Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on reduction of the response burden, simplification and priority-setting  in the field of Community statistics
Date: 2006-11-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU statistics, administrative formalities, data collection, statistical method, type of business

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 14.11.2006 
COM(2006) 693 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 

on reduction of the response burden, simplification and priority-setting  
in the field of Community statistics 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 

on reduction of the response burden, simplification and priority-setting  
in the field of Community statistics 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The  March  2005  Communication  on  "Better  Regulation  for  Growth  and  Jobs" 
(COM(2005) 97) identified simplification as a priority for the EU. This is the response to the 
European  Parliament's  and  Council's  request  to  simplify  and  enhance  the  quality  of  EU 
legislation. It is fully embedded in the refocusing of the Lisbon strategy on growth and jobs. 
The  EU's  better  regulation  policy  aims  to  design  regulations  better  in  order  to  increase  the 
benefits  for  citizens,  to  minimise  costs  in  line  with  the  proportionality  and  subsidiarity 
principles and to  reduce  the  administrative burden on businesses,  in  particular  on small and 
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).  

In the domain of producing national and Community official statistics as well, political bodies 
at all levels (local, national and European) have for some time been calling for simplification 
of requirements. Business associations have also repeatedly stressed that they want to see the 
burden of statistics lightened. 

The Commission (Eurostat) is fully aware of this debate and has been considering how best it 
can  help  easing  the  problem  from  the  angle  of  costs  and  burden  derived  from  Community 
statistics.  On  25  May  2005  the  Commission  adopted  a  Communication  to  the  European 
Parliament  and  to  the  Council  on  the  independence,  integrity  and  accountability  of  the 
national and Community statistical authorities1, which was welcomed by the Ecofin Council 
on 7 June 2005. It included a Recommendation by the Commission to the Member States to 
ensure compliance with the 15 principles in the European Statistics Code of Practice adopted 
unanimously  by  the  Statistical  Programme  Committee  on  24  February  2005.  The  response 
burden issue is addressed by several of the principles in the Code.  

Furthermore,  the  Commission  again  referred  to  the  need  for  simplification  in  the  field  of 
statistics in its Communication to the European Parliament and the Council on "Implementing 
the  Community  Lisbon  Programme:  A  strategy  for  the  simplification  of  the  regulatory 
environment"  of  25  October  20052.  More  specifically,  structural  business  statistics  and 
Intrastat statistics have been clearly included in the simplification rolling programme annexed 
to this Communication covering the years 2005-2008. 

The  Council  conclusions  of  8  November  2005  also  acknowledged  that  the  reduction  of 
statistics and data collection deserves attention, taking particular account of the special needs 
and limited resources of SMEs. 

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COM(2005) 217. 
COM(2005) 535. 

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At Community level, the objective of reduction of the response burden and simplification is 
pursued  in  an  effort  to  continue  to  provide  high  quality  statistics.  In  particular,  within  the 
framework of the Better Regulation initiative, attention is paid to the need for information to 
quantify  the  effects  and  impacts  of  political  measures.  Action  is  currently  focusing  on  four 
pillars:  screening  Community  legislation  on  statistics,  whether  already  adopted  or  in 
preparation,  case  by  case;  harnessing  trends  in  IT  technology;  seizing  the  opportunities 
opened  up  by  the  increasing  importance  of  European  aggregates  as  opposed  to  national 
indicators; and exploiting all potential offered by administrative sources to replace statistical 
surveys.  However,  these  measures  need  to  be  further  developed.  This  Communication 
therefore  sets  out  a  strategic  approach  to  continue  reducing  the  statistical  burden  on 
enterprises. It is based on two main lines of action: simplification and priority-setting. Both 
will be supported by an improved planning process involving closer collaboration with the 
Member States. 

This  Communication  is  presented  simultaneously  with  the  overall  Communication  "A 
strategic  review  of  Better  Regulation  in  the  EU"  as  a  concrete  example  of  how  the 
Commission intends to bring its commitments to reality. 

2. 

SIMPLIFICATION 

The response burden on enterprises could be reduced through a combination of two elements: 
firstly, simplification of the requirements for statistics in selected priority areas and, secondly, 
promotion  of  statistical  tools  and  methods  which  will  make  it  easier  to  meet  statistical 
obligations. 

2.1. 

Priority areas for simplification 

Action  is  under  way  in  a  number  of  areas  already  suggested  for  simplification  and  will  be 
further developed in the short term. 

