Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 48/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 December 2003 on the production of annual Community statistics on the steel industry for the reference years 2003-2009
Date: 2009-10-15
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU statistics, data collection, iron and steel industry, report, statistical method

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 15.10.2009 
COM(2009)542 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 48/2004 of the European Parliament and 
of the Council of 5 December 2003 on the production of annual Community statistics on 
the steel industry for the reference years 2003-2009 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 48/2004 of the European Parliament and 
of the Council of 5 December 2003 on the production of annual Community statistics on 
the steel industry for the reference years 2003-2009 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

2.1. 

2.2. 

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 

Benefits of steel statistics produced in relation to their costs ...................................... 3 

Data sets produced ....................................................................................................... 3 

Benefits ........................................................................................................................ 4 

2.2.1.  Steel and cast iron scrap balance sheet ........................................................................ 5 

2.2.2.  Fuel and energy consumption and balance sheet for electrical energy........................ 5 

2.2.3.  Statistics on investment in the iron and steel industry ................................................. 5 

2.3. 

Costs of collecting steel statistics................................................................................. 5 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

4. 

4.1. 

4.2. 

4.3. 

4.4. 

4.5. 

5. 

Quality of steel statistics .............................................................................................. 7 

Timeliness, punctuality and completeness of data sets available to users ................... 7 

Confidentiality rules..................................................................................................... 8 

Synergies with other Community statistical activities ................................................. 9 

Structural Business Statistics ..................................................................................... 10 

Statistics on industrial production.............................................................................. 10 

External trade statistics .............................................................................................. 10 

Statistics on energy consumption............................................................................... 11 

Statistics on air emissions .......................................................................................... 11 

Future of steel statistics.............................................................................................. 11 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

During  the  existence  of  the  European  Coal  and  Steel  Community  (ECSC),  the  Commission 
(Eurostat) collected the necessary statistics on the steel industry directly from the enterprises 
active  in  the  steel  industry  on  the  basis  of  the  provisions  of  the  Treaty  establishing  the 
European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC Treaty). Regulation (EC) No 1840/2002 of the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  30 September  2002  on  the  prolongation  of  the 
ECSC steel statistics system after the expiry of the ECSC Treaty1 was adopted to ensure the 
prolongation until 31 December 2002 of the ECSC steel statistics system after the expiry of 
the ECSC Treaty on 23 July 2002.  

In order to implement the Community policies on the steel industry, it was deemed necessary 
to  continue  collecting  statistics  on  the  steel  industry  after  31  December  2002.  As  no  other 
existing statistical system at a European level was able to satisfy the need for such statistics, a 
new  Regulation  based  on 
i.e. 
Regulation (EC)  No  48/2004  of 
the  Council  of 
5 December 2003 on the production of annual Community statistics on the steel industry for 
the  reference  years  2003-20092,  was  adopted.  Regulation  (EC)  No  48/2004  provides  for  a 
transitional phase running from 2003 to 2009 in order to determine whether steel statistics can 
be integrated into other statistical systems. 

the  European  Parliament  and  of 

the  European  Community, 

the  Treaty  establishing 

This  report  reflects  the  implementation  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  48/2004.  According  to 
Article 9  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  48/2004,  within  five  years  of  the  entry  into  force  of 
Regulation  (EC)  No  48/2004  the  Commission  shall  submit  a  report  to  the  European 
Parliament and the Council on its implementation. In particular, the report shall: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

assess the benefits accruing to the Community, the Member States and the providers 
and users of statistical information of the statistics produced in relation to their costs; 

assess the quality of the statistics produced; 

verify synergy with other Community activities; 

propose  any  changes  considered  necessary 
Regulation (EC) No 48/2004. 

to 

improve 

the  operation  of 

2. 

BENEFITS OF STEEL STATISTICS PRODUCED IN RELATION TO THEIR COSTS  

2.1. 

Data sets produced 

Steel statistics cover data on the manufacture of basic iron and steel and of ferro-alloys (group 
27.1 of the statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community, NACE 

1 
2 

OJ L 279, 17.10.2002, p. 1. 
OJ L 7, 13.1.2004, p. 1. 

