Opinion of the European Central Bank of 6 February 2015 on a new legal framework for the production of official statistics in Lithuania (CON/2015/5)
Date: 2015-02-06
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Lithuania, central bank, competence of the institution, data processing, national law, statistics

EN 

ECB-PUBLIC 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 6 February 2015 

on a new legal framework for the production of official statistics in Lithuania 

(CON/2015/5) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On  27  November  2014,  the  European  Central  Bank  (ECB)  received  a  request  from  the  Lithuanian 

Ministry  of  Finance  for  an  opinion  on  a  draft  law  amending  the  Law  on  statistics  (hereinafter  the  ‘draft 

law’) and a draft law amending the Code on administrative breaches of the law (hereinafter together the 

‘draft laws’). 

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  fourth  indents  of  Article 2(1)  of  Council  Decision 
98/415/EC1, as the draft laws relate to Lietuvos bankas 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 laws 

1.1  The aim of the draft laws is to improve the general functioning of official statistics production and 
ensure consistency with updated Union legislation in the field of statistics2. The draft laws explicitly 

recognise  the  role  of  Lietuvos  bankas  in  the  area  of  official  statistics  and  define  its  rights  and 

obligations  in  this  regard,  including  empowering  it  to  impose  sanctions  for  non-compliance  with 

statistical reporting obligations.  

1.2  The  draft  law  defines  the  principles  underlying  the  official  statistics,  the  organisation  of  official 

statistics,  the  powers  of  and  relationship  between  Lietuvos  bankas  and  Lietuvos  statistikos 

departamentas (the National Statistical Institute of Lithuania, hereinafter ‘Statistics Lithuania’), the 

rights  and  obligations  of  statistical  data  users,  and  the  use  and  protection  of  statistical  data, 

including confidential data. 

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2  

Council  Decision  98/415/EC  of  29 June  1998  on  the  consultation  of  the  European  Central  Bank  by  national 
authorities regarding draft legislative provisions (OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42). 
Including  Regulation  (EC)  No  177/2008  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  20  February  2008 
establishing a common framework for business registers for statistical purposes (OJ L 61, 5.3.2008, p. 6), Council 
Regulation  (EC)  No  2533/98  of  23  November  1998  concerning  the  collection  of  statistical  information  by  the 
European Central Bank (OJ L 318, 27.11.1998, p. 8) and Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament 
and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics (OJ L 87, 31.3.2009, p. 164). 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
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2. 

General observations  

The  ECB  welcomes  the  draft  laws,  which  aim  to  ensure  consistency  with  the  framework  of  European 

statistics and to improve the production of official statistics in Lithuania. The ECB welcomes in particular 

the  provisions  of  the  draft  laws  recognising  two  separate  but  complementary  legal  frameworks  under 

which  official  statistics  are  developed,  produced  and  disseminated,  namely  by  Statistics  Lithuania, 

operating within the partnership of the European Statistical System (ESS), and by Lietuvos bankas, as a 

member of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).  

3. 

Statistical principles 

3.1  The  statistical  principles  governing  the  production  of  European  statistics  by  the  ESCB  under 

Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 are similar but not identical to the statistical principles governing the 

production  of  European  statistics  by  the  ESS  under  Regulation  (EC)  No  223/2009.  The  ECB 

welcomes  the  recognition  of  two  sets  of  principles  in  the  draft  law,  one  applying  to  Statistics 
Lithuania3 and the other applying to Lietuvos bankas4.  

3.2  However,  the  ECB  considers  the  condition  ‘unless  Union  legislation  provides  otherwise’5 

superfluous  since  the  complementary  statistical  regimes  and  the  corresponding  two  sets  of 

principles  stem  from  Union  legislation:  Regulations  (EC)  No  2533/98  and  (EC)  No  223/2009 

respectively.  For legal certainty  reasons, Article  3  of  the  draft  law  should make it  explicit that  the 

statistical  principles  contained  in  Regulation  (EC)  No  223/2009  govern  the  production  of  official 

statistics  by  Statistics  Lithuania  and  other  bodies  managing  official  statistics,  while  Lietuvos 

bankas, in its capacity as member of the ESCB, should apply the statistical principles contained in 

Regulation (EC) No 2533/98. 

