REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred to the Commission under Council Directive 96/16/EC on statistical surveys of milk and milk products
Date: 2018-01-12
Institutions: European Commission, Eurostat
Subjects: EU statistics, agricultural statistics, data collection, delegated legislation, disclosure of information, milk product, powers of the institutions (EU), production statistics, transfer of competence

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 12.1.2018  COM(2018) 12 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred to the Commission under Council Directive 96/16/EC on statistical surveys of milk and milk products  
 
 
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BACKGROUND 
Council  Directive  96/16/EC  on  statistical  surveys  of  milk  and  milk  products1  was 
adopted on 19 March 1996. It was amended  by Regulation (EU) No 1350/2013  of 
the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 amending certain 
legislative acts in the field of agricultural and fishery statistics to align implementing 
powers with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.2 

Article  3(2)  of  the  Directive  confers  powers  to  adopt  delegated  acts  on  the 
Commission. This power is conferred ‘to amend the list of milk products covered by 
the  surveys  and  to  lay  down  the  standard  definitions  applicable  for  the 
communication  of  the  results  for  the  various  products’.  The  statistical  actions 
provided for in the delegated acts must be duly justified by input from experts based 
on  a  cost-effectiveness  analysis,  where  appropriate.  This  should  include  an 
assessment of the burden on respondents and of production costs. 

The  list  of  milk  products  and  their  standard  definitions  are  set  out  in  Annex  I  to 
Commission  Decision  97/80/EC  of  18  December  1996  laying  down  provisions  for 
the implementation of Council Directive 96/16/EC on statistical surveys of milk and 
milk products.3 

According  to  Article  6a(2)  to  the  Directive,  the  power  to  adopt  delegated  acts  is 
conferred for a period of five years from 10 January 2014. This power is to be tacitly 
extended  for  periods  of  five  years  unless  the  European  Parliament  or  the  Council 
object.  

The Commission is obliged to draw up a report on the delegation of power not later 
than  nine  months  before  the  end  of  the  five-year  period.  This  report  fulfils  this 
obligation. 

2. 

COMMISSION  EXERCISE  OF  DELEGATED  POWERS  UNDER  COUNCIL  DIRECTIVE 
96/16/EC 

The Commission has not yet exercised the power to adopt delegated acts conferred 
on it by Directive 96/16/EC. 

Most milk products were not subject to changes during the period in question. A few 
of  them  were  subject  to  changes,  but  these  were  so  minor  that  the  adaptation  of 
European and national statistical systems could not be justified. 

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3  

OJ L 78, 28.3.1996, p. 27–29. 
OJ L 351, 21.12.2013, p. 1–14. 
OJ L 24, 25.1.1997, p. 26–49. 

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3. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The Commission has not yet exercised the power to adopt delegated acts conferred 
on it by Council Directive 96/16/EC. 

The  Commission  considers  that  it  should  continue  to  have  these  powers  as  in  the 
future it may need to adopt a delegated act to modify the points mentioned in Article 
3(2)  of  the  Directive  to  meet  the  needs  of  data  users  in  the  context  of  the  future 
common agricultural policy. 

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