Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on quarterly statistics on Community job vacancies
Date: 2007-03-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Eurostat, data collection, employment policy, employment statistics, legal basis

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 12.3.2007 
COM(2007) 76 final 

2007/0033 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on quarterly statistics on Community job vacancies 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1)  CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

110 

•  Grounds for and objectives of the proposal 

In  order  to  satisfy  users'  demands  for  job  vacancy  statistics,  Eurostat  intends  to 
establish a legal basis for the collection of job vacancy data.  

The Commission and the European Central Bank need to receive quarterly data on job 
vacancies rapidly in order to monitor short-term changes in job vacancies by economic 
activity.  Job  vacancies  are  included  in  the  set  of  Principal  European  Economic 
Indicators (PEEIs) and are needed for the assessment of labour market conditions in the 
EU / Euro area under the EMU Action Plan.  

The development of good quality statistics on job vacancies is firmly fixed as a priority 
for the Council. The European Council of March 2005 re-launched the Lisbon strategy, 
calling  for  action,  in  particular,  to  attract  more  people  into  the  labour  market  and  to 
create more jobs, thus reinforcing the need for better information on labour demand. A 
structural indicator of job vacancies has been listed by the Employment Committee to 
be  developed  and  published  as  a  measure  of  labour  market  tightness  and  skill 
shortages.  

Structural data on job vacancies are required by the Commission in the context of the 
European Employment Strategy for monitoring and analysis of the level and structure 
of labour demand and for identifying labour shortages, bottlenecks and mismatches by 
region,  sector  of  economic  activity  and  occupation  as  reflected  in  the  Integrated 
Guidelines  for  Growth  and  Jobs  (2005-2008),  including  the  Broad  Economic  Policy 
Guidelines and the Employment Guidelines.  

Furthermore, job vacancy statistics are also collected for national purposes, to help the 
national  authorities  to  assess  and  monitor  the  labour  market  and  as  a  support  in  the 
decision making procedure for labour market policies. 

120 

•  General context 

National  data  on  job  vacancies  and  posts  occupied  have  been  collected  since  2003 
under  a  gentlemen's  agreement.  Even  though  this  agreement  initially  proved  useful, 
experience has shown that it is not capable of meeting users' needs. For the quarterly 
data  collection,  neither  the  ECB  requirements  in  terms  of  coverage,  timeliness  and 
harmonisation,  nor  the  Commission's  demand  for  structural  data  are  being  satisfied. 
For  the  time  being  only  a  very  limited  number  of  countries  are  transmitting  annual 
data, with a very heterogeneous level of detail and reduced comparability.  

A legal basis provides for a mechanism to achieve a comparable methodological basis 
for a significant set of short-term and structural statistics within a clear time frame. The 
development  of  an  appropriate  European  legal  framework  was  also  requested  by  the 
Ecofin  Council  in  the  Status  Report  on  Information  Requirements  in  EMU  of 
November 2005. In addition, a number of Member States need a legal basis in order to 
be able to continue with the collection of data on job vacancies. 

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139 

141 

•  Existing provisions in the area covered by the proposal 

There are no existing provisions in the area covered by the proposal. 

•  Consistency with other policies and objectives of the Union 

Not applicable. 

2)  CONSULTATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT 

•  Consultation of interested parties 

211 

Consultation methods, main sectors targeted and general profile of respondents 

Written  consultation  and  discussions  in  working  groups  have  been  conducted  with 
authorised delegates representing the Member States of the National Statistical System 
in the Labour Market Working Group meetings held in October 2005 and March 2006.  

The proposal for a Regulation was presented to the Statistical Programme Committee 
(SPC) for an opinion in May 2006. In summary, the SPC expressed its general support 
for  the  proposal  as  regards  quarterly  statistics.  However,  Member  States  had  strong 
reservations about the scope and the level of detail of the annual breakdowns. 

212 

Summary of responses and how they have been taken into account 

Following  the  SPC  opinion,  the  Regulation  was  amended,  in  particular  in  relation  to 
the  collection  of  annual  structural  data,  which  are  now  excluded  from  this  legal  text. 
The revised proposal for a Regulation of the EP/Council has the broad support of the 
Directors-General of the National Statistical Offices and the ECB. All Member States 
agreed  on  the  importance  of  having  a  clear  and  appropriate  legal  framework  for  the 
collection of quarterly job vacancy data. 

