Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Community Statistical Programme 2008 to 2012
Date: 2006-11-16
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, EU statistics, statistical method

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 16.11.2006 
COM(2006) 687 final 

2006/0229 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on the Community Statistical Programme 2008 to 2012 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Grounds for and objectives of the proposal 

Trustworthy statistical information about the economic, social and environmental situation in 
the EU and its components at national and regional level is a necessary precondition for the 
European integration process. It provides the EU Institutions, Member States, enterprises and 
citizens  with  the  necessary  factual  means  to  assess  the  need  for,  and  progress  of,  European 
policy  initiatives.  Harmonised  and  comparable  statistics  are  also  indispensable  for  the 
understanding  of  Europe  among  the  general  public,  for  the  participation  of  citizens  in  the 
debate  and  democratic  process  about  Europe's  future  and  for  the  participation  of  economic 
operators in the single market. 

Against  this  background,  the  objective  of  the  proposal  is  to  put  in  place  a  comprehensive 
strategic programme for official Community statistics. It should comprise the production and 
delivery of products and services to the users, the improvement of the quality of statistics and 
the further development of the European Statistical System (ESS - the partnership comprising 
Eurostat,  national  statistical  authorities  and  other  national  authorities  responsible  in  each 
Member State for producing and disseminating European Statistics).  

General context 

The  requirement  for  a  multi-annual  Community  Statistical  Programme  (CSP)  follows  from 
article  3.1  of  Council  Regulation  322/97  according  to  which  the  CSP  shall  define  the 
approaches,  the  main  fields  and  the  objectives  of  the  actions  envisaged  for  a  period  not 
exceeding  five  years  and  constitute  the  framework  for  the  production  of  all  Community 
statistics. The CSP is implemented via annual work programmes which provide more detailed 
work  objectives  for  each  year  and  via  specific  legislation  for  major  actions.  The  CSP  is 
subject  to  mid-term  progress  reporting  and  formal  evaluation  after  the  expiry  of  the 
programme period. 

Existing provisions in the area of the proposal 

The current CSP, Decision no. 2367/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, 
covers the period 2003-2007 and is the sixth of its kind. 

Consistency with the other policies and objectives of the Union 

The  main  purpose  of  official  Community  Statistics  is  to  underpin  on  a  recurring  basis  the 
development,  monitoring  and  evaluation  of  Community  policies  with  reliable,  objective, 
comparable and coherent factual information. In some areas the statistical information is also 
used directly for the management of key policies by Community institutions. Annex 2 of the 
proposal  explains  how  the  various  policies,  structured  along  the  titles  of  the  Treaty,  are 
supported by official Community statistics. 

However, although official statistics are used in support of almost all Community policies, the 
programme is guided by the following over-arching policy priorities: 

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–  Prosperity, competitiveness and growth, 

–  solidarity, economic and social cohesion and sustainable development,  

–  security, and 

–  further enlargement of the European Union. 

2. 

CONSULTATION  OF  INTERESTED  PARTIES  AND  ANALYSIS  OF  EFFECTS  AND 
CONSEQUENCES 

Consultation of interested parties 

Consultation methods, main sectors targeted and general profile of respondents 

Member States, EFTA Countries and Candidate Countries have been directly involved in the 
preparation of the proposal. The consultation has targeted the national statistical authorities of 
which the heads are members or observers of the Statistical Programme Committee (SPC), set 
up  by  Council  Decision  89/382/EEC.  Additionally,  different  parts  of  the  programme  have 
been discussed in more detail in the technical working groups of the ESS which also comprise 
institutional users and international organisations involved in the wider international statistical 
cooperation. 

The  European  Advisory  Committee  on  Statistical  Information  in  the  Economic  and  Social 
Spheres  (CEIES),  set  up  by  Council  Decision  91/116/EEC  (amended  by  Council  Decision 
97/255/EC) gave its opinion on the draft programme. 

The Committee on Monetary, Financial and Balance of payments statistics (CMFB), set up by 
Council Decision 91/115/EEC (amended by Council Decision 96/174/EC), also delivered an 
opinion on the draft programme. 

Summary of responses and how they have been taken into account 

Substantial and constructive feedback was received following the consultation of the national 
statistical  authorities.  The  main  aspects  addressed  by  the  Member  States  were:  The  relation 
between the CSP and other parts of the basic legal framework for Community statistics and 
the  European  Statistics  Code  of  Practice;  the  prioritisation  of  statistical  actions  and 
requirements; the response burden on enterprises; the flexibility of the ESS and its ability to 
respond  to  users'  needs  and  the  protection  of  statistical  confidentiality.  On  the  basis  of  this 
feedback,  clarification  on  a  number  of  issues  was  provided  to  the  Member  States  and  a 
number of improvements were made to the legal text and annex 1 of the proposal. However, 
some  suggestions  from  Member  States  could  not  be  fully  accommodated,  especially  with 
regard  to  prioritisation.  Secondly,  the  feedback  related  to  a  number  of  approaches  and 
objectives  related  to  the  various  Treaty  titles,  which  resulted  in  many  clarifications  and 
improvements to annex 2 of the proposal. 

In the opinion of the CEIES the proposal  was  welcomed, but also the CEIES saw room for 
improvements,  mainly with regard  to  the coherence  and  consistency  of  the ESS,  orientation 
towards  broader  user  groups,  provision  of  metadata,  disaggregating  statistics  by  gender  and 
sufficiency  of  the  current  list  of  Structural  Indicators  used  to  measure  progress  against  the 
Lisbon  objectives.  Also,  the  CEIES  expressed  reservations  with  regard  to  differentiation  of 

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statistical requirements for large and small Member States, respectively. On the basis of this 
feedback  some  improvements  of  the  proposal  were  made,  for  instance  with  regard  to 
disaggregating  social  statistics  by  gender  and  the  development  and  implementation  of  a 
metadata repository. 

The  CMFB  welcomed  the  proposal  and  considered  it  well  structured  and  balanced.  The 
CMFB  generally  supported  the  main  priorities  and  objectives  defined  in  the  programme,  in 
particular regarding statistics for economic and monetary policy, provided they do not delay 
developments  already  foreseen  in  2007  in  these  areas.  The  CMFB  supports  the  emphasis 
given  to  statistical  governance  and  prioritisation,  thus  sharing  the  views  of  the  ECOFIN 
Council on the need to ensure adequate practices, resources and capabilities to produce high 
quality statistics at European and national level. In terms of instruments, the CMFB welcomed 
the  objectives  regarding  increased  ability  to  respond  to  users’  needs,  improved  coherence 
across statistics and statistical systems and the need to enhance the exchange of confidential 
data between statistical authorities. 

Collection and use of expertise 

There was no need for external expertise. 

Analysis of effects and consequences 

Due  to  the  requirements  in  article  3.1  of  Regulation  322/97  the  question  is  not  whether 
legislation should be put in place or not. The question is how the requirements of Regulation 
322/97 can be fulfilled in the most beneficial way for the Union. 

Assessing "impact of statistics" is complicated, both conceptually and practically. Firstly, the 
impact  of  statistics  is  mostly  of  an  indirect  nature.  It  results  from  the  decisions  and  actions 
taken - at various levels, fully or partly, and for political or financial reasons - on the basis of 
statistical information and where those decisions and actions indirectly reflect the availability 
and  quality  of  the  statistical  information.  Often  it  would  neither  be  practically  feasible  nor 
financially  proportionate  to  assess  these  effects  in  detail.  Therefore,  to  speak  about  social, 
economic  or  environmental  impact  of  statistical  information  is  difficult.  Rather  the  value  of 
statistics lies in its fitness for assessing impact of other policies. 

Secondly,  the  CSP  is  a  framework  which  defines  the  direction  for  future  development  and 
overall objectives, which are subsequently defined more concretely in the annual programmes 
and in specific legislation. Thus, more precise analysis of effects and implications cannot be 
made at this point in time, but will be conducted in the preparation of the specific proposals. 

However,  it  is  also  clear  that  there  are  some  direct  effects  of  a  given  approach  for  a  CSP 
which can be assessed in general terms and compared for two options – the "restricted" vs. the 
"comprehensive". These effects relate to: 

A.  The  ability  of  the  ESS  to  deliver  statistics  of  sufficient  quality  (i.e.  relevant,  accurate, 
timely  and  punctual,  accessible  and  clear;  comparable,  coherent)  –  to  effectively  support 
Community policies. 

B. The costs incurred by Member States responsible for implementing the statistical actions. 

C. The burden on enterprises and households of responding to surveys. 

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Re A: A restricted approach would ensure the continued provision of existing statistics, but is 
not likely to cater for an improved ability to respond more quickly to new user needs. Also, it 
is  not  likely  to  ensure  significant  improvements  to  the  timeliness  of  European  aggregates 
because  they  would  still  rely  on  the  traditional  ESS  instruments  and  processes  where  the 
compilation of Community Statistics is always conditioned by the availability of all national 
aggregates. 

Contrary to this, a comprehensive approach – where the CSP on the one hand gives direction 
for  the  development  of  a  suite  of  instruments  for  the  ESS  like  e.g.  European  sampling, 
extended  use  of  ad-hoc  modules,  differentiation  of  requirements,  extended  use  of 
administrative  data  sources,  and  on  the  other  defines  principles  for  reviewing  priorities  and 
reducing requirements which are no longer cost-effective – will increase the ability of the ESS 
to fulfil new needs related to Community policies while still being able to fulfil existing core 
needs. 

Re  B:  All  things  being  equal,  a  restricted  approach  is  likely  to  imply  that  either  costs  for 
Member States would gradually increase because new (additional) information needs must be 
met by traditional instruments, or that some of the statistical needs would have to be covered 
by sources outside the official statistical system. This, on the other hand, would be detrimental 
to the relevance, coherence and control of the statistical system as a whole. 

Contrary to this, a comprehensive approach – where the CSP comprises common policies and 
objectives  for  such  instruments  –  will  increase  the  ability  of  the  ESS  to  respond  to  users' 
needs  in  a  more  cost-efficient  way  and  thereby  enable  Member  States  to  better  balance 
requirements and resources. 

Re C: A restricted approach would most likely imply a significant risk of gradually increased 
response  burden.  This  would  result  from  a  situation  where  more  flexible  instruments  in  the 
ESS  have  not  been  put  in  place  to  offset  burden  arising  from  new  policy  related  needs. 
Contrary  to  this,  a  comprehensive  approach  will  enable  the  ESS  to  actively  manage  the 
response burden and at the same time maintain a high level of relevance. 

Therefore, a comprehensive approach has been chosen for the CSP. 

3. 

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

Summary of the proposed action 

The proposal establishes the Community  Statistical Programme for the period from 2008 to 
2012.  The  programme  defines  the  approaches,  the  main  fields  and  objectives  of  the  actions 
envisaged, and it also provides a summary of statistical needs and requirements viewed from 
the perspective of the policy needs of the European Union. 

Legal basis 

The programme is based on article 285 of the Treaty. 

Subsidiarity principle 

Since  the  objectives  of  the  proposed  action,  namely  the  Community  Statistical  Programme 
2008  to  2012,  cannot  be  sufficiently  achieved  by  the  Member  States  and  can  therefore  be 

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better achieved at Community level on the basis of a Community legal act because only the 
Commission  can  coordinate  the  necessary  harmonisation  of  statistical  information  at 
Community level in all statistical domains covered by this act, while the data collection itself 
can be carried out by the Member States, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance 
with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. 

Proportionality principle 

The proposal complies with the proportionality principle for the following reason(s). 

The proposal defines objectives for the five-year period. These objectives are subject to more 
detailed  definition  and  planning  in  the  annual  statistical  work  programmes  of  the 
Commission,  which  are  prepared  in  close  cooperation  with  the  Member  States  and  adopted 
taking  into  account  the  opinion  of  the  Statistical  Programme  Committee.  Furthermore,  new 
statistical requirements will be subject to specific legislation which is prepared with early and 
direct involvement of the Member States. 

As  stated  in  article  4.2  of  the  proposal,  the  preparation  of  the  annual  statistical  work 
programmes  of  the  Commission  shall  take  account  of  the  cost-effectiveness  of  the  statistics 
produced  and  ensure  an  ongoing  review  of  priorities,  with  a  view  to  making  best  use  of 
resources  of  the  Member  States  and  the  Commission  and  to  minimising  response  burden. 
Furthermore, the proposal defines a specific objective for the implementation of methods and 
procedures  for  assessing  costs  –  on  the  basis  of  the  same  principles  and  methodology 
employed in other such schemes: EU Net Cost Model, Standard Cost Model – and benefits of 
statistics to be used in reviews of existing statistical requirements and in assessment of new 
user  requests  and  a  specific  objective  for  monitoring  of  response  burden  on  enterprises  and 
the pursuit of ways to reduce it. 

Choice of instruments 

Proposed instruments: other. 

Other means would not be adequate for the following reason(s). 

Given the objective and content of the proposal a Decision is the most appropriate instrument. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION 

The  operational  resource  requirements  for  Eurostat  for  implementing  the  programme  are 
currently  estimated  at  a  total  of  274,2  million  €  over  the  programme  period.  This  amount 
represents the Eurostat budgetary resources necessary to engage all of the activities described 
in the programme, but excludes: 

–  Expenditure on staff and administration, 

–  Operational resources on other statistical budget lines which could be additionally opened 

to cover new regulatory needs over the period 2008-2012 (Edicom type actions), 

–  Operational resources made available by other Directorates General on their budget lines, 

–  Resources at the national and regional level. 

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Eurostat  will  redeploy  its  own  operational  and  human  resources  to  respect  the  overall 
priorities of the programme. However, in view of the development of statistical work – and 
despite  the  aim  to  re-allocate  resources  on  the  basis  of  review  of  priorities  –  it  should  be 
anticipated  that  the  level  of  resources  envisaged  may  not  be  sufficient  to  meet  all  of  the 
requirements.  In  such  circumstances,  any  need  to  defer  work  envisaged  in  this  programme 
will be indicated in the annual programmes of work in the light of: 

–  the resources allocated to the Commission by the budgetary authorities, and 

–  the resources available across the ESS to carry out the work. 

5. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

Review/revision/sunset clause 

The proposal includes a review clause. 

The proposal includes a sunset clause. 

European Economic Area 

The  proposed  act  concerns  an  EEA  matter  and  should  therefore  extend  to  the  European 
Economic Area. 

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2006/0229 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on the Community Statistical Programme 2008 to 2012 

(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 proposal from the Commission1, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee2, 

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions3, 

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty4, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 

6 

Pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 of 17 February 1997 on Community 
statistics,5 a multi-annual Community statistical programme should be established. 

In  accordance  with  Regulation  (EC)  No  322/97,  the  Community  should  have  timely 
access to statistical information comparable between the Member States which is up to 
date,  reliable,  pertinent  and  produced  as  efficiently  as  possible  for  the  formulation, 
application, monitoring and assessment of its policies. 

In  order  to  ensure  the  consistency  and  comparability  of  statistical  information  in  the 
Community, there is a need to establish a five-year Community statistical programme 
which  identifies  the  approaches,  the  main  fields  and  the  objectives  of  the  actions 
envisaged in respect of these priorities. 

The  specific  method  of  drawing  up  Community  statistics  requires  particularly  close 
cooperation  within  a  developing  Community  statistical  system  via  the  Statistical 
Programme Committee, set up by Council Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom6, as regards 

OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
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). 
OJ L 181, 28.6.1989, p. 47. 

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the  adaptation  of  the  system,  notably  via  the  introduction  of  legal  instruments 
necessary  to  establish  the  said  Community  statistics.  Account  is  to  be  taken  of  the 
burden on respondents, be they business, central or local government units, households 
or individuals. 

The production of Community statistics within the legislative framework of the five-
year programme is achieved through the close, coordinated and coherent cooperation 
between Eurostat and the national authorities. For that purpose, Eurostat should ensure 
the  coordination  under  various  forms  of  the  national  authorities  in  a  network 
representing  the  European  Statistical  System  (ESS)  to  assure  the  timely  provision  of 
statistics in support of European Union policy needs.  

