Proposal for a Regulation (EURATOM, EC) of the European Parliament and of the Council on the transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality to the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Codified version)
Date: 2006-09-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Eurostat, codification of EU law, confidentiality, data protection, professional secret

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 4.9.2006 
COM(2006) 477 final 

2006/0159 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION (EURATOM, EC) OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF 
THE COUNCIL 

on the transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality to the Statistical Office of 
the European Communities 

(Codified version) 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

In  the  context  of  a  people’s  Europe,  the  Commission  attaches  great  importance  to 
simplifying  and  clarifying  Community  law  so  as  to  make  it  clearer  and  more 
accessible to the ordinary citizen, thus giving him new opportunities and the chance 
to make use of the specific rights it gives him. 

This aim cannot be achieved so long as numerous provisions that have been amended 
several times, often quite substantially, remain scattered, so that they must be sought 
partly  in  the  original  instrument  and  partly  in  later  amending  ones.  Considerable 
research work, comparing many different instruments, is thus needed to identify the 
current rules. 

For  this  reason  a  codification  of  rules  that  have  frequently  been  amended  is  also 
essential if Community law is to be clear and transparent. 

On  1  April  1987  the  Commission  therefore  decided1  to  instruct  its  staff  that  all 
legislative acts should be codified after no more than ten amendments, stressing that 
this  is  a  minimum  requirement  and  that  departments  should  endeavour  to  codify  at 
even  shorter  intervals  the  texts  for  which  they  are  responsible,  to  ensure  that  the 
Community rules are clear and readily understandable. 

The  Conclusions  of 
the  Edinburgh  European  Council 
(December 1992) confirmed this2 stressing the importance of codification as it offers 
certainty as to the law applicable to a given matter at a given time. 

the  Presidency  of 

Codification  must  be  undertaken  in  full  compliance  with  the  normal  Community 
legislative procedure. 

Given  that  no  changes  of  substance  may  be  made  to  the  instruments  affected  by 
codification, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission have agreed, 
by  an  interinstitutional  agreement  dated  20  December  1994,  that  an  accelerated 
procedure may be used for the fast-track adoption of codification instruments. 

is 

this  proposal 

to  undertake  a  codification  of  Council 
The  purpose  of 
Regulation (Euratom, EEC) No 1588/90 of 11 June 1990 on the transmission of data 
subject  to  statistical  confidentiality  to  the  Statistical  Office  of  the  European 
Communities3.  The  new  Regulation  will  supersede  the  various  acts  incorporated  in 
it4; this proposal fully preserves the content of the acts being codified and hence does 
no more than bring them together with only such formal amendments as are required 
by the codification exercise itself. 

The codification proposal was drawn up on the basis of a preliminary consolidation, 
in  all  official  languages,  of  Regulation  (Euratom,  EEC)  No  1588/90  and  the 
instruments  amending  it,  carried  out  by  the  Office  for  Official  Publications  of  the 

COM(87) 868 PV. 
See Annex 3 to Part A of the Conclusions. 
Carried out pursuant to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the 
Council – Codification of the Acquis communautaire, COM(2001) 645 final. 
See Annex I to this proposal. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

1 
2 
3 

4 

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European  Communities,  by  means  of  a  data-processing  system.  Where  the  Articles 
have been given new numbers, the correlation between the old and the new numbers 
is shown in a table set out in Annex II to the codified Regulation. 

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(cid:208) 1588/90 (adapted) 

2006/0159 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION (EURATOM, EC) OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF 
THE COUNCIL 

on the transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality to the Statistical Office of 
the European Communities 

(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 ⌫ thereof, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Atomic  Energy  Community,  and  in 
particular Article 187 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee1, 

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty2, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

Council Regulation (Euratom, EEC) No 1588/90 of 11 June 1990 on the transmission 
of  data  subject  to  statistical  confidentiality  to  the  Statistical  Office  of  the  European 
Communities3 has been substantially amended several times4. In the interests of clarity 
and rationality the said Regulation should be codified. 

(cid:208)  

(2) 

To  enable  it  to  carry  out  the  duties  entrusted  to  it  by  the  Treaties,  the  Commission 
must  have  full  and  reliable  information.  With  a  view  to  efficient  management,  the 
to  as 
Statistical  Office  of 

the  European  Communities,  hereinafter  referred 

(cid:208) 1588/90 Recital 1 (adapted) 

1 
2 
3 

4 

OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ  L  151,  15.6.1990,  p  1.  Regulation  as  last  amended  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  1882/2003  of  the 
European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1). 
See Annex I. 