2.1.1. 

Intrastat 

Throughout its existence (since 1993) big efforts have been made to reduce the burden placed 
on businesses by the data collection system for Community statistics relating to trade in goods 
between  Member  States  (Intrastat).  Thresholds  have  been  set  to  exempt  a  large  number  of 
enterprises,  the  number  of  nomenclature  headings  has  been  reduced,  some  data  have  been 
made optional, and simplified reporting for complex products has been introduced. 

Further  simplification  along  similar  lines  will  continue,  and  will  lead  in  the  short  term  to 
further reductions in the burden imposed by Intrastat. However, in the medium to long term, 
this  is  not  expected  to  lead  to  a  further  major  reduction  in  the  burden  on  respondents.  The 
Commission will therefore propose switching to a single flow reporting system in the medium 
term. Currently, statistics on trade between EU Member States are produced using a system in 
which each country is reporting on both import and export flows. Each flow is thus reported 
twice. In the single flow reporting system, the statistics on this flow would be collected only 
in one country. 

While this could cut Intrastat declarations by more than 50% (in the case of reporting on the 
dispatch  side),  introduction  of  a  single  flow  system  is  by  no  means  straightforward,  as  big 
differences  still  exist  between  Member  States in  mirroring  trade  flows due  to  differences  in 

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data collection and processing. Therefore, it is essential that single flow reporting should be 
phased  in  over  a  certain  period  of  time  and  be  accompanied  by  the  measures  necessary  to 
guarantee  acceptable  data  quality.  To  this  end,  the  Commission  will  undertake  a 
comprehensive analysis of the impact of introduction of single flow reporting. The measures 
to  be  taken  to  sustain  data  quality  will  be  studied.  Furthermore,  Member  States  will  be 
encouraged to perform similar studies at national level. These two types of studies will lead to 
clear  recommendations  on  how  to  implement  the  single  flow  system  in  close  cooperation 
between Eurostat and the Member States. 

Before a single flow reporting system can be adopted, a number of issues need to be tackled. 
These  include  determining  a  core  data  set,  harmonising  data  collection  and  processing 
systems, and exchanging data between Member States. Other points which will also have to 
be  examined  are  how  to  make  better  use  of  administrative  data,  how  to  reduce 
misclassifications, and how to deal with issues of confidentiality. 

In  order  to  deal  with  these  and  other  issues,  a  detailed  action  plan  will  be  prepared  for 
discussion with the Member States. 

•  The Commission will propose a twin-track approach, in which further simplification 
along traditional lines in the short term is complemented by a single flow system for 
Intrastat for entry into force in 2010. 

2.1.2. 

Structural business statistics  

In  February  2006  the  Commission  proposed  recasting  the  regulation  concerning  structural 
business statistics (SBS)3. The proposal aims to keep this important statistic up-to-date with 
new policy needs through improvements in the productivity variables and at equal coverage of 
both the services and manufacturing sectors. All these issues lie at the very heart of the Lisbon 
Strategy  and  of  the  completion  of  the  Internal  Market.  While  doing  so,  the  SBS  recast  also 
aims  to  keep  burden  upon  enterprises  as  light  as  possible  by  deleting  several  mandatory 
variables, by moving other variables from annual to multi-annual collection, and by deleting 
the optional variables. Use of register data was recommended in a number of new areas. 

The  SBS  recast  is  an  example  of  the  kind  of  tools  which  could  be  used  to  achieve 
simplification: 

–  The SBS recast introduces the possibility for countries just to contribute to the European 
totals  without  being  forced  to  provide  the  figure  plus  all  the  details.  This  is  not  a  fully 
European  approach,  but  it  is  a  step  in  that  direction  and  will  reduce  the  burden 
substantially. 

–  Use  of  administrative  data  will  also  reduce  the  burden  on  businesses.  The  SBS  recast 
takes  this  up  in  new  areas.  Data  collection  on  business  demography  (a  new  area  in  the 
recast) will be purely register-based and will therefore put no burden at all on businesses. 

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COM(2006) 66. 

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2.1.3. 

Statistics on production of manufactured goods (Prodcom) 

A  number  of  steps  have  been  taken  to  minimise  the  burden  placed  on  industry  by  the 
regulation on the Community survey of industrial production4: 

–  In  2005  the  list  of  products  (Prodcom  list)  was  simplified  to  remove  headings  that  were 
poorly  reported  and  that  enterprises  found  it  difficult  to  report  on.  The  requirement  to 
report textile production every quarter was dropped.  