In the production and dissemination of Community statistics under this Decision, the 
national and Community statistical authorities should respect the principles set out in 
the European Statistics Code of Practice, which was attached to the Recommendation 
of the Commission of 25 May 2005 on the independence, integrity and accountability 
of the national and Community statistical authorities7. 

The preparation of the annual statistical work programmes of the Commission should 
take  account  of  the  need  for  ongoing  review  of  statistical  priorities,  including  the 
simplification of processes and the reduction of requirements of declining importance, 
with a view to making the best use of available resources. 

Since  the  objectives  of  this  Decision,  namely  the  Community  Statistical  Programme 
2008 to 2012, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore 
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 
Decision does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives. 

This  Decision  establishes  a  financial  framework  for  the  entire  duration  of  the 
programme which is to be the principal point of reference for the budgetary authority, 
within  the  meaning  of  point  37  of  the  Inter-institutional Agreement  of 17 May 2006 
between  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission  on  budgetary 
discipline and sound financial management8. 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

(10)  The  guidelines  for  establishing  this  programme  have  been  submitted  in  accordance 
with  Article  3(1)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  322/97  to  the  Statistical  Programme 
Committee,  the  European  Advisory  Committee  on  Statistical  Information  in  the 
Economic  and  Social  Spheres  set  up  by  Council  Decision  91/116/EEC9  and  the 
Committee  on  Monetary,  Financial  and  Balance  of  Payment  Statistics  set  up  by 
Council Decision 91/115/EEC10, 

7 
8 
9 
10 

COM (2005) 217 final. 
OJ C 139, 14.6.2006, p. 1. 
OJ L 59, 6.3.1991, p.21. Decision as amended by Decision 97/255/EC (OJ L 102, 19.4.1997, p. 32). 
OJ L 59, 6.3.1991, p. 19. Decision as amended by Decision 97/174/EC (OJ L 51, 1.3.1996, p. 48). 

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HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 

Establishment of the statistical programme 

The Community statistical programme for the period from 2008 to 2012 (hereinafter referred 
to as "the programme") is hereby established. The programme is set out in Annexes I and II. 

Annex I specifies the approaches, the main fields and the objectives of the actions envisaged 
during that period. Annex II provides a summary of statistical requirements viewed from the 
perspective of the policy needs of the European Union. 

Article 2 

Policy priorities 

1. 

Taking  account  of  the  available  resources  of  the  national  authorities  and  the 
Commission,  the  programme  shall  be  guided  by  the  principal  Community  policy 
priorities of: 

–  prosperity, competitiveness and growth, 

–  solidarity, economic and social cohesion and sustainable development,  

–  security, and 

–  further enlargement of the European Union. 

2. 

The  overall  priorities  and  general  objectives  in  the  programme  shall  be  subject  to 
detailed annual planning in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 322/97. 

Article 3 

Statistical governance 

1. 

The  programme  shall  be  implemented  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  the 
European  Statistics  Code  of  Practice  with  a  view  to  producing  and  disseminating 
high-quality, harmonised Community statistics and to ensuring a proper functioning 
of  the  European  statistical  system  as  a  whole.  National  authorities  and  the 
Community statistical authority shall: 

(a) 

(b) 

establish  an  institutional  and  organisational  environment  which  promotes  the 
effectiveness  and  credibility  of  national  and  Community  statistical  authorities 
producing and disseminating official statistics; 

observe  European  standards,  guidelines  and  good  practices  in  the  processes 
used  by  the  national  and  the  Community  statistical  authorities  to  organise, 
collect, process and disseminate official statistics and strive for a reputation for 

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good  management  and  efficiency  to  strengthen  the  credibility  of  these 
statistics; 

(c) 

ensure  that  Community  statistics  comply  with  the  European  quality  standards 
and  serve  the  needs  of  European  Union  institutional  users,  governments, 
research  institutions,  civil  society  organisations,  enterprises  and  the  public 
generally. 

Article 4 

Prioritisation, efficiency and flexibility 

The  programme  shall  ensure  continued  statistical  support  for  decisions  and 
evaluations in current Community policy areas and provide statistical support for any 
additional requirements arising from new Community policy initiatives. 

The Commission shall, in the preparation of the annual statistical work programmes, 
take  account  of  the  cost-effectiveness  of  the  statistics  produced  and  ensure  an 
ongoing review of statistical priorities, with a view to making best use of available 
resources of the Member States and the Commission and to minimising the burden 
imposed on respondents. 

The  programme  shall  ensure  the  development  of  instruments  to  increase  the 
flexibility of the European Statistical System and to improve its ability to respond in 
a timely manner to changing user needs.  

Article 5 

Financing 

The  financial  framework  for  the  implementation  of  this  programme  for  the  period 
2008 to 2012 is hereby set at EUR 274 200 000. 

The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the budgetary authority within the 
limits of the financial framework. 

Article 6 

Reports 

During  the  third  year  of  implementation  of  the  programme,  the  Commission  shall 
prepare  an  intermediate  progress  report  and  present  it  to  the  Statistical  Programme 
Committee. 

At  the  end  of  the  period  covered  by  the  programme,  the  Commission,  after 
consulting  the  Statistical  Programme  Committee,  shall  present  an  evaluation  report 
on the implementation of the programme. That report is to be completed by the end 
of 2013 and subsequently submitted to the European Parliament and the Council. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

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3. 

Reporting  on  the  outcome  of  reprioritization  shall  form  part  of  the  intermediate 
progress report and the final evaluation report. 

Article 7 

Entry into force 

This  Decision  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  third  day  following  that  of  its  publication  in  the 
Official Journal of the European Union. 

Article 8  

Addressees 

This Decision is addressed to the Member States. 

Done at Brussels, […] 

For the European Parliament 
The President 
[…] 

For the Council 
The President 
[…] 

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ANNEX I 

FIVE-YEAR STATISTICAL PROGRAMME: CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES  

This  Annex  relates  to  cross-cutting  aspects  of  strategic  importance  for  the  medium  to  long 
term development of Community statistics. It describes firstly, how statistical policy in itself 
contributes  to  European  integration;  secondly,  the  overall  characteristics  of  the  European 
Statistical  System  and  cooperation  with  users  and  producers;  thirdly,  the  main  instruments 
used  by  the  Community  authority  in  cooperation  with  the  national  authorities.  For  each  of 
these aspects this annex summarises the main objectives and initiatives to be taken during this 
five-year period. 

1. 

THE ROLE OF STATISTICS IN THE EUROPEAN INTEGRATION 

Trustworthy statistical information about the economic, social and environmental situation in 
the EU and its components at national and regional level is a necessary precondition for the 
European  integration  process.  It  provides  the  EU  Institutions,  Member  States  and  citizens 
with  the  necessary  factual  means  to  assess  the  need  for,  and  progress  of,  European  policy 
initiatives. Harmonised and comparable statistics are also indispensable for the understanding 
of  Europe  among  the  general  public,  for  the  participation  of  citizens  in  the  debate  and 
democratic process about Europe’s future and for the participation of economic operators in 
the single market. 

The  deepening  and  enlarging  of  the  Union  is  reflected  in  the  ESS  (European  Statistical 
System) itself: The strategies and measures of the ESS comprise continuous harmonisation of 
concepts, definitions and methods, and, if necessary, integration of production processes and 
implementation  of  common  interoperable  systems.  However,  the  ESS  needs  to  develop 
further its structures, strategies and measures to ensure that the system maintains and develops 
the  necessary  quality  and  effectiveness  to  meet  all  user  needs.  Among  others,  research  in 
official  statistics  can  contribute  to  further  develop  the  infrastructure,  the  efficiency  and  the 
quality of Community statistics. 

The objectives in the programme period are: 

•  The  “common  statistical  language”  of  concepts,  classifications  and  methodologies 
shall  be  further  harmonised,  developed  and  implemented.  Among  the  most 
important actions in this area are the revision of the European System of Accounts 
and the implementation of the NACE rev. 2 classification of economic activities.  

•  A  European  statistical  register  of  multinational  enterprise  groups  shall  be 

developed and integrated in the statistical production processes. 

•  Standards  and  common  tools  for  efficient  and  secure  exchange  of  statistical  data 
and  metadata  in  the  ESS  shall  be  further  developed  and  implemented  in 
cooperation with other relevant EC services, the European System of Central Banks 
and  international  organisations.  These  standards  will  be  enforced  for  all  relevant 
domains. 

•  A metadata repository - available to users as well as producers - shall be developed 
and implemented, linking data and metadata for the whole data production cycle.  

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•  Increased usage of the Internet – not only for dissemination to end users, but also 

for other parts of the statistical production process – shall be promoted. 

•  Policies  and  tools  for  harmonised  confidentiality  management  in  the  ESS  shall  be 
developed  and  implemented.  Also,  harmonised  means  for  optimal  access  to 
anonymised  micro  data  for  authorised  researchers  shall  be  developed  and 
implemented.  The  risk  of  disclosure  will  be  adequately  assessed,  and  technical  means 
developed to ease access to and sharing of statistical data. 

•  The means for exchanging tools within the ESS shall be developed. The use of Open 

Source Software (OSS) shall be promoted for that purpose. 

•  Means  shall  be  put  in  place  for  making  better  operational  use  of  results  from 

research in official statistics. 

2. 

RELATIONS WITH STAKEHOLDERS 

2.1. 

The European Statistical System 

Eurostat  is  responsible  for  ensuring  the  production  of  Community  statistics  for  EU  policy 
purposes.  An  efficient  production  of  the  Community  statistics  covered  by  this  programme, 
where  Member  State  authorities  are  responsible  for  the  production  of  harmonised  national 
statistics and where Eurostat is responsible for the production of Community statistics on the 
basis  of  data  supplied  mostly  by  the  national  statistical  authorities,  necessitates  a  close  and 
coordinated  cooperation.  This  cooperation  is  achieved  through  the  European  Statistical 
System. 

The European Statistical System (ESS) is the partnership comprising Eurostat, national statistical 
institutes and other national statistical bodies responsible in each Member State for producing and 
disseminating European Statistics in line with the principles of the European Statistics Code of 
Practice. Eurostat will ensure the necessary management and coordination of this structure in 
order to assure the timely provision of statistics in support of EU policy needs. 

Exchange  of  experience,  best  practice,  know-how  and  key  methodological  techniques 
amongst the members of the ESS is also a fundamental element for a smooth functioning of 
the  system.  This  is  promoted  through  the  development  of  the  European  Statistical  Training 
Programme. 

The objectives in the programme period are: 

•  The  Commission  and  the  Member  States  will  take  the  appropriate  initiatives 

towards compliance with the European Statistics Code of Practice. 

•  Structures and procedures will be in place to oversee and advise on the compliance 
with  the  Code  of  Practice  in  Eurostat  and  the  national  statistical  authorities.  A 
high-level advisory body shall complement the governance structure. 

•  A process for quality labelling of European official statistics shall be put in place. 

•  The  European  Statistical  Training  Programme  shall  aim  at  improving  the  overall 

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quality of European statistics by raising the qualification of statisticians, promoting 
their  independence,  encouraging  both  theoretical  and  practical  training  and 
exchanging best practice and experience. 

2.2. 

Cooperation with users 

A  close,  continuous  dialogue  with  users  of  Community  statistics  about  their  needs,  actual 
usage  and  priorities  is  imperative.  The  current  cooperation  with  users  is  beneficial  and 
comprises  among  others  the  activities  of  the  European  Advisory  Committee  on  Statistical 
Information  in  the  Economic  and  Social  Spheres  (CEIES),  cooperation  with  European 
business  federations  and  the  formal  discussions  of  the  statistical  work  programme  with 
Commission services. However, as the number of users of Community Statistics increases and 
users  become  more  diverse  in  their  needs,  Eurostat  will  further  strengthen  the  dialogue 
between the European Statistical System and its users. 

The objectives in the programme period are: 

•  The  distance  between  users  and  producers  shall  be  reduced  by  improving 

communication with different groups and networks of users. 

•  Pro-active  user  needs  investigation  shall  be  implemented.  This  will  enable  the 

European Statistical System to respond more effectively to emerging needs. 

•  CEIES  shall  be  strengthened.  This  will  enable  the  development  of  Community 

statistics to be more user-oriented. 

2.3. 

Technical cooperation with non-EU countries 

The  interaction  of  the  EU  with  neighbouring  countries  and  other  regions  and  countries 
throughout the world requires reliable official statistics about economic and social conditions 
in  those  countries.  A  comprehensive  technical  cooperation  takes  place  in  order  to  build  the 
statistical capacity of those countries and provide the statistics needed for the management of 
EU policies. This is especially the case for EU candidate countries. The cooperation involves 
the expertise of many partners in the European Statistical System. 

The objective in the programme period is: 

•  To  prepare  and  implement  regional  development  programmes  and  to  ensure  a 
close link between statistical actions and the wider objectives of EU programmes. 

2.4. 

Cooperation with international organisations 

Statistics  must  not  only  be  comparable  between  EU  Member  States,  but  also  at  the  wider 
international level, and many domains of the European Statistical System (ESS) are based on 
internationally  agreed  methodology.  In  many  cases  the  ESS  takes  a  lead  and  develops 
standards in advance of global ones. In such cases it is essential that the global methodologies 

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take  account  of  European  developments.  International  cooperation  also  includes  joint 
management  of  major  projects  and  coordination  of  work  programmes  and  data  collection 
activities in order to avoid duplication of efforts. 

Experience  has  shown  that  a  coordinated,  common  position  is  important  for  having  the 
priorities  of  the  EU  impacting  the  agenda  and  the  development  and  harmonisation  of  the 
international  statistical  systems.  For  that  reason,  intensified  preparation  and  coordination  of 
EU positions prior to high level international meetings has been initiated. 

The objectives in the programme period are: 

•  To  make  sure  that  the  EU  is  consistently  represented  and,  where  appropriate, 
coordinate  its  positions  in  the  most  important  international  statistical  fora  and  in 
matters of priority for EU policies. 

•  To promote the international cooperation and coordination of work programmes in 
order  to  avoid  duplication  of  work  and  to  improve  comparability  of  international 
statistics. 

3. 

INSTRUMENTS 

3.1. 

Better regulation 

Article 3(2) of Regulation 322/97 sets forth three types of “individual statistical actions” that 
can be used to implement the Community statistical programme: Firstly, legislation adopted 
under  the  co-decision  procedure,  which  may  delegate  powers  of  implementation  to  the 
Commission;  secondly,  actions  taken  directly  by  the  Commission,  under  very  limited 
circumstances: the action must not last for more than one year, the data to be gathered must be 
already available or accessible within the national authorities responsible, and any additional 
costs  incurred  at  national  level  as  a  result  of  the  action  must  be  borne  by  the  Commission; 
thirdly, agreements between Eurostat and the Member State authorities. 

Enactment of legislation in accordance with Treaty provisions should be the preferred choice 
in  most  situations  where  the  collection  of  statistics  is  necessary.  This  will  be  based  on  a 
realistic legislative policy in conformity with the Commission’s policy for simpler and well 
targeted  legislation.  New  legislative  initiatives  will  be  exhaustively  prepared  with  the 
stakeholders  and  they  should  address  the  users’  needs,  avoid  excessive  burden  on 
respondents, take due account of priorities, costs and the possibilities for delivering. 

The objectives in the programme period are: 

•  In certain areas of regular production of Community statistics which have reached 
sufficient maturity, initiatives shall be taken to replace agreements with Community 
legislation. 

•  In statistical areas with complex Community legislation, initiatives shall be taken to 

recast and simplify the legislation. 

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•  In  statistical  areas  where  the  Community  legislation  does  not  effectively  reflect 
users’ needs, priorities and the socio-economic and technological context, initiatives 
shall be taken to repeal or revise the legislation.  

3.2. 

