  temporary  absences  for  purposes  of  recreation, 
holiday, visits to friends and relatives, business, medical treatment or religious 
pilgrimage 

“immigration”  means  the  action  by  which  a  natural  person  establishes  his  or 
her usual residence in the territory of a Member State for a period that is, or is 
expected  to  be,  of  at  least  twelve  months,  having  previously  been  usually 
resident in another Member State or a third country 

(c) 

“emigration”  means  the  action  by  which  a  natural  person,  having  previously 
been  usually  resident  in  the  territory  of  a  Member  State,  ceases  to  have  his 

11 

12 

OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, P. 23. 
OJ L 181, 28.6.1989, p. 47. 

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usual residence in that Member State for a period that is, or is expected to be, 
of at least twelve months 

(d) 

“immigrant” means a natural person undertaking an immigration 

(e) 

“emigrant” means a natural person undertaking an emigration 

(f) 

(g) 

(h) 

(i) 

(j) 

(k) 

(l) 

“long-term  resident”  means  long-term  resident  as  defined  in  Article  2  (b)  of 
Council Directive 2003/109/EC13 

“third-country  national”  means  any  person  who  is  not  a  citizen  of  the  Union 
within the meaning of Article 17(1) of the Treaty, including stateless persons 

“application  for  international  protection”  means  application  for  international 
protection as defined in Article 2 (g) of Council Directive 2004/83/EC14 

“refugee  status”  means  refugee  status  as  defined  in  Article  2  (g)  of  Council 
Directive 2004/83/EC 

“subsidiary protection status” means subsidiary protection status as defined in 
Article 2 (f) of Directive 2004/83/EC 

“family members” means family members as defined in Article 2(i) of Council 
Regulation 2003/343/EC15 

“temporary protection” means temporary protection as defined in Article 2 of 
Council Directive 2001/55/EC16 

(m)  “unaccompanied minor” means unaccompanied minor as defined in article 2(i) 

of Directive 2004/83/EC 

(n) 

“resettlement” means the granting to third-country nationals of an authorisation 
to  reside  in  one  of  the  Member  States  for  the  purpose  of  international 
protection  within  the  framework  of  a  national  or  community  resettlement 
scheme. 

Where necessary, the definitions in paragraph 1 may be adapted, in accordance with 
the procedure referred to in Article 11 (2). 

Where necessary to ensure harmonisation of statistics referred to in this Regulation, 
additional  definitions  to  those  given  in  paragraph  1  may  be  adopted  in  accordance 
with the procedure referred to in Article 11 (2). 

The fact that a Member State is not bound by one or more of the legal texts referred 
to  in  the  definitions  in  paragraph  1  shall  not  exempt  the  Member  State  from 
providing the statistics falling under the scope of this Regulation. 

OJ L 16, 23.1.2004, p. 44. 
OJ L 304, 30.9.2004, p. 12. 
OJ L 50, 25.2.2003, p. 1. 
OJ L 212, 7.8.2001, p.1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

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14 

15 

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Article 3 

Statistics on international migration, usually resident population and acquisition of 
citizenship 

1. 

Member States shall supply to the Commission (Eurostat) statistics on the numbers 
of: 

(a) 

immigrants  moving  to  the  territory  of  the  Member  State,  disaggregated  as 
follows: 

(i) 

citizenship by age and sex; 

(ii) 

country of birth by age and sex 

(iii)  country of previous usual residence by age and sex 

(b) 

emigrants  moving  from  the  territory  of  the  member  State  disaggregated  as 
follows: 

(i) 

citizenship by age and sex 

(ii) 

country of birth by age and sex 

(iii)  country of next usual residence by age and sex 

(c) 

natural persons having their usual residence in the Member State disaggregated 
as follows: 

(i) 

citizenship by age and sex 

(ii) 

country of birth by age and sex 

(d)  natural  persons  having  acquired  the  citizenship  of  the  Member  State  and 
having  formerly  held  the  citizenship  of  another  Member  State  or  a  third 
country  or  having  formerly  been  stateless,  disaggregated  by  age  and  sex,  and 
by the former citizenship of the persons concerned and by whether the person 
was formerly stateless. 

2. 

The  statistics  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  shall  relate  to  reference  periods  of  one 
calendar year and shall be supplied to the Commission (Eurostat) within ten months 
of the end of the reference year. The first reference year shall be 2006. 

Article 4 

Statistics on international protection 

1. 

