Decision No 1297/2008/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on a Programme for the Modernisation of European Enterprise and Trade Statistics (MEETS) (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2008-12-16
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: EU statistics, economic statistics, information system, trade statistics, type of business

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Official Journal of the European Union

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DECISIONS ADOPTED JOINTLY BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE
COUNCIL

DECISION No 1297/2008/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 16 December 2008

on a Programme for the Modernisation of European Enterprise and Trade Statistics (MEETS)

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community, and in particular Article 285 thereof,

establishing the European

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Acting in accordance with the procedure
Article 251 of the Treaty (1),

laid down in

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

The Commission made a commitment in its Communi­
cations of 16 March 2005 on Better Regulation for
in the European Union and of
Growth and Jobs
24 January 2007 on an Action Programme
for
Reducing Administrative Burdens
in the European
Union to ensure a better policy on regulation and to
cut unnecessary red tape and over-regulation.

On 14 November 2006, the Commission published a
Communication on reduction of the response burden,
field of
simplification and priority-setting
Community
strategic
statistics, which sets out
approach to continuing the reduction of the statistical
burden on enterprises.

in the
a

During the last 15 years, a large number of statistical
regulations aiming to describe activities of enterprises
and containing data provision obligations for enterprises
have emerged to meet the statistical information needs of
the Community. An overhaul is needed to ensure, inter
alia, the consistency of the scope of, and the concepts
and definitions in, those statistical regulations. Insofar as
possible, simplification and priority-setting should be a
feature of all those regulations.

Enterprise and trade statistics are faced with a major
challenge
underpin
Community policy initiatives, they have to be capable
of reflecting phenomena in the changing Community

coming

years.

the

To

in

(1) Opinion of

the European Parliament of 9 July 2008 (not yet
and Council Decision of

Journal)

published in the Official
18 November 2008.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

economy such as globalisation, emerging trends in entre­
preneurship, the information society, trade in services,
innovation, shifting trade patterns, and competitiveness
in the light of the renewed Lisbon strategy.

A key element driving the need for enterprise and trade
statistics is the renewed Lisbon strategy, the objectives of
which are to foster the competitiveness of the European
economy and achieve high and sustainable growth.

The deepening of European integration in a number of
economic areas, including the European Monetary Union
and the European customs system, creates new statistical
needs related to the role of the euro in international
transactions and leads to the necessity of adjusting the
statistical system. Enterprise and trade statistics should
meet
in a
those needs appropriately and provide,
timely manner, high-quality statistical
information on
the structural changes in the European economy and
its business sector.

Enterprise and trade statistics comprise several areas to
which improvements should be made, such as structural
Prodcom
business
statistics, statistics on information and communication
technology, and statistics on trade in goods between
Member States (Intrastat).

short-term statistics,

statistics,

should re-engineer

responsible for enterprise and trade
The authorities
statistics
the
production of statistics so that the burden on enterprises
can be reduced and all available sources and new tech­
nologies can be used in a fully effective way.

the methods

for

The need for new types of indicators may arise as a result
of efforts to modernise the statistical production system.
New types of
indicators providing the information
required could be obtained by linking together existing
types of business statistics without the need to increase
the reporting burden on enterprises. New sources and
electronic access are likely to make data collection less
burdensome and, at the same time, provide more infor­
mation. The potential of business statistics should be
exploited in a more efficient way and the quality of
statistical information should increase.

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(10) National statistical institutes should be closely involved in
the modernisation of the statistical production system in
order to avoid cost duplication and red tape.

(11)

The simplification of the Intrastat system is part of the
efforts to reduce statistical requirements and minimise
the burden on enterprises. The recent decision to
reduce the coverage ratio will contribute to that goal in
In the longer term, other means of
the short
term.
simplification should be
including the
single-flow system. The possible implementation of
those means of simplification in the long term depends
on feasibility studies and other actions to be carried out
in accordance with this Decision. The quality of
the
statistics as well as the significant costs involved in any
transition should, however, be taken into account.

investigated,

to focus

(12) An ex-ante evaluation has been performed in accordance
in
with the principle of sound financial management,
order
the programme established by this
Decision on the need for effectiveness in achieving the
to incorporate budgetary
objectives
and in order
constraints from the design phase of
the programme
onwards.