Compliance Monitoring 

The quality of Community statistics comprises – in addition to the scientific requirements – 
the  fundamental  requirement  of  compliance  with  the  principles  of  the  Treaty  and  the 
secondary legislation. Therefore, a vigorous and systematic monitoring of the application of 
the legislation is a priority. A global and coherent compliance strategy structured around the 
principles of a realistic legislative policy, the obligation of Member States to systematically 
apply the statistical legislation and a coherent and systematic monitoring of compliance, will 
be followed. Close contacts with the competent national authorities throughout all the phases 
is part of the compliance process. 

The objective in the programme period is: 

•  Ensure a systematic monitoring of compliance with Community legislation. 

3.3. 

Increased ability to respond to users’ needs 

In order to improve the statistical service to the users, and in order to improve efficiency for 
the European Statistical System as a whole, a stronger focus on the core needs for European 
policies  is  necessary.  This  will  be  based  on  the  “First  for  Europe”  approach,  a  pragmatic 
strategy  to  facilitate  the  compilation  of  European  aggregates  which  are  of  particular 
importance  for  Community  policies.  Also,  the  flexibility  of  the  European  Statistical  System 
and its ability to respond promptly to changing user needs must be strengthened. 

The objectives in the programme period are: 

•  The coherence across statistical systems shall be improved. This will strengthen the 

ability to respond to users’ needs by combining different statistical sources. 

•  The  use  of  ad-hoc  modules  in  Community  surveys  shall  be  extended  in  specific 

cases. This will increase the responsiveness to new needs. 

•  Differentiation of requirements depending on the weight of countries in European 
aggregates shall be used to a larger extent. This will reduce significantly the costs for 
some  national  authorities  and  the  burden  on  respondents.  Also,  it  will  improve  the 
timeliness of EU aggregates. 

•  European samples aiming to provide good quality data at European aggregate level 
can  be  used  in  specific  cases.  This  will  improve  coherence  and  comparability  and 
streamline production processes. 

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3.4. 

Financial support to actions contributing to Community objectives 

In  order  to  ensure  the  timely  fulfilment  of  users’  needs,  the  Commission  can  support  the 
development of statistics and the build-up of capacity in the European Statistical System by 
awarding service contracts or concluding grant agreements. 

The objective in the programme period is: 

•  Service  contracts  and  grant  agreements  shall  be  awarded  with  a  view  to  ensuring 
the  optimum  development  of  statistics  and  build-up  of  capacity  in  the  European 
Statistical System, making best use of available resources.  

3.5. 

Utilising partners’ expertise for Community purposes  

Achieving  the  objectives  of  the  European  Statistical  System  and  ensuring  the  necessary 
improvement of programmes, processes and products to meet increasing user needs not only 
require  sufficient  resources  but  also  the  creativity  and  competence  of  the  entire  ESS. 
Therefore,  new  ways  of  structuring  the  practical  organisation  of  certain  activities  –  making 
use of expertise and best practices where they are available – shall be put in place in order to 
release synergies and improve overall efficiency and quality.  

The objective in the programme period is: 

•  Joint  structures,  tools  and  processes  shall  be  established,  involving  national 
authorities  and  relevant  EC  services  and  facilitating  the  specialisation  of  certain 
Member  States  in  specific  statistical  activities  for  the  benefit  of  the  European 
Statistical System as a whole. 

3.6. 

Dissemination 

The  objectives  and  tools  of  dissemination  will  undergo  substantial  changes  during  the 
programme  period  which  will  not  only  significantly  change  the  nature  of  the  dissemination 
function  itself,  but  also  have  a  significant  impact  on  the  other  phases  of  the  statistical 
production process. 

The rapid evolution in the capacity and availability of the Internet will make it the prime tool 
for the dissemination of statistical data in the future. It will significantly increase the potential 
user community and thus create new opportunities for dissemination. Moreover, it will create 
the  possibility  for  intensified  cooperation  between  Eurostat  and  the  national  statistical 
institutes.  However,  the  Internet  will  also  introduce  significant  new  challenges  for  user 
friendly  presentation  of  data  that  help  users  to  find,  display  and  understand  statistics.  The 
existing dissemination of paper publications and offline electronic media will need to evolve 
as  supplementary  dissemination  tools.  Adequate  user  support  structures  and  communication 
with user groups are important elements of effective dissemination.  

The objectives in the programme period are: 

•  Eurostat’s Internet Site will evolve in terms of content, ease of use and functionality 

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and shall correspond to best practice. 

•  The  cooperation  with  other  dissemination  platforms  of  the  European  Statistical 
System and of other EC services will increase in order to facilitate the usage of the 
Internet sites and enhance the value of the statistical information for users. 

3.7. 

The balance of costs and benefits 

The ESS has to maintain a vigilant watch on the balance between the needs for information 
for Community policy purposes and the resources required at EU, national and regional levels 
to provide this information. The provision of adequate resources in the national context is of 
particular  importance  in  pursuing  the  statistical  information  requirements  of  EU  policy 
decisions. It is, however, also important to maintain sufficient flexibility to allow the national 
authorities  to  satisfy  Community  statistical  information  needs  in  the  most  cost-effective 
manner. 

The setting of priorities will be based on three high-level guiding principles: 

–  Assessment of users’ needs, including relevance for policy making at Community level; 

–  Assessments of cost implications for respondents, Member States and the Commission;  

–  Assessment  of  specific  statistical  issues  of  importance  for  the  cost-effectiveness  of  a 
particular  statistics,  including  the  trade-off  between  different  components  of  statistical 
quality, e.g. “accuracy” and “timeliness”, and possibilities for flexible reporting obligations 
focusing on core European needs.  

In  order  to  maximise  overall  cost-effectiveness  and  to  pursue  a  balanced  prioritisation  of 
activities within the annual statistical work programmes, these principles will be applied in a 
transparent  way  and  according  to  practical  guidelines  to  be  developed  and  maintained  by 
Eurostat in co-operation with the national statistical authorities. 

The objectives in the programme period are: 

•  Methods  shall  be  put  in  place  for  in-depth  reviews  of  existing  domains  of 
Community  statistics  and  for  the  assessment of new or substantially changed user 
requests.  This  will  be  important  for  continuous  improvement  of  Community  statistics, 
ensuring the identification of requirements which can be reduced or discontinued, and for 
the introduction of revised or new statistical initiatives. 

•  In  statistical  areas  with  high  response  burden  on  enterprises,  measures  for  its 
monitoring  shall  be  put  in  place  and  ways  for  minimising  such  burden  shall  be 
explored.  Increased  use  of  administrative  data  for  statistical  purposes  will  be  an 
important instrument for this. Targets for reduction shall be set in the areas with highest 
response burden. 

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ANNEX II 

FIVE-YEAR STATISTICAL PROGRAMME: OBJECTIVES AND ACTIONS 

This  Annex  provides  a  summary  of  statistical  needs  and  requirements  viewed  from  the 
perspective  of  the  policy  needs  of  the  European  Union.  Following  a  first  section  related  to 
cross-sectional  statistical  activities  in  support  of  overall  policy  priorities,  these  needs  are 
classified  by  the  Titles  identified  in  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community.  This 
may  lead  to  some  repetitions  because  some  statistical  activities  contribute  to  more  than  one 
Title. For each policy area this annex provides the legal framework, the current situation and 
the main initiatives to be taken within this five-year period. 

Priorities,  defined  by  the  Commission,  shall  be  discussed  each  year  with  Member  States  in 
order to bring about proposals for simplification of the statistical requirements to be integrated 
in the process of adopting new legal bases and their implementing measures. Best practices in 
data  collection  shall  be  regularly  discussed  with  and  exchanged  among  Member  States  in 
order  to  promote  simplification  and  modernisation  in  data  collection  methods  which  would 
ease the burden on respondents. 

CROSS-SECTIONAL STATISTICAL ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF OVERALL 
COMMUNITY POLICY PRIORITIES 

Structural indicators and sustainable development indicators 

Legal framework 

Structural  indicators  emerge  from  the  Lisbon  Strategy  adopted  by  the  European  Council  in 
March  2000,  mainly  oriented  to  economic  growth  and  employment  as  laid  down  in  the 
Integrated  Guidelines  for  Growth  and  Jobs  in  2005  (article  99  of  EC  Treaty).  Sustainable 
development  indicators  have  got  a  new  foundation  through  the  Sustainable  Development 
Strategy, adopted by the European Council in June 2006. 

Current situation 

Statistics  and  indicators  are  required  to  monitor  the  implementation  and  impact  of  both  the 
Lisbon  Strategy  and  the  Sustainable  Development  Strategy,  both  being  of  cross-cutting 
nature. Developments are continuously introduced to adjust the sets of indicators to the actual 
needs and to improve the quality of the information provided to the general public. 

Some  fields  –  such  as  food  safety  and  quality,  chemicals  and  pesticides,  health  and 
environment,  corporate  responsibility,  biodiversity,  natural  resources,  transport,  marine 
ecosystems,  good  governance  and  financial  services  –  are  not  yet  adequately  covered  by 
indicators. 

Main initiatives 2008–2012 

•  Structural and sustainable development indicators shall be adjusted to new emerging user 

needs and to specific national programmes; 

•  New  sustainable  development  indicators  shall  be  developed  in  cooperation  with  other 
Commission services and the European Environment Agency in order to better respond to 

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existing  and  forthcoming  needs,  particularly  in  the  fields  of  food  safety  and  quality, 
chemicals  and  pesticides,  health  and  environment,  corporate  responsibility,  biodiversity, 
natural  resources,  transport,  marine  ecosystems,  land  use  and  good  governance;  the 
regional breakdowns will be further developed as appropriate; 

•  The quality of existing indicators shall be improved and the information about the quality 

of published indicators shall be completed; 

•  The  communication  on  both  structural  and  sustainable  development  indicators  shall  be 

enhanced, in line with the importance of the underlying strategies. 

Enlargement 

Legal framework 

For  the  accession  negotiations,  the  Commission  must  be  able  to  draw  on  a  complete  set  of 
reliable statistics, methodologically comparable with those of the European Union countries. 
The  statistical  assistance  to  new  Member  States,  candidate  countries  and  pre-candidate 
countries  is  governed  by  a  strong  legal  framework  including  the  Act  of  Accession  and 
Council  Regulation  (EC)  1085/2006  of  17  July  2006  establishing  an  Instrument  for  Pre-
Accession Assistance (IPA). 

Current situation 

While  fulfilling  its  objectives  in  the  area  of  statistical  assistance,  the  Union  is  then  facing 
three somewhat different challenges: 

–  to integrate the potential new members in all Community mechanisms, including e.g. own-

resources budgets and structural funds and all other issues and programmes, 

–  to prepare the candidates properly before their accession by taking part in the negotiation 
process and following-up their commitments during the negotiations until their accession, 

–  to continue to prepare remaining candidates and help them to reach full compliance with 

current Community legislation. 

This  places  high  demands  on  the  statistical  production  of  the  candidates.  Basic  economic 
statistics  are  indispensable,  including  sectoral  and  regional  distribution  of  gross  domestic 
product,  population,  employment  etc.  Other  key  statistics  are  those  which  measure  the 
implementation of the single market, such as trade in goods, trade in services and freedom of 
establishment, balance of payments, capital flows, mobility of persons, industrial production 
and structure etc. In addition there are requirements for statistics in sectors which are sensitive 
for the accession negotiations, supporting primary EU policies such as agriculture, transport, 
the regions and the environment. 

Main initiatives 2008–2012 

•  Collection of comparable data for  key policies shall be consolidated for negotiations and 

internal Commission purposes; 

•  Assistance to new Member States, candidate countries and pre-candidate countries shall be 
continued in order to adjust their statistical systems to meet Community requirements. 

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TITLE I 
FREE MOVEMENT OF GOODS 

Legal framework 

Treaty  provisions:  Article  133  (common  commercial  policy).  Legal  acts  covering  relevant 
statistical fields: EP and Council Regulation 638/2004 on Community statistics relating to the 
trading of goods between Member States and repealing Council regulation (EEC) N° 3330/91; 
EP  and  Council  Regulation  184/2005  on  Community  statistics  concerning  balance  of 
payments, international trade in services and foreign direct investment. 

Current situation 

The  adjustments  of  the  trade  statistics  legislation  mainly  with  regard  to  the  Intrastat 
regulation, the implementation of the Intrastat reporting system in the new Member States and 
the reduction of the items within the combined nomenclature were major achievements in the 
past programme period. These developments were accomplished in order to better serve the 
needs of the users of statistical data on the community level as well as on the Member States 
level  enabling  proper  interpretation  of  macroeconomic  developments  and  assessment  of  the 
competitiveness  of  the  EU  and  the  Member  States.  At  the  same  time,  the  collection  and 
processing of statistical data were optimized and, as a result, the administrative burden on the 
providers  of  statistical  information  was  reduced.  These  results  are  broadly  in  line  with  the 
objectives of the Lisbon agenda. 

The  goal  in  the  period  2008–2012  will  be  to  continue  further  the  simplification  effort,  the 
harmonization of the different types of statistics concerning international movements of goods 
and  the  balance  of  payments  statistics,  while  at  the  same  time  exploring  the  possibilities  of 
linking  the  trade  statistics  data  and  nomenclatures  with  other  types  of  statistics,  mainly 
business  statistics  or  industrial  activity  nomenclatures.  The  outcome  will  be  a  further  move 
towards  a  more  simplified,  transparent  and  comprehensible  framework  for  the  compilation 
and  use  of  trade  statistics,  which  will  further  diminish  the  administrative  burden  on 
enterprises  and  thus  foster  the  competitive  position  of  the  European  economy.  At  the  same 
time  interconnecting  the  different  types  of  statistics  should  enable  the  use  of  new  ways  of 
analyzing economic and structural developments and sustainable use of resources in the EU. 

Main initiatives 2008–2012 

•  A single flow system for Intrastat will be proposed by the Commission for entry into force 

in 2010; 

•  Methods and tools will be developed aiming at a better integration of the different types of 

statistical information required from businesses; 

•  The consistency between trade in goods statistics and balance of payments statistics shall 

be further improved by reconciling these two statistics on goods. 

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TITLE II 
AGRICULTURE 

Legal framework 

Agricultural statistics reflect the high degree of EU integration of agriculture, the importance 
of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the EU budget and the essential role they have 
in the decision-making process of the CAP. 

Current situation 

The  traditional  agricultural  statistics  will  continue  to  remain  crucial  for  the  CAP  (market 
management) and will have to be consolidated and rationalised. On the other hand, the new 
policy concerns (rural development, environmental compliance and impacts, food safety) will 
require structural statistics which could be less frequent but which should meet the need for 
detailed and sometimes specific geographical breakdowns matching e.g. with spatial data on 
soil, watersheds and biodiversity. The 2010 agricultural census will be a very valuable source 
in this respect. 

One  of  the  main  proposals  included  in  the  European  Commission  Action  Plan  on  organic 
farming focuses on an information-led development of the organic food market. To this end, 
the collection of statistical data on both production and marketing of organic products will be 
envisaged. The legal architecture of the EU system for agricultural statistics is to be simplified 
in the near future and will have to be implemented in the EU and in the candidate countries. 

Particular  attention  will  be  given  to  the  development  of  specific  indicators  for  the 
environmental and sustainable  management of  forests and wood-derived industries. The EU 
Forest Action Plan will need monitoring after the launch phase scheduled for 2006/2007. 

The programme of fishery statistics will include the continued implementation of the existing 
legislation, including aquaculture statistics, the development of socio-economic indicators and 
of sustainability indicators and the development of supply balance sheets for fishery products. 
Eurostat  will  follow  the  developments  in  the  proposed  Maritime  Policy  and  adapt  its 
programme of work accordingly. 

