Report from the Commission to the Council and to the European Parliament on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 June 2003
Date: 2008-03-31
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, EU statistics, dissemination of information, income, living conditions, statistical method

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 31.3.2008 
COM(2008) 160 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND TO THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament 
and of the Council of 16 June 2003 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND TO THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament 
and of the Council of 16 June 2003 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Under the terms of Article 16 of Regulation N° 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of 
the Council of 16 June 2003 on the EU-SILC (Community Statistics on Income and Living 
Conditions) project, 'No later than 31 December 2007, the Commission will submit a report to 
the European Parliament and the Council on the work done under this Regulation'. 

This report documents the progress made by Member States, Candidate and EFTA countries, 
together with the Commission, with respect to the provisions of the abovementioned EP and 
Council Regulation and the associated Commission regulations issued during the period 2003-
2007. 

2. 

MAIN POINTS 

2.1. 

SILC: a source of reference data for income and poverty analysis at EU level 

Since  the  adoption  on  16  June  2003  of  Regulation  N°  1177/2003  on  the  EU-SILC 
(Community  Statistics  on  Income  and  Living  Conditions)  project,  significant  progress  has 
been achieved.  

EU-SILC was launched gradually between 2003 and 2005 in all EU Member States and has 
become the source of data for the analysis of income distribution and social inclusion at EU 
level. In 2005, cross-sectional data for all 25 Member States plus Norway and Iceland became 
available.  These  data  have  been  used  for  producing  common  indicators  for  the  social 
protection and social cohesion process (overarching, social inclusion, pensions and health and 
long-term  care)  included  in  the  Joint  Social  Inclusion  and  Social  Protection  (JSISP)  report, 
which is a component of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC). 

EU-SILC was launched in 2003 on the basis of a gentlemen’s agreement in six Member States 
(Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg and Austria) as well as in Norway.  

In 2004, under Regulation N° 1177/2003 of the EP and Council, EU-SILC was implemented 
in  twelve  EU-15  countries  (Germany,  Netherlands  and  the  United  Kingdom  delayed  the 
launch  for  one  year)  as  well  as  in  Estonia,  Iceland  and  Norway.  In  2005,  EU-SILC  was 
operating  in  all  EU-25  countries,  plus  Iceland  and  Norway.  Bulgaria,  Turkey  and  Romania 
launched EU-SILC in 2006, and Switzerland followed suit in 2007. EU-SILC is likely to be 
launched at a later date in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and in Croatia. 

From the very beginning, SILC has become an annual operation in all countries. 

2.2. 

Legal framework 

The legal framework of the project has also been developed. Apart from the EP and Council 
regulation,  five  implementing  Commission  regulations  -  on  'Sampling  and  tracing  rules',  on 

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'Definitions',  on  the  'List  of  primary  (annual)  target  variables',  on  'Fieldwork  aspects  and 
imputation procedures' and on 'Quality reports' - were approved by the Statistical Programme 
Committee  (SPC)  and  published  in  the  Official  Journal  (OJ)  of  the  European  Union  on  17 
November  2003  in  the  case  of  the  first  four  and  on  9  January  2004  for  the  last  one.  In 
addition,  a  Commission  Regulation  has  been  published  annually  containing  the  list  of 
secondary target variables, i.e. modules introduced in EU-SILC, with the possibility of a topic 
being repeated every four years or at longer intervals. Commission regulations on the inter-
generational transmission of poverty (2005 module, N° 16/2004 of 6 January 2004), on social 
participation  (2006  module,  N°  13/2005  of  6  January  2005),  on  housing  (2007  module,  N° 
315/2006  of  22  February  2006)  and  on  over-indebtedness  and  financial  exclusion  (2008 
module, N° 215/2007 of 28 February 2007) were published in the OJ. 

2.3. 

