Opinion of the European Central Bank of 9 August 2010 on amendments to the legislation on official statistics (CON/2010/66)
Date: 2010-08-09
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Romania, central bank, national law, statistics

EN 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 9 August 2010 

on amendments to the legislation on official statistics 

(CON/2010/66) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On  15  July  2010  the  European  Central  Bank  (ECB)  received  a  request  from  the  Romanian  National 

Institute of Statistics for an opinion on a draft law amending and supplementing Law No 226/2009 on the 
organisation and functioning of official statistics in Romania1 (hereinafter the ‘draft law’). 

The ECB’s competence to deliver an opinion is based on Articles 127(4) and 282(5) of the Treaty on the 

Functioning  of  the  European  Union  and  the  third  and  the  fourth  indents  of  Article 2(1)  of  Council 

Decision  98/415/EC  of  29 June  1998  on  the  consultation  of  the  European  Central  Bank  by  national 
authorities regarding draft legislative provisions2, as the draft law relates to Banca Naţională a României 

(BNR) and the collection, compilation and distribution of monetary, financial, banking, payment systems 

and balance of payments statistics. In accordance with the first sentence of Article 17.5 of the Rules of 

Procedure of the European Central Bank, the Governing Council has adopted this opinion.  

1.  

Purpose of the draft law 

1.1   The  draft  law  supplements  Law  No  226/2009  on  the  organisation  and  functioning  of  official 
statistics  in  Romania  with  some  provisions  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  223/20093 in  order  to  bring 

Romanian  legislation  on  official  statistics  into  line  with  the  changes  to  the  European  Statistical 

System framework. 

1.2 

In  particular,  the  draft  law  introduces  the  fundamental  principles  of  official  statistics,  which  are 

professional independence, impartiality, objectivity, reliability, statistical confidentiality and cost-

effectiveness. The definitions of these principles are identical to those of the statistical principles in 

Regulation (EC) No 223/2009.  

1 

2  
3  

Law No 226/2009 on the organisation and functioning of official statistics in Romania, Monitorul Oficial al României No 
397 of 11 June 2009. 
OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42.  
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics 
and  repealing  Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No  1101/2008  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  the 
transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality to the Statistical Office of the European Communities, Council 
Regulation  (EC)  No  322/97  on  Community  Statistics,  and  Council  Decision  89/382/EEC,  Euratom  establishing  a 
Committee on the Statistical Programmes of the European Communities (OJ L 87, 31.3.2009, p. 164 ). 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
1.3  Furthermore, the draft law extends the composition of the Romanian National Statistical Council, 

an  advisory  body,  with  six  new  members  comprising  two  representatives  from  the  Presidential 

administration and four representatives  from the Parliament (two  representatives from each of its 

two chambers) to ensure the impartiality, transparency and scientific nature of the activities related 

to official statistics. 

1.4 

In  addition,  in  line  with  Article  5(1)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  223/2009,  the  Romanian  National 

Institute of Statistics is designated as the national statistical authority responsible for coordinating 

all  activities  at  national  level  for  the  development,  production  and  dissemination  of  European 

statistics. The Romanian National Institute of Statistics is also the contact point for the Commission 

(Eurostat) on statistical matters. 

1.5  Finally, the competence of the Romanian National Institute of Statistics is intended to be enhanced 

by  entrusting  it  with  the  tasks,  within  its  scope  of  competence,  of  negotiating  and  concluding 
international treaties at department level and other international agreements4. 

2. 

General observations 

2.1 

In  Opinion  CON/2009/425 on  the  draft  of  Law  No  226/2009,  the  ECB  welcomed  the  provisions 

that recognised and preserved the independence of BNR as a participant in the National Statistical 

System  and  as  the  producer  of  official  statistics  in  its  areas  of  competence.  It  was  noted  that  the 

statistics developed, produced and disseminated by BNR as part of the European System of Central 
Banks  are  governed  by  statistical  principles6 that  are  close  but  not  identical  to  the  principles  in 

Regulation (EC) No 223/2009.   

2.2  The  ECB  also  welcomes  the  intention  of  the  Romanian  authorities  to  update  and  streamline  the 

provisions of the national legal framework on statistics to follow changes at European level and to 

meet the needs of the statistical data users.  

This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website.  

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 9 August 2010. 

[signed] 

The Vice-President of the ECB 

Vítor CONSTÂNCIO 

4  
5  
6  

According to Article 2(1) of Law No 590/2003 on treaties, Monitorul Oficial al României No 23 of 12 January 2004. 
All ECB opinions are published on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu.  
See  Article  5  of  the  Statute  of  the  European  System  of  Central  Banks  and  of  the  European  Central  Bank  and  Council 
Regulation  (EC)  No  2533/98  concerning  the  collection  of  statistical  information  by  the  European  Central  Bank  (OJ  L 
318, 27.11.1998, p. 8).  

2