Main initiatives 2008-2012 

•  An  agricultural  census  shall  in  principle  be  carried  out  in  2010  (with  results  available  in 
2011 at the latest) according to legal acts as well as a decennial survey on vineyards. The 
2007  farm  structure  survey  results  shall  be  made  available  in  2008  (as  well  as  the  2007 
fruit trees survey results); 

•  Surveys  on  agricultural  production  methods,  on  land  use,  on  input  use  and  on  organic 

farming shall be carried out according to legal acts; 

•  The  current  surveys  on  crops  and  animal  productions  shall  be  carried  out  according  to 
revised legal acts. The proposed legal acts are aimed at integrating and simplifying existing 
legislation; 

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•  Depending on the conclusions drawn from the current feasibility study, the income of the 

agricultural households sector may have to be compiled; 

•  Rural development and agri-environmental indicators will be further developed and made 

available; 

•  Special  attention  will  be  devoted  to  the  development  of  a  more  efficient  system  for 

collection and validation of agricultural statistics; 

•  New  statistical  information  will  have  to  be  compiled  and  launched  for  guidance  of  the 

proposed Maritime Policy which is currently being drafted by the Commission. 

TITLE III 
FREE MOVEMENT OF PERSONS, SERVICES AND CAPITAL

11 

Legal framework 

Free movement of capital and services are crucial for EU internal market. They belong to the 
so-called "fundamental freedoms" which are central to the Single Market. In its responsibility 
for  monitoring  the  proper  and  timely  application  of  the  Treaty  provisions  governing  the 
freedom  of  movements  of  capital  and  services,  the  European  Commission  requires  reliable 
and comparable statistical information. 

The relevant Treaty provisions governing the freedom of capital movements are enshrined in 
Articles 56 EC to 60 EC of the EC Treaty. The freedom to provide cross border services is set 
out in Article 49 of the same Treaty. Legal acts covering relevant statistical fields are: EP and 
Council  Regulation  184/2005  on  Community  statistics  concerning  balance  of  payments, 
international  trade  in  services  and  foreign  direct  investment;  EP  and  Council  Decision 
1608/2003/EC  on  the  production  and  development  of  Community  statistics  on  science  and 
technology; Commission proposal for an EP and Council Regulation on Community statistics 
on the structure and activity of foreign affiliates (COM(2005) 88 final). 

Current situation 

The growing importance of free movement of services and capital leads to increasing demand 
for high quality statistics. The challenge is to publish relevant data in a timely manner and to 
adapt the system to changing requirements of the policy makers, while keeping a low level of 
burden on respondents. 

From  2006,  the  implementation  of  the  Balance  of  Payments  Regulation  will  enhance  the 
quality  of  trade  in  services  and  direct  investments  data.  In  addition,  statistics  on  foreign 
affiliates  will  allow  the  globalisation  of  production  systems  to  be  measured  The  statistics 
produced will continue to cover both extra-EU and intra-EU trade and thus meet the needs of 
the single market. 

The  growing  importance  of  multinational  enterprises  will  require  new  forms  of  data 
collection. The new Regulation on business registers includes transmission of individual data 

11 

Free movement of persons is addressed in Title IV. 

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on  multinational  enterprise  groups  to  Eurostat  and  feedback  of  harmonised  information  to 
Member  States  leading  to  a  Community  register  of  multinational  enterprise  groups 
(EuroGroups), which will be fully implemented from 2008 and onwards. 

Regular  production  of  high  quality  statistics  on  postal  services  is  essential  for  European 
Policy  Makers,  national  regulators  and  postal  operators,  to  assist  the  evolution  towards  an 
open  postal  market  and  beyond.  The  modalities  of  the  data  collection  will  be  based  on  the 
assessment of the 2006 pilot to ensure a high data quality. 

The internationalisation of research and development, and of the human resources linked to 
it, is crucial for the performance of the European economy. It is therefore important to collect 
R&D data within the context of balance of payment, FATS and measures for multi-national 
enterprises. 

Main initiatives 2008-2012 

•  The  NACE  rev.2  classification  of  economic  activities  with  a  more  detailed  services 

breakdown will be applied in all relevant fields. 

•  Implementation and updating of key legislation (balance of payments, international trade in 

services, foreign direct investment and foreign affiliates) shall be ensured; 

•  Improved  measurement  of  the  internationalisation  of  research  and  development  shall  be 

pursued; 

•  Work on statistics on residence permits – including both EU and third country nationals – 

will continue as long as there are Community policy needs for this type of data. 

TITLE IV 
VISAS, ASYLUM, IMMIGRATION AND OTHER POLICIES  

RELATED TO FREE MOVEMENT OF PERSONS

12 

Legal framework 

Statistics on migration and asylum, and on crime and criminal justice will develop to meet 
the  evolving  needs  for  statistics  to  support  the  Commission's  Action  Plan  to  implement  the 
Hague  programme  on  Justice,  Freedom  and  Security  issues.  This  Action  Plan  includes 
proposals  for  the  management  of  migration  flows,  the  social  and  economic  integration  of 
migrants, border controls, asylum and strengthening security through common action against 
crime, particularly organised crime. Substantial increases will be necessary in the availability 
and  quality  of  statistics  to  support  these  measures.  This  is  particularly  the  case  for  the 
implementation of the new four Funds proposed in the framework programme on Solidarity 
and  Management  of  Migration  Flows  for  the  period  2007-201313.  These  developments  will 

12 

13 

The  adoption  of  measures  in  the  field  of  police  and  judicial  cooperation  in  criminal  matters  is  not 
foreseen  by  Title  IV  of  the  EC  Treaty  but  is  part  of  Title  VI  of  the  Treaty  on  European  Union.  They  are 
included  under  Title  IV  in  this  document  because  both  migratory  policy  and  police/justice  cooperation  are 
covered by the area of Freedom, Security and Justice. 
COM (2005) 123. 

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begin  before  2008  but  will  continue  throughout  and  beyond  the  lifetime  of  this  statistical 
programme. 

Current situation 

Community  statistics  on  migration  and  asylum  are  currently  subject  to  serious  problems  of 
non-availability of data and poor harmonisation. Measures to overcome these weaknesses are 
ongoing  and  will  continue  throughout  the  programme  period.  These  improvements  will  be 
driven  by  the  implementation  of  new  legislation  for  Community  statistics  on  migration  and 
asylum in the first years of this programme. Crime statistics will be established in accordance 
with the EU Action Plan 2006-10 on developing a coherent and comprehensive framework to 
measure  crime  and  criminal  justice.  The  feasibility  and  advisability  of  introducing  a  legal 
basis for these statistics will be explored. 

In  recognition  of  the  wide  differences  in  national  administrative  and  statistical  systems  for 
migration  and  asylum  and  for  crime  and  criminal  justice,  measures  to  improve  the 
comparability  of  statistics  will  concentrate  on  the  harmonisation  of  statistical  outputs  rather 
than  on  the  introduction  of  common  data  sources  and  procedures.  However,  in  some  cases 
(such as for statistics on organised crime) it may be necessary to develop new data sources. 

Main initiatives 2008-2012 

•  The  implementation  of  the  legislation  for  Community  statistics  on  migration  and  asylum 
shall be completed. This will provide a framework for ongoing measures to strengthen the 
availability, comparability, timeliness and policy relevance of these statistics; 

•  Statistics  providing  socio-economic  information  about  migrant  populations  shall  be 
developed,  including  the  implementation  of  ad  hoc  modules  in  the  Labour  Force  Survey 
and  the  collection  of  migrant  information  as  part  of  the  2011  Community  Census 
Programme; 

•  Community  statistics  on  crime  (including  organised  crime),  victimisation  and  criminal 
justice  shall  be  introduced,  and  the  comparability  of  this  information  shall  be  improved, 
such as through the development and possible implementation of a common EU module on 
victimisation. 

TITLE V 
TRANSPORT 

Legal framework 

The EU transport policy has developed rapidly over the past 15 years. Its objective has been 
defined in the transport White Papers of 1992 and 2001, and the June 2006 Communication 
from the Commission to the Council and the EP "Keep Europe moving – Sustainable mobility 
for  our  continent.  Mid-term  review  of  the  European  Commission's  2001  Transport  White 
Paper" (COM (2006) 314 final). It aims at the optimisation of the transport system, allowing 
an efficient, competitive, safe, secure and environmentally-friendly performance of individual 
transport  modes  and  their  combinations  in  inter-modal  transport  chains.  Cleaner  and  more 
efficient transport is necessary to disconnect increasing mobility from its negative side effects. 

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The Union's transport policy is at the heart of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy and 
the Lisbon agenda for growth and jobs. 

Current situation 

Community  transport  statistics  aim  to  be  a  comprehensive  transport  information  system, 
including  data  on  flows  of  passengers  and  goods,  traffic,  infrastructure,  modes  of  transport, 
equipment,  personal  mobility,  safety,  security,  energy  consumption  and  environmental 
impact,  transport  costs,  infrastructure  investments,  transport  enterprises,  and  structural  and 
sustainable development indicators. 

The  coverage  of  statistics  on  flows  of  passengers  and  goods  and  on  traffic  is  good  for  all 
transport  modes  except  for  transport  of  passengers  by  road  and  non-motorised  modes. 
Moreover,  statistics  on  traffic  for  all  modes  of  transport  currently  lack  some  important  data 
necessary to monitor congestion, emissions to air and further negative environmental impacts. 
Statistics on freight transport are still mainly centred on single modes of transport and do not 
provide sufficient information on inter-modal transport chains. 

As  for  today  the  transport  information  system  lacks  information  on  investment  and  costs  in 
transport  infrastructure  as  well  as  spatially  broken-down  information  on  transport  networks 
and  flows,  with  links  between  geographic  representation  of  the  traffic  network  and  data 
collected  on  the  network,  that  is  necessary  to  support  the  investment  in  European  transport 
infrastructure and Community regional policies. 

Main initiatives 2008-2012 

•  The  coverage  of  legal  bases  for  Community  transport  statistics  across  all  modes  of 
transport  shall  be  consolidated  and  completed.  The  ongoing  work  on  the  production  of 
modal  split  indicators  in  both  passenger  and  freight  transport  shall  be  further  developed. 
Special emphasis will be put on transport of passengers by road. 

•  The  collection  of  additional  statistics  on  inter-modal  transport  chains,  urban  transport  as 
well as the production of indicators needed to monitor the integration of environmental and 
safety  considerations  into  transport  policies  shall  be  promoted.  The  collection  of  data  on 
infrastructure investment expenditure and costs shall be revised. The need for indicators of 
logistics  performance  shall  also  be  taken  into  account.  Special  emphasis  will  be  put  on 
collecting traffic data expressed in vehicle-kilometres. 

TITLE VI 
COMMON RULES ON COMPETITION, TAXATION AND APPROXIMATION OF LAWS 

No direct statistical programme is required. Statistical information for this title is derived as 
needed from data and indicators generated for other titles in the programme. 

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TITLE VII 
ECONOMIC AND MONETARY POLICY 

Legal framework 

Treaty  provisions:  Articles  99  (co-ordination  and  surveillance  of  economic  policies);  104 
(monitoring of fiscal developments); 105 (monetary policy and price stability); 133 (common 
commercial policy); 269 (own resources); Main regulations: Council Regulation 2223/96 on 
the  European  system  of  national  and  regional  accounts  (ESA95);  Council  Regulation 
1287/2003 on the harmonisation of gross national income at market prices (GNI Regulation); 
Council Decision 2000/597/EC on the system of the European Communities' own resources; 
Council  Regulation  3605/93  on  the  Application  of  the  protocol  on  the  excessive  deficit 
procedure, annexed  to  the treaty  establishing the European Community; Council Regulation 
2494/95  concerning  harmonised  indices  of  consumer  prices;  Council  Regulation  1165/98 
concerning  short-term  statistics;  EP  and  Council  Regulation  184/2005  on  Community 
statistics  concerning  balance  of  payments,  international  trade  in  services  and  foreign  direct 
investment; EU Staff Regulations. 

Current situation 

The  surveillance  and  coordination  of  macro-economic  policies  in  the  European  Union,  the 
conduct of monetary policy in the Economic and Monetary Union, as well as the Community 
structural  policies,  require  a  sound  statistical  underpinning.  Furthermore,  the  provision  of 
statistics for the administrative purposes of the EU is of utmost importance. 

Eurostat and the Member States need to ensure a successful implementation of the European 
System of Accounts data transmission programme. This data is a key element for business 
cycle and structural analysis. A significant effort will be made to improve the measurement of 
productivity, fostered by the Euklems project. 

The provision of statistics for EU administrative purposes remains of utmost importance. 
This includes the provision of GNI and value-added tax data for own resources calculations, 
macroeconomic  data  required  in  support  of  structural  policies  (in  particular  Purchasing 
Power Parities), and data required for the remunerations and pensions of EU officials. 

Harmonisation and comparability of the data used for budgetary and fiscal surveillance will 
be kept under review in order to provide decision-makers with high quality and comparable 
statistical instruments to support sound judgements on the situation in each Member State. 

In recent years the speed of the development of the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices 
(HICP)  has  slowed  down  and  the  improvement  of  the  quality  of  the  HICP  needs  to  be 
pursued  more  vigorously  (particularly  on  owner-occupied  housing,  quality  adjustment  and 
sampling). 

A  continuing  improvement  of  timeliness,  coverage  and  dissemination  of  the  Principal 
European  Economic  Indicators  (PEEI)  is  needed.  As  for  short-term  statistics  (STS), 
improvements  in  the  coverage  of  services,  especially  prices  of  service  output,  the  length  of 
time series and the timeliness of the data are required. 

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As  regards  balance  of  payments  statistics,  current  challenges  include  the  provision  of 
appropriate input to national accounts, and ensuring the continuing quality of source data in 
Member States where bank reporting thresholds are being raised. 

Main initiatives 2008-2012 

•  Active  participation  in  the  revision  of  the  international  standards  for  national  accounts 

(SNA93) and balance of payments statistics (BPM5); 

•  Revision of the European System of Accounts (ESA95); 

•  Implementation  of  the  NACE  rev.  2  classification  in  national  accounts,  balance  of 

payments and short-term statistics; implementation of other key legislation; 

•  Establishment of a European system of consumer price statistics centred around the HICP, 
simplification and consolidation of the HICP legal framework, and ensuring the credibility 
of HICP through a more effective communication policy and compliance strategy. 

TITLE VIII 
EMPLOYMENT 

Legal framework 

EU  labour  statistics  developments  will  be  driven  by  the  revised  Lisbon  strategy  now 
refocused  on  growth  and  employment  in  Europe,  the  targets  and  benchmarks  set  in  the 
framework  of  the  European  employment  strategy  and  the  economic  and  monetary  union 
which  requires  a  comprehensive  set  of  infra-annual  statistics  to  describe  the  labour  market 
developments in the Euro zone and the European Union. 

Current situation 

Labour  market  statistics  are  governed  by  a  solid  legal  framework  to  assure  regular  data 
transmission  for  the  estimation  of  employment,  unemployment,  earnings  and  labour  cost. 
Nevertheless, new policy areas will require the extension of the statistical legislation to other 
domains  such  as  (i)  job  vacancy  statistics,  evaluating  the  demand  side  of  the  labour  market 
and  complementing  statistics  on  employment  and  unemployment,  (ii)  the  labour  market 
situation  of  migrants,  promoting  better  integration  of  this  population  and  (iii)  the  transition 
from school to work, underpinning adequate policies assuring a smooth incorporation of the 
young into the labour market. Other areas as quality in work and employment in an ageing 
labour  force  context,  adaptability  of  workers  and  enterprises  as  well  as  the  labour  market 
needs of the information society will continue to focus the attention for the development of 
statistics. 

The improvement of the Community labour force survey (LFS) in the past years make this 
survey and its yearly modules the major source for producing comparable data on the labour 
market. The LFS is a household based survey, the results of which need to be complemented 
with  enterprise  based  data,  such  as  the  structural  and  short  term  statistics  on  earning  and 
labour  cost.  However  there  still  are  further  developments  needed  in  labour  market  statistics 
related to quality improvement such as getting better coherence with employment data from 
national accounts and from other surveys in business and agriculture and the introduction of 

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European sampling schemes and flash estimates to improve timeliness in the dissemination of 
indicators.  Efforts  should  also  be  done  to  analyse  in-depth  the  existing  data  sources,  to 
guarantee  more  flexible  dissemination  procedures  of  anonymised  individual  data  to  the 
scientific community and to introduce a revised classification of occupations (ISCO) in 2011 
to better reflect the structure of jobs and allows for improved international comparisons. 