4. 

Lietuvos bankas’ independence 

4.1  The ECB broadly welcomes the fact that the draft laws recognise and preserve the independence 

of  Lietuvos  bankas  as  a  body  concerned  with  and  producing  official  statistics  in  its  areas  of 

competence. 

4.2  However, the ECB recommends introducing certain drafting clarifications in the draft law to ensure 
Lietuvos  bankas’  independence.  More  particularly,  the  draft  law6  should  make  clear  that  the 

cooperation  between  Lietuvos  bankas  and  Statistics  Lithuania  must  be  without  prejudice  to 
Lietuvos bankas’ independence and to its tasks within the statistical framework of the ESCB7.  

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4  
5  
6  
7  

Article 3(1) of the draft law. 
Article 3(3) of the draft law. 
Article 3(3) of the draft law. 

For example, Article 4(3) of the draft law. 
See also paragraph 2.3 of Opinion CON/2010/2, paragraph 2 of Opinion CON/2010/24, and Opinion CON/2012/84. 
All ECB opinions are published on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 

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4.3  Furthermore, as regards the administrative liability of officials, civil servants and the staff of official 

statistics  bodies  for  non-compliance  with  the  draft  law,  including  as  regards  the  treatment  of 
confidential data8, the draft law amending the Code on administrative breaches of the law9 should 

be  amended:  it should  ensure  that,  prior  to  submission  to  the  court,  administrative  cases  against 

Lietuvos  bankas’  staff  regarding  unlawful  use  of  statistical  data  and  disclosure  of  confidential 

statistical data, if any, should be investigated by Lietuvos bankas, and not by Statistics Lithuania.  

5. 

Cooperation between Lietuvos bankas and Statistics Lithuania 

5.1  The ECB emphasises that ensuring effective cooperation between Lietuvos bankas and Statistics 

Lithuania is very important to minimise the reporting burden on respondents and to guarantee the 
coherence and consistency of all official statistics. It welcomes the general clause in the draft law10 

referring to such cooperation in preparing and implementing the official statistics programme. The 

ECB  recommends  introducing  drafting  clarifications  explicitly  confirming  the  duty  to  cooperate  in 
other  provisions  of  the  draft  law,  for  example  as  regards  the  exchange  of  statistical  data11.  The 

ECB  recommends  clarifying  in  Articles  4  and  6  that  data  produced  by  Lietuvos  bankas  may  be 

used directly or indirectly by Statistics Lithuania and by other bodies managing official statistics for 

the  production  of  European  statistics  and,  equally,  that  statistics  produced  by  Statistics  Lithuania 

and  the  other  bodies  managing  official  statistics  may  be  used  directly  or  indirectly  by  Lietuvos 
bankas12.  

5.2 

In  the  same  vein,  for  legal  certainty  reasons  the  ECB  recommends  introducing  drafting 

clarifications  to  spell  out  explicitly  Lietuvos  bankas’  performance  of  its  statistical  tasks  within  the 

statistical  framework  of  the  ESCB,  and  strengthen  the  overarching  principle  of  the  development, 

production and dissemination of the official statistics under two separate but complementary legal 

frameworks.  In  particular,  the  statistics  that  are  necessary  to  undertake  the  tasks  of  the  ESCB 
should be explicitly included in the definition of ‘European statistics’13. In addition to the definition of 

the ‘European statistical programme’, a corresponding definition of the ‘statistical work programme 

of the ESCB’ should be introduced. Lietuvos bankas’ place in the organisation of official statistics 
should  be  further  clarified14:  although  it  is  an  official  statistics  body,  Lietuvos  bankas  does  not 

belong to the ESS and develops, produces and disseminates European statistics in its capacity as 

member  of  the  ESCB.  Finally,  it  should  be  clarified  that  Statistics  Lithuania  prepares  the  official 
Lithuanian  statistics  programme  together  with  Lietuvos  bankas15,  and  that  the  report  on  the 

implementation of such statistics programme to be approved by the Lithuanian government should 

Article 20 of the draft law and Article 3 of the draft law amending the Code on administrative breaches of the law. 
Article 7 of the draft law amending the Code on administrative breaches of the law (amendment to Article 2591 of the 
Code on administrative breaches of the law). 