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Rev.  1.1,  established  by  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  3037/90  of  9 October 1990  on  the 
statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community3). 

The following statistical information is collected on the basis of Regulation (EC) No 48/2004: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

Yearly statistics on the steel and cast iron scrap balance sheet (hereinafter referred to 
as: “S10”); 

Annual statistics on the fuel and energy consumption broken down by type of plant 
(hereinafter referred to as: “S2A”); 

Annual  statistics  on  the  balance  sheet  for  electrical  energy  in  the  steel  industry 
(hereinafter referred to as: “S2B”); 

Enquiry  on  investments  in  the  iron  and  steel  industry,  Annual  statistics  on 
expenditure (hereinafter referred to as: “S3A”); 

Enquiry on investments in  the iron and steel industry, Annual statistics on capacity 
(hereinafter referred to as: “S3B”). 

The  information  referred  to  above  is,  in  general,  collected  by  the  respective  statistical 
authorities  of  the  Member  States  through  the  respective  statistical  surveys,  which  are 
sometimes organised  in co-operation  with  national federations of the industry concerned. In 
certain  cases,  the  data  are  provided  directly  to  Eurostat  by  the  national  federations  of  the 
industries concerned.  

At  Eurostat  level,  statistical  data  are  validated  before  being  published.  A  number  of  logical 
checks between different variables, as well as checks on the consistency of data over time, are 
performed.  

2.2. 

Benefits 

Steel statistics are mainly collected for their use as a policy-making tool and as an instrument 
for facilitating economic analysis by the players in the relevant sector (e.g. public authorities, 
enterprises,  federations),  as  well  as  a  source  of  information  for  citizens  and  enterprises4. 
Statistics on the number of downloads of Eurostat data tables are available and can be used to 
gauge the interest attributed to the statistics by their users. In the course of 2008 users have 
downloaded  data  from  the  steel  statistics  tables  1 725  times.  Users  are  relatively  more 
interested  in  the  Annual  statistics  on  capacity  and  the  Yearly  statistics  on  the  steel  and  cast 
iron scrap balance sheet. 

The overview of the uses of steel statistics below is based on the results of a survey among the 
main  users  of  the  information,  including  the  Commission’s  services  and  the  European 
Confederation of Iron and Steel Industries (EUROFER).  

3 
4 

OJ L 293, 24.10.1990, p. 1. 
It needs to be recalled that it is difficult to precisely identify users of steel statistics, in particular, users 
that  extract  the  data  available  on  the  steel  industry  from  the  Eurostat  database.  The  only  information 
available  on  the  use  of  the  Eurostat  database  is  the  number  of  relevant  downloads  from  the  Eurostat 
database. 

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2.2.1. 

Steel and cast iron scrap balance sheet 

Statistics on steel and cast iron scrap are needed, inter alia, in order to monitor the use of these 
materials for steel production in view of the supply and price trends in the worldwide market 
for these basic materials.  

That information helps, in particular, to assess the recommendations in this area as specified 
in  the  Commission’s  Communication  "The  raw  materials  initiative  —  meeting  our  critical 
needs for growth and jobs in Europe"5 and is used, more particularly, to establish a framework 
that enables a sustainable supply of raw materials from European sources and a reinforcement 
of the efficiency of the exploitation of resources used for recycling.  

Furthermore, the more detailed information on the consumption of steel and cast iron scrap in 
electric furnaces is useful, e.g. for the purposes of following the trends between the electric 
arc  furnace  (EAF)  processing  route  and  the  input  of  scrap  in  conventional  (oxygen) 
steelworks.  

2.2.2.  Fuel and energy consumption and balance sheet for electrical energy  

Statistics  on  fuel  and  energy  consumption  and  balance  sheet  for  electrical  energy  in  a  high 
energy  consuming  industry  such  as  the  steel  industry  yield  information  on  energy  use  and 
production  within  that  industry.  In  addition,  statistics  on  energy  consumption  also  provide 
information on the emission of pollutants by the steel industry. These statistics are therefore 
useful in the context of the fight against global warming in which the Commission is engaged.  

Annual statistics on fuel and energy consumption broken down by plant type can also serve as 
a useful framework for benchmarking purposes.  