The  policy  need  for  annual  structural  job  vacancy  statistics  will  continue  to  be  dealt 
with  in  the  short  term  on  a  gentlemen's  agreement  basis.  In  the  medium  term,  and 
based  on  the  experience  of  the  regulation  on  quarterly  data,  consideration  should  be 
given to the possibility of a new regulation to cope with the demands for annual data. 

•  Collection and use of expertise 

221 

Scientific/expertise domains concerned 

The  national  representatives  meeting  in  Eurostat's  Labour  Market  Statistics  Working 
Group  and  the  members  of  the  Task  Force  on  Job  Vacancies  are  experts  with 
knowledge and experience in the field of job vacancies and labour market statistics. 

222 

Methodology used 

The document has benefited from the work done by the Task Force set up with the aim 
of  establishing  a  legal  basis  for  job  vacancy  statistics.  In  addition,  the  draft  proposal 
was discussed in Eurostat's Labour Market Statistics Working Group, where additional 
comments,  in  particular  with  regard  to  burden  reduction,  i.e.  reducing  the  scope  of 

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economic  activities  to  be  covered  and  introducing  the  possibility  of  using  additional 
sources other than a survey to collect job vacancy data, were taken on board. A revised 
version has been drafted, which includes ways of lightening the burden for businesses 
and Member States without affecting quality, such as the use of administrative sources 
and,  in  specific  cases,  limiting  the  scope  of  economic  activities  to  be  covered, 
excluding  agricultural,  fishing  and  forestry  activities.  As  regards  other  comments 
received  during  the  process,  the  majority  of  them  have  been  taken  into  consideration 
and have contributed to clarifying, refining and improving the proposed text.  

223 

Main organisations/experts consulted 

2249 

225 

The experts were from the national Ministries of Labour and/or the national statistical 
institutes. 

Summary of advice received and used 

Most of the suggestions concerned definitions to be used, sources and comments on the 
feasibility  of 
the  experts 
participating in the Task Force and Working Group are fully reflected in the text of this 
proposal for a Regulation. 

information  requested.  The  contributions  from 

the 

226 

Means used to make the experts' advice publicly available 

The minutes containing the results of the experts' discussions in the Working Groups 
and Task Forces, together with other reference documents, are available on CIRCA, the 
Communication  and  Information  Resource  Centre  Administrator  of  the  Commission. 
The same will be done with any other relevant information that comes to light.  

230 

•  Analysis of effects and consequences 

A number of options for job vacancy statistics in Europe have been identified. 

Option  A:  Continuation  of  the  collection  of  data  on  job  vacancies  under  the 
gentlemen's agreement.  

Option  B:  A  single  EP/Council  regulation  on  Community  job  vacancy  statistics  that 
will establish a common framework for quarterly and annual job vacancy statistics, to 
be developed in two Commission regulations, with a series of implementing measures 
specific to needs. 

Option  C:  A  single  EP/Council  regulation  on  Community  quarterly  job  vacancy 
statistics  and  continuation  of  the  collection  of  data  on  annual  job  vacancy  statistics 
under the gentlemen's agreement. 

Option  D:  Two  proposals  for  EP/Council  regulations,  one  for  quarterly  job  vacancy 
statistics and the other for annual job vacancy statistics. Each of them will be followed 
by an implementing regulation. 

Given the outcome of the consultation, the option preferred by the European Statistical 
System  (ESS)  is  Option  C,  namely  a  single  EP/Council  regulation  on  Community 
quarterly job vacancy statistics to be complemented by annual structural data collected 
on the basis of a gentlemen's agreement. The adoption of the legal act would guarantee 

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the  production  of  harmonised  and  high-quality  quarterly  statistics  needed  for 
comparisons  across  Member  States,  ensuring  continuity  and  consistency  in  quarterly 
data  collection.  This  solution  is  efficient,  flexible  and  will  be  less  burdensome  than 
Options  B  or  D.  In  addition,  Option  C  should  lead  to  speedier  adoption  of  the 
regulation, given the Member States' commitment as regards quarterly data.  