Article 4(3) of the draft law. 
Article 13(1) of the draft law. 
Article 6(6)(1) of the draft law. 

Article 2(2) of the draft law. 
Article 4 of the draft law. 

Article 6(5)(1) of the draft law. 

8  
9  

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13  
14  
15  

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not  include  information on  the statistical activities of Lietuvos  bankas16 as these are  presented  in 

the latter’s annual report. 

6. 

Sharing of confidential statistical data 

6.1   The  draft  law  includes  provisions  regarding  the  sharing  of  statistical  data  and  information  with 

Eurostat,  the  ECB,  and  national  central  banks  and  national  statistical  institutes  of  Union  Member 
States17.  It  also  allows  the  transmission  of  confidential  statistical  data  to  scientific  research 
bodies18.  In  order  to  ensure  the  efficient  collection,  compilation  and  dissemination  of  European 

statistics,  the  ECB  recommends  clarifying  that  Article  13  of  the  draft  law  allows  the  exchange  of 

confidential statistical information data with Eurostat, all authorities belonging to the ESS and the 
ESCB19.  

6.2  The  ECB  also  recommends,  in  line  with  its  Recommendation  ECB/2014/1320,  explicitly  allowing 

Lietuvos  bankas  to  transfer  confidential  statistical  information  to  Union  and  national  authorities 

responsible  for  the  supervision  of  financial  institutions,  markets  and  infrastructures  and  macro-

prudential oversight, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Union legislation, in particular 

Regulation (EC) No 2533/98.  

6.3  As regards the treatment of confidential statistical information, the ECB recommends specifying in 
the  draft  law21  that  Lietuvos  bankas  is  bound  by  the  provisions  laid  down  in  Regulation 

(EC) No 2533/98. 

7. 

Sanctioning powers 

7.1  The  draft  laws,  which  aim  to  ensure  the  proper  application  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  2533/9822, 

provide  for  the  sanctioning  powers  of  Lietuvos  bankas  and  Statistics  Lithuania  in  relation  to  third 

parties that fail to comply with their statistical obligations. However, the draft law does not mention 

the  ECB’s  powers  to  impose  sanctions  for  non-compliance  with  the  ECB’s  statistical  reporting 
requirements23. The ECB recommends addressing this issue in the draft law. 

16  
17  
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20  

21  
22  
23  

Article 6(5)(2) of the draft law, which should be brought in line with Articles 9(2) and (3) of the draft law. 
Articles 13(2) and (3) of the draft law. 
Article 13(4) of the draft law. 
Also see Opinion CON/2010/2, paragraph 4.  

Recommendation ECB/2014/13 of the European Central Bank of 21 March 2014 for a Council Regulation amending 
Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 concerning the collection of statistical information by the European Central Bank (OJ C 
188, 20.6.2014, p. 1). 

Article 14 of the draft law. 
Annexes to the draft laws.  

Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 2533/98. 

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7.2  The  ECB  also  recommends  aligning  the  sanctioning  powers  of  Lietuvos  bankas  laid  down  in  the 
draft laws24 and in the Law on Lietuvos bankas: according to the Law on Lietuvos bankas25, it is for 

Lietuvos bankas to determine the size of sanctions and arrangements for their application to legal 

entities. 

ECB-PUBLIC 

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

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 6 February 2015. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Mario DRAGHI 

24  
25  

Article 2 of the draft law amending the Code on administrative breaches of the law. 
Article 541 of the Law on Lietuvos bankas. 

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