The  information  on  the  balance  sheet  for  electrical  energy  in  the  steel  industry  makes  it 
possible to follow up the need for a tightening up of energy efficiency. 

2.2.3. 

Statistics on investment in the iron and steel industry  

Data on investment expenditure and maximum possible production (capacity) in the iron and 
steel  industry  are  of  interest  to  the  Commission.  In  particular,  statistics  on  investment  and 
capacity  contribute  to  a  global  network  of  information  on  world  steel  capacity  organised 
under the auspices of the OECD Steel Committee. 

Enterprises  in  the  steel  industry  need  worldwide  information  on  investment  and  capacity  in 
order  to  assess  possible  future  undercapacity  or  overcapacity  for  particular  classes  of  steel 
products. Furthermore, the statistical data on investment in the iron and steel industry make it 
possible to monitor the different stages of the production process. 

2.3. 

Costs of collecting steel statistics 

Information was collected on the costs associated with collecting, processing and compiling 
steel statistics. Eleven countries responded to the specific survey on the burden of Regulation 
(EC) No 48/2004; for a further three countries, information on the burden on enterprises and 

5 

COM(2008) 699 final. 

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NSI  was  available  from  a  more  general  survey  on  the  burden  caused  by  the  collection  of 
business statistics.  

Table 2. Results from survey on burden on enterprises and reporting institutions 

Sample size, number 
of statistical units (1) 

Total number 
of statistical 
units  

Total time spent 
by all units 
in the sample 
(burden), 
 hours per year 

Time spent 
by reporting 
authority, 
hours per 
year 

BE 
CZ 
DE 
FR 
IT 
LU 
NL 
AT 
PL 
RO 
SK 
SE 
FI 
UK 

14 
37 
500 
53 
80 
3 
1 
13 
32 
19 
25 
28 
4 
31 

14 
37 
500 
53 
80 
3 
1 
13 
32 
19 
25 
83 
4 
31 

N/A 
150 
31.5 
150 
560 
N/A 
15 
40 
500 
N/A 
47 
224 
N/A 
N/A 

7 
276 
9903(2) 
150 
280 
24 
10 
250 
750 
845 
70 
160 
50 
825 

N/A= not available 

(1) Units can be either enterprises or kind-of-activity units (KAU) 

(2) The German figures on the time spent by the reporting authorities include also the time needed to compile 
data on the steel industry that are not covered by Regulation (EC) No 48/2004 and that are only collected for 
national purposes. It is not possible to single out the time spent on the data required at EU level only. 

Not all countries were able to provide information on the time that the units spent completing 
the  questionnaires,  as  this  is  not  monitored.  Nine  countries  did  provide  information  on  this 
subject.  Calculated  on  the  basis  of  the  available  information,  it  takes  a  surveyed  unit  on 
average around 2 hours to complete the questionnaire. However, the time needed to fill in the 
questionnaires in the different countries varies considerably: from 3.78 minutes in Germany6 
to over 15 hours in Poland. In the majority of countries for which Eurostat has data, a census 
was organised so that all the units in the sector received a questionnaire. On the basis of the 
information supplied by the data providers, plus information on the number of enterprises of 
NACE  Rev.1.1.-group  27.1  with  more  than  50  persons  employed  available  from  structural 
business statistics for those countries that have not provided the data, it is possible to calculate 
the total number of units concerned. Overall, about 1000 units are concerned by the survey on 
the collection of steel statistics.  

Taking into account the average time needed for filling in the questionnaire, an estimate can 
be  made  of  the  total  time  spent  by  all  enterprises  of  the  EU  steel  industry  to  complete  the 
surveys for collecting steel statistics. All enterprises of the steel industry taken together spent 
an  estimated  2000  hours  on  the  survey,  amounting  to  an  estimated  cost  of  between  EUR 
80.000 and 100.000. On that basis, the impact of Regulation (EC) No 48/2004 on the overall 

6 

Estimate as the data required by Regulation (EC) No 48/2004 is included in a monthly survey organised 
for national purposes. 