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⌦ “Eurostat”,  should ⌫  be  able  to  obtain  all  the  national  statistical  information 
necessary  in  order  to  prepare  Community  statistics  and  carry  out  the  necessary 
analyses. 

(cid:208) 1588/90 Recital 2 (adapted) 

(3) 

Article  ⌦ 10 ⌫  of  the  EC  Treaty  and  Article  192  of  the  Treaty  establishing  the 
European Atomic Energy Community, hereinafter referred to as the “Euratom Treaty”, 
require  Member  States  to  facilitate  the  achievement  of  the  Community's  tasks.  This 
obligation  extends  to  providing  all  the  requisite  information.  ⌦ Moreover, ⌫  the 
absence  of  confidential  statistical  data  constitutes  for ⌦ Eurostat ⌫  a  considerable 
loss of information at Community level and makes it difficult to prepare statistics and 
carry out analyses on the Community. 

(cid:208) 1588/90 Recital 3 (adapted) 

(4)  Member States have no further cause to invoke provisions on statistical confidentiality 
⌦ , since ⌫ it is established that ⌦ Eurostat ⌫ offers the same data confidentiality 
guarantees  as  the  national  statistical  institutes.  These  guarantees  are  already  to  some 
extent enshrined in the Community Treaties, notably in Article ⌦ 287 ⌫ of the EC 
Treaty ⌦ , ⌫ Article 194(1) of the Euratom Treaty, and ⌦ Article 17 of Regulation 
(EEC,  Euratom,  ECSC)  No  259/68  of  the  Council  of  29  February  1968  laying 
down ⌫ the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities ⌦ and the 
Conditions  of  Employment  of  Other  Servants  of  the  European  Communities  and 
instituting special measures temporarily applicable to officials of the Commission5, ⌫ 
and can be backed up by appropriate measures under this Regulation. 

(5) 

Any violation of statistical confidentiality protected by this Regulation must be dealt 
with effectively, whoever the offender may be. 

(cid:208) 1588/90 Recital 6 

(cid:208) 1588/90 Recital 7 (adapted) 

(6) 

Any  infringement  of  the  rules  binding  officials  and  other  servants  working  for 
⌦ Eurostat ⌫,  whether  committed  wilfully  or  through  negligence,  renders  them 
liable  to  disciplinary  sanctions  and,  if  appropriate,  legal  penalties  for  violation  of 
professional secrecy, pursuant to the combined provisions of Articles 12 and 18 of the 
Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities ⌦ 6 ⌫ . 

(7) 

In  accordance  with  Article  ⌦ 288 ⌫  of  the  EEC  Treaty  and  Article  188  of  the 
Euratom  Treaty,  the  Community  shall  make  good  any  damage  caused  by  its 
institutions or by its servants in the performance of their duties. 

(cid:208) 1588/90 Recital 8 (adapted) 

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6 

OJ L 56, 4.3.1968, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2104/2005 (OJ L 
337, 22.12.2005, p. 7). 
OJ L 152, 13.7.1967, p. 13. 

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(cid:208) 1588/90 Recital 9 (adapted) 

(8) 

This Regulation applies only to the transmission to ⌦ Eurostat ⌫ of statistical data 
which,  in  the  national  statistical  institutes'  field  of  competence,  are  covered  by 
statistical  confidentiality,  and  does  not  affect  special  national  or  Community 
provisions  relating  to  the  transmission  of  other  types  of  information  to  the 
Commission. 

(9) 

This Regulation is to be adopted without prejudice to Article ⌦ 296(1)(a) ⌫ of the 
EC  Treaty,  under  which  no  Member  State  is  required  to  supply  information  the 
disclosure of which it considers contrary to the essential interests of its security. 

(cid:208) 1588/90 Recital 10 (adapted) 

(10) 

Implementation of the provisions contained in this Regulation, and in particular those 
designed  to  ensure  the  protection  of  confidential  statistical  data  transmitted  to 
⌦ Eurostat ⌫ , will require human, technical and financial resources. 

(cid:208) 1588/90 Recital 13 (adapted) 

(11)  The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation shall 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 Commission7, 

(cid:208)  

(cid:208) 1588/90 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

1. The purpose of this Regulation is: 

Article 1 

(cid:208) 1588/90 (adapted) 

⌦ (a) ⌫ 

to  authorise  national  authorities  to  transmit  confidential  statistical  data  to  the 
Statistical  Office  of  the  European  Communities  (hereinafter  referred  to  as 
⌦ “Eurostat”); ⌫  

⌦ (b) ⌫ 

to provide a guarantee that the Commission will take all necessary measures to 

ensure the confidentiality of data thus transmitted. 