–  In 2006 the requirement to report steel production on a monthly basis was dropped.  

–  Member  States  are  currently  being  consulted  on  dropping  industrial  services  and 

intermediate products from the 2007 list.  

The  potential  decrease  in  the  burden  as  a  result  of  the  measures  taken  is  significant:  for 
instance,  the  2005  simplification  reduced  the  number  of  headings  in  the  Prodcom  list  from 
5 800  to  4 500,  and  the  requirement  to  report  every  quarter  on  textile  production  used  to 
impose a disproportionate burden on respondents. 

2.1.4.  Re-engineering business statistics 

Each area of business statistics should not be looked at in isolation. Statistics on several other 
areas are needed to give a complete picture of the economy based on surveys of enterprises. In 
addition, there are interlinkages between areas of statistics. For example, SBS are one of the 
most important sources for national accounts. Consequently, even deletion of requirements in 
SBS might have no effect, because the data would still be collected by countries to satisfy the 
needs of their national accounts. 

The Commission is convinced that even more needs to be done and is therefore developing a 
programme  for  re-engineering  business  statistics. This re-engineering will include a number 
of  measures  to  support  Member  States  with  developing  methods  which  have  the  potential 
substantially to reduce the burden on businesses, such as more intensive use of administrative 
data  for  statistical  purposes,  automatic  electronic  transmission  of  statistical  information 
directly  from  company  accounts,  development  and  harmonisation  of  estimation  techniques, 
and  better  integration  of  the  sets  of  micro-data  that  would  enable  Member  States  to  make 
more  efficient  use  of  existing  information  and  therefore  reduce  the  burden  on  businesses. 
Later  this  autumn  the  Commission  will  make  a  proposal  on  modernisation  of  business  and 
trade statistics, which will include action on methods for reducing the burden. This proposal 
will be in the form of a multiannual programme for the period 2008-2013 to be implemented 
in close cooperation between Eurostat and the Member States. 

•  The  Commission  is  developing  a  programme  for  re-engineering  business  statistics 
that  will  focus  on  reducing  the  burden  on  businesses  by  means  of  a  smarter  way  of 
collecting data. 

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Council Regulation (EEC) No 3924/91 of 19 December 1991. 

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2.1.5.  Agricultural statistics 

On 24 February 2005 the Statistical Programme Committee endorsed Eurostat’s proposals on 
the  future  of  the  European  agricultural  statistics,  aiming  at  substantial  simplification  and 
streamlining. These proposals are currently being implemented: 

–  Several  balance  sheets  have  been  discontinued  and  a  number  of  other  national  balance 

sheets have been made optional. 

–  Collection  of  monthly  absolute  prices  has  been  discontinued.  For  annual  absolute  prices 
the list of products has been halved. A change from monthly to quarterly price indices has 
been introduced from 2006 onwards. 

–  Only two intermediate farm structure surveys are proposed for the next decade instead of 

three. 

–  The legislation on surveys on livestock and animal production will be reviewed. 

–  The legislation concerning statistics on cereals and other crops shall be reviewed. 

–  Integration  of  economic  forestry  accounts  with  environmental  accounts  has  been 

completed. 

–  The  programme  for  surveys  on  orchards  and  vineyards  will  be  revised  in  line  with  the 

reform of these two common market organisations. 

–  A  new  common  system  for  collecting  and  validating  agricultural  statistics  will  be 
implemented before the end of 2007. It will considerably improve the quality of the data 
and make it possible to reduce the costs and response burden. 

These  significant  efforts  currently  under  way  to  simplify  and  reduce  the  burden  of  the 
agricultural statistical system should help to meet the needs arising out of the integration of 
new  policy  concerns  into  the  Common  Agricultural  Policy  (rural  development,  the 
environment and food safety). 

•  The  Commission  will  actively  pursue  simplification  of  the  European  system  of 

agricultural statistics and strive to improve the quality of the statistics. 

2.2. 

