Opinion of the European Central Bank of 15 July 2015 on amendments to the law on the Hellenic Statistical System and the Hellenic Statistical Authority (CON/2015/24)
Date: 2015-07-15
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Greece, central bank, national law, statistics

EN 

ECB-PUBLIC 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 15 July 2015 

on amendments to the law on the Hellenic Statistical System and the Hellenic Statistical Authority 

(CON/2015/24) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On  14  July  2015,  the  European  Central  Bank  (ECB)  received  a  request  from  the  Greek  Ministry  of 

Finance  for  an  opinion  on  a  draft  law  on  urgent  measures  for  the  negotiation  and  conclusion  of  an 

agreement  with  the  European  Stabilisation  Mechanism  which,  inter  alia,  amends  Law  3832/2010 
(hereinafter the ‘HSTAT Law’).1 

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/EC2, as the draft law relates to the Bank of Greece 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 and general comments 

1.1   The aim of the draft law is to improve the general functioning of the production of official statistics in 

Greece,  further  guarantee  the  independence  of  the  Hellenic  Statistical  Authority  (HSTAT),  and 

ensure consistency between national law and updated Union legislation in the field of statistics.  

1.2   The ECB broadly welcomes the objectives of the draft law. However, the ECB is of the opinion that 

the draft law should explicitly recognise the role and the independence of the Bank of Greece in the 

area of official statistics, and define in a general manner its rights and obligations in this regard. As 
explained further in this opinion, and  with reference to its opinion of 23 February 20103, the ECB 

would strongly welcome the inclusion in the draft law of provisions recognising the two separate but 

complementary  legal  frameworks  under  which  official  statistics  are  developed,  produced  and 

disseminated,  on  the  one  hand  by  HSTAT,  operating  within  the  partnership  of  the  European 

Statistical  System  (ESS),  and  on  the  other  hand  by  the  Bank  of  Greece,  as  a  member  of  the 

European System of Central Banks (ESCB).  

1  

2  

3  

Law  3832/2010  on  the  Hellenic  Statistical  System  and  the  Establishment  of  a  Hellenic  Statistical  Authority  as  an 
independent authority (Official Gazette of the Republic, 38Α, 09.03.2010). 
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). 

Opinion CON/2010/17. All ECB opinions are published on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
ECB-PUBLIC 

2. 

Specific comments  

2.1  The  statistical  principles  governing  the  production  of  European  statistics  by  the  ESCB  under 
Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2533/984  are  similar  but  not  identical  to  the  statistical  principles 

governing the production of European statistics by the ESS under Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of 
the European Parliament and of the Council5.  

2.2  For  reasons  of  legal  certainty,  the  ECB  would  therefore  welcome  the  express  recognition,  in  the 

draft  law,  of  the  two  sets  of  principles  applicable  to  the  production  of  statistics,  one  applying  to 

HSTAT and the other applying to the Bank of Greece. The draft law could therefore make it explicit 

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

official  statistics  by  HSTAT,  while  the  Bank  of  Greece,  in  its  capacity  as  member  of  the  ESCB, 

should apply the statistical principles contained in Regulation (EC) No 2533/98. 

3. 

Independence of the Bank of Greece  

The  ECB  would  welcome  more  explicit  recognition  in  the  draft  law  of  the  independence  of  the  Bank  of 

Greece as a body concerned with and producing official statistics in its areas of competence. The ECB 

would  therefore  recommend  introducing  drafting  clarifications  in  the  draft  law,  more  specifically,  in  its 

provisions amending Articles 1 and 2 of the HSTAT Law, to more effectively guarantee the independence 

of the Bank of Greece. More particularly, the draft law should make it clear that cooperation between the 

Bank of Greece and HSTAT shall be without prejudice to the independence of the Bank of Greece and its 
tasks within the statistical framework of the ESCB6.  

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

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 15 July 2015. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Mario DRAGHI 

4  

5  

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). 

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). 

See also paragraph 2.3 of Opinion CON/2010/2, paragraph 2 of Opinion CON/2010/24, and Opinion CON/2012/84. 

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