Option  A  is  the  current  situation.  Some  minor  improvements  could  still  be  achieved 
under the grant policy, but continuing with the voluntary basis will mean accepting the 
current  weakness  of  these  statistics  and  ignoring  users'  need  for  a  legal  basis. 
Furthermore,  the  countries  that  require  a  regulation  in  order  to  continue  the  data 
collections will be permanently excluded from the exercise. 

Option  B  gives  a  better  statistical  response  to  users'  needs,  including  those  of  the 
Commission for annual structural data, and would ensure greater consistency between 
quarterly and yearly statistics. However, taking into account the opinions expressed by 
Member  States,  and  the  complexity  and  difficulties  in  implementing  this  option, 
reaching  agreement  on  this  regulation  is  likely  to  be  an  extremely  long  and  difficult 
process, and one that is not conducive to securing the rapid adoption of a regulation on 
quarterly statistics. 

Option  D  would  be  a  suitable  approach  as  it  satisfies  users'  requirements,  but  it  has 
disadvantages  compared  with  Option  C,  in  particular  in  terms  of  efficiency  and 
workload. However, this option should be reconsidered in the medium term, after the 
experience with quarterly statistics has been evaluated. 

3)  LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

305 

•  Summary of the proposed action 

The intention of this legal basis is to establish a legal framework to cover current and 
identifiable  future  activities  in  the  field  of  quarterly  job  vacancy  statistics.  This 
includes, in particular, guaranteeing a harmonised data collection to satisfy the demand 
from users in this area. The proposal for a Regulation respects the principles set out in 
the  European  Statistics  Code  of  Practice,  in  particular  the  principle  of  cost-
effectiveness,  and  special  measures  have  been  taken  to  minimise  the  burden  on 
businesses and National Statistical Offices. 

The EP/Council Regulation needs to be complemented by an implementing regulation. 

310 

•  Legal basis 

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

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329 

•  Subsidiarity principle 

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341 

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The  objective  of  the  proposed  action,  namely  the  production  of  Community  job 
vacancy  statistics,  cannot  be  sufficiently  achieved  by  the  Member  States  and  can 
therefore be 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,  while  the  collection  of  data  and  compilation  of 
comparable  job  vacancy  statistics  can  be  organised  by  the  Member  States. 
Consequently, 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). 

In accordance with the principle of proportionality this Regulation confines itself to the 
minimum required to achieve this objective and does not go beyond what is necessary 
for that purpose.  

There will be an increase in costs, particularly in the initial stage of the implementation 
and mainly for those countries that are not conducting job vacancy surveys for the time 
being,  or  for  those  that  need  to  adapt  their  surveys  to  meet  the  legal  requirements. 
However, with Community financial support the costs involved could be limited.  

With regard to the increase of the burden, the extent of this impact has been limited by 
careful  preparation,  respecting  the  principle  of  cost  efficiency  and  implementation  of 
the  legislative  measures,  i.e.  the  use  of  administrative  sources  which  satisfy  quality 
criteria, exclusion of some economic activities that are marginal and the possibility of 
having  feasibility  studies  carried  out  by  Member  States  that  have  difficulty  in 
providing data for some specific sectors and / or small units. 

•  Choice of instruments 

Proposed instruments: regulation. 

Other means would not be appropriate for the following reason(s): 

It  is  generally  acknowledged  that  an  EP/Council  regulation  is  appropriate  for  the 
majority of statistical activity that requires detailed and uniform application throughout 
the Community.  

A  regulation  is  preferable  to  a  directive  as  a  basic  act  because,  unlike  a  directive,  a 
regulation  lays  down  the  same  law  throughout  the  Community,  leaving  the  Member 
States with no powers to apply it partially or selectively and no choice in the form and 
methods  to  be  used  to  attain  its  objectives.  Moreover,  a  regulation  is  directly 
applicable, which means that it does not need to be transposed into national law, thus 
avoiding the delays associated with transposition of directives into national legislation. 
It also leads to better and faster legislation. 

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4)  BUDGETARY IMPACT 

401 

Financial provisions included in the Regulation should help Member States during the 
start-up  phase  to  launch  new  statistics  in  this  area  or  to  complete  work  already 
undertaken under the gentlemen's agreement to improve the quality of short-term data 
collections and to meet users' requirements.  