EU funding 

The annual EU funding of the project has been ensured through grant agreements concluded 
with NSIs. For the first four years of SILC data collection, all Member States plus Norway 
and  Iceland  received  EU  funding  for  carrying  out  the  project  (in  Estonia,  the  four-year  EU 
funding  started  not  in  the  first  but  in  the  second  year  of  data  collection).  For  the  two  new 
Member States that joined in 2007 (Bulgaria and Romania), EU funding started for the 2006 
operation.  

In total, EU funding amounted to around €6.5m for the 2004 data collection and around €11m 
for the 2005-2007 data collections respectively. 

2.4. 

Collection and dissemination of SILC data 

Overall the collection of SILC data has been a success. Eurostat, together with the network of 
the National Statistical Institutes (NSIs), has been able to collect, check and issue these data 
within reasonable periods of time. However, there is a significant gap of 2 years between the 
reference year of the collected data and the latest available economic data. 

For  the  cross-sectional  component  of  EU-SILC,  two  waves  of  data  (2004  and  2005)  have 
already  been  sent  to  Eurostat.  The  third  wave  exercise  (year  2006)  is  currently  in  progress. 
The SILC 2004 operation concerned 15 countries (twelve of the 15 old Member States plus 
Estonia, Norway and Iceland), while 27 countries (all 25 EU Member States plus Norway and 
Iceland)  participated  in  the  2005  round.  All  countries  concerned  were  able  to  send  Eurostat 
the 2004 data on time, either by the end of October or by the end of November depending on 
the country. For the 2005 operation, two Member States (Slovenia and the United Kingdom) 
encountered a delay of a few months in finalising the cross-sectional data.  

These data were then disseminated by Eurostat both in the form of aggregated tables on the 
Eurostat website and in the form of anonymised micro-data files that the research community 
can  access  under  strict  conditions.  Malta,  however,  opposed  the  release  of  micro-data.  The 
anonymisation of individual records is obtained by removing or recoding variables that could 
be  used  indirectly  to  identify  individuals  or  households.  The  cross-sectional  anonymised 
micro-data  files  were  issued  in  June  2006  and  June  2007  for  the  SILC  2004  and  2005 
information  respectively.  Of  the  fifteen  countries  that  launched  SILC  in  2004  (12  of  the  15 
old Member States plus Estonia, Norway and Iceland), 14 were part of the 2004 issue (with 
the  exception  of  Iceland).  The  2005  issue  covered  26  of  the  27  countries  concerned  (all  25 
Member States, except Malta plus Norway and Iceland). 

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The  longitudinal  component  of  EU-SILC  information  gathering  on  4-year  individual 
trajectories will not be fully operational until 2010. So far, only the longitudinal information 
corresponding to the 2004/2005 SILC data has been released. This release was limited to 13 
countries,  as  the  other  countries  either  only  started  SILC  in  2005  or  were  experiencing 
problems in the validation of the SILC longitudinal component.  

There  were  also  delays  in  the  issue  of  longitudinal  data,  as  the  longitudinal  UDB  for 
2004/2005 was not available until October 2007. 

Once the project has reached a mature stage (from 2010), there will be two types of release 
each year: 

–  A  cross-sectional  anonymised  User  Data  Base  (UDB)  with  the  most  recent  wave  of  EU-

SILC; 

–  A  longitudinal  anonymised  UDB  containing  individual  trajectories  of  a  maximum  of  4 

years. 

2.5. 

Content of EU-SILC 

EU-SILC  is  a  multi-dimensional  instrument  focusing  on  income,  but  at  the  same  time 
covering housing, labour, health, demography and education, thus making it possible to study 
the multidimensional approach of social exclusion. 

It comprises primary (annual) and secondary (module) target variables.  

The primary target variables are either household information or individual information (for 
persons aged 16 and more) and are grouped into areas. 

–  At household level, five areas are covered (1) basic/core data, (2) income, (3) housing, (4) 

social exclusion, (5) labour information; 

–  The personal level is grouped into five areas (1) basic/demographic data, (2) income, (3) 
education,  (4)  labour  information  and  (5)  health).  Childcare  information  is  also  collected 
for children under 12 years of age. 

