Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on implementation of the NUTS Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003)
Date: 2007-06-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, data collection, regional statistics, statistical method, statistical nomenclature

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 4.6.2007 
COM(2007) 287 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

on implementation of the NUTS Regulation  
(Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003) 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

on implementation of the NUTS Regulation  
(Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003) 

1. 

OBJECTIVE 

This  report  is  required  under  Article  8  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1059/2003  of  the  European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  26  May  2003  on  the  establishment  of  a  common 
classification  of  territorial  units  for  statistics  (NUTS)1  (hereinafter  referred  to  as  "NUTS 
Regulation"). Article 8 reads as follows: 

"Reporting 

Three  years  after  the  entry  into  force  of  this  Regulation,  the 
Commission  shall  submit  a  report  on  its  implementation  to  the 
European Parliament and the Council." 

2. 

ACTIONS COVERED BY THE REPORT 

This report covers all of the actions undertaken in implementation of the NUTS Regulation. 
The  first  implementation  exercise  was  carried  out  in  2003  following  adoption  of  the 
Regulation.  The  frequency  for  updating  the  NUTS  classification  is  every  three  years,  in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  Regulation.  This  important  operation  took  place 
towards the end of 2006. This report was therefore timed to allow a full account of it. 

The NUTS classification is the reference framework for all regional statistics of the EU. It is 
therefore pertinent in this context to report on the supply of regional statistics from Member 
States to the Commission, more specifically to Eurostat. 

In  accordance  with  Article  2(5),  consideration  has  been  given  to  whether  the  NUTS 
Regulation should continue to cover three territorial levels or if more levels should be added. 
The Commission submitted a communication to the European Parliament and the Council on 
this matter as required.2 

On 1st May 2004 ten countries joined the European Union. The NUTS Regulation has been 
amended to cover these new Member States and this process is also covered by this report. 

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OJ L 154, 21.6.2003, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 105/2007 
(OJ L 39, 10.2.2007, p. 1). 
Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the 
appropriateness  of  establishing  rules  on  a  Europe-wide  basis  for  more  detailed  levels  in  the  NUTS 
Classification (COM(2005) 473 final of 6 October 2005). 

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Finally, in discussions with candidate countries about their regional classification, the rules in 
the NUTS Regulation serve as a guideline.  

3. 

IMPLEMENTATION IN EUROSTAT DATABASES 

Eurostat  holds  regional  data  in  two  environments:  one  production  database,  where  data  are 
stored  for  validation  and  where  ratios  or  other  derived  indicators  are  calculated,  and  one 
dissemination  database,  which  is  available  on-line  through  Eurostat's  website.  Statistics  are 
available  to  everybody  free  of  charge  unless  there  is  a  very  specific  reason  to  restrict 
dissemination of the data. 

Both  databases  had  to  be  updated  with  the  2003  NUTS  codes  following  adoption.  Because 
only data on the existing regions are disseminated, any code which disappeared in 2003 had to 
be  removed  from  the  databases.  Statistics  connected  to  discontinued  codes  were,  as  far  as 
possible, moved or converted to the new NUTS codes in the database. 

Eurostat's  databases  were  switched  from  the  previous  version  (NUTS  1999,  based  on  an 
informal agreement) to the 2003 version of NUTS on 20th November 2003. 

From 2003 onwards the NUTS code was redefined to be the same length for all regions at the 
same NUTS level, which was not the case before. This is an operational improvement, as it 
makes it easier to identify and sort NUTS regions in statistical tables. 

4. 

REGIONAL STATISTICS 

The Member States submit regional statistics to Eurostat in line with the NUTS classification 
in  several  domains.  After  validation,  the  data  are  disseminated  on-line  through  the  Eurostat 
website. 

In some domains Member States are under a legal obligation to submit regional data, while in 
others they provide them under informal agreements. Most data are collected at NUTS level 
2. A small number of tables are provided at the more detailed NUTS level 3. 

After any change to the regional classification, Member States are required to recalculate the 
data on the basis of the new classification. In 2003 changes were made to NUTS in five of the 
then 15 EU Member States. Checks can therefore be made on whether these countries have 
generally supplied historical data for regions which were newly defined in 2003. 

In cases where regions were merged, it was relatively simple to aggregate the statistics for the 
new NUTS region. In cases where a region was split or where borders between regions were 
moved, it proved impossible for Eurostat to carry out a recalculation from the available data. 
The Member States concerned were requested to provide recalculated data, if at all possible. 
In  the  case  of  sample  surveys,  it  is  often  impossible  to  recalculate  the  regional  data 
retrospectively  because  the  design  of  the  survey,  including  the  sample  size  in  each  (old) 
region,  does  not  allow  such  recalculation.  It  is  therefore  inevitable  that  gaps  appear  in  the 
database after changes to the NUTS regions. 