The  financing  will  be  covered  by  the  Community  Programme  for  Employment  and 
Social  Solidarity  –  PROGRESS,  adopted  by  Decision  1672/2006  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 2006. Under Section 1. Employment, the 
financing  of  the  relevant  actions,  including  statistical  actions,  has  been  specifically 
mentioned,  cf.  "improving  the  understanding  of  the  employment  situation  and 
prospects, in particular through analysis and studies and the development of statistics 
and  common  indicators  within  the  framework  of  the  ESS".  The  budgetary  impact  in 
commitment and payment appropriations related to these actions has been estimated at 
EUR 4.5 million for the period 2008-2010. 

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2007/0033 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on quarterly statistics on Community job vacancies 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 
285(1) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission1, 

Having  regard  to  the  opinion  of  the  European  Economic  and  Social  Committee2  and  to  the 
opinion of the European Central Bank3,  

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty  

After consulting the Statistical Programme Committee, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

The  Council  held  in  Brussels  on  8  December  2003  endorsed  in  its  conclusions4  a 
structural indicator on job vacancies to be developed and published. 

The  Action  Plan  on  EMU  Statistical  Requirements5  and  the  subsequent  progress 
reports6 on the implementation of that plan identify as a priority the development of a 
legal basis covering job vacancy statistics. 

The  Employment  Committee,  established  by  Council  Decision  2000/98/EC7,  has 
agreed that an indicator for job vacancies is needed in order to monitor the European 
Employment Strategy laid down in Council Decision 2005/600/EC of 12 July 2005 on 
the Guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States8.  

(4) 

Decision  1672/2006/EC  of  24  October  2006  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  on  a  Community  Programme  for  Employment  and  Social  Solidarity  – 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

7 
8 

OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
Council conclusions, 15875/03.  
Commission Action Plan on EMU Statistical Requirements, CS/2000/11655 
Status  Reports  on  Information  Requirements 
CS/2005/13894 
OJ L 29 of 4.2.2000, p. 21 
OJ L 205, 6.8.2005, p.21 

in  EMU;  CS/2001/13388,  CS/2003/6016  and 

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PROGRESS9, provides for the financing of the relevant actions including, as specified 
therein, the "improving the understanding of the employment situation and prospects, 
in  particular  through  analysis  and  studies  and  the  development  of  statistics  and 
common indicators within the framework of the EES". 

Data on job vacancies broken down by economic activity, among other characteristics, 
are  required  by  the  Commission  in  the  framework  of  the  European  Employment 
Strategy for monitoring and analysis of the level and structure of labour demand. 

Rapid  quarterly  data  on  job  vacancies  are  required  by  the  Commission  and  by  the 
European  Central  Bank  for  monitoring  short-term  changes  in  job  vacancies. 
Seasonally-adjusted job vacancy data facilitate the interpretation of quarterly changes.  

Data  provided  on  job  vacancies  should  be  relevant  including  completeness,  accurate 
including coverage, timely, coherent, comparable and readily accessible by users.  

The benefits of collecting, at Community level, complete data on all segments of the 
economy  should  be  balanced  against  the  reporting  possibilities  of  and  the  response 
burden on small and medium-sized enterprises in particular. 

For  determining  the  scope  of  the  statistics  to  be  compiled  and  the  level  of  detail 
required  by  economic  activity,  it  is  necessary  to  apply  the  version  of  the  common 
classification  system  for  economic  activities  in  the  Community,  NACE,  that  is 
currently in force. 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

(10)  Since the objectives of the proposed action, namely the production of Community job 
vacancy  statistics,  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 
Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve those objectives. 

(11) 

In the production and dissemination of Community statistics under this Regulation, the 
national and Community statistical authorities should take account of the principles set 
out in the European Statistics Code of Practice, which was adopted by the Statistical 
Programme Committee10 on 24 February 2005 and attached to the Recommendation of 
the Commission on the independence, integrity and accountability of the national and 
Community statistical authorities11. 

(12)  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  322/97  of  17  February  1997  on  Community  statistics12 
provides the general framework and applies therefore to the production of job vacancy 
statistics.  