The  secondary  target  variables  (modules)  are  introduced  annually  from  2005  in  the  cross-
sectional  component  of  the  instrument  only.  The  first  EU-SILC  modules  relate  to  the 
following: 

2005: Inter-generational transmission of poverty 

2006: Social participation 

2007: Housing conditions 

2008: Over-indebtedness/Financial exclusion 

2009: Material deprivation 

2.6. 

Collection unit 

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EU-SILC  covers  only  people  living  in  private  households.  Persons  living  in  collective 
households  and  in  institutions  are  excluded  from  the  target  population.  The  impact  of 
excluding  old  people  living  in  institutions,  people  with  disabilities  and  other  vulnerable 
groups,  including  the  homeless,  from  the  samples  may  differ  from  one  country  to  another. 
Some vulnerable groups living in private households may also be under-represented because 
they  are  not  easy  to  reach.  However,  such  groups  require  specific  data  collection  methods, 
which are not compatible with the EU-SILC framework. 

In EU-SILC two types of collection of household and individual variables have been allowed. 
In most countries (the non-register countries), all members of selected households aged 16 or 
over  were  given  a  personal  questionnaire  which  they  were  asked  to  fill  in.  In  the  register 
countries  (DK,  FI,  IS,  NL,  NO,  SE,  SI),  only  a  selected  household  respondent  receives  a 
personal  questionnaire,  and  household  and  income  variables  are  collected  either  through  a 
register or from the selected respondent. 

2.7. 

Sampling issues 

On the sampling side, all countries collect information on representative probability samples 
of the target population. Germany is an exception, where an existing quota sample was used at 
the launching of EU-SILC; however, this non-probabilistic sample will gradually be phased 
out up to 2008 in accordance with Regulation N° 1177/2003.  

In order to be able to produce the cross-sectional and longitudinal information each year, with 
the  longitudinal  component  covering  at  least  four  years,  Eurostat  has  recommended  using  a 
rotational panel. For this purpose the sample is divided into four sub-samples, called "rotation 
groups", each of which is representative of the whole population. The idea is then to rotate out 
one group each subsequent year and follow up the people in the other groups. Most of the 27 
countries have adopted this four-year rotational design recommended by Eurostat. In Norway 
and France, a rotational design over a longer period (8 and 9 years respectively) is used.  

Some countries have also used alternative survey structures. Luxembourg has chosen to use a 
pure long-term panel, which is supplemented every year with a new sample in order to ensure 
cross-sectional representativity. Sweden has two separate operations: a cross-sectional survey 
and a pure long-term panel. Lastly, Finland uses a modified rotational schema (in which the 
basic two-year rotational panel is supplemented by the follow-up of two sub-samples for two 
additional years, to be able to have a four-year trajectory). 

Administrative data are used by countries where part of the SILC information is available. In 
the so called register countries" (DK, FI, IS, NL, NO, SE, SI), most income components and 
some  demographic  information  are  obtained  from  administrative  registers.  Other  personal 
variables are obtained mainly by telephone interview. In all other countries except Ireland and 
Germany, the full information is obtained by means of a survey among households and face-
to-face  interviews  with  household  members.  In  Ireland,  for  the  households  which  explicitly 
gave  their  agreement  (around  25%  of  the  households),  the  information  is  obtained  from 
administrative registers. Germany uses a mail survey in which individuals self-administer the 
questionnaires. 

2.8. 

Sample sizes 

As  can  be  seen  from  the  following  table,  for  the  SILC  2005  operation  almost  all  countries 
have met the minimum effective sample size for the cross-sectional component as defined in 

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Regulation  N°  1177/2003.  The  only  exceptions  are  Czech  Republic,  Netherlands  and 
Portugal. 

It is to be noted that a specific derogation was given to the Czech Republic to have a smaller 
sample size for the first year of data collection. 