Simplification tools 

2.2.1.  European aggregates 

The increasing importance for policy-making of European aggregates as opposed to national 
indicators also offers opportunities for simplification. In the realm of short-term statistics - of 
particular importance for monetary policy - it was possible to reduce the obligations (detail, 
timeliness, frequency) on Member States whose share of the relevant European aggregate was 
below 1%, at least in most cases. In addition, Eurostat, has proposed introducing a European 
sampling  plan,  which  would  allow  a  considerable  (up  to  80%)  reduction  of  overall  sample 
sizes and thus of the overall response burden. Also the SBS recast will give Member States 
the  possibility  of  contributing  only  to  the  European  total  at  the  most  detailed  level  of  the 
breakdown of activity. Eurostat is also promoting the idea of conducting continuous surveys. 
This  technique  would  lead  to  a  reduction  of  sample  sizes  to  compile  European  aggregates, 

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while allowing the production of national indicators at lower frequency. The Commission will 
continue  to  identify  areas  where  the  focus  is  shifting  away  from  national  data  and  towards 
European aggregates, to develop tools and methods for coordinating samples, and to develop 
special European surveys when appropriate. 

•  The  Commission  proposal  for  the  Community  Statistical  Programme  for  2008-2012 

will promote the use of European samples, in specific cases. 

2.2.2.  Use of administrative data 

The efforts for NSIs and the burden on respondents will obviously be reduced if the relevant 
information no longer has to be obtained through a specific statistical survey, but can be taken 
from  administrative  data  recorded  for  other  purposes.  Eurostat  is  aware  that  for  a  host  of 
reasons it is more difficult to harmonise administrative data and thus ensure the comparability 
of statistics derived from them. When it comes to using administrative records, there is simply 
a  trade-off  between  comparability  on  the  one  hand  and  the  cost  to  NSIs  and  burden  on 
respondents on the other. Member States have always been allowed to make use of surveys or 
administrative data or a combination of both. Moreover, Eurostat itself uses (high-frequency) 
administrative  data  to  extrapolate  (low-frequency)  survey  results.  A  combination  of 
administrative  data  for  extrapolation  supported  by  regular  benchmark  surveys  or  low-
frequency surveys is definitely a strategy which will reduce the response burden and cost and 
will therefore be not only allowed but also more actively pursued by Eurostat. 

•  The  Commission  proposal  for  the  Community  Statistical  Programme  for  2008-2012 

will promote use of administrative data for statistical purposes, in specific cases. 

2.2.3.  Use of accounting data 

Direct  use  of  standardised  accounting  data  using  electronic  tools  is  another  promising  way 
forward.  The  data  are  received  directly  from  the  enterprise  accounts  without  a  special 
questionnaire.  The  accounting  data  can  be  supplemented  by  small  surveys  as  in  the  case  of 
administrative data. The Commission will support Member States by aligning the definitions 
in  the  legal  acts  on  those  in  accounting  standards,  by  developing  the  necessary  electronic 
tools,  and  by  devising  methods  for  targeted  complementary  surveys  and  corresponding 
estimation techniques. 

2.2.4.  A data warehouse approach to business statistics 

Full  integration  of  all  data  sets  at  micro  level  would  make  it  considerably  easier  to  use  and 
reuse  the  available  data.  The  information  would  be  collected  only  once  and  reused  for 
different  surveys.  This  would  both  reduce  the  burden  and  make  the  data  sets  more  useful. 
Some  Member  States  have  already  achieved  a  considerable  degree  of  integration,  but  much 
work is still needed before such systems are fully implemented. The Commission has access 
to  only  limited  sets  of  data  at  micro  level  which  hampers  reuse  of  information  at  European 
level.  Enterprise  groups  which  are  active  in  several  Member  States  also  require  integrated 
data sets at group level to be established at Commission level. 

Business  registers  are  the  centre  of  any  such  system,  and  full  implementation  of  the  new 
business register regulation is therefore essential. The Commission will also support Member 
States by developing tools and methods for full integration of data sets. 

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•  The  Commission  proposal  for  the  Community  Statistical  Programme  for  2008-2012 

will promote the availability and use of micro-data. 

•  Eurostat will support development of a new process for linking existing micro-data in 

order to allow more efficient use of data. 

2.2.5.  Differentiation of requirements 

Differentiation  of  requirements  depending  on  the  weight  of  countries  in  the  statistical 
aggregates  could  significantly  reduce  the  burden  on  enterprises  and  the  costs  for  some 
national authorities and, at the same time, improve the timeliness of EU aggregates. It should 
be used to a larger extent. 

2.2.6.  Use of IT technology and methodological innovation 

As  a  further  step  in  the  ongoing  work  on  use  of  enterprise  accounting  data  for  statistical 
purposes  (see  section  2.2.3),  Eurostat  is  exploring  with  Member  States  the  feasibility  of 
applying  the  XBRL  (eXtensible  Business  Reporting  Language)  electronic  format.  As 
businesses  start  to  adopt  XBRL  for  submission  of  their  accounts,  statistical  organisations 
should be able to harvest statistics automatically from the accounting data in XBRL. With this 
aim, a task force bringing together several national statistical organisations and central banks 
has been set up and technical development has been started. 