Main initiatives 2008-2012 

•  The  2008  LFS  ad-hoc  module  on  the  labour  market  situation  of  migrants  and  their 
descendants, the 2009 LFS ad-hoc module on transitions from school to work and the LFS 
program of ad-hoc modules 2010-2012 shall be defined and implemented; 

•  The coverage of the structural surveys on earnings and labour cost shall be extended to the 
whole economy and the 2008 labour cost surveys and the 2010 structure of earnings survey 
shall be implemented; 

•  European sampling schemes based on a wider use of existing data should be introduced in 
short  term  labour  market  statistics,  allowing  the  production  of  timely  quarterly  and 
monthly employment and unemployment aggregates for the Euro area; 

•  Labour  statistics  shall  allow  monitoring  of  information  society  employment  and  skills 

needs; 

•  Full implementation of the Council Regulation on job vacancy statistics. 

TITLE IX 
COMMON COMMERCIAL POLICY 

Legal framework 

The  responsibility  of  the  European  Commission  for  negotiations  on  commercial  agreements 
with third countries including the trade agreements on services is embedded in article 133 of 
the Treaty. Legal acts covering relevant statistical fields are: Council Regulation 1172/95 on 
trading  of  goods  by  the  Community  and  its  member-states  with  non-member  countries;  EP 
and Council Regulation 184/2005 on Community statistics concerning balance of payments, 
international trade in services and foreign direct investment; Commission proposal for an EP 
and  Council  Regulation  on  Community  statistics  on  the  structure  and  activity  of  foreign 
affiliates (COM (2005) 88 final). 

Current situation 

The data requirements are increasing as new trade competitors and partners (e.g. China, India, 
Brazil and Latin America) appear on the world scene and also as a consequence of structural 
changes  in  the  area  of  trade  in  goods  and  services.  In  addition,  high  quality  collection, 
analysis  and  harmonisation  of  data  from  candidate  countries  and  the  main  EU  partner 
countries remain a priority. 

In parallel, efforts will be made to maintain the quality standards with respect to cross-border 
trade in services, foreign direct investment and foreign affiliated trade. For this purpose 

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the implementation of the regulation on Balance of payments statistics and the adoption of the 
regulation on foreign affiliates (FATS) will be of utmost importance. 

Main initiatives 2008-2012 

•  A  new  Extrastat  legislation  shall  be  implemented  with  the  main  objective  to  make 
available additional relevant customs information and complementary statistics through the 
use of registers on trade operators; 

•  Implementation and updating of key legislation (balance of payments, international trade in 

services, foreign direct investment and foreign affiliates) shall be ensured; 

•  The  new  IMF  international  methodological  standards  shall  be  implemented  in  the  EU 

compilation of balance of payments statistics. 

•  Implementation  in  the  EU  of  the  Manual  on  Statistics  of  International  Trade  in  Services 

and its revised version. 

TITLE X 
CUSTOMS COOPERATION 

No direct statistical programme is required. Statistical information for this title is derived as 
needed from data and indicators generated for other titles in the programme. 

TITLE XI 
SOCIAL POLICY, EDUCATION, VOCATIONAL TRAINING AND YOUTH 

Legal framework 

Statistics  in  this  domain  will  be  driven  by  the  open  method  of  coordination  (OMC)  in  the 
fields  of  social  exclusion,  pensions  and  health  care  and  long-term  care;  the  sustainable 
development strategy; Articles 143 (social situation report) and 13 (anti-discrimination) of the 
EC Treaty; the health and safety at work strategy; the 2003 Council Resolution on promoting 
the  employment  and  social  integration  of  people  with  disabilities  and  the  Commission 
Communication on equal opportunities for people with disabilities. The UNECE Strategy for 
Education for Sustainable Development claims also for data development. 

Current situation 

The  system  of  statistics  on  living  conditions  and  social  protection  relies  on  two  main 
pillars: ESSPROS (system of social protection statistics) and EU-SILC (Statistics on income 
and  living  conditions).  These  two  pillars  underpin  the  Laeken  and  pension  indicators  of  the 
OMC. Progress is still to be made to develop indicators on regional and on child poverty.  

Data  on  lifelong  learning  cover  information  on  formal,  non-formal  and  informal  learning 
within  education  and  training  systems  or  self-directed.  Based  on  established  education 
statistics,  new  data  were  compiled  on  vocational  training  in  enterprises  (measuring  the 
enterprise  commitment  and  contributions  to  employee  vocational  training)  or  on  adult 

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education. Data on youth are available from existing surveys and these will be fully exploited 
before further efforts are made to integrate the youth dimensions better in existing surveys. 

For  health  and  safety  at  work,  data  collection  and  analysis  will  focus  on  the  causes, 
circumstances  and  costs  of  accidents  at  work,  on  occupational  diseases  and  work-related 
health  problems,  as  well  as  on  factors  which  may  adversely  affect  the  health  of  workers. 
Regular collection of statistics, in particular harmonised survey modules on disability will be 
developed  and  implemented.  Statistics  will  be  further  improved  to  support  the  national 
strategies  on  the  development  of  high-quality,  accessible  and  sustainable  health  care  and 
long-term care. 

Preparatory work for the development of a common methodology for statistics on the extent 
and impact of discrimination has started. 

The  key  objective  for  demographic  statistics  will  be  to  provide  the  comprehensive  set  of 
data and analyses necessary to assess the implications of demographic change in Europe. This 
will  be  achieved  by  improving  the  methods  and  contents  of  demographic  data  collections, 
implementing legislation for the 2011 round of population and housing censuses, and by the 
regular production of long-run population projections. 

Main initiatives 2008-2012 

•  Development of a limited set of core variables and of the new European System of Social 

Statistical Survey Modules (E4SM) instrument; 

•  Consolidation of the EU-SILC project, development of the longitudinal dissemination and 

full operationalisation of the gross income concept; 

•  Development of indicators on regional (using small area estimation techniques) and child 

poverty; 

•  Development  of 

implementing  Regulations  on  ESSPROS 

to 

improve  coverage, 

comparability and timeliness of data. 

•  Improvement  of  the  existing  life  long  learning  statistics  framework  in  terms  of  quality 
(including coverage, timeliness, comparability and relevance) and performance, including 
the  filling  of  data  gaps  (e.g.  on  investment  efficiency,  mobility,  quality  of  teachers  and 
trainers,  quality  of  education,  VET,  social  background  of  tertiary  students)  and  access  to 
information at the educational institutions level. 

•  Statistics  on  youth  need  to  be  built  up  successively  using  existing  sources  and,  when 

needed, integrating them better in existing surveys; 

•  All social data collected on individuals at EU level shall be disaggregated by gender and a 

core set of indicators on the equality between men and women will be defined; 

•  A common methodology to obtain or to improve existing statistical data on the extent and 

impact of discrimination will be developed and implemented. 

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TITLE XII 
CULTURE 

The production of Cultural statistics is limited at this stage. Therefore no comprehensive and 
coherent framework as well as separate legislation on cultural statistics exists. 

If new policy needs emerge, Cultural statistics would need to be consolidated in also getting 
to  a  durable  regular  data  production  (based  on  various  data  sources).  In  addition  rather 
comprehensive methodological work is necessary for e.g. better measuring the social impact 
of culture and the role of the cultural sector in a knowledge-based economy. 

TITLE XIII 
PUBLIC HEALTH 

Legal framework 

Council Directive 89/391 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the 
safety  and  health  of  workers  at  work;  EP  and  Council  Decision  1786/2002  adopting  a 
programme  of  Community  action  in  the  field  of  public  health  (2003-2006);  Commission 
proposal for a European Parliament and Council Regulation concerning Community statistics 
on public health and health and safety at work. 

Current situation 

The health information system, established under previous Community action programmes on 
public  health,  will  be  further  developed  through  actions  on  'health  knowledge  and 
information'  under  the  forthcoming  programme  of  Community  action  in  the  field  of  public 
health  2007-2013.  In  close  Partnership  with  the  Member  States,  Candidate  Countries  and 
EEA/EFTA  countries  through  the  European  Statistical  System  (ESS),  Eurostat  will  further 
develop  the  statistical  element  of  this  system,  in  particular  for  the  European  Community 
Health Indicators (ECHI). 

Statistical  data  on  public  health  are  also  required  for  sustainable  development  indicators, 
structural indicators, context indicators on disability and indicators developed in the context 
of the Open Method of Coordination for the support of national strategies for the development 
of high-quality, accessible and sustainable health care and long-term care. 

In  cooperation  with  the  activities  under  the  Community  public  health  programme,  with  the 
relevant  EU  agencies  and  the  international  organisations  competent  in  the  field  of  public 
health  statistics  (WHO,  OECD  and  UNECE),  the  focus  is  on  the  further  development  and 
implementation  of  the  methodology,  in  particular  in  the  fields  of  health  status  (including 
disability and morbidity), health determinants (such as life style and environmental factors), 
health care (including health expenditures) and causes of deaths. 

Main initiatives 2008-2012 

•  Where possible, Commission Regulations will be adopted for the implementation of the EP 
and Council Regulation concerning Community statistics on public health and health and 
safety at work; 

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•  The infrastructure for the basic system on public health statistics shall be reinforced, giving 
special  attention  to  the  examination,  consolidation  and  implementation  of  the  relevant 
methodologies, such as the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) and the System of 
Health Accounts (SHA); 

•  The  availability,  comparability,  timeliness  and  policy  relevance  of  statistics  on  public 
health  –  including  statistics  on  disability  and  on  health  care  –  shall  be  improved,  with 
specific  attention  to  further  methodological  development  and  taking  into  account  the 
different contexts in each country. 

TITLE XIV 
CONSUMER PROTECTION 

Legal framework 

Consumer policy has achieved a much higher profile during recent years (Article 153 of the 
Treaty). Eurostat work will rely on the Health and Consumer protection Strategy and on the 
proposal  for  a  European  Parliament  and  Council  Decision  creating  the  Community 
Programme  for  Health  and  Consumer  protection  2007-2013  adopted  by  the  Commission  in 
April 2005. 

The broad field of “consumer protection” is split in two main areas: “consumer affairs” and 
“food safety”. 

Current situation 

On  consumer  issues,  Eurostat  is  producing  on  an  annual  basis  a  panorama  publication 
'Consumers in Europe: facts and figures' and has established an inter-services Task Force on 
detailed prices statistics. 

Food  safety  is  an  important  topic  within  the  context  of  consumer  protection  policy  and  the 
European  Union  has  developed  a  wide  range  of  legislative  and  other  actions  intended  to 
guarantee effective control systems over the full chain, including legally established standards 
for the environment and animal welfare. 

The purpose of Eurostat’s effort on food safety statistics is to provide methodological advice 
and statistical data interesting not only for policy makers but also for private stakeholders and 
the public in general. 

Main initiatives 2008-2012 (consumer affairs) 

•  The development of 'hard' official statistics (e.g. detailed prices, cross border consumption 
expenditure, business to consumer, etc.) and a methodological assistance for soft statistics 
developed by other public/private bodies, 

•  The preparation of an action plan following the conclusions of the inter-services task force 

on detailed prices statistics; 

•  The launching of a detailed study about a possible a module on consumer protection issues 

to be included in the new instrument (E4SM) currently being developed by Eurostat. 

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Main initiatives 2008-2012 (food safety) 

•  The development of the relevant statistics for monitoring food safety shall be pursued; 

•  Availability and quality of statistics on labelled products (organic products, products based 

on genetically modified organisms, etc.) shall be improved. 

TITLE XV 
TRANS-EUROPEAN NETWORKS 

No direct statistical programme is required. Statistical information for this title is derived as 
needed from data and indicators generated for other titles in the programme. 

TITLE XVI 
INDUSTRY 

Business statistics 

Legal framework 

Statistics  on  European  business  are  required  to  support  analysis  of  competitiveness, 
productivity and growth and form key information for monitoring the progress of the renewed 
Lisbon objectives. 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  58/97  concerning  structural  business  statistics  (and  amended); 
European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 48/2004 on the production of annual 
Community  statistics  on  the  steel  industry  for  the  reference  years  2003-2009;  Council 
Regulation  (EEC)  No  3924/91  on  the  establishment  of  a  Community  survey  of  industrial 
production. Commission proposal of a European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) on 
business registers. Commission proposal for a European Parliament and Council Regulation 
(EC)  on  the  structure  and  activity  of  foreign  affiliates  (FATS).  Commission  Regulation 
1450/2004  concerning  the  production  and  development  of  Community  statistics  on 
innovation. 

Current situation 

Structural Business Statistics is used for detailed analysis of the European business sector. 
Main user concerns are the insufficient timeliness of the data and the slow adaptation to new 
and  emerging  policy  needs,  for  example  insufficient  information  on  the  services  sector, 
entrepreneurship,  globalisation  and  the  transition  to  sustainable  production  patterns.  For 
specific  manufacturing  sectors,  production  statistics  is  an  essential  complement  for  the 
understanding of the performance of the sector. 

Community  Innovation  Statistics  are  the  main  tool  for  measuring  innovation  in  Europe. 
These statistics are produced with a two-annual frequency from 2004 onwards More and more 
micro-data access is granted to the CIS data. 

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35 

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Statistics on foreign affiliates (FATS) are being developed and the new regulation will give 
a  basic  set  of  variables  for  measuring  globalisation.  The  European  register  on  multinational 
enterprises (EuroGroups) as entailed by the new Business Register Regulation is  in a pilot 
phase. 

Main initiatives 2008-2012 

•  Full  implementation  of  key  legislation  shall  be  ensured  (recast  of  the  SBS  regulation, 
FATS  regulation,  EuroGroups  register).  Pilot  studies  foreseen  in  the  legislation  shall  be 
carried out and fully evaluated; 

•  For Community Innovation Statistics the full implementation of the Oslo Manual 2005 is 
planned for the CIS 2008. The CIS 2010 and subsequent Community Innovation Surveys 
shall also improve further data quality and data access; 

•  New  statistics  to  deepen  the  understanding  of  the  globalisation  of  the  economy  shall  be 

developed; 

•  User concerns regarding timeliness and inertia to respond to new needs shall be tackled by 
testing  new  and  flexible  ways  to  collect  the  data,  through  ad-hoc  surveys  and  European 
sample approaches; 

•  While protecting the right of enterprises to keep their data confidential, ways to release the 

European aggregates at the most detailed activity level will be developed; 

•  A revised classification of economic activities (NACE Rev.2) will be implemented in all 

business statistics as from the reference year 2008 onwards; 

•  Ways  to  reduce  burden  on  business  will  be  developed,  such  as  increased  use  of 
administrative data, methods for small targeted surveys, use of publicly available data on 
enterprises and of XBRL technology. 

Information society statistics 

Legal framework 

The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is among the main drivers 
towards  an  inclusive  society,  better  jobs,  and  enhanced  competitiveness  of  European 
enterprises.  Eurostat's  statistics  on  the  information  society  constitute  a  vital  basis  for 
European policy makers to assess the structural changes towards a knowledge-based economy 
and contribute to the monitoring of the progress towards the renewed Lisbon objectives. 

European  Parliament  and  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  808/2004  concerning  Community 
statistics on the information society. 

Current situation 

For several years, Eurostat has contributed to the benchmarking of the information society by 
providing  indicators  of  ICT  usage  both  in  enterprises  and  by  households/individuals.  This 
activity  will  be  continued  and  improved  to  adapt  to  policy  demands  such  as  the  i2010 
initiative based on the revised Lisbon strategy and further policy initiatives. This might entail 
the necessity of extending the current legal basis beyond its current limitations. 