Member States shall supply to the Commission (Eurostat) statistics on the numbers 
of: 

(a) 

persons  having  submitted  an  application  for  international  protection  or  being 
included in such an application as a family member 

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(b)  persons  covered  by  applications 

international  protection  under 
consideration by the responsible national authority at the end of the reference 
period 

for 

(c) 

first  instance  decisions  rejecting  applications  for  international  protection, 
including decisions considering applications as inadmissible or as unfounded 

(d) 

first instance decisions granting or withdrawing refugee status 

(e) 

first instance decisions granting or withdrawing subsidiary protection status 

(f) 

first instance decisions granting or withdrawing temporary protection 

(g)  other first instance decisions granting, refusing or withdrawing authorisation to 

stay for humanitarian or other reasons under national law 

(h) 

applications for international protection having been withdrawn. 

These statistics shall be disaggregated by age and sex, and by the citizenship of the 
persons concerned. They shall relate to reference periods of one calendar month and 
shall be supplied to the Commission (Eurostat) within two months of the end of the 
reference month. The first reference month shall be January 2006. 

2. 

Member States shall supply to the Commission (Eurostat) statistics on the numbers 
of: 

(a) 

applicants  for  international  protection  who  are  considered  by  the  responsible 
national authority to be unaccompanied minors 

(b)  decisions to reject applications for international protection, including decisions 
taken  by 

inadmissible  or  as  unfounded, 

considering  applications  as 
administrative or judicial bodies in appeal or review 

(c) 

decisions  to  grant  or  withdraw  refugee  status  taken  by  administrative  or 
judicial bodies in appeal or review 

(d)  decisions  to  grant  or  withdraw  subsidiary  protection  status  taken  by 

administrative or judicial bodies in appeal or review 

(e) 

(f) 

decisions  to  grant  or  withdraw  temporary  protection  status  taken  by 
administrative or judicial bodies in appeal or review 

other decisions taken by administrative or judicial bodies in appeal or review to 
grant,  refuse  or  withdraw  authorisations  to  stay  for  humanitarian  or  other 
reasons under national law 

(g) 

requests  and 
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1560/200317 

transfers  covered  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  343/2003and 

(h)  persons selected for resettlement in the Member State. 

17 

OJ L 222, 5.9.2003, p. 3. 

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These statistics shall be disaggregated by age and sex, and by the citizenship of the 
persons  concerned.  They  shall  relate  to  reference  periods  of  one  calendar  year  and 
shall be supplied to the Commission (Eurostat) within three months of the end of the 
reference year. The first reference year shall be 2006. 

Article 5 

Statistics on the prevention of illegal entry and stay 

1. 

Member States shall supply to the Commission (Eurostat) statistics on the numbers 
of: 

(a) 

(b) 

third-country  nationals  refused  entry  to  the  Member  State’s  territory  at  the 
external border 

third-country  nationals  found  to  be  illegally  present  in  the  Member  State’s 
territory under national laws relating to immigration. 

These  statistics  shall  be  disaggregated  by  age  and  sex,  and  by  citizenship  of  the 
persons concerned. 

2. 

The  statistics  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  shall  relate  to  reference  periods  of  one 
calendar  year  and  shall  be  supplied  to  the  Commission  (Eurostat)  within  three 
months of the end of the reference year. The first reference year shall be 2006. 

Article 6 

Statistics on residence permits and residence of third-country nationals 

1. 

Member States shall supply to the Commission (Eurostat) statistics on: 

(a) 

the  number  of  residence  permits  issued  to  persons  who  are  third-country 
nationals, disaggregated as follows: 

(i) 

permits  issued  during  the  reference  period  whereby  the  person  is  being 
granted  permission  to  reside  for  the  first  time,  disaggregated  by 
citizenship, by the reason for the permit being issued and by the length of 
validity of the permit 

(ii)  permits issued during the reference period and granted on the occasion of 
a person changing immigration status or reason for stay, disaggregated by 
citizenship, by the reason for the permit being issued and by the length of 
validity of the permit 

(iii)  valid  permits  at  the  reference  date  (number  of  permits  issued,  not 
withdrawn and not expired), disaggregated by citizenship, by the reason 
for the issue of the permit and by the length of validity of the permit 

(b) 

the number of long-term residents, disaggregated by citizenship. 

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2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

Where  the  national  laws  and  administrative  practices  of  a  Member  State  allow  for 
specific  categories  of  long-term  visa  or  immigration  status  to  be  granted  instead  of 
residence permits, counts of such visas and grants of status are to be included in the 
statistics required under paragraph 1. 

The  statistics  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  shall  relate  to  reference  periods  of  one 
calendar year and shall be supplied to the Commission (Eurostat) within six months 
of the end of the reference year. The first reference year shall be 2006. 