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statistical  burden  on  enterprises  may,  therefore,  be  deemed  rather  low.  It  should  be  noted, 
however, that this only concerns enterprises with 50 or more employees. Almost all of these 
enterprises are required to reply to several other statistical surveys, which means that the total 
statistical burden for these individual enterprises is relatively high.  

The  survey  on  costs  also  revealed  that,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  the  costs  of  reporting 
authorities  (the  National  Statistical  Institutes  and,  for  some  Member  States,  the  respective 
industry federations) were higher than those of the enterprises of the sector. The overall cost 
at EU level for the  reporting authorities is estimated to be between EUR 400.000 and EUR 
500.000, corresponding to approximately 10.000 working hours on processing and compiling 
steel statistics. The total cost for the provision of steel statistics for the entire EU economy can 
therefore be estimated at between EUR 480.000 and EUR 600.000. 

3. 

QUALITY OF STEEL STATISTICS 

3.1. 

Timeliness, punctuality and completeness of data sets available to users 

According to Article 6(3) of Regulation (EC) No 48/2004, Member States shall transmit data 
and metadata not later than 6 months from the end of the reference year. However, Article 3 
of  Regulation  (EC)  No  48/2004  provides  that  where  the  value-added  at  factor  cost  of  the 
enterprises  in  this  Member  State’s  steel  industry  represents  less  than  1%  of  the  Community 
total,  data  on  the  characteristics  do  not  need  to  be  collected.  This  exemption  from  the 
transmission  of  data  is  applicable  to  Bulgaria,  Denmark,  Estonia,  Ireland,  Greece,  Cyprus, 
Lithuania,  Latvia,  Hungary,  Malta,  Portugal  and  Slovenia.  Some  of  these  countries  have 
nevertheless transmitted the data on the iron and steel industry to Eurostat in a timely manner.  

Table 3. Transmission delays (in days) for steel statistics, reference year 2007 (compared 
to 30 June 2008, i.e. transmission deadline set out in Regulation (EC) No 48/2004)  

As on 01/02/2009  

Country 

S10 

S2A 

S2B 

S3A 

S3B 

Country 

S10 

S2A 

S2B 

S3A 

S3B 

-5 

-7 

-5 

-5 

-3 

-3 

0 

-5 

-7 

-5 

-5 

-3 

-3 

0 

-5 

-7 

-5 

-5 

-3 

16 

-3 

0 

-5 

-7 

-5 

-5 

-3 

-3 

0 

-5 

-7 

-5 

-5 

-3 

-3 

0 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

DK 

DE 

EE 

IE 

GR 

ES 

FR 

IT 

CY 

LT 

LV 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SI 

SK 

FI 

SE 

UK 

NO 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

-91 

-17 

-25 

-91 

-17 

-25 

-91 

-17 

-25 

-14 

-17 

-25 

-14 

-17 

-25 

-42 

-42 

-42 

-42 

-42 

-19 

-19 

-19 

-19 

-19 

0 

0 

-6 

0 

0 

-6 

0 

0 

-6 

0 

0 

-6 

0 

0 

-6 

Not received before 01/02/2009 
Lower than 1% of the EU27 value added 

As  illustrated  by  Table  3,  most  of  the  Member  States  that  are  required  by  Regulation  (EC) 
No 48/2004  to  transmit  steel  statistics  transmitted  the  data  before  the  deadline  laid  down  in 
the Regulation.  

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As  far  as  the  dissemination  of  statistical  data  by  Eurostat  is  concerned,  all  data  for  the 
reference year 2007 were duly published before 1 December 2008. 

Table  4.  Steel  statistics  2007,  Percentage  available  cells  in  total  of  required  cells  by 
country and series (data published on 01/09/2008) (1) 

S10 

S2A 

S2B 

S3A 

S3B 

Total 

EU 
BE 
BG 
CZ 
DE 
ES 
EE 
FR 
IT 
LU 
NL 
AT 
PL 
RO 
SK 
FI 
SE 
UK 

94 
100 
100 
100 
100 
0 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 

89 
100 
100 
100 
100 
0 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
16 
100 
100 
100 
100 

100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 

94 
100 
100 
100 
100 
0 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 

94 
100 
100 
100 
100 
0 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 

92 
100 
100 
100 
100 
13 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
56 
100 
100 
100 
100 

(1) Countries representing less than 1% of the Community total for the value added for NACE Rev.1.1 group 
27.1 have not been included in this table, unless those countries provided data. 