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36 

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In  order  to  go  beyond  the  aspects  of  readiness  and  usage,  the  collection  of  data  on  ICT 
investment and on the impact of ICT on business outcome and behaviour and on society will 
complement the ongoing Community surveys. Needs to adapt the legal basis for information 
society statistics in order to ensure a comprehensive, timely and National Account compatible 
set of data on the ICT sectors and electronic communication will be evaluated and translated 
into action. 

Main initiatives 2008-2012 

•  The indicators on the information society including the indicators on the ICT sector and its 
competitiveness shall be constantly adapted to changing policy needs, taking into account 
wider international co-operation in ICT measurement; 

•  Statistics  on  ICT  investment  and  ICT  adoption  shall  be  developed  to  better  meet  the 
objective of measuring the sustainable development and impact of the information society; 

Tourism statistics 

Legal framework 

Tourism  is  an  important  economic  activity  in  the  European  Union  with  a  high  potential  of 
contributing  to  higher  employment  and  economic  growth  as  well  as  to  development  and 
socioeconomic integration also in rural, peripheral or underdeveloped areas. 

Council Directive 95/57/EC on the collection of statistical information in the field of tourism. 

Current situation 

Currently, statistics are collected on the supply of and demand for tourist accommodation, as 
well as on economic aspects related to tourism behaviour. Key areas of concern are however 
the  achievement  of  a  greater  degree  of  comparability  of  the  existing  statistics  and  the 
establishment  of  harmonised  tourism  satellite  accounts  embedded  in  the  larger  concern  on 
sustainable tourism, for which relevant indicators will need to be defined and measured. Due 
to  the  immediate  impact  of  events  such  as  terrorist  attacks  or  the  spread  of  communicable 
diseases on the tourism industry, a main concern will be the improvement of the timeliness of 
the data. 

Main initiatives 2008-2012 

•  The current set of tourism statistics and its legal basis shall be modernised; 

•  Harmonised  Tourism  Satellite  Accounts  shall  be  implemented  and  indicators  for 

sustainable tourism shall be developed and measured. 

Energy statistics 

Legal framework 

The secure supply of affordable energy commodities in an environmentally friendly manner 
constitutes  the  essence  of  the  EU  energy  policy.  The  Energy  Statistics  System  has  been 
developed in response to the needs arising from this policy. 

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37 

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The Energy Statistics System is based largely on an agreement. Certain legal obligations exist 
covering specific aspects of the system, beyond Directive 90/377/EEC of 29 June 1990 on gas 
and electricity prices charged to industrial users. 

Current situation 

Over the last few years, oil markets have become volatile and unpredictable while prices have 
reached high levels. EU energy dependency increases continuously; energy demand is on the 
rise  casting  doubts  on  the  capability  of  reducing  greenhouse  gas  emissions  while  the  EU 
electricity/gas markets have not yet developed into a real single competitive market. Within 
this political environment, the Commission – in response to the invitation of Heads of State 
and  Government  in  2005  –  reacted  with  a  series  of  proposals  (Green  Paper:  A  European 
Strategy  for  Sustainable,  Competitive  and  Secure  Energy),  such  as  the  establishment  of  a 
European  energy  Supply  Observatory  to  monitor  the  demand  and  supply  patterns  of  EU 
energy  markets,  a  new  Community  Directive  on  heating  and  cooling,  target  monitoring  / 
defining  beyond  2010  on  renewable  energies  (including  electricity  and  liquid  biofuels)  and 
the Monitoring of energy end-use efficiency improvements. 

Main initiatives 2008-2012 

•  A  Regulation  on  Energy  Statistics  covering  the  current  requirements,  thus  improving 

quality; 

•  A legal obligation to collect statistics on electricity and gas prices paid by households 

•  A  methodology  /  approach  to  make  available  the  actual  countries  of  origin;  (destination) 

for gas imports (exports); 

•  Methodology / nomenclatures improvement for collecting liquid biofuel statistics; 

•  Definition  of  indicators  /  data  collection  assessing  energy  efficiency  as  foreseen  in 

Directive 2006/32/EC; 

•  An  extension,  if  necessary,  of  competition  indicators  assessing  effectiveness  of 

competition and integration of gas/electricity markets. 

TITLE XVII 
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COHESION 

Legal framework 

Regulation  (EC)  No  1059/2003  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  the 
establishment  of  a  common  classification  of  territorial  units  for  statistics  (NUTS); 
Commission  proposal  for  an  EP  and  Council  Directive  establishing  an  infrastructure  for 
spatial information in the Community (INSPIRE). 

Current situation 

Regional  statistical  data  are  collected  for  about  a  dozen  broad  statistical  domains,  some  of 
which are covered by a legal act while others are governed by an agreement. Typically, data 

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38 

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are sent continuously to Eurostat. Urban data for the Urban audit is collected every 3 years in 
from 2003 onwards. 

Geographic Information is collected and maintained in the GISCO database, for the usage of 
Eurostat  and  the  whole  Commission  Directorate  Generals.  The  lack  of  standards  and  of  a 
harmonised  framework  for  the  collection  of  information  requires  a  significant  amount  of 
resources for a proper maintenance and update. On the other hand, the growing awareness of 
the  potential  of  the  combination  of  geographic  with  statistical  and  thematic  information 
increases the demand for mapping, analyses and applications. 

Main initiatives 2008-2012 

The work to be undertaken under the 2008–2012 statistical programme will be determined by 
the shape of the new Community regional policy within the new programming period for 
the structural funds. Consolidation work on the existing data will be continued, notably in 
the  urban  audit, 
transport,  environment  and  research  &  development  areas.  The 
implementation  of  a  legislative  framework  for  Regional  Population  data  and  the  anticipated 
revision  of  the  ESA  95  regulation  encompassing  the  Regional  Accounts  data  will  be  of 
significant importance for the structural indicators work. The methodological consistency of 
regional  statistics  shall  be  improved  by  the  inclusion  of  more  rigorous  methodology  in  the 
relevant legislative framework when revised and the application of quality standards already 
commenced in regional accounts data shall be extended to other regional statistics to assure 
comparability and timeliness. 

The  availability  and  accessibility  of  Geographical  Information  across  the  EU  will  be 
revolutionised  by  the  implementation  of  the  Infrastructure  for  spatial  information  in  Europe 
(INSPIRE) Directive, which aims to develop a European spatial data infrastructure to support 
environmental and other policies. This will have a significant impact on the organisation and 
use of this information by Commission services. During this programme period the GI team 
of  Eurostat  will  not  only  have  to  contribute  to  the  development  of  the  technical 
implementation and to assure the organisational infrastructure (including the setting up 
and  running  of  the  INSPIRE  Committee)  but  also  the  support  for  INSPIRE  implementation 
across  the  EU.  The  promotion  of  spatial  analysis  techniques  combining  statistical  and 
geographical  data  will  continue  for  Commission  users;  the  increased  availability  of  spatial 
data  following  the  infrastructure  deployment  will  greatly  improve  the  potential  for  the 
definition of accurate indicators. 

TITLE XVIII 
RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT 

Legal framework 

Science  and  technology  and  innovation  statistics  (STI):  EP  and  Council  Decision 
1608/2003  concerning  the  production  and  development  of  Community  statistics  on  science 
and  technology;  Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  753/2004  implementing  Decision  No 
1608/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards statistics on science 
and  technology;  Commission  Regulation  1450/2004  on  Community  innovation  statistics. 
Statistical research, methodology and nomenclatures: EP and Council Decision on the 7th 
Framework  Programme  [COM(2005)  119-1  and  COM/2006/364/final,  Council  common 
position].  Micro-data  management  and  confidentiality:  Commission  Regulation  (EC) No 

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39 

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1104/2006  amending  Regulation  (EC)  No 831/2002  implementing  Council  Regulation  (EC) 
No 322/97  on  Community  Statistics,  concerning  access  to  confidential  data  for  scientific 
purposes. 

Current situation 

Science and technology and innovation statistics The EU policies on Science, Technology 
and  Innovation  are  a  cornerstone  of  the  Lisbon  strategy,  as  stressed  in  Barcelona  European 
Council conclusions and mid term review in 2005. Production and dissemination of Statistics 
on  R&D,  on  Human  Resources  in  Science  and  Technology,  on  Patent  and  on  High  Tech 
industries  and  Knowledge  Based  services  considerably  improved  in  the  recent  years.  This 
production is based on own data collections, the use of administrative sources and the use of 
other official or non official data sources. The legislative framework has been established. 

Statistical  research,  methodology  and  nomenclatures:  due  to  the  change  of  working 
environment,  mainly  enlargement,  globalisation  and  IT  technology,  as  well  as  the  cost  of 
collecting  statistics,  there  is  a  need  for  improving  all  components  of  data  quality  (ref.  Reg. 
n°322/97), answering new demands from EU policy-makers and others and adapting statistics 
to the change of the society. 

Micro-data management and confidentiality: Easy access to micro-data is a strong demand 
from  the  researchers  to  produce  timely  and  accurate  analyses  that  provide  solid  support  to 
policies;  on  another  hand,  compliance  with  the  appropriate  legislation  on  confidentiality  is 
cumbersome.  New  secure  solutions  are  to  be  found.  Moreover,  micro-data  is  a  source  of 
statistical information that is currently under-exploited. 

Main initiatives 2008-2012 

Science  and  technology  and  innovation  statistics:  In  the  coming  years,  the  work  on  STI 
statistics will concentrate on achieving better data quality, improving the statistical methods, 
nomenclatures, concepts and definitions (for e.g. the better measuring the knowledge flows; 
using internationally harmonised raw data source Patstat), opening to additional data sources 
and to the full implementation of the statistics on the career development of doctorate holders, 
as well as updating the existing legislation on the various statistical domains covered as well 
as providing better input to national accounts. 

Statistical research, methodology and nomenclatures: In the 7th FP, priority shall be given to 
the  improvement  of  thematic  areas,  but  also  to  research  aiming  at  the  improvement  of  data 
quality through innovative methodologies including modelling, estimation or imputation. The 
functional  research  community  in  official  statistics  shall  be  re-activated  by  encouraging 
networks. The dissemination and use of results from research in official statistics in the  6th 
and 7th framework programmes and the application of the results at operational level shall be 
promoted  and  facilitated  More  work  needs  also  to  be  done  in  improving  the  nomenclatures 
used (e.g. European surveys of enterprise groups performing research and development), and 
in using and enlarging European infrastructure of registers of enterprise groups. 

Micro-data  management  and  confidentiality:  an  integrated  approach  to  and  methodology 
for  the  development  of  European  infrastructures  for  facilitating  access  for  researchers  to 
anonymised data in the framework of the current legislation and for the definition, production 
and collection of primary data shall be promoted. 

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40 

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TITLE XIX 
ENVIRONMENT 

Legal framework 

EU environment statistics are driven by requests for high quality, comprehensive, reliable and 
relevant  statistics,  accounts  and  indicators  to  further  develop,  implement  and  monitor  the 
Community’s  environmental  policy,  in  particular  the  sixth  Environment  Action  Programme 
(6th  EAP)  and  its  'Thematic  Strategies',  the  environmental  objectives  of  the  EU  Sustainable 
Development  Strategy  (SDS)  and  the  Lisbon  Strategy,  and  the  Cardiff  process  on  the 
integration  of  environmental  concerns  into  all  policy  areas.  At  present  only  statistics  on 
waste14 and environmental expenditure15 are collected under legal cover. 

Current situation 

Currently  the  European  Environment  Agency  (EEA),  the  Joint  Research  Centre  (JRC),  the 
Directorate  General  for  Environment  (DG  ENV)  and  Eurostat  host  environmental  data.  A 
Technical  arrangement  on  the  distribution  of  responsibilities  and  labour,  leading  to  the 
establishment  of  Environmental  Data  Centres  (EDCs),  has  been  agreed  by  this  "Group  of 
Four" (Go4)16. An increased interoperability of the IT infrastructure of the Go4 partners will 
be ensured. The close partnership with international organisations (UN, OECD) on methods, 
(e.g.  handbooks)  and  on  data  collection  (Eurostat/OECD  Joint  Questionnaire)  complements 
the framework for environment statistics and accounts. 

Meeting the data demands of the 'Thematic Strategies', e.g. on the 'Prevention and recycling 
of waste',  the  'Sustainable use  of natural resources' and  the 'Sustainable use  of pesticides' is 
the key priority; the production of basic environmental statistics is continued, as well as the 
provision  of  statistics and indicators on water, air, biodiversity,  soil,  forests and land  use to 
the other EDCs. 

Better analysing and quantifying the link between the economic and environmental pillars of 
the  SDS  necessitate  further  developing  of  environmental-economic  accounts.  Some  sub-
domains of environmental information show considerable gaps and are not always up-to-date. 
The share of environment statistics and accounts under EU legal cover is low: Legal bases for 
other core areas should be considered. 

Main initiatives 2008-2012 

In order to improve synergies, planning and implementation of environment statistics, work in 
2008-2012 will be coordinated through the "Directors' Meeting on Environment Statistics and 
Accounts" (DIMESA), which covers the two networks Go4 and Member States. 

14 

15 
16 

Regulation (EC) No 2150/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2002 
on Waste Statistics. 
Council Regulation (EC) No 58/97 of 20 December 1996 on Structural Business Statistics. 
Technical  Arrangement  of  14  November  2005  on  the  establishment  of  Environmental  Data  Centres, 
agreed between the four Community bodies involved in environmental reporting and dissemination of 
data. 

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41 

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•  The  data  centres  for  Waste,  Natural  Resources  and  Products,  the  Regulations  on  Waste 
Statistics  and  on  Pesticides  (planned)  will  provide  high  quality  data,  meeting  the  data 
requests of the Thematic Strategies; 

•  Existing  environmental  indicators  will  be  streamlined,  new  indicators  will  be  developed 
and technical support will be provided for the calculation of indicators at EU level, and for 
the  review  of  reporting  obligations  for  better  focussed  and  cost  effective  environmental 
data collection; 

•  Methodological  development  and  research  on  environmental-economic  accounts  will  be 
promoted further and the major environmental accounts modules will be implemented; 

•  Estimation  and  nowcasting  methods  to  fill  data  gaps  and  increase  the  timeliness  of 

environmental statistics and accounts will be further improved; 

•  Legal  bases  will  be  developed  where  appropriate  for  core  areas  of  environmental  data 

collection currently not covered by legal acts. 

TITLE XX 
DEVELOPMENT CO-OPERATION 

Legal framework 

Article 180 of the Treaty. 

Good  statistics  are  essential  in  order  to  assess  the  success  of  development  policy.  They  are 
needed  by  developing  countries  for  evidence-based  policy  making.  Furthermore,  in  the 
context of consolidating democracy and the rule of law and that of respecting human rights, 
statistics are an example of good governance and can help to promote good governance and 
transparency provided that appropriate quality standards of statistical production are met, and 
that accessibility and dissemination of official statistics is ensured. 

Current situation 

Much needs to be done in developing countries to increase statistical capacity. The overall 
objective  is  to  support  EU  external  relations  policies  by  providing  appropriate  and  focused 
statistical technical assistance in order to strengthen statistical capacity in countries benefiting 
from EU aid. This support must be durable. In this respect, efforts should be made to ensure 
that statistics form an integral part of national and regional development plans. 

The most significant policy element is the increased and explicit focus on poverty reduction 
in  the  EC's  development  policy,  in  particular  with  ACP  countries,  and  especially  in  Africa. 
Consequently,  statistical  co-operation 
the 
measurement  and  monitoring  of  poverty,  with  a  particular  emphasis  on  the  Millennium 
Development Goals (MDGs) indicators. 

increasingly  focused  on  strengthening 

is 

Technical  advice  and  support  is  provided  in  the  area  of  measuring  the  impact  of  EU 
development  programmes  and  with  regard  to  the  statistical  element  of  EU  regional 
development programmes in general. 

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Regional  integration  is  a  continuing  emphasis  of  the  programme,  mirroring  the  increased 
moves amongst countries themselves to strengthen their regional structures. Areas for support 
include  multilateral  surveillance,  improvement  of  national  accounts,  price  statistics, 
agricultural statistics, statistics on natural resources and on the pressures on the environment, 
foreign trade, business statistics and statistical training. 