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Another  point  to  note  is  that  the  regional  data  from  the  2000/2001  population  and  housing 
census were collected on the basis of the regional classification in force at the time the census 
was  carried  out  (for  both  old  and  new  Member  States).  Eurostat  has  endeavoured  to  recode 
these  data  in  line  with  the  current  (2003)  NUTS.  In  most  cases  this  was  possible.  In  a  few 
cases  the  statistical  office  in  the  country  concerned  was  asked  to  provide  revised  tables, 
recalculated on the basis of the 2003 regional classification. 

5. 

ADDITIONAL NUTS LEVELS 

The  NUTS  classification  comprises  three  hierarchical  levels.  Article  2(5)  of  the  NUTS 
Regulation requires the Commission to submit a communication to the European Parliament 
and  the  Council  about  the  possibility  of  introducing  more  detailed  levels  in  the  NUTS 
Regulation. The Commission discussed this issue with the Member States and subsequently 
submitted a communication (COM(2005) 473), which drew the following conclusions: 

The  Commission  concluded  that  at  the  current  stage  no  additional  level  of  regional 
classification should be envisaged in the framework of the NUTS Regulation. Efforts should 
concentrate on the statistical information available at the existing NUTS levels with a view to 
consolidating  in  the  enlarged  EU  of  25,  improvements  in  quality  and  obtaining  additional 
regional data where required for policy purposes. 

Also, at an informal level, harmonisation of LAU (Local Administrative Unit) level 1 (which 
underpins the NUTS 3 level) should be actively supported by the Commission on a European 
scale. This will entail an intensive exchange of views between statistical offices, encouraged 
and supported by the Commission, and also the development of guidelines for harmonisation 
of concepts and definitions of LAU level 1 regions. 

The proposal is that the situation should be reassessed at some point in the future. A possible 
appropriate moment would be sometime after 2008.  

6. 

ENLARGEMENT OF THE EU 

Enlargement of the EU with ten new Member States on 1 May 2004 created a need to amend 
Annexes 1 to 3 to the NUTS Regulation in order to cover all 25 Member States. 

An amending Regulation was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council in 2005.3 
The procedure for adoption of this amending Regulation took much more time and effort than 
initially  expected  due  to  the  number  of  countries  concerned.  One  major  problem  was  that 
some  of  the  new  Member  States  came  up  with  proposals  for  adjustment  of  their  NUTS 
regions at a very late stage (April 2004). Nevertheless, all the proposals were incorporated. 

3 

Regulation  (EC)  No  1888/2005  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  26 October  2005 
amending Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial 
units for statistics (NUTS) by reason of the accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, 
Lithuania,  Hungary,  Malta,  Poland,  Slovenia  and  Slovakia  to  the  European  Union  (OJ  L  309, 
25.11.2005, p. 1). 

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Some  accession  countries  had  adopted  their  own  national  legislation  on  regional  statistical 
classifications. This legislation does not concern the regional administrative structure in their 
country, but is purely a statistical classification that mirrors NUTS. This national legislation is 
superfluous  because  the  NUTS  Regulation  is  directly  applicable  in  all  Member  States. 
Moreover,  the  experience  of  the  Commission  shows  that  such  "parallel"  legislation  on  the 
classification  for  regional  statistics  complicates  matters  considerably.  In  particular,  if  the 
Commission is obliged to make changes to the regional classification to bring it into line with 
EU legal obligations and policy, the Member States are then forced to revoke their national 
legislation as well. In the future candidate countries will be strongly advised not to adopt this 
kind of legislation. 

7. 

THE PROCESS OF UPDATING OF THE NUTS REGULATION 

Article  5  of  the  NUTS  Regulation  stipulates  how  the  NUTS  classification  may  be  updated. 
However, the fundamental approach is to keep the NUTS classification as stable as possible in 
order  to  avoid  breaks  in  statistical  time  series.  Changes  to  the  NUTS  classification  are 
therefore limited to a frequency of every three years at most. An exception to this three-year 
limit is allowed in the event of a complete administrative reorganisation in a Member State, as 
any such reorganisation would make it impossible or very laborious for the statistical office in 
the  country  concerned  to  continue  to  supply  statistics  based  on  an  obsolete  regional 
classification.  Another  exception  is  allowed  for  very  small  changes  to  regional  borders: 
boundary  changes  which  lead  to  a  change  of  less  than  1%  of  the  population  in  the  smallest 
region involved do not have to be treated as an update of the NUTS classification. 

Since  June  2003  no  reorganisation,  as  provided  for  in  Article  5(4),  has  taken  place  in  any 
Member State. Some minor changes have been made to borders between NUTS regions. 