Eurostat is also working actively with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe 
on improving means of automated collection of raw data from enterprises. 

Eurostat is also sponsoring, together with other international organisations, development and 
promotion  of  the  Statistical  Data  and  Metadata  eXchange  format  (SDMX),  which  has  the 
status of an ISO standard. This XML-based standard permits electronic transfers of statistical 
data and metadata between organisations and to users. SDMX standards will help enterprises 
to have a return on the information that they provide to statistical authorities. 

Methodological  research  will  also  be  fostered  in  order  to  reduce  the  response  burden.  This 
will be promoted through the 7th Framework Programme for research (FP7). 

•  A  proposal  for  implementation  of  Statistical  Data  and  Metadata  eXchange  format 
(SDMX) in specific statistical domains will be submitted to the Member States during 
the first half of 2007. 

•  The first call for proposals for research on official statistics within the 7th Framework 
Programme  for  research  (FP7),  to  be  launched  in  early  2007,  will  include 
measurement and reduction of response burden as one possible topic. 

3. 

PRIORITY-SETTING 

Better  setting  of  statistical  priorities  is  another  fundamental  element  of  the  simplification 
process. Assessing the relevance and usefulness of statistics for EU policies is a critical step 
in selecting priority areas for simplification. 

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3.1. 

Putting the principles into practice 

In  line  with  the  relevant  principles  of  the  Code  of  Practice,  the  Communication  of  25  May 
2005 defined three high-level guiding principles for setting statistical priorities: 

–  The  first  relates  to  users’  needs  and  the  benefits  of  European  statistics  -  mainly  from 

their relevance for policy-making at European level. 

–  The second relates to assessment of costs incurred by Member States, respondents and the 

European Commission for production of Community statistics. 

–  The  third  category  covers  "specific  issues"  of  importance  for  the  cost-effectiveness  of 
official statistics, including the trade-off between different components of statistical quality 
(for  instance,  “accuracy”  or  “detail”  versus  “timeliness”),  and  possibilities  for  flexible 
reporting obligations focusing on core European needs.  

On the basis of these principles, a combined qualitative and quantitative method for assessing 
cost-effectiveness  has  been  developed,  in  cooperation  with  the  statistical  authorities  of  the 
Member  States,  and  tested  for  selected  areas  (transport  and  foreign  affiliates  statistics),  in 
cooperation with the competent national authorities and statistics users at Community level. 
The method, developed using the same principles and methodology employed in other such 
schemes (EU net cost model or standard cost model in some Member States), and the results 
of the tests have been evaluated positively with the national statistical authorities. 

The Commission (Eurostat) and the national statistical authorities of the Member States which 
assume  joint  ownership  of  the  method  have  agreed  to  improve  it  continuously  to  strike  the 
best balance between the needs for, on the one hand, simplicity and manageability of analyses 
and, on the other, detail and accuracy in fine-tuning cost-efficient requirements. 

3.2. 

Putting the method into action 

As  recommended  by  the  Council  on  8  November  2005,  the  method  is  incorporated  into  the 
forthcoming  proposal  from  the  Commission  on  the  multi-annual  statistical  programme  for 
2008-2012. It will serve as a common tool for structured, systematic and transparent analyses 
to  support  policy  choices.  The  method  ensures  the  active  involvement  of  the  competent 
national authorities in assessment of the total costs for Member States and respondents in line 
with the principles of the EU net administrative cost model and for the Commission. It also 
ensures active involvement of users of statistics in assessment of the benefits of the statistics, 
especially  the  relevance  and  usefulness  for  EU  policies.  In  this  respect,  particular  attention 
should be paid to areas where the Community has exclusive competence compared to those 
areas where this competence is shared. 