9 
10 
11 
12 

OJ L 315, 15.11.2006, p. 1 
OJ L 181, 28.6.1989, p. 47 
OJ C 172, 12.07.2005, p. 22 
OJ L 52, 22.2.1997, p. 1 

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(13)  The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted 
in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the 
procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission13. 

(14) 

In  particular,  the  Commission  should  be  empowered  to  adopt  the  implementing 
measures  as  regards  the  domains  referred  to  in  Articles  2,  4,  6,  7  and  8  of  this 
Regulation.  Since  these  are  measures  of  general  scope  designed  to  amend  or  delete 
non-essential  elements  of  this  Regulation,  or  to  supplement  this  Regulation  by  the 
addition of new non-essential elements, they should be adopted in accordance with the 
regulatory  procedure  with  scrutiny  provided  for 
in  Article  5a  of  Decision 
1999/468/EEC, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Subject matter and scope 

This Regulation lays down the requirements for the regular quarterly production of 
statistics on Community job vacancies. 

Each Member State shall submit to the Commission (Eurostat) data on job vacancies 
at least for business units with one employee or more.  

Subject  to  paragraphs  3  and  4,  the  statistics  shall  cover  all  economic  activities 
defined  by  the  common  classification  system  for  economic  activities  in  the 
Community  (NACE)  in  force,  except  for  the  activities  of  households  as  employers 
and the activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies.  

The data shall be broken down by economic activity, according to the NACE in force 
at section level. 

The coverage of agriculture, forestry and fishing activities, as defined by the NACE 
in force, shall be optional for those Member States for which these activities are not 
relevant in terms of the share of total employment.  

The threshold linked to the relevance of the share referred to in the first subparagraph 
shall be determined in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 11(2). If 
necessary and appropriate, the feasibility studies under Article 8 shall be taken into 
account. 

The  coverage  of  public  administration  and  defence,  compulsory  social  security, 
education,  human  health  and  social  work,  arts,  entertainments  and  recreation  and 
activities  of  memberships  organisations,  repair  of  computers  and  personal  and 
household  goods  and  other  personal  service  activities,  as  defined  by  the  NACE  in 
force, within the scope of this Regulation, and of units with less than 10 employees 
shall be determined taking into account the feasibility studies defined in Article 8. 

OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23, Decision as last amended by Council Decision No 2006/512/EC of 17 July 
2006, OJ L 200 of 22.7.2006, p.11 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

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Article 2 

Job vacancies 

For  the  purposes  of  this  Regulation,  a  job  vacancy  is  a  paid  post  either  newly  created  or 
unoccupied or about to become vacant, for which the employer  

a) 

is  taking  active  steps  and  is  prepared  to  take  more  steps  to  find  a  suitable 
candidate from outside the enterprise concerned , and  

b) 

intends to fill it either immediately or within a specified period of time;  

The concepts ‘active steps to find a suitable candidate’ and the 'specific period of time' shall 
be defined in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 11(2).  

Article 3 

Definitions 

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

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

An 'occupied post' means a paid post within the organisation to which an employee 
has been assigned. 

Metadata means the explanations needed to interpret the changes in the data arising 
from either methodological or technical changes. 

Back data means the historical data covering the specifications given in Article 1. 

Article 4 

Reference dates and technical specifications 

Member States shall compile the quarterly data with reference to specific reference 
dates  which  shall  be  determined  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  referred  to  in 
Article 11(2). 

Member  States  shall  provide  data  on  occupied  posts  in  order  to  standardise  job 
vacancy data for comparative purposes. 

Member  States  shall  be  required  to  apply  seasonal  adjustment  procedures  to  the 
quarterly  job  vacancy  data.  The  seasonal  adjustment  procedures  required  shall  be 
determined in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 11(3). 

Article 5 

Sources 

Member States shall produce the data using business surveys. Other sources, such as 
administrative  data,  can  be  used  provided  that  these  are  appropriate  in  terms  of 
quality, in accordance with Article 7.  

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2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

Member  States  may  supplement  the  sources  referred  in  paragraph  1  with  reliable 
statistical estimation procedures. 

European sample schemes shall be established and coordinated by the Commission 
(Eurostat) in order to produce Community estimates where national sample schemes 
do  not  meet  the  Community  requirements  with  regard  to  quarterly  data  collection. 
The details of the schemes, their approval and implementation shall be specified by 
the procedure laid down in Article 11(3). 