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OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. 

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2.  This  Regulation  shall  apply  to  statistical  confidentiality  only.  It  shall  not  affect  special, 
Community  or  national  provisions  safeguarding  confidentiality  other  than  statistical 
confidentiality. 

(cid:208) 1588/90 

For the purposes of this Regulation, the terms given below are defined as follows: 

Article 2 

(cid:208) 322/97 Art. 21(2) (adapted) 

⌦ (a) ⌫ 

confidential  statistical  data:  data  defined 

in  Article  13  of  Council 

Regulation (EC) No 322/97 8; 

(cid:208) 1588/90 (adapted) 

⌦ (b) ⌫ 

national  authorities:  national  statistical  institutes  and  other  national  bodies 

responsible for the collection and use of statistics for the Communities; 

⌦ (c) ⌫ 

information on the private lives of natural persons: information on the private 
and family lives of natural persons as defined by national legislation or practices in 
the various Member States; 

⌦ (d) ⌫ 

use  for  statistical  purposes:  use  exclusively  for  the  compilation  of  statistical 
tables or for statistical economic analyses; may not be used for administrative, legal 
or tax purposes or for verification against the units surveyed; 

⌦ (e) ⌫ 

statistical  unit:  basic  unit  covered  by  statistical  data 

transmitted 

to 

⌦ Eurostat ⌫ ; 

⌦ (f) ⌫ 

direct identification: identification of a statistical unit from its name or address, 

or from an officially allocated and published identification number; 

⌦ (g) ⌫ 

indirect  identification:  possibility  of  deducing  the  identity  of  a  statistical  unit 

other than from the information mentioned in point ⌦ (f) ⌫ ; 

⌦ (h) ⌫ 

officials of ⌦ Eurostat ⌫ : officials of the Communities, within the meaning 
of  Article  1  of  the  Staff  Regulations  of  Officials  of  the  European  Communities, 
working at ⌦ Eurostat ⌫ ; 

⌦ (i) ⌫ 

other  staff  of  ⌦ Eurostat ⌫  :  servants  of  the  Communities,  within  the 
meaning of Articles 2 to 5 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the 
European Communities, working at ⌦ Eurostat ⌫ ; 

⌦ (j) ⌫ 

dissemination:  supply  of  data  in  any  form  whatever:  publications,  access  to 

databases, microfiches, telephone communications, etc. 

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OJ L 52, 22.2.1997, p. 1. 

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Article 3 

1.  The  national  authorities  shall  be  authorised  to  transmit  confidential  statistical  data  to 
⌦ Eurostat ⌫ . 

2. National rules on statistical confidentiality may not be invoked to prevent the transmission 
of confidential statistical data to ⌦ Eurostat ⌫ where an act of Community law governing a 
Community statistic provides for the transmission of such data. 

3.  Transmission  to  ⌦ Eurostat ⌫  of  confidential  statistical  data,  within  the  meaning  of 
paragraph  2,  shall  be  carried  out  in  such  a  way  that  statistical  units  cannot  be  directly 
identified. This does not preclude the admissibility of more far-reaching transmission rules in 
accordance with the legislation of the Member States. 

4.  National  authorities  shall  not  be  obliged  to  transmit  information  on  the  private  lives  of 
natural persons to ⌦ Eurostat ⌫ if the information transmitted could enable those persons to 
be identified either directly or indirectly. 

Article 4 

1.  The  Commission  shall  take  all  the  necessary  regulatory,  administrative,  technical  and 
organisational  measures  to  ensure  the  confidentiality  of  statistical  data  transmitted  by  the 
competent departments of Member States to ⌦ Eurostat ⌫ in accordance with Article 3. 

⌦ 2. ⌫  The  Commission  shall  establish  the  procedures  for  transmitting  confidential 
statistical data to ⌦ Eurostat ⌫ and the principles for protection of such data in accordance 
with the procedure ⌦ referred to ⌫ in Article 7 ⌦ (2) ⌫ . 

Article 5 

1.  The  Commission  shall  instruct  the  Director-General  of  ⌦ Eurostat ⌫  to  ensure  the 
protection of data transmitted to ⌦ Eurostat ⌫ by the national departments of the Member 
States.  It shall  establish  the arrangements  for  the  internal  organisation  of ⌦ Eurostat ⌫ in 
in 
order 
Article 7 ⌦ (1) ⌫. 

to  ensure  such  protection,  after  consulting 

the  Committee  referred 

to 

2.  Confidential  statistical  data  transmitted  to  ⌦ Eurostat ⌫  shall  be  accessible  only  to 
officials of ⌦ Eurostat ⌫ and may be used by them exclusively for statistical purposes. 