Supporting  the  production  of  (national  and)  Community  statistics  accounts  for  only  a  small 
share of the overall administrative burden that falls upon enterprises, and in particular upon 
SMEs.  But  the  burden  is  perceived  as  much  heavier.  From  the  Community  level,  the 
Commission  continues  to  explore  ways  to  contribute  to  the  overall  effort  to  lighten  that 
burden. Consequently, the proposal is to apply the method on a continuous basis to: 

i) new statistical activities which have significant resource implications for respondents, and 

ii) existing requirements for statistics,  

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thereby  gradually  making  the  statistical  programme  more  balanced.  In  view  of  the  network 
organisation  of  the  European  statistical  system  and  the  fact  that  it  functions  on  the  basis  of 
subsidiarity, this could, however, be carried out only at the cost of major investment by the 
Member  States.  In  particular,  they  will  have  to  provide  reliable  data  concerning  the  cost 
directly related to the Community’s needs for production of statistics. 

•  All new statistical projects likely to impose a significant additional burden on the data 
providers,  in  particular  enterprises,  will  be  subject  to  a  cost-benefit  analysis  before 
they are implemented. 

•  All the fields covered by the next multi-annual statistical programme (2008-2012) will 

be subject to a cost-benefit analysis before the end of the programme. 

4. 

THE PLANNING PROCESS 

The  process  leading  to  definition  of  the  Commission's  statistical  programmes  is  being 
adjusted  to  foster  more  objectives  which  will  reduce  costs  for  Member  States  and 
respondents. The programme will now include planning reviews of existing areas, and greater 
emphasis will be put on the issue of prioritisation in the annual discussions with users. In this 
context, in addition to the permanent dialogue with Commission users, special attention will 
be paid to involving the reformed European Advisory Committee on Statistical Information in 
the  Economic  and  Social  Spheres  (CEIES)5,  which  should  assist  the  Council,  the  European 
Parliament and the Commission by ensuring that users’ requirements and the costs borne by 
the information providers and producers are taken into account  in coordinating the  strategic 
objectives and priorities of the Community’s statistical information policy. 

Beyond  that,  the  current  discussions  with  the  Member  States  on  revision  of  the  basic  legal 
framework  for  Community  statistics  (in  particular  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  322/97  of 
17 February 1997 on Community statistics6) are an opportunity to explore ways of involving 
NSIs ever more closely in the content of the statistical programmes. 

•  A proposal for reform of the CEIES was adopted by the Commission on 3 November 

2006. 

•  Ways  to  involve  NSIs  more  closely  in  the  content  of  the  Commission’s  statistical 
programmes  will  be  addressed  in  the  revision  of  the  basic  legal  framework  for 
Community statistics. 

5. 

CONCLUSION 

Efficient  economic  governance  and  policy-making  in  the  European  Union,  at  both  national 
and  community  levels,  need  high-quality  statistics.  This  is  compatible  with  continued 
adherence  to  the  principles  of  Better  regulation  as  a  whole,  including  simplification,  that  is 
also one key element of the new Partnership for Growth and Jobs launched in 2005. 

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COM(2006) 653. 
OJ L 52, 22.2.1997, p. 1. 

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The  actions  presented  by  the  Commission  in  this  Communication  respond  to  this  overall 
strategy aimed at improving the regulatory and administrative environment and strengthening 
competitiveness at both European and national levels. 

In  the  case  of  statistics,  the  Commission  acknowledges  the  need  to  ensure  that  Community 
statistics keep apace with new policy needs while reducing requirements wherever they may 
have  become  of  decreasing  or  little  policy  relevance.  The  Commission  is  committed  to 
systematic assessment of the cost-effectiveness of new and existing requirements based on the 
high-level  guiding  principles.  The  effects  and  consequences  of  all  new  legislative  proposals 
will  continue  to  be  systematically  evaluated,  and  the  national  statistical  institutes  will  be 
informed  of  the  results.  On  all  these  issues,  the  Commission  is  looking  forward  to  working 
closely  with  the  Member  States  and  with  final  users  of  Community  statistics  whose 
commitment will ensure that its ambitions in this area can be realised. 

The effort to balance requirements and resources is not a one-off exercise. Continuous efforts 
are needed together with a set of instruments which will be employed in a strategic context 
reflecting  the  greater  efficiency  and  effectiveness  of  the  European  statistical  system  as  a 
whole in improved statistics to serve European Union policies. Actions and tools presented in 
this  Communication  are  embedded  in  the  forthcoming  multi-annual  Community  statistical 
programme. 

Considering the need for a joint commitment to priority-setting, simplification and reduction 
of  the  response  burden  in  the  field  of  Community  statistics,  the  Commission  invites  the 
European  Parliament  and  the  Council  to  endorse  the  action  proposed  and  support,  in  the 
future, the different initiatives that will bring it to reality. 

EN 

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   EN