Member  States  may  opt  to  take  part  in  Community  sample  schemes  when  such 
schemes  create  possibilities  for  substantial  reductions  in  the  cost  of  the  statistical 
system or the burden on business entailed in meeting the Community requirement.  

Article 6 

Data transmission 

Member States shall transmit the data and metadata to the Commission (Eurostat) in 
a format and within transmission deadlines which shall be determined in accordance 
with  the  procedure  referred  to  in  Article  11(2).  Any  revision  of  quarterly  data  for 
previous quarters shall be transmitted at the same time. 

Member States shall also transmit back data for at least the four quarters previous to 
the quarter to be supplied in the first data delivery. The totals shall be delivered not 
later  than  with  the  first  data  transmission,  and  the  breakdowns  not  more  than  one 
year thereafter. Where necessary, back data may be based on ‘best estimates’. 

Article 7 

Quality  

The  statistical  quality  of  data,  in  particular  their  relevance  including  completeness, 
accuracy including coverage, timeliness, coherence, comparability and accessibility, 
shall be a fundamental objective and shall be pursued in close cooperation between 
the Member States and the Commission (Eurostat). 

The transmitted current data and back data shall satisfy quality criteria to be defined 
under the procedure referred to in Article 11(2). 

Member  States  shall  provide  quality  reports  to  the  Commission  (Eurostat).  The 
timing, frequency and content of the quality reports and the deadlines for submitting 
the  reports  shall  be  determined  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  referred  to  in 
Article 11(2). 

Article 8 

Feasibility studies 

The  Commission  (Eurostat)  shall  set  out  the  appropriate  framework  for  the 
establishment  of  a  series  of  feasibility  studies  in  accordance  with  the  procedure 
referred to in Article 11(2). These studies shall be undertaken by the Member States 
that have difficulties in providing data for: 

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a) units with less than 10 employees; and/or  

b) the following activities:  

i) 

agriculture, forestry and fishing activities,  

ii) 

public administration and defence; compulsory social security,  

iii) 

education,  

iv) 

human health and social work,  

v) 

arts, entertainments and recreation, and 

vi) 

activities of memberships organisations, repair of computers and personal 
and household goods and other personal service activities 

The Member States undertaking feasibility studies shall submit a report on the results 
of  those  studies  within  12  months  after  the  entry  into  force  of  the  Commission 
implementing measures referred to in paragraph 1. 

Measures  adopted  pursuant  to  the  results  of  the  feasibility  studies  shall  respect  the 
principle  of  cost-effectiveness,  as  defined  in  Article  10  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 
322/97, including minimisation of the burden on respondents. 

The  implementation  of  measures  adopted  pursuant  to  the  results  of  the  feasibility 
studies shall it make possible for data to be transmitted by the first quarter of 2011. 

Article 9 

Financing 

For  the  first  three  years  of  data  collection  Member  States  may  receive  a  financial 
contribution from the Community towards the cost of the work involved. 

The  amount  of  the  appropriations  allocated  annually  for  the  financial  contribution 
referred to in paragraph 1 shall be fixed as part of the annual budgetary procedures. 

The budget authority shall grant the appropriations available for each year. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Article 10 

Implementing measures 

The  measures  necessary  for  the  implementation  of  this  Regulation  shall  be  adopted  in 
accordance with Article 11.  

Article 11 

Committee 

1. 

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

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2. 

3. 

Where  reference  is  made  to  this  paragraph,  the  regulatory  procedure  with  scrutiny 
laid down in Article 5a (1) to (4) and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, 
having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof. 

Where  reference  is  made  to  this  paragraph,  the  regulatory  procedure  laid  down  in 
Articles  5  and  7  of  Decision  1999/468/EC  shall  apply,  having  regard  to  the 
provisions of Article 8 thereof. 

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three 
months. 

Article 12 

Report on implementation 

Within two years of the entry into force of this Regulation and every three years thereafter, 
the  Commission  shall  submit  a  report  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the 
implementation  of  this  Regulation.  This  report  shall  assess  the  quality  of  the  statistics 
provided by Member States and shall identify areas for potential improvement. 

Article 13 

Entry into force 

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

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

Done at Brussels,  

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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