The three-year moratorium on changes to the NUTS classification meant that the first revision 
was possible in 2006. The Commission is required to make proposals for updating the NUTS 
classification  based  on  information  from  the  Member  States,  taking  into  account  the  policy 
needs of Commission departments, so that they are adopted in "the second half of the calendar 
year". The overall process for such revision and the procedure for Member States to notify the 
Commission  of  any  changes  which  they  wish  to  make  to  the  NUTS  classification  were 
finalised with the Member States during the regular meetings of the Eurostat Working Party 
on Regional and Urban Statistics in 2005. In practice revision of the classification entails only 
an amendment to the Annexes to the Regulation. 

In  general  terms,  as  the  NUTS  Regulation  is  about  statistics,  responsibility  for  coordinating 
management of the regional classification lies with the statistical office in each Member State. 
However, Member States must formally notify the Commission of any changes they wish to 
propose, by a letter from their Permanent Representative to the EU.  

As  a  result  of  the  above-mentioned  process,  amendments  were  proposed  to  the  European 
regional  classification  (NUTS)  in  the  following  12  Member  States:  Belgium,  the  Czech 
Republic, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland, Slovenia, 
Sweden and the United Kingdom. Only Denmark, Slovenia and Sweden are affected in their 
entirety; in all other countries, the changes are limited to selected regions. Revisions proposed 

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by Portugal were not accepted by the Commission as they were judged to contravene certain 
provisions of the Regulation. 

The  new  NUTS  classification  will  apply  to  data  provided  from  the  1st  January  2008.  From 
this  date  on  the  statistical  data  submitted  must  comply  with  the  new  NUTS  2006 
classification. 

The  Statistical  Programme  Committee  approved  a  draft  Commission  Regulation  under  the 
"comitology" procedure at its meeting on 16 November 2006. 

The draft Regulation was communicated to the European Parliament, in line with its right of 
scrutiny  (Article  5(4)  of  Council  Decision  1999/468/EC),  on  5  December  2006  and  was 
finally adopted by the Commission on the 1st February 2007.4 

Summary 

Overall  the  process  for  revision  of  the  regional  classification  worked  well,  but  certain 
procedural changes will need to be made for the next revision in 2009. Firstly, to ensure that 
the intention of every Member State is absolutely clear, a specific response will be requested 
from each Member State, clearly indicating if they do not intend to make any revisions. This 
will avoid any problems with the clarity of their intentions in the future. Secondly, and more 
importantly, in view of the revision of the "comitology procedure", particularly the extension 
of the time allowed for the European Parliament's "right of scrutiny", the revision process will 
have to be initiated much earlier in the year and the deadlines adjusted accordingly. 

8. 

CANDIDATE COUNTRIES 

Since  May  2004  five  candidate  countries  have  held  discussions  with  Eurostat  about  their 
regional classification for statistics. While they are still candidate countries, a classification of 
"statistical regions" is agreed upon to facilitate the collection of comparable regional statistics 
over the entire accession process. To establish these regions and assess any changes proposed, 
Eurostat  takes  into  account  the  provisions  in  the  NUTS  Regulation,  in  particular  the 
population thresholds referred to in Article 3(2). 

Bulgaria and Romania had already agreed on statistical regions before the NUTS Regulation 
was finally approved in 2003. Some of these did not fully comply with the Regulation (Article 
3(2)).  In  preparation  for  their  accession  to  the  EU,  Eurostat  held  extensive  discussions  with 
both  Bulgaria  and  Romania  in  order  to  bring  the  statistical  regions  in  these  countries  more 
closely  into  line  with  the  provisions  of  the  NUTS  Regulation.  In  the  case  of  Romania,  the 
Commission's  pre-accession  regional  support  programmes,  based  on  the  agreed  provisional 
definitions  of  level  2  "Statistical  Regions,  militated  against  any  revision  on  accession,  in 
particular  to  ensure  comparable  regional  statistics  covering  the  pre-  and  post-accession 
periods. This will be reviewed for the next update round. 

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Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  105/2007  of  1  February  2007  amending  the  annexes  to  Regulation 
(EC)  No  1059/2003  on  the  establishment  of  a  common  classification  of  territorial  units  for  statistics 
(NUTS) (OJ L 39, 10.2.2007, p. 1). 

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Croatia  was  required  to  introduce  a  regional  statistical  classification,  under  the  Stabilisation 
and Association Pact, and made a series of proposals to this end. The first two were rejected 
by the Commission because the level 2 (non-administrative) regions did not comply with the 
size criteria in Article 3(2) of the NUTS Regulation. The third proposal was accepted by the 
Commission  but  subsequently  withdrawn  by  Croatia.  Since  then  another  proposal  has  been 
sent and has now been accepted by the Commission. 

The  Former  Yugoslav  Republic  of  Macedonia  sent  Eurostat  two  proposals  for  a  regional 
statistical  classification.  Both  contained  a  number  of  non-administrative  regions  at  level  3, 
one of which is too small to meet the requirements of Article 3(5). The criteria for such non-
administrative  units  are  more  restrictive  than  for  administrative  regions.  Consequently  both 
proposals were rejected by the Commission on the basis of Article 3(2). 