The  European  Statistical  System  continues  and  strengthens  its  efforts  to  improve 
coordination  amongst  the  donor  community  (i.e.  bilateral  and  multilateral  donors). 
Accordingly, Eurostat and Member States support work, in particular in the OECD/DAC, UN 
and  World  Bank  contexts,  to  assess  the  impact  of  development  cooperation  on  reaching  the 
Millennium Development Goals. As such, it plays an active part in the PARIS 21 initiative. In 
particular, technical cooperation activities stress the importance of a user focus, and promote 
the value of multi-annual programming. 

Main initiatives 2008-2012 

•  The visibility of statistics in national and regional development plans shall be increased; 

•  Technical advice and scientific support shall be provided, where possible, for the conduct 
of statistical development programmes, in particular at regional level; to support projects 
with statistical implications and harmonisation of statistics in countries benefiting from EU 
aid;  and  to  contribute  to  the  assessment  of  the  statistical  priorities  for  the  planning  and 
programming of EU statistical co-operation activities. 

•  A particular emphasis shall be put on the measurement and monitoring of poverty, progress 
on  social  cohesion,  environmental  sustainability  and  the  Millennium  Development  Goal 
Indicators. 

TITLE XXI 
ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL COOPERATION  
WITH THIRD COUNTRIES 

Legal framework 

Council Regulation 96/1279 on the provision of assistance to economic reform and recovery 
in  the  New  Independent  States  and  Mongolia;  Communication  (COM/2004/795/Final)  from 
the  Commission  to  the  Council  on  the  Commission  proposals  for  action  plans  under  the 
European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). 

Current situation 

Statistical  co-operation  with  the  countries  covered  by  the  European  Neighbourhood  Policy 
(ENP)  aims  at  supporting  the  development  of  these  countries’  statistical  systems  with  a 
view to provide a basic set of harmonised data meeting EU requirements in areas where EU 
policies  would  demand  those.  The  statistical  assistance  for  these  countries  is  implemented 
through the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument. 

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43 

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Main initiatives 2008-2012 

•  Key areas to develop are economic statistics, national accounts and price statistics, external 
trade,  migration  statistics  and  social  statistics.  In  addition,  other  sectors  like  energy  and 
environment  statistics  –  and,  more  broadly,  sustainable  development  indicators  –  should 
progressively emerge as a key input for policy making. 

•  The co-operation should also aim at building-up and enhancing the institutional capacities 

of the national statistical offices and inter-institutional co-operation. 

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LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 

1. 

NAME OF THE PROPOSAL: 

Proposal  for  a  European  Parliament  and  Council  Decision  on  the  Community 
Statistical Programme 2008-2012 

2. 

ABM / ABB FRAMEWORK 

Policy Area(s) concerned and associated Activity/Activities: 

Statistics  (Production  of  Statistical  Information;  Policy  Strategy  and  Coordination; 
Administrative Support) 

3. 

BUDGET LINES 

3.1. 

Budget  lines  (operational  lines  and  related  technical  and  administrative 
assistance lines (ex B.A lines)) including headings: 

29.0201 Statistical information policy 

29.010401  Statistical 
management 

information  policy  —  Expenditure  on  administrative 

3.2. 

Duration of the action and of the financial impact: 

Five years; 2008-2012 

3.3. 

Budgetary characteristics: 

Budget line 

Type of expenditure 

New 

EFTA 
contribution 

Contributions 
from applicant 
countries 

Heading in 
financial 
perspective 

29.020101  Non-comp  Diff17 

NO  YES 

29.010401  Non-comp  Non-diff18  NO  YES 

NO 

NO 

No 1 

No 1  

4. 

SUMMARY OF RESOURCES 

4.1. 

Financial Resources 

4.1.1. 

Summary of commitment appropriations (CA) and payment appropriations (PA) 

EUR million (to 3 decimal places) 

17 
18 

Differentiated appropriations 
Non-differentiated appropriations hereafter referred to as NDA 

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45 

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Section 
no. 

Expenditure type 

Operational expenditure19 

Commitment Appropriations 
(CA) 

8.1. 

Payment Appropriations 
(PA) 

a 

b 

2009

2010

2011

2012 

2013
* and 
later 

Total 

Year 
200
8 

48,800 

49,800 

50,700 

51,700 

52,700 

253,700 

5,622 

27,720 

47,807 

50,390 

51,350 

70,811 

253,700 

Administrative expenditure within reference amount20 

Technical  &  administrative 
assistance (NDA) 

8.2.4. 

c 

TOTAL REFERENCE AMOUNT 

Commitment 
Appropriations 

Payment Appropriations 

a+c

b+c

3,900 

4,000 

4,100 

4,200 

4,300 

20,500 

52,700 

53,800 

54,800 

55,900 

57,000 

274,200 

9,522 

31,720 

51,907 

54,590 

55,650 

70,811 

274,200 

Administrative expenditure not included in reference amount21 

Human resources and 
associated expenditure 
(NDA) 

Administrative costs, other 
than human resources and 
associated costs, not 
included in reference 
amount (NDA) 

8.2.5. 

d 

76,444  76,543  76,644 

76,747  76,852  

383,230

8.2.6. 

e 

5,891 

6,009 

6,129 

6,251 

6,378 

30,658 

Total indicative financial cost of intervention 

TOTAL CA including cost 
of Human Resources 

TOTAL  PA  including  cost 
of Human Resources 

a+c
+d
+e 

b+c
+d
+e 

135,036 

136,352 

137,573 

138,898 

140,230  

688,088 

91,858 

114,272 

134,680 

137,588 

138,880 

688,088 

* 

Only payment appropriations are concerned for that year 

Co-financing details 

If the proposal involves co-financing by Member States or other bodies, an estimate 
of the level of this co-financing should be indicated in the table below: 

EUR million (to 3 decimal places) 

19 
20 
21 

Expenditure that does not fall under Chapter xx 01 of the Title xx concerned. 
Expenditure within article xx 01 04 of Title xx. 
Expenditure within chapter xx 01 other than articles xx 01 04 or xx 01 05. 

EN 

46 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Co-financing body 

Member States 

Other bodies 

TOTAL CA 
including co-
financing 

f 

a+c
+d
+e+
f 

2008 

2009 

2010 

2011 

2012 

9,934 

10,138 

10,321 

10,525 

10,728 

0,523 

0,534 

0,543 

0,554 

0,565 

2013 
and 
later 

Total 

51,646 

2,719 

144,969 

146,490 

147,894 

149,423 

150,958 

0 

739,734 

4.1.2.  Compatibility with Financial Programming 

(cid:59) 

Proposal is compatible with existing financial programming. 

4.1.3.  Financial impact on Revenue 

(cid:59) 

Proposal has no financial implications on revenue 

4.2. 

Human Resources FTE (including officials, temporary and external staff) – see 
detail under point 8.2.1. 

Annual requirements 

2008 

200922 

201022 

201122 

201222 

2013 
and 
later 

Total  number  of  human 
resources 

818 

818 

818 

818 

818 

5. 

CHARACTERISTICS AND OBJECTIVES 

5.1. 

Need to be met in the short or long term 

The  requirement  for  producing  a  multi-annual  Statistical  Work  Programme  arises 
from  Article  3,  subparagraph  1  of  Council  Regulation  322/97  –  the  basic  act  on 
Community statistics. This programme has to define the approaches, the main fields 
and the objectives of the actions envisaged for a period not exceeding five years; it 
constitutes the framework for the production of all Community statistics. 

5.2. 

Value-added  of  Community  involvement  and  coherence  of  the  proposal  with 
other financial instruments and possible synergy 

Political decision-makers and actors in the market constantly need statistics in order 
to make their decisions, monitor and evaluate their implementation. Statistics provide 
an essential infrastructure for the sound and efficient functioning of democracy and a 
modern  economy.  The  European  Union  needs  a  high  quality  statistical  information 

22 

Requests for additional posts and allocation of additional posts will be made within the framework of 
the APS procedure, including posts for enlargement 

EN 

47 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
service  in  order  to  fulfil  its  mission.  Community  statistics  must  be  reliable, 
independent of political interference and available in time and in a convenient form 
for users. Furthermore, their preparation should not impose an excessive burden on 
data  providers  and  their  collection  must  be  undertaken  in  accordance  with  the 
principles of subsidiarity and proportionality.  

Eurostat  has  set  up,  together  with  the  national  statistical  authorities,  a  network 
collectively called the European Statistical  System. The objectives of the  European 
Statistical System are: 

–  to develop a system of standards, methods and organisational structures capable of 

producing comparable, reliable and relevant statistics; 

–  to provide the European Institutions and the Governments of the Member States 
with  the  information  they  need  to  formulate,  implement,  monitor  and  evaluate 
policies; 

–  to disseminate statistical information to Europe in general, to businesses and to all 

concerned with economic and social matters, for their decisions; 

–  to seek to improve the statistical systems in the Member States and EEA countries 
as well as to support development of the statistical systems of countries changing 
over to a market economy and developing countries. 

5.3. 

Objectives, expected results and related indicators of the proposal in the context 
of the ABM framework 

The framework programme is to provide an overview of the strategies, priorities and 
work plans foreseen for the planning period. General objectives (cross-cutting issues) 
and  specific  objectives  (classified  according  to  the  Treaty  Titles)  are  defined.  The 
five  year  programme  is  supported  by  annual  programmes  which  provide  more 
detailed work objectives for each year. 

5.4.  Method of implementation (indicative) 

(cid:59)  Centralised Management 

(cid:59) 

directly by the Commission 

6. 

MONITORING AND EVALUATION 

6.1.  Monitoring system 

implemented 

Article 2 of the proposal specifies that the Community Statistical Programme (CSP) 
2008-2012  will  be 
in 
accordance with Regulation (EC) n° 322/97. These programmes, together with their 
corresponding  financing,  will  be  the  matter  of  Commission  Decisions  detailing  the 
outputs and the results (objectives and indicators) to be achieved during the reference 
period. The monitoring will be ensured through regular reports on the consumption 
of resources and on the progress made on the achievement of objectives. 

through  annual  statistical  programmes, 

EN 

48 

   EN 

 
6.2. 

Evaluation 

6.2.1.  Ex-ante evaluation 

The  proposal  for  a  CSP,  covering  the  period  2008-2012,  is  the  seventh  of  its  kind. 
The  two  previous  ones  (1998–2002  and  2003–2007)  were  recently  subject  to, 
respectively,  an  ex-post  evaluation  submitted  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council  and  a  mid-term  report  presented  to  the  Statistical  Programme  Committee 
(SPC). The preparation of the current proposal was based on these evaluations, and 
the present section gives additional information. 

The need to continue with the Community Statistical Programme 

The  requirement  for  a  multi-annual  CSP  follows  from  article  3.1  of  Council 
Regulation 322/97 according to which the CSP shall define the approaches, the main 
fields  and  the  objectives  of  the  actions  envisaged  for  a  period  not  exceeding  five 
years  and  constitute  the  framework  for  the  production  of  all  Community  statistics. 
The CSP is implemented via annual work programmes which provide more detailed 
work objectives for each year and via specific legislation for major actions. 

The validity of the objectives to be achieved 

Producers  and  users  of  Community  statistics  have  been  deeply  involved  in  the 
preparation  of  the  proposal,  and  therefore  in  the  assessment  of  the  relevance  of  its 
objectives.  

The  consultation  of  producers  has  targeted  the  national  statistical  authorities  in  the 
Member States, the EFTA and Candidate Countries through the SPC. Additionally, 
different  parts  of  the  programme  have  been  discussed  in  detail  in  the  technical 
working groups of the European Statistical System (ESS).  

Concerning external users, the relevance of objectives and results to be achieved has 
been discussed through the European Advisory Committee on Statistical Information 
in  the  Economic  and  Social  Spheres  (CEIES)  and  the  Committee  on  Monetary, 
Financial  and  Balance  of  Payments  Statistics  (CMFB).  Both  Committees  were 
invited to deliver their opinion on the draft programme.  

Implementation of the programme and expected level of resources 

The  ESS  has  to  maintain  a  vigilant  watch  on  the  balance  between  the  needs  for 
information  for  Community  policy  purposes  and  the  resources  required  at  EU, 
national  and  regional  levels  to  provide  this  information.  The  provision  of  adequate 
resources in the national context is of particular importance in pursuing the statistical 
information  requirements  of  EU  policy  decisions.  It  is,  however,  also  important  to 
maintain sufficient flexibility to allow the national authorities to satisfy Community 
statistical information needs in the most cost-effective manner.  

A mechanism for priority setting is defined in the proposal, based on three high-level 
guiding principles:  

–  Assessment of users’ needs, including relevance for policy-making at Community 

level; 

EN 

49 

   EN 

 
–  Assessments  of  cost  implications  for  respondents,  Member  States  and  the 

Commission;  

–  Assessment of specific statistical issues of importance for the cost-effectiveness of 
particular  statistics,  including  the  trade-off  between  different  components  of 
statistical  quality,  e.g.  “accuracy”  and  “timeliness”,  and  possibilities  for  flexible 
reporting obligations focusing on core European needs. 

In  order  to  maximise  overall  cost-effectiveness  and  to  pursue  a  balanced 
prioritisation  of  activities  within  the  annual  statistical  work  programmes,  these 
principles will be applied in a transparent way and according to practical guidelines 
to  be  developed  and  maintained  by  Eurostat  in  co-operation  with  the  national 
statistical authorities. 

6.2.2.  Measures taken following an intermediate/ex-post evaluation (lessons learned from 

similar experiences in the past) 

Eurostat  ran  an  ex-post  evaluation  of  the  Community  Statistical  Programme 
1998-2002.  The  report  was  submitted  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council 
(COM(2005) 1 final of 13 January 2005). A mid-term evaluation of the Programme 
2003-2007  was  also  carried  out  and  presented  to  the  SPC  on  23  February  2006. 
These  reports  evaluate  progress  made  under  each  heading  of  the  Statistical 
Programme and contain recommendations for improvements. 

These  recommendations  were  carefully  considered  in  the  preparation  of  the 
2008-2012 CSP. Besides current Community policy priorities, emphasis was put on 
statistical  governance,  equal  access  to  statistics,  prioritisation,  flexibility  and 
responsiveness of the ESS. 

Furthermore, Eurostat has put in place a programme of internal evaluation of all its 
data-producing activities based on so-called Rolling Reviews. Each Rolling Review 
implies  a  thorough  review  of  internal  procedures  of  work,  user  satisfaction  levels, 
partner  satisfaction  about  co-ordination  and  organisation,  links  with  international 
organisations,  costs  for  Eurostat  and  for  Member  States.  Each  Rolling  Review 
produces  recommendations  for  improvements,  with  resource  implications  and  a 
timetable for implementation of the improvement proposed. These recommendations 
are taken into account when preparing the annual programme. 

6.2.3.  Terms and frequency of future evaluation 

During  the  third  year  of  implementation  of  the  CSP  2008-2012,  an  intermediate 
progress  report  will  be  presented  to  the  SPC.  A  final  evaluation  report  will  be 
submitted to the European Parliament and the Council by the end of 2013. 

7. 

ANTI-FRAUD MEASURES  

Annual  monitoring  of  progress  with  implementation  and  effectiveness  of  the 
Commission's  Internal  Control  Standards  is  designed  to  give  assurance  on  the 
existence  and  functioning  of  procedures  for  prevention  and  detection  of  fraud  and 
irregularities. 

EN 

50 

   EN 

 
Rules  and  procedures  are  in  place  for  the  principal  budgetary  processes:  calls  for 
tender,  grants,  commitments,  contracts,  payments.  The  manuals  of  procedures  are 
made  available  to  all  those  intervening  in  financial  acts  with  a  view  to  clarifying 
responsibilities,  simplifying  workflows,  indicating  key  control  points.  Training  is 
provided on their use. The manuals are subject to regular review and updating. 

On-the-spot  checks  will  be  carried  out  of  grants  awarded  under  the  programme, 
based on a preliminary risk assessment. 