According  to  Table  4,  only  two  of  the  countries  that  transmitted  data  provided  incomplete 
data. Data availability at EU level is influenced by the fact that the 2007 data are missing for 
Spain for several series. As Spain's steel industry represents a significant part of the EU steel 
industry, this has a negative impact on the quality of the EU aggregates, for which the missing 
data need to be estimated. 

3.2. 

Confidentiality rules 

According  to  Article  13(1)  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  322/97  of  17  February  1997  on 
Community Statistics7, data used by the national authorities and by the Community authority 
for the production of Community statistics shall be regarded as confidential when they allow 
statistical  units  to  be  identified,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  thereby  disclosing  individual 
information.  As  the  number  of  enterprises  active  in  the  iron  and  steel  industry  is  relatively 
limited,  many  of  the  data  transmitted  to  Eurostat  cannot  be  published  for  confidentiality 
reasons.  Table  5  below  illustrates  the  extent  to  which  confidentiality  rules  reduce  data 
availability.8 

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OJ L 52, 22.2.1997, p. 1-7. 
The data on confidentiality provided for in the Table 5 varies considerably from country to country. The 
reasons for that are, inter alia, different national rules on confidentiality and non-disclosure of certain 
data due to “dominance rule” applicable in several Member States whereby data are not disseminated if 
one or two respondents dominate the figures by more than certain percentage points. 

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Table 5. Confidential cells in percentage of provided data 

S10 

S2A 

S2B 

S3A 

S3B 

Total 

EU aggregate (1) 
All reporting 
countries together 
BE 
BG 
CZ 
DE 
ES (2) 
EE 
FR 
IT 
LV 
LU 
HU 
NL 
AT 
PL 
RO 
SK 
FI 
SE 
UK 

0 

29 
0 
42 
25 
17 
0 
0 
17 
8 
100 
83 
0 
42 
25 
33 
100 
8 
0 
0 
0 

22 

41 
39 
18 
64 
64 
14 
0 
54 
63 
100 
55 
43 
71 
78 
7 
21 
2 
0 
100 
0 

: 

0 

50 
43 
43 
57 
21 
43 
0 
36 
21 
100 
100 
29 
71 
57 
93 
100 
36 
0 
21 
0 

0 

51 
14 
86 
64 
0 

0 
21 
21 
100 
100 
43 
64 
64 
86 
100 
50 
0 
57 
0 

0 

55 
0 
75 
92 
0 
42 
0 
67 
33 
100 
83 
42 
75 
83 
100 
100 
50 
0 
25 
0 

11 

44 
28 
39 
62 
38 
20 
0 
44 
43 
100 
73 
36 
68 
61 
42 
59 
19 
0 
28 
0 

(1) The percentage of confidential cells of the EU aggregate concerns the reference year 2006. 

(2) For Spain the percentage of confidential cells was calculated on the basis of 2006 data, except for the S2B 
series, for which 2007 data were used. 

Finland  and  the  United  Kingdom  are  the  only  countries  for  which  all  the  data  provided  are 
disseminated.  Estonia  does  not  have  a  steel  industry;  all  statistics  for  Estonia  are  given  the 
value "0". The number of confidential cells in other countries ranges between 19% and 100%. 
Overall, 44% of the transmitted national data cannot be published for confidentiality reasons. 
The large number of confidential cells at country level seriously hampers the use of the data 
for analytical purposes. 

Most of the EU aggregates calculated for the steel statistics on the basis of the country data 
are not confidential. It is only in the series on fuel and energy consumption broken down by 
type  of  plant  that  EU  aggregates  for  some  of  the  statistics  calculated  on  the  basis  of  the 
national data cannot be published, for confidentiality reasons. 

4. 

SYNERGIES WITH OTHER COMMUNITY STATISTICAL ACTIVITIES 

This Section analyses the extent to which other statistical data sets collected and disseminated 
by  Eurostat  covering  the  iron  and  steel  industry  can  be  used  to  replace  the  statistical 
information currently being collected and disseminated under Regulation (EC) No 48/2004. 