3. However, the Commission may grant access to confidential statistical data to other staff of 
⌦ Eurostat ⌫ and other natural persons working on the premises of ⌦ Eurostat ⌫ under 
contract,  in  special  cases  and  exclusively  for  statistical  purposes.  The  procedures  for  such 
access shall be determined by the Commission in accordance with the procedure ⌦ referred 
to ⌫ in Article 7 ⌦ (2) ⌫ . 

4.  Confidential  statistical  data  in  ⌦ Eurostat’s ⌫  possession  may  be  disseminated  only 
when  combined  with  other  data  in  a  form  which  ensures  that  statistical  units  cannot  be 
identified either directly or indirectly. 

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5.  Officials  and  other  staff  of  ⌦ Eurostat ⌫  and  other  natural  persons  working  on  the 
premises of ⌦ Eurostat ⌫ under contract may not use or distribute these data for purposes 
other  than  those  laid  down  in  this  Regulation.  This  prohibition  shall  continue  to  apply 
following transfer, termination of service or retirement. 

(cid:208) 1588/90 Art. 4(2) (adapted) 

6. The protection measures referred to in ⌦ paragraphs 1 to 5 ⌫ shall apply to: 

(a) 

(b) 

all  confidential  statistical  data  the  transmission  of  which  to  ⌦ Eurostat ⌫  is 
covered by an act of Community law governing a Community statistic ⌦ ; ⌫ 

all  confidential  statistical  data  transmitted  voluntarily  by  Member  States  to 
⌦ Eurostat ⌫ . 

(cid:208) 1588/90 (adapted) 

Article 6 

Member States shall, before 1 January 1992, take appropriate measures to curb any violations 
of  the  obligation  to  maintain  the  secrecy  of  confidential  statistical  data  transmitted  in 
accordance with Article 3. These measures shall concern at least violations committed in the 
territory of the Member State concerned, by officials or other staff of ⌦ Eurostat ⌫ and by 
the other natural persons working under contract on the premises of ⌦ Eurostat ⌫ . 

Member  States  shall  inform  the  Commission  without  delay  of  the  measures  taken.  The 
Commission shall pass on this information to the other Member States. 

(cid:208) 1588/90 

(cid:208) 1882/2003 Art. 2 and Annex II, 
pt. 4 (adapted) 

Article 7 

1.  ⌦ The  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by  a ⌫  Committee  on  Statistical  Confidentiality, 
hereinafter referred to as “the Committee”. 

2.  Where 
Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof. 

this  ⌦ paragraph ⌫,  Articles  4  and  7  of 

is  made 

reference 

to 

The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three months. 

3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure. 

(cid:208) 1882/2003 Art. 2 and Annex II, 
pt. 4 

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(cid:208) 1588/90 

Article 8 

The Committee shall examine questions raised by its chairman, either on his own initiative or 
at the request of the representative of a Member State, relating to the implementation of this 
Regulation. 

(cid:208)  

Article 9 

Regulation (Euratom, EEC) No 1588/90 is repealed. 

References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as references to this Regulation and 
shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex II. 

(cid:208) 1588/90 Art. 9 (adapted) 

Article 10 

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

(cid:208) 1588/90 

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

Done at Brussels,  

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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(cid:207) 

ANNEX I 

Repealed Regulation with its successive amendments 

Council Regulation (Euratom, EEC) No 1588/90 
(OJ L 151, 15.6.1990, p. 1) 

Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 
(OJ L 52, 22.2.1997, p. 1) 

Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European  
Parliament and of the Council 
(OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1) 

_____________ 

Only Article 21(2) 

Only Annex II, point 4 

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ANNEX II 

CORRELATION TABLE 

Regulation (Euratom, EEC) No 1588/90 

This Regulation 

Article 1(1) first and second indents 

Article 1(1), points (a) and (b) 

Article 1(2) 

Article 1(2) 

Article 2, points (1) to (10) 

Article 2, points (a) to (j) 

Article 3(1) 

Article 3(2) 

Article 3(1) 

Article 3(2) 

Article 3(3) first subparagraph 

_____ 

Article 3(3) second subparagraph 

Article 3(4) 

Article 4(1) 

Article 4(2) 

Article 4(3) 

Article 5(1) to (5) 

Articles 6, 7 and 8 

_____ 

Article 9 

_____ 

_____ 

Article 3(3) 

Article 3(4) 

Article 4(1) 

Article 5(6) 

Article 4(2) 

Article 5(1) to (5) 

Articles 6, 7 and 8 

Article 9 

Article 10 

Annex I 

Annex II 

_____________ 

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