(13)

(14)

This Decision establishes, for the entire duration of the
programme, a financial envelope which constitutes the
prime reference, within the meaning of point 37 of the
Inter-institutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between
the Council
the
the
sound
discipline
Commission
financial management (1),
the budgetary authority
during the annual budgetary procedure.

budgetary
for

Parliament,

European

and

and

on

Since the objective of this Decision, namely to establish a
programme for the modernisation of European enterprise
and trade statistics, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the
Member States because uncoordinated modernisation
would lead to duplication of efforts,
repetition of
mistakes and higher costs, and can therefore, by reason
of the scale of the statistics involved, be better achieved
adopt
at Community
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 that objective.

the Community may

level,

(16)

(17)

Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 of 17 February 1997
reference
on Community
framework for the provisions of this Decision.

Statistics (3)

provides

a

The measures necessary for the implementation of this
Decision should be adopted in accordance with Council
Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the
implementing powers
the exercise of
procedures for
conferred on the Commission (4),

HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Establishment of the Programme

1.
This Decision establishes a programme for the moderni-
sation of European enterprise and trade statistics (hereinafter
referred to as the ‘MEETS Programme’).

The MEETS Programme shall start on 1 January 2009 and

2.
shall end on 31 December 2013.

Article 2

Scope and general objectives

1.
The measures provided for by the MEETS Programme
relate to the production and dissemination of enterprise and
trade statistics within the Community.

The general objectives of the MEETS Programme are as

2.
follows:

(a)

to review priorities and develop target sets of indicators for
new areas (objective 1);

(b) to achieve a streamlined framework for business-related

statistics (objective 2);

(c)

to support the implementation of a more efficient way of
producing enterprise and trade statistics (objective 3); and

(15)

The Statistical Programme Committee, established by
Council Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom (2), has been
consulted in accordance with Article 3 of that Decision.

(d) to modernise the data collection system on trade in goods
between Member States (hereinafter referred to as Intrastat)
(objective 4).

(1) OJ C 139, 14.6.2006, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 181, 28.6.1989, p. 47.

(3) OJ L 52, 22.2.1997, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

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Article 3

Actions

To achieve the objectives referred to in Article 2(2), a set of
actions shall be implemented, as follows:

(a)

to review priorities and develop target sets of indicators for
new areas (objective 1):

Action 1.1: identifying areas of lesser importance;

Action 1.2: developing new areas;

Article 4

Annual work programmes

Annual work programmes, with the priorities for the actions
under each objective referred to in Article 2(2) and the
budgetary allocations under this Decision, shall be adopted in
accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 5(2).

Article 5

Committee

The Commission shall be assisted by the Statistical

1.
Programme Committee.

(b) to achieve a streamlined framework for business-related

statistics (objective 2):

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 4
and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to
the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

Action 2.1:
legal framework;

integrating concepts and methods within the

Action 2.2: developing statistics on enterprise groups;

Action 2.3: conducting Community surveys to minimise the
burden on enterprises;

(c)

to support the implementation of a more efficient way of
producing enterprise and trade statistics (objective 3):

Action 3.1: making better use of data that already exist in
the statistical system including the possibility of estimates;

Action 3.2: making better use of data that already exist in
the economy;

The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC
shall be set at three months.

Article 6

Evaluation

1.
The Commission shall, in cooperation with the Member
States, regularly evaluate the activities carried out under the
MEETS Programme in order to assess whether the objectives
referred to in Article 2(2) have been attained and to provide
guidelines for improving the effectiveness of future actions.

By 31 December 2010, and thereafter on an annual basis
2.
until 2013,
to the European
Parliament and the Council a report on the implementation
of the MEETS Programme.

the Commission shall submit

Action 3.3: developing tools
extraction, transmission and treatment of data;

the more

for

(d) to modernise Intrastat (objective 4):

efficient

By 31 July 2014, the Commission shall submit to the European
Parliament and the Council a final report on the implemen­
in
tation of the MEETS Programme. That report shall assess,
the light of the expenditure incurred by the Community, the
benefits of the actions accruing to the Community, the Member
States and providers and users of statistical
to
identify areas for potential improvement.

information,

Action 4.1: harmonising methods to improve quality under
a simplified Intrastat;

Action 4.2: making better use of administrative data;

Action 4.3: improving and facilitating data exchange within
Intrastat.