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4.1. 

Structural Business Statistics 

The  Structural  Business  Statistics  (SBS)  currently  collected  on  NACE  Rev.1.1.  group  27.1 
(Manufacture of basic iron and steel and of ferro-alloys) on the basis of Council Regulation 
(EC, Euratom) No 58/97 of 20 December 1996 concerning structural business statistics9 can 
be  used  together  with  the  steel  statistics,  taking  into  account  certain  limits  as  to  the 
comparability of the data.10 Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 48/2004 lays down that the data 
supplied shall relate to kind-of-activity unit characteristics as defined in Council Regulation 
(EEC) No 696/93 of 15 March 1993 on the statistical units for the observation and analysis of 
the production system in the Community11 and to enterprises having 50 or more employees.  

All  SBS  data  published  by  Eurostat  relate  to  the  enterprise  as  a  statistical  unit.  In  addition, 
size  classes  of  enterprises  are  defined  on  the  basis  of  the  number  of  persons  employed  for 
SBS and not on the basis of the number of employees. It is therefore difficult to compare SBS 
data  and  steel  statistics.  The  only  overlapping  information  is  investment  data,  but  as  the 
breakdown  of  this  variable  by  size  classes  of  employment  is  provided  on  an  optional  basis 
only, it is difficult to check whether the coverage of the data is the same. However, the SBS-
Regulation does not require the kind of detailed breakdown by tangible goods that would be 
available from the steel statistics.  

Information  on  investments  in  more  environment-friendly  technologies  is  collected  in  this 
framework,  including  investment  in  equipment  and  plant  for  pollution  control  and  special 
anti-pollution  accessories  (mainly  end-of-pipe  equipment)  and  investment  in  equipment  and 
plant  linked  to  cleaner  technology  ("integrated  technology").  Lastly,  the  SBS  data  do  not 
include data expressed in volume terms. 

4.2. 

Statistics on industrial production 

Under Council Regulation (EEC) No 3924/91 of 19 December 1991 on the establishment of a 
Community  survey  of  industrial  production12,  information  is  collected  on  the  volume  of 
different steel products produced during the reference period, which is primarily of use to the 
steel  industry.  As  there  are  a  relatively  limited  number  of  enterprises  active  in  the  steel 
industry sector, many of the data at national level are confidential. This  hampers the use of 
these statistics for economic analysis. 

4.3. 

External trade statistics 

Information  on  imported  and  exported  volumes  and  values  of  steel  and  cast  iron  scrap  is 
available from the external trade statistics collected on the basis of Council Regulation (EEC) 
No  3330/91  of  7  November  1991  on  the  statistics  relating  to  the  trading  of  goods  between 
Member States13 and Council Regulation (EC) No 1172/95 of 22 May 1995 on the statistics 
relating to the trading of goods by the Community and its Member States with non-member 

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10 

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12 
13 

OJ L 14, 17.1.1997, p. 1-24. 
It  shall  be  noted  that  Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No  58/97  was  repealed  by  Regulation  (EC)  No 
295/2008  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  11  March  2008  concerning  structural 
business statistics (OJ L 97, 9.4.2008, p. 13). The manufacture of basic iron and steel and of ferro-alloys 
will be covered in NACE Rev.2 group 24.1. 
OJ L 76, 30.3.1993, p. 1. 
OJ L 374, 31.12.1991, p. 1.  
OJ L 316, 16.11.1991, p. 1.  

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countries14.  This  information  partially  duplicates  the  information  collected  as  part  of  the 
yearly statistics on the steel and cast iron scrap balance sheet, but the information on domestic 
sourcing,  stock  movements  and  consumption  that  is  available  in  the  data  sets  of  Regulation 
(EC)  No  48/2004  is  not  available  in  the  external  trade  statistics.  Due  to  the  application  of 
passive  confidentiality  principles  –  whereby  data  are  always  published  even  if  they  refer  to 
only one enterprise, unless the enterprise explicitly asks not to disclose its data - there are no 
confidential data for these products. 

4.4. 