Achieved effective household 
sample size (based on achieved 
sample)1 

Minimum effective 
household sample size (as 
defined in regulation) 

Belgium 

Cyprus 

Czech Republic 

Denmark 

Estonia 

Germany 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Hungary 

Iceland 

Ireland 

Italy 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Luxembourg 

Malta 

Netherlands 

Norway 

Austria 

Poland 

4939 

3533 

3687 

5957 

3970 

- 

4283 

9088 

8787 

5328 

2958 

4680 

15625 

3284 

4353 

- 

3459 

3931 

5991 

4476 

13183 

4750 

3250 

4750 

4250 

3500 

8250 

4750 

6500 

7250 

4750 

2250 

3750 

7250 

3750 

4000 

3250 

3000 

5000 

3750 

4500 

6000 

1  Achieved  effective  sample  sizes  are  obtained  by  dividing  the  achieved  sample  size  by  the  so  called  design 
effect. For this table, design effect has been estimated by Eurostat for the first wave of EU-SILC (2004 
or 2005). This information is not yet available for DE and UK. Separate calculations are available for 
LU  but  are  not  strictly  comparable.  It  can  be  considered  that  deviations  of  less  than  10-15%  from 
regulation targets are in the margin of tolerance implied by the degree of accuracy in the estimation of 
the design effect by Eurostat. Figures in bold are below this tolerance band. 

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Portugal 

Finland 

Slovakia 

Slovenia 

Sweden 

United Kingdom 

2817 

8020 

5147 

7892 

6133 

- 

4500 

4000 

4250 

3750 

4500 

7500 

For  the  longitudinal  component,  the  situation  can  only  be  evaluated  at  this  stage  for  the  15 
countries  that  carried  out  SILC  in  2004  and  for  which  2004  and  2005  longitudinal  data  are 
available,  namely  twelve  EU-15  countries  (Germany,  Netherlands  and  the  United  Kingdom 
delayed  the  launch  for  one  year)  plus  Estonia,  Iceland  and  Norway.  The  table  shows  that 
Belgium and Ireland do not meet the minimum size requirement for the first two years of the 
longitudinal component. 

Achieved effective household 
sample size (based on achieved 
sample)(1) 

Minimum effective 
household sample size (as 
defined in regulation) 

Belgium  

Estonia  

Denmark  

Greece  

Spain  

France  

Iceland  

Ireland  

Italy  

Luxembourg  

Norway  

Austria  

Portugal  

Finland  

Sweden 

2851 

3091 

3456 

6394 

6757 

1908 

2118 

11145 

3656 

3089 

3312 

4866 

3500 

2750 

3250 

3500 

5000 

5500 

1700 

2750 

5500 

2500 

2750 

3250 

3250 

3000 

3500 

2.9. 

Reports and studies 

In  accordance  with  Regulation  N°  1177/2003,  all  15  countries  that  launched  SILC  in  2004 
submitted an intermediate and a final quality report respectively before the end of December 
2005  and  2006.  On  that  basis,  Eurostat  produced,  in  June  2006,  a  single  EU  quality  report 
combining  the  intermediate  and  final  national  quality  reports;  this  was  because,  in  the  first 

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year of data collection, in the absence of longitudinal information there is very little difference 
between the two types of reports. 

For  the  SILC  2005  operation,  Eurostat  received  intermediate  quality  reports  by  the  end  of 
December 2006 from all 27 countries concerned, and it produced a synthesis which is now in 
the finalisation phase (there has been a slight delay). 

The process in relation to the final quality reports for 2005 is now ongoing.  

The intermediate report includes sections on aspects ranging from accuracy (sample design, 
sampling  and  non-sampling  errors,  method  of  data  collection,  interview  duration),  to 
comparability (basic concepts and definitions, income components) and coherence. 

The final report includes parts relating to relevance, accuracy (sample design, sampling and 
non-sampling errors, method of data collection, imputation procedure, imputed rent, company 
cars),  comparability  (basic  concepts  and  definitions,  income  components,  tracing  rules), 
timeliness and punctuality, accessibility and clarity, and coherence. 