Turkey had  already  reached a provisional agreement on statistical regions before the NUTS 
Regulation came into force in 2003. The final classification of NUTS regions to be adopted 
on accession is still subject to negotiation and agreement within the accession process. 

9. 

OTHER COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES 

The  European  Economic  Area  Agreement  does  not  apply  to  regional  statistics.  Iceland, 
Liechtenstein and Norway take account of the criteria laid down in the NUTS Regulation but 
are  not  legally  bound  by  it.  The  Agreement  between  the  EU  and  Switzerland  does  cover 
regional statistics in some domains. 

From  time  to  time  Eurostat  has  received  requests  from  users  for  regional  data  based  on  a 
NUTS-like classification for other non-EU countries or territories. Eurostat has not been able 
to  meet  such  requests  despite  the  need  created  by  EU  initiatives  such  as  the  Socrates 
programme, the "Interreg" programme or Regional Policy. 

•  The  Socrates  programme  run  by  the  Directorate-General  for  Education  and  Culture 
requires  a  regional  classification  in  CARDS  countries  in  the  Western  Balkans  and  in 
overseas  territories  of  Member  States  (Council  Decision  2001/822/EC  of  27  November 
2001  on  the  association  of  the  overseas  countries  and  territories  with  the  European 
Community). 

•  "Interreg" programmes straddle the EU’s external borders and include regions in countries 
like Ukraine, Moldova or Russia. Because no NUTS regions are defined in these countries, 
the regions eligible for this programme have been defined on an ad hoc basis. 

•  Geographically  the  NUTS  Regulation  applies  to  the  economic  territory  defined  in  the 
ESA(95)  Regulation  (points  2.05  and  13.07),5  which  therefore  excludes  certain  specific 
territories such as Gibraltar or Mount Athos from the NUTS classification. 

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Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 of 25 June 1996 on the European system of national and regional 
accounts in the Community (OJ L 310, 30.11.1996, p. 1). 

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10. 

DISSEMINATION 

The  complete  list  of  regions,  including  codes  and  names,  is  available  on  the  RAMON 
classifications  server  on  Eurostat's  website.  In  this  way  information  about  the  NUTS 
classification is made available to the widest possible audience. 

In addition to the list of regions, the website includes introductory and explanatory texts about 
NUTS and two sections with maps showing the borders of the regions. The link to the home 
page is: 

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/nuts/. 

A booklet containing the NUTS classification and outline maps of the regions was published 
by Eurostat in 2003 followed by a revised version, containing all NUTS regions in EU-25, in 
2004. Copies of these booklets have been distributed within Eurostat and to statisticians from 
the  Member  States  who  are  Eurostat’s  main  contacts  for  supplying  regional  statistics.  The 
booklets are also available in PDF format on Eurostat's website at: 

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=1073,1135281,1073_1135295&_dad=po
rtal&_schema=PORTAL&p_product_code=KS-BD-04-005. 

At meetings of the Working Parties on the European Statistical System, which are the main 
forum for discussions about NUTS with the statistical offices of the Member States, Eurostat 
has  repeatedly  presented  the  NUTS  classification  and  its  rules,  in  particular  on  changes  to 
NUTS.  Presentations  have  also  been  made  to  the  Working  Parties  on  a  number  of  other 
subjects  (e.g.  geographical  information  systems  and  statistics,  demography,  tourism  and 
transport statistics) and to members of certain Commission policy DGs. 

11. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The NUTS Regulation is operational within the European Statistical System and is serving its 
primary purpose as a framework for regional statistics at European level. 

Recital 8 of the NUTS Regulation underlines the intention to maintain stability in the NUTS 
classification.  For  certain  domains  of  regional  statistics,  any  change  in  the  NUTS 
classification  creates  significant  problems  with  maintenance  and  recalculation  of  statistical 
data.  For  this  reason,  the  Commission  has  taken  a  restrictive  approach  in  its  proposals  for 
changes to the NUTS regions. 

The question of adding further regional levels to the NUTS Regulation has been investigated 
in depth, including the required consultations with the Member States. A communication on 
this subject was submitted to the European Parliament and the Council. The conclusion was 
that no further level should be added to the NUTS Regulation at this time. The issue should be 
reassessed some time after 2008. 

In  discussions  with  candidate  countries,  the  provisions  in  the  NUTS  Regulation  have  been 
used  to  encourage  the  countries  concerned  to  bring  their  proposals  into  line  with  a  more 
harmonised European regional classification. 

Revision  of  the  NUTS  Regulation  proceeded  smoothly,  but  minor  changes  will  be  made  to 
consolidate this process in the 2009 revision round. 

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