Statistics on energy consumption 

The energy statistics provide information on the consumption of different energy products for 
the  iron  and  steel  industry.  However,  these  data  are  not  broken  down  by  type  of  plant  as 
required  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  48/2004.  The  information  available  from  the  statistics  on 
energy  consumption  is  therefore  too  aggregated  at  this  stage  to  replace  the  detailed 
information available from the data collection based on Regulation (EC) No 48/2004. 

4.5. 

Statistics on air emissions 

The  statistics  from  the  European  Environment  Agency  concerning  air  emissions  provide 
information  on  the  emission  of  greenhouse  gases  from  the  iron  and  steel  industry.  This 
information is useful to measure the environmental impact of the iron and steel industry. 

5. 

FUTURE OF STEEL STATISTICS 

As  Regulation  (EC)  No  48/2004  covers  the  collection  of  data  for  the  reference  years  2003-
2009  only,  the  expiry  of  the  transitional  period  is  likely  to  mean  that  none  of  the  steel 
statistics covered by this Regulation will be collected after the transitional period comes to an 
end.  

The  Commission  Communication  “Better  Regulation  for  Growth  and  Jobs  in  the  European 
Union”  of  16  March  200515  identified  simplification  as  a  priority  action  for  the  EU.  In  the 
Commission  Communication  on  the  reduction  of  the  response  burden,  simplification  and 
priority  setting  in  the  field  of  Community  statistics16,  this  commitment  was  directed  more 
specifically  at  statistics.  Better  setting  of  statistical  priorities  is  identified  as  a  fundamental 
element of the simplification process. Assessing the relevance and usefulness of statistics for 
EU  policies  is  a  critical  step  in  selecting  priority  areas  for  simplification,  together  with  an 
evaluation  of  the  costs  incurred  by  Member  States,  respondents  and  the  European 
Commission for the production of Community statistics. Although supporting the production 
of  (national  and)  Community  statistics  accounts  for  only  a  small  share  of  the  overall 
administrative  burden  that  falls  upon  enterprises,  the  burden  is  perceived  as  being  much 
heavier. At Community level, therefore, the Commission has to continue to explore ways of 
contributing  to  the  overall  effort  to  lighten  that  burden.  Consequently,  the  Commission 
constantly has to establish priorities between new statistical activities (globalisation, climate 
change)  and  existing  requirements  for  statistics,  thereby  gradually  making  the  statistical 
programme more balanced.  

14 
15 
16 

OJ L 118, 25.5.1995, p. 10.  
COM(2005) 97 final. 
COM(2006) 693 final 

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The  decision  on  a  possible  future  collection  of  all  or  part  of  the  statistics  as  defined  in 
Regulation  No  48/2004  after  the  transitional  period  should  therefore  be  dictated  by 
considerations  of  priority-setting,  the  burden  caused  to  the  enterprises  of  the  sector  and  the 
Commission’s  efforts  to  reduce  it.  As  the  number  of  enterprises  in  the  sector  concerned  is 
small, the total cost for the European Union of organising the data collection and compilation 
is  limited.  However,  it  concerns  mainly  large  companies  that  are  subjected  to  many  other 
surveys, and the steel statistics questionnaire adds to their statistical burden. Furthermore, data 
from company accounts are not readily available. 

The steel industry is the only sector in the non-agricultural business economy that is subject to 
the  collection  of  detailed  data  on  the  use  of  raw  materials,  energy  consumption  by  type  of 
plant,  investments  and  capacities.  There  is  no  justification  for  producing  such  detailed 
statistics on a regular basis for one specific sector. Therefore, in order to keep the burden on 
businesses  as  low  as  possible,  the  data  needs  could  be  met  by  special  ad-hoc  studies  rather 
than by the regular production of official statistics.  

Based on the need for clear priority-setting in the field of statistics, an analysis of the cost of 
data collection, the use of the steel statistics and the availability of data relating to sectors of 
similar  interest  in  the  European  Union,  it  is  not  intended  to  propose  a  Regulation  for  the 
continuation of the collection of the steel statistics. As a result, steel statistics - as defined in 
Regulation (EC) No 48/2004 - will not be available for reference years beyond 2009. 

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