In  addition,  the  Commission  has  launched  several  actions  to  evaluate  the  quality  and,  in 
particular, the comparability of the SILC information: 

–  Methodological studies have been launched covering key issues for comparability at both 
EU and national levels. This has been achieved through the launching of a call for tenders 
which  is  intended  to  cover  issues  such  as  the  impact  of  the  definition  of  household, 
comparability of administrative and survey data, the method of data collection, as well as 
the  different  treatment  of  negative  income,  and  sampling  issues.  In  addition,  grants  were 
offered to National Statistical Institutes to carry out methodological studies on the impact 
on comparability of the use of national sources (for example, studies on the use of registers 
as  against  survey  data;  impact  of  using  different  methods  for  estimating  imputed  rent; 
analysis  of  coherence  with  National  Accounts  or  other  survey  information;  study  of 
attrition); 

–  A Methodology Task Force has been set up, which has discussed issues such as imputation 
techniques,  the  treatment  of  lump  sums,  imputed  rent,  and  the  status  of  private  pension 
plans within income; 

–  From  6  to  8  November  2006  Eurostat  organised,  together  with  Statistics  Finland,  a 
Conference on the SILC project which was held in Helsinki and at which all dimensions of 
the project were reviewed and an action plan was drafted; 

–  Eurostat  is  systematically  computing  standard  errors  for  the  income-based  indicators 

during the first year for which these data are available. 

2.10. 

Publications 

Apart from releasing micro-data to researchers and aggregated tables on the Eurostat website, 
Eurostat produced, in September 2005, a small publication (Statistics in Focus) containing the 
cross-sectional indicators commonly used as part of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) 
on  social  inclusion.  This  publication,  entitled  'Income,  poverty  and  social  exclusion  in  the 
EU25',  uses  the  information  from  SILC  2004.  A  new  issue  based  on  SILC  2005  data  is 
currently being prepared by Eurostat.  

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In addition, EU-SILC is now listed as the key source for the social cohesion chapters of more 
general publications, like the Joint Social Inclusion and Social Protection (JSISP) report, the 
'Annual  Progress  Reports',  the  report  on  '  Measuring  progress  towards  a  more  sustainable 
Europe  -  2007  monitoring  report  of  the  EU  sustainable  development  strategy  (and  previous 
SDS  monitoring  reports)',  'The  Eurostat  Yearbook',  the  'Social  Situation  report',  the 
Pocketbook 'Key figures on Europe', and the Panorama on men and women in the European 
Union.  

However,  dissemination  of  SILC  information  still  needs  to  be  improved.  For  example,  two 
kinds  of  analysis  (and  corresponding  publications)  need  to  be  prepared:  a  statistical 
publication (monograph including statistical analysis) plus a series of short statistical analyses 
in the same format as the Eurostat 'Statistics in Focus' publications. 

3. 

CONCLUSION 

Since  the  adoption  of  Regulation  N°  1177/2003,  SILC  has  become  the  source  of  reference 
data  for  statistics  on  income  distribution,  poverty  and  social  exclusion  analysis  at  EU  level, 
and these data have been used in the context of the 'structural indicators' and OMC exercises. 
The  legal  framework  has  been  developed  and  an  adequate  EU  funding  has  been  guaranteed 
for the first four years of data collection in each country. The collection and dissemination in 
the  form  of  tables  and  micro-data  to  researchers  of  the  SILC  cross-sectional  data  is  under 
control  although  there  is  still  margin  for  progress  in  terms  of  timeliness.  The  longitudinal 
component of EU-SILC is in the initial stages and will not be fully operational until 2010. The 
only  longitudinal  information  currently  available  is  limited  to  13  countries.  A  significant 
amount has been invested in the evaluation of SILC data quality in the form of quality reports 
and methodological studies. A methodological Task Force, as well as a SILC Conference held 
in Helsinki in November 2006, also studied a number of quality issues in depth. Lastly, even 
though several publications were produced, further work is to be done on the dissemination of 
the SILC information. 

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