Article 7 

Statistics on returns 

Member  States  shall  supply  to  the  Commission  (Eurostat)  statistics  relating  to  the 
number of third-country nationals who go back to their countries of origin, transit, or 
another  third  country,  whether  voluntarily  or  enforced,  following  an  administrative 
or judicial decision or act imposing an obligation to return, disaggregated by age and 
sex, and by the citizenship of the persons returned. 

The  statistics  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  shall  relate  to  reference  periods  of  one 
calendar  year  and  shall  be  supplied  to  the  Commission  (Eurostat)  within  three 
months of the end of the reference year. The first reference year shall be 2006. 

Article 8 

Additional disaggregations 

1. 

Further  disaggregations  as  set  out  below  may  be  laid  down  by  the  Commission  in 
accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 11(2) for the following statistics: 

(a) 

for statistics required under Article 3 disaggregations by: 

(i) 

employment status, 

(ii)  occupation, 

(iii) 

industry, 

(iv) 

level of education and training, 

(v)  year of first arrival, 

(b) 

for  statistics  required  under  point  (a),  (b)  and  (c)  of  Article  3(1) 
disaggregations by: 

region of current usual residence, 

(c) 

for statistics required under Article 4 disaggregations by: 

(i) 

number of persons concerned by the administrative decision, 

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(ii) 

category of protection applied for, 

(iii)  year of submission of the application, 

(d) 

for statistics required under Article 5 disaggregations by: 

(i) 

reason for the refusal or the apprehension, 

(ii)  place of the refusal or the apprehension, 

(e) 

for statistics required under Article 6 disaggregations by: 

(i) 

year in which permission to reside was first granted, 

(ii)  occupation, 

(iii)  economic activity, 

(iv)  age, 

(v) 

sex, 

(f) 

for statistics required under Article 7 disaggregations by: 

reason for return. 

2. 

When  deciding  whether  additional  disaggregations  should  be  laid  down  in 
accordance  with  paragraph  1,  the  Commission  shall  consider  the  need  for  this 
information for the purposes of developing and monitoring Community policies and 
shall consider the availability of appropriate data sources. 

Article 9 

Data sources and quality standards 

1. 

The  statistics  shall  be  based  on  the  following  data  sources  according  to  their 
availability in the Member State and in accordance with national laws and practices: 

(a) 

records of administrative and judicial actions 

(b) 

registers relating to administrative actions 

(c) 

registers  of  the  population  of  natural  persons  or  of  a  particular  sub-group  of 
that population 

(d) 

censuses; 

(e) 

sample surveys 

(f) 

other appropriate sources. 

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2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

Member  States  shall  report to the Commission (Eurostat) on the data  sources used, 
the  reasons  for  the  selection  of  these  sources  and  the  effects  of  the  selected  data 
sources on the quality of the statistics. 

At the request of the Commission (Eurostat), Member States shall provide it with all 
the information necessary to evaluate the quality, comparability and completeness of 
the statistical information. 

Member  States  shall  inform  the  Commission  (Eurostat)  without  delay  of  revisions 
and corrections to the statistics supplied under this Regulation, and of any changes in 
the methods and data sources used. 

The appropriate formats for the transmission of data shall be laid down in accordance 
with the procedure referred to in Article 11(2). 

Article 10 

Implementing measures 

The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation, including measures to take 
account  of  economic  and  technical  changes,  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the 
procedure referred to in Article 11(2). Such measures shall include in particular: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

1. 

2. 

the  adaptation  of  the  definitions  and  adoption  of  additional  definitions  as  provided 
for in Article 2 

the additional disaggregations and the levels of disaggregations to be applied to the 
variables as provided for in Article 8 

time limits for data transmission to the Commission 

rules laying down the accuracy and quality standards 

rules laying down the appropriate formats for the transmission of data as provided for 
in Article 9. 

Article 11 

Procedure 

The  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by  the  Statistical  Programme  Committee, 
established by Article 1 of Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom. 

Where  reference  is  made  to  this  paragraph,  the  regulatory  procedure  laid  down  in 
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 three 
months. 

3. 

The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure. 

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Article 12 

Report 

Within  five  years  after  the  date  of  entry  into  force  of  this  Regulation  and  every  three  years 
thereafter, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council 
on the statistics compiled pursuant to this Regulation and on their quality. 

Article 13 

Repeal 

Regulation (EEC) No 311/76 is hereby repealed. 

Article 14 

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 Brussels,  

For the European Parliament 

For the Council 

The President 

The President 

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