The actions referred to in this Article are specified in the Annex
and shall be further detailed in the annual work programmes
provided for in Article 4.

Article 7

Financing

The financial envelope for the implementation of

the period 2009-2013 is

the
set at

1.
MEETS Programme for
EUR 42 500 000.

The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the
financial

authority within the

limits of

the

2.
budgetary
framework.

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Article 8

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

Done at Strasbourg, 16 December 2008.

For the European Parliament
The President

H.-G. PÖTTERING

For the Council
The President

B. LE MAIRE

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ANNEX

BREAKDOWN OF THE ACTIONS LISTED IN ARTICLE 3

Objective 1: To review priorities and develop target sets of indicators for new areas

Action 1.1: Identifying areas of lesser importance
— In a changing world, statistical needs will be reviewed periodically, not only as new statistical needs
emerge, but as other needs become less important and even obsolete. Regular reviews of priorities will
therefore be conducted in close cooperation with Member States in order to identify areas and characte­
ristics which have lost priority and consequently can be deleted from the legal requirements. Such
reviews will aim to simplify statistical requirements and reduce the response burden. The Commission
may arrange for external studies to be conducted in this regard.

Action 1.2: Developing new areas
— In a changing economic environment, it is important to define priority areas for statistics, such as trade
in services, globalisation and entrepreneurship, and to agree at Community level on a target set of
indicators for each of the priority areas. Such indicators need to be harmonised with international
statistics as far as possible.

— The statistics have to be compiled in an efficient way and need to be comparable. European statistics will
therefore be modernised in strict accordance with the principle of coherence and comparability of data
for the periods concerned. Work will therefore be carried out within the European Statistical System to
achieve harmonised definitions of newly identified characteristics and indicators.

— After agreeing target sets of indicators and harmonised definitions thereof, further work will be needed in

order to develop and test ways of producing statistics in the priority areas.

— In order to contribute to the development of new areas and the target sets of indicators, the Commission
will launch studies, organise seminars and provide financial support to develop methods and ways to
collect new statistics.

Objective 2: To achieve a streamlined framework for business-related statistics

Action 2.1: Integrating concepts and methods within the legal framework
— European statistics are compiled in accordance with Community legislation, which has developed over
the years. An overhaul of that legislation is needed in order to ensure consistency. The Commission may
therefore arrange for external studies to be conducted, aimed at reviewing the existing legal acts in order
to provide a harmonised legal framework for the different areas of enterprise and trade statistics.

— There are cross-cutting issues in statistics. For example, several statistical areas report on employment
and may describe the same phenomenon from different perspectives. The Commission will therefore
arrange for external studies to be conducted aimed at achieving harmonisation of the methodologies
used across the relevant statistical areas. Financial support will be provided for Member States' projects in
this regard.

— It is important to guarantee consistency between areas of enterprise and trade statistics. Consistency may
refer to the relationship between trade in goods statistics and balance of payments statistics, but also to
that between structural business statistics and trade statistics. The Commission will arrange for external
studies to be conducted and financial support will be provided for Member States' projects in this regard.

Action 2.2: Developing statistics on enterprise groups
— The Commission has launched an initiative to establish a Community register of multinational enterprise
groups. Such a register is a crucial basis for the production of harmonised statistics relating to the
globalisation of the economy. The activities under this action will focus on completion of the register.
The Commission will arrange for external studies to be conducted in this regard.

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— Creating such a register is not sufficient, so financial support will be provided to support actions in the
Member States to develop more efficient data collection methods for enterprise groups and illustrate their
importance for international trade.

— As regards exploiting the Community register of multinational enterprise groups, European statistics will
have to take a new perspective, so it will become important to set up specific Community surveys on
enterprise groups. The Commission will arrange for external studies to be conducted and financial
support will be provided for Member States' projects in this regard.

Action 2.3: Conducting Community surveys to minimise the burden on enterprises
— To highlight new and emerging needs of Community statistics, specific Community surveys may be
conducted on an ad-hoc basis. Such surveys will be set up by means of external studies, arranged by the
Commission, and financial support to Member States.