EN 

51 

   EN 

 
8. 

DETAILS OF RESOURCES 

8.1. 

Objectives of the proposal in terms of their financial cost 

Type of 
output 

Av. 
cost 

No. 
outpu
ts 

2008 

2009 

2010 

2011 

2012 

2013 and later* 

TOTAL 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

Commitment appropriations in EUR million (to 3 decimal places) 

OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVE N°1 - 
SUPPORT FOR STATISTICAL OUTPUTS 

- Quality management and evaluation 

Project 

0,130 

- Statistical training 

Project 

0,500 

- IT infrastructures and services for Eurostat 

Project 

0,372 

- IT normalisation and collaborative 
infrastructures for the ESS 

Project 

0,570 

- Reference data and metadata warehouses 

Project 

0,294 

- Information 

- Dissemination 

Project 

0,070 

Project 

0,312 

- Statistical coordination 

Project 

0,100 

- Statistical cooperation with the candidate 
countries 

Project 

0,200 

2 

1 

6 

2 

2 

2 

8 

2 

1 

0,260 

0,500 

2,232 

1,140 

0,588 

0.140 

2,496 

0,200 

0,200 

2 

1 

6 

2 

2 

2 

8 

2 

1 

0,260 

0,500 

2,232 

1,140 

0,588 

0.140 

2,496 

0,200 

0,200 

2 

1 

6 

2 

2 

2 

8 

2 

1 

0,260 

0,500 

2,232 

1,140 

0,588 

0.140 

2,496 

0.200 

0,200 

2 

1 

6 

2 

2 

2 

8 

2 

2 

0,260 

0,500 

2,232 

1,140 

0,588 

0.140 

2,496 

0.200 

0,400 

2 

1 

6 

2 

2 

2 

8 

2 

2 

0,260 

0 

0,000 

0,500 

0 

0,000 

2,232 

0 

0,000 

1,140 

0 

0,000 

0,588 

0 

0,000 

0.140 

0 

0,000 

2,496 

0 

0,000 

0.200 

0 

0,000 

0,400 

0 

0,000 

10 

5 

30 

10 

10 

10 

40 

10 

7 

1,300 

2,500 

11,160 

5,700 

2,940 

0.700 

12,480 

1,000 

1,400 

- Statistical cooperation with other third 
countries 

Project 

0,158 

8 

1,264 

8 

1,264 

8 

1,264 

8 

1,264 

8 

1,264 

0 

0,000 

40 

6,320 

- Statistical research and methodology 

Project 

0,193 

4 

0,772 

4 

0,772 

4 

0,772 

4 

0,772 

4 

0,772 

0 

0,000 

20 

3,860 

EN 

52 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Type of 
output 

Av. 
cost 

No. 
outpu
ts 

2008 

2009 

2010 

2011 

2012 

2013 and later* 

TOTAL 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

- Data security and statistical confidentiality 

Project 

0,050 

1 

0,050 

1 

0,050 

1 

0,050 

1 

0,050 

2 

0,100 

0 

0,000 

6 

0,300 

Sub-total domain 1 

Project 

39 

9,842 

39 

9,842 

39 

9,842 

40 

10,042 

41 

10,092 

0 

0 

198 

49,660 

OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVE N°2 - 
DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIAL 
STATISTICS 

- Population 

- Labour market 

- Education 

- Culture 

- Health and safety 

- Distribution of incomes and living 
conditions 

Project 

0,265 

Project 

0,275 

Project 

0,317 

Project 

0,100 

Project 

0,180 

Project 

0,879 

- Social protection 

Project 

0,250 

- Other work in the field of demographic and 
social statistics 

Project 

0,081 

2 

2 

3 

1 

5 

7 

1 

2 

0,530 

0,550 

0,951 

0,100 

0,900 

6,153 

0,250 

0,162 

1 

2 

3 

1 

5 

8 

2 

2 

0,265 

0,550 

0,951 

0,100 

0,900 

7,032 

0,500 

0,162 

2 

2 

3 

1 

5 

8 

2 

2 

0,530 

0,550 

0,951 

0,100 

0,900 

7,032 

0,500 

0,162 

2 

2 

3 

2 

5 

8 

2 

2 

0,530 

0,550 

0,951 

0,200 

0,900 

7,032 

0,500 

0,162 

2 

2 

3 

2 

5 

8 

2 

2 

0,530 

0 

0,000 

0,550 

0 

0,000 

0,951 

0 

0,000 

0,200 

0 

0,000 

0,900 

0 

0,000 

7,032 

0 

0,000 

0,500 

0 

0,000 

0,162 

0 

0,000 

9 

10 

15 

7 

25 

39 

9 

10 

2,385 

2,750 

4,755 

0,700 

4,500 

34,281 

2,250 

0,810 

Sub-total domain 2 

Project 

23 

9,596 

24 

10,460 

25 

10,725 

26 

10,825 

26 

10,825 

0 

0,000 

124 

52,431 

OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVE N°3 - 
ECONOMIC STATISTICS 

- Annual economic accounts 

Project 

0,339 

- Quarterly accounts 

- Financial accounts 

Project 

0,493 

Project 

0,130 

5 

2 

2 

1,695 

0,986 

0,260 

5 

2 

2 

1,695 

0,986 

0,260 

5 

2 

2 

1,695 

0,986 

0,260 

5 

2 

2 

1,695 

0,986 

0,260 

5 

2 

2 

1,695 

0 

0,000 

0,986 

0 

0,000 

0,260 

0 

0,000 

25 

10 

10 

8,475 

4,930 

1,300 

EN 

53 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Type of 
output 

Av. 
cost 

No. 
outpu
ts 

2008 

2009 

2010 

2011 

2012 

2013 and later* 

TOTAL 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

- Prices 

Project 

0,398 

17 

6,766 

17 

6,766 

17 

6,766 

18 

7,164 

18 

7,164 

0 

0,000 

- Statistics for business cycle analysis 

Project 

0,124 

10 

1,240 

- Money and finance 

Project 

0,373 

- Trade in services and balance of payments 

Project 

0,007 

1 

2 

0,373 

0,014 

9 

1 

2 

1,116 

0,373 

0,014 

9 

2 

2 

1,116 

0,746 

0,014 

9 

2 

2 

1,116 

10 

1,240 

0 

0,000 

0,746 

0,014 

2 

2 

0,746 

0 

0,000 

0,014 

0 

0,000 

87 

47 

8 

10 

34,626 

5,828 

2,984 

0,070 

Sub-total domain 3 

Project 

39 

11,334 

38 

11,210 

39 

11,583 

40 

11,981 

41 

12,105 

0 

0,000 

197 

58,213 

OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVE N°4 - 
BUSINESS STATISTICS 

- Statistics on the economic activity of 
enterprises 

Project 

0,459 

8 

3,672 

8 

3,672 

8 

3,672 

8 

3,672 

8 

3,672 

0 

0,000 

40 

18,360 

- Energy 

- Transport 

Project 

0,047 

3 

0,141 

3 

0,141 

4 

0,188 

4 

0,188 

4 

0,188 

0 

0,000 

Project 

0,103 

13 

1,339 

13 

1,339 

13 

1,339 

14 

1,442 

14 

1,442 

0 

0,000 

- Information society 

Project 

0,243 

- Tourism 

- Business registers 

Project 

0,070 

Project 

0,460 

3 

1 

2 

0,729 

0,070 

0,920 

3 

1 

2 

0,729 

0,070 

0,920 

3 

2 

2 

0,729 

0,140 

0,920 

3 

2 

2 

0,729 

0,140 

0,920 

3 

2 

2 

0,729 

0 

0,000 

0,140 

0 

0,000 

0,920 

0 

0,000 

- Trade in goods 

Project 

0,255 

11 

2,805 

12 

3,060 

12 

3,060 

12 

3,060 

13 

3,315 

0 

0,000 

18 

67 

15 

8 

10 

60 

0,846 

6,901 

3,645 

0,560 

4,600 

15,300 

Sub-total domain 4 

Project 

41 

9,676 

42 

9,931 

44 

10,048 

45 

10,151 

46 

10,406 

0 

0,000 

218 

50,212 

OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVE N°5 - 
AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND 
FISHERIES 

- Agricultural monetary statistics 

Project 

0,140 

3 

0,420 

3 

0,420 

4 

0,560 

4 

0,560 

4 

0,560 

0 

0,000 

18 

2,520 

EN 

54 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Type of 
output 

Av. 
cost 

No. 
outpu
ts 

2008 

2009 

2010 

2011 

2012 

2013 and later* 

TOTAL 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

No. 
outputs 

Total 
cost 

- Agro-industry statistics 

Project 

0,102 

- Coordination and reform of agricultural 
statistics 

Project 

1,000 

2 

1 

0,204 

1,000 

2 

1 

0,204 

1,000 

2 

1 

0,204 

1,000 

2 

1 

0,204 

1,000 

2 

1 

0,204 

0 

0,000 

1,000 

0 

0,000 

10 

5 

1,020 

5,000 

Sub-total domain 5 

Project 

6 

1,624 

6 

1,624 

7 

1,764 

7 

1,764 

7 

1,764 

0 

0,000 

33 

8,540 

OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVE N°6 - 
MULTI-DOMAIN STATISTICS 

- Sustainable development 

Project 

0,083 

- Environment statistics 

Project 

0,113 

- Regional statistics 

Project 

0,333 

- Science and technology 

Project 

0,303 

- Geographical and local information 

Project 

0,269 

- International and inter-institutional 
relations 

Project 

0,013 

3 

9 

4 

7 

7 

2 

0,249 

1,017 

1,332 

2,121 

1,883 

0,026 

3 

9 

4 

7 

7 

2 

0,249 

1,017 

1,332 

2,121 

1,883 

0,026 

3 

9 

4 

7 

7 

2 

0,249 

3 

0,249 

3 

0,249 

0 

0,000 

1,017 

10 

1,130 

10 

1,130 

0 

0,000 

1,332 

2,121 

1,883 

0,026 

4 

7 

7 

2 

1,332 

2,121 

1,883 

0,026 

4 

8 

8 

2 

1,332 

0 

0,000 

2,424 

0 

0,000 

2,152 

0 

0,000 

0,026 

0 

0,000 

15 

47 

20 

36 

36 

10 

1,245 

5,311 

6,660 

10,908 

9,684 

0,130 

- Management and statistical programmes 

Project 

0,100 

1 

0,100 

1 

0,100 

1 

0,100 

2 

0,200 

2 

0,200 

0 

0,000 

7 

0,700 

Sub-total domain 6 

Project 

33 

6,728 

33 

6,728 

33 

6,728 

35 

6,941 

37 

7,513 

0 

0,000 

171 

34,638 

TOTAL COST 

181 

48,800 

182 

49,795 

187 

50,690 

193 

51,704 

198 

52,705 

0 

0,000 

941 

253,694 

* 

Only payment appropriations are concerned for that year 

EN 

55 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8.2. 

Administrative Expenditure 

8.2.1.  Number and type of human resources 

Types of post 

Staff to be assigned to management of the action using existing and/or 
additional resources (number of posts/FTEs) 

Officials or 
temporary 
staff24  
(29 01 01) 

A*/AD 

B*, 
C*/AST 

Staff  financed25  by  art. 
29 01 02 

Other  staff26  financed by 
art. 29 01 04/05 

2008 

200923 

201023 

201123 

201223 

2013 

291 

291 

291 

291 

291 

371 

371 

371 

371 

371 

101 

101 

101 

101 

101 

55 

55 

55 

55 

55 

TOTAL 

818 

818 

818 

818 

818 

8.2.2.  Description of tasks deriving from the action 

The  tasks  to  be  performed  concern  mainly  methodological  work,  on  the  one  hand, 
and on the other hand the collection, validation, processing and dissemination of the 
statistical  information  related  to  the  domains  as  laid  out  in  the  annexes  of  the 
proposed  Decision.  They  also  refer  to  Eurostat's  two  horizontal  ABB  activities 
('Administrative  support  for  Eurostat'  and  'Policy  strategy  and  coordination  of 
Eurostat'). 

8.2.3. 

Sources of human resources (statutory) 

Posts currently allocated to the management of the programme to be replaced 

(cid:59) 
or extended: 624 statutory posts in 2006 

Posts  pre-allocated  within  the  APS/PDB  exercise  for  year  2007  and  2006 

(cid:59) 
reserve: 1827 (15 + 3) 

(cid:59) 

Posts estimated to be allocated in the next APS/PDB excercise: 2027 

Posts  to  be  redeployed  using  existing  resources  within  the  managing  service 

(cid:59) 
(internal redeployment) 

To be determined 

23 

24 
25 
26 
27 

Requests for additional posts and allocation of additional posts will be made within the framework of 
the APS procedure, including posts for enlargement 
Cost of which is NOT covered by the reference amount 
Cost of which is NOT covered by the reference amount 
Cost of which is included within the reference amount 
The needs for human and administrative resources shall be covered within the allocation granted to the 
managing service in the framework of the annual allocation procedure. 

EN 

56 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
8.2.4.  Other  Administrative  expenditure  included  in  reference  amount  (XX  01  04/05  – 

Expenditure on administrative management) 

Budget line 

(number and heading) 

1 Technical and administrative 

assistance (including related staff 
costs) 

Executive agencies28 

Other technical and administrative 
assistance 

- intra muros  

- extra muros 

EUR million (to 3 decimal places) 

2008 

2009 

2010 

2011 

2012 

2013 
and 
later 

TOTAL 

0,228 

0,255 

0,280 

0,303 

0,325 

1,391 

3,672 

3,745 

3,820 

3,897 

3,975 

19,109 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Total Technical and administrative 
assistance 

3,900 

4,000 

4,100 

4,200 

4,300 

20,500 

8.2.5.  Financial cost of human resources and associated costs not included in the reference 

amount 

Type of human resources 

2008 

2009 

2010 

2011 

2012 

2013  
and later 

EUR million (to 3 decimal places) 

Officials and temporary staff 
(29 01 01) 

Staff financed by Art XX 01 
02 (auxiliary, END, contract 
staff, etc.) 

budget line 29.01.02 

Total cost of Human 
Resources and associated 
costs (NOT in reference 
amount) 

71,496 

71,496 

71,496 

71,496 

71,496 

4,948 

5,047 

5,148 

5,251 

5,356 

76,444 

76,543 

76,644 

76,747 

76,852 

28 

Reference should be made to the specific legislative financial statement for the Executive Agency(ies) 
concerned. 

EN 

57 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Calculation– Officials and Temporary agents 

108.000 €/year x 5 year 

Calculation– Staff financed under art. XX 01 02 

Increase of 2% (inflation), each year 

8.2.6. Other administrative expenditure not included in reference amount 

EUR million (to 3 decimal places)

2008 

2009 

2010 

2011 

2012 

2013
and 
later 

TOTAL 

XX 01 02 11 01 – Missions 

1,632 

1,665 

1,698 

1,732 

1,767 

XX 01 02 11 02 – Meetings & Conferences 

2,203 

2,247 

2,292 

2,338 

2,385 

XX 01 02 11 03 – Committees  

0,561 

0,572 

0,584 

0,595 

0,607 

XX 01 02 11 04 – Studies & consultations 

0,204 

0,208 

0,212 

0,216 

0,221 

XX 01 02 11 05 - Information systems 

1,020 

1,040 

1,061 

1,082 

1,104 

XX 01 02 11 06 - Training 

0,271 

0,277 

0,282 

0,288 

0,294 

8,494 

11,465 

2,919 

1,061 

5,307 

1,412 

2  Total Other Management 

Expenditure (XX 01 02 11) 

3  Other expenditure of an 
administrative nature 

Total Administrative expenditure, 
other than human resources and 
associated costs (NOT included in 
reference amount) 

5,891 

6,009 

6,129 

6,251 

6,378 

30,658 

Calculation - Other administrative expenditure not included in reference amount 

For all lines an annual increase of 2% (inflation) has been calculated. 

EN 

58 

   EN