— In order to exploit the potential savings of Community sampling schemes in regular statistics, the
Commission will arrange for external studies to be conducted to identify areas where Community
aggregates would be sufficient and to develop new methods for data collection in those areas.
Financial support will also be provided to enable Member States to adjust
their data collection
systems. There is no standard Community sampling scheme, however, and therefore sampling
schemes will be adapted to the circumstances.

Objective 3: To support the implementation of a more efficient way of producing enterprise and trade statistics

Action 3.1: Making better use of data that already exist in the statistical system, including the possibility of

estimates

— The ultimate aim of this action is to create fully integrated data sets for enterprise and trade statistics at
micro level: a ‘data warehouse’ approach to statistics. To achieve that aim, Member States will be
financially supported in order to link data or micro-data sets from different areas of enterprise and
trade statistics, such as trade and business registers, and to link structural business statistics to research
and development statistics and information society statistics.

— Methodological studies will be carried out on new work processes to improve the use made of ongoing
data collections, e.g. with a view to assessing the impact of information and communication technology
(ICT) on business outcome by linking data from different sources.

— The more efficient way of data collection aims at reducing the burden on enterprises. It must be ensured
that statistical offices make the most efficient use of collected information. Financial support will
therefore be provided for methodological studies to be conducted for the optimal allocation of
sample sizes and their combined use with other sources and related estimation methods. Such
financial support may also be provided for quality studies in cases where some enterprises (e.g. small
and medium-sized enterprises) are excluded from statistical surveys, and for the development of appro­
priate, harmonised estimation methods.

Action 3.2: Making better use of data that already exist in the economy
— Statistical information is sometimes collected twice: first for administrative purposes, such as taxes, and
then for statistical purposes, in surveys. Such a double burden will be avoided to the largest extent
possible. The MEETS programme will therefore provide financial support to projects on the use of
administrative data for statistical purposes, including company accounts, by helping Member States to
change over from statistical surveys to the use of administrative data while ensuring high data quality.

— Within enterprises it makes sense to promote the integration of accounting systems and statistical
reporting, so that data can be delivered for statistics in a simplified manner. The Commission will
arrange for external studies to be conducted and financial support will be provided to Members
States' projects in this regard.

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Action 3.3: Developing tools for the more efficient extraction, transmission and treatment of data
— New ICT offers opportunities for simplified reporting. This may be achieved by using company accounts
and other financial reports drawn up according to international accounting standards, and appropriate
technical standards for such reports, including eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). Measures
will be taken to give financial support for actions that facilitate data transfer from enterprises to the
national statistical authorities.

— A more efficient use of ICT tools will be supported to facilitate the exchange of information between the
Commission and Member States. In addition there needs to be further development of tools for vali­
dation, error detection, correction, analysis and editorial work. Financial support will be provided for
Member States' projects in this regard.

— Taking into consideration the ongoing developments in the simplification of customs formalities on
export and import, financial support will be provided for actions aimed at facilitating the exchange,
processing and dissemination of high-quality and detailed trade statistics.

Objective 4: To modernise Intrastat

Action 4.1: Harmonising methods to improve quality under a simplified Intrastat
— Financial support will be provided for actions in Member States aimed at developing tools and methods

for improving data quality and the data collection system.

— Financial support will be provided for actions in Member States that are aimed at reducing asymmetries
by avoiding misclassifications and harmonising the estimation and collection and processing systems, the
rules for the handling of confidential data, the thresholds and the methods for adjustment.

Action 4.2: Making better use of administrative data
— The re-use of administrative data being reported by enterprises for other purposes (in particular Value
Added Tax reports and accounting) will be encouraged. Financial support will be provided for actions in
this regard, including for the development of ICT tools and procedures.

Action 4.3: Improving and facilitating data exchange within Intrastat
— The further development of tools and methods for data exchange within a centralised system is vital.
Tools for validation, error detection, correction, analysis and editorial work in the field of
intra-
Community trade statistics need to be developed. Financial support will be provided for actions that
focus on the legal and technical aspects of data exchange between Member States.