Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community statistics on migration and international protection
Date: 2018-05-16
Institutions: European Commission, Eurostat
Subjects: EU migration policy, EU statistics, emigration, external border of the EU, foreign national, illegal migration, immigration, return migration, right of asylum

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 16.5.2018 COM(2018) 307 final 2018/0154 (COD)  Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community statistics on migration and international protection (Text with EEA relevance)  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

• 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

The Commission (Eurostat) regularly collects statistics on asylum and managed migration, in 
accordance  with  Regulation  (EC)  No  862/2007  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council1. This Regulation and Commission Regulation (EU) No 216/20102, which defines the 
various  categories  of  reasons  for  issuing  residence  permits,  are  the  main  instruments  for 
mandatory  statistics  on  asylum  and  managed  migration.  In  addition,  the  Commission 
(Eurostat)  collects  statistics  on  migration-related  administrative  events  on  the  basis  of  other 
legal instruments under which data collection is mandatory. These additional statistics refer to 
data  on  EU  Blue  Cards  (Directive  2009/50/EC3),  single  permits  (Directive  2011/98/EU4), 
seasonal workers (Directive 2014/36/EU5), intra-corporate transfers (Directive 2014/66/EU6), 
and researchers, students, trainees, volunteers, pupils and au pairs (Directive EU 2016/8017). 
They are provided in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 862/2007.  

Migration  to  the  EU  has  changed  radically  in  recent  years.  To  address  the  challenges  this 
change presents, the Commission has implemented and further developed the comprehensive 
migration policy presented in the European Agenda on Migration8, the purpose of which is to 
improve  the  way  migratory  flows  are  managed,  both  within  and  outside  the  EU  and  that 
includes a mix of immediate actions to respond to the influx of migrants towards Europe and 
structural  reform  around  four  pillars:  (i)  reducing  the  incentives  for  irregular  migration;  (ii) 
border management: saving lives and securing external borders; (iii) Europe's duty to protect: 
a  strong  common  asylum  policy;  (iv)  a  new  policy  on  legal  migration.  In  this  context, 
stakeholders  have  repeatedly  argued  that  there  is  a  need  to  strengthen  the  evidence  base  in 
these areas.  

The Commission has regularly acknowledged the need to improve the collection of statistics, 
particularly as regards the figures on the return of third-country nationals staying illegally in 

1 Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 on Community 
statistics on migration and international protection and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 311/76 on the 
compilation of statistics on foreign workers (OJ L 199, 31.7.2007, p. 23). 

2 Commission Regulation (EU) No 216/2010 of 15 March 2010 implementing Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 of 
the European Parliament and of the Council on Community statistics on migration and international protection, 
as regards the definitions of categories of the reasons for the residence permits (OJ L 66, 16.3.2010, p. 1). 
3 Council  Directive  2009/50/EC  of  25  May  2009  on  the  conditions  of  entry  and  residence  of  third-country 
nationals for the purposes of highly qualified employment (OJ L 155, 18.6.2009, p. 17). 

4 Directive  2011/98/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  13  December  2011  on  a  single 
application  procedure  for  a  single  permit  for  third-country  nationals  to  reside  and  work  in  the  territory  of  a 
Member State and on a common set of rights for third-country workers legally residing in a Member State (OJ 
L 343, 23.12.2011, p. 1). 

5 Directive 2014/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the conditions of 
entry  and  stay  of  third-country  nationals  for  the  purpose  of  employment  as  seasonal  workers  (OJ  L  94, 
28.3.2014, p. 375). 

6 Directive  2014/66/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  15  May  2014  on  the  conditions  of 
entry  and  residence  of  third-country  nationals  in  the  framework  of  an  intra-corporate  transfer  (OJ  L  157, 
27.5.2014, p. 1). 

7 Directive (EU) 2016/801 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the conditions of 
entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of research, studies, training, voluntary service, 
pupil exchange schemes or educational projects and au pairing (OJ L 132, 21.5.2016, p. 21). 

8 COM(2017) 558 final. 

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the EU9, and as regards children10. The Eurostat work programme for 2018 already prioritises 
responding  to  a  new  and  more  dynamic  policy  environment,  with  particular  emphasis  on 
asylum seekers  and  law enforcement in  the migration  field (including  returns). It states that 
the  existing  legislation  may  be  reviewed  so  as  to  address  user  priorities,  including  new  and 
emerging requirements. 

The content and the quality of the European migration statistics, produced in accordance with 
Regulation  (EC)  No  862/2007,  meet  certain  needs.  However,  their  shortcomings  are 
becoming  increasingly  apparent,  especially  given  recent  developments  in  migration  into  the 
EU. Further data on several new types of migration and migrants are needed, and they need to 
be  more  precise,  more  frequent  and  timelier.  The  existing  legal  framework  makes  no 
provision for such data. So far, the new needs have been dealt with entirely voluntarily (i.e. 
with  no  revision  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  862/2007),  on  the  basis  of  an  agreement  by  the 
relevant  expert  group  in  cooperation  with  the  Member  States.  Experience  with  return 
statistics, for instance, shows that this approach is not always efficient. The implication is that 
Regulation  (EC) No 862/2007  should  be  revised  and  improved  to  ensure  that  the  relevant 
statistics are more readily available.  

Under the European Agenda on Migration, the European and national systems administering 
asylum  and  managed  migration  are evolving.  Given  the  changing  relevant  characteristics  of 
migration  and  migrants,  there  is  a  real  need  to  improve  the  statistics  on  both  in  line  with 
stakeholders'  changing  needs.  This  means  making  them  more  relevant,  so  as  to  build  a 
stronger  evidence  base  for  policy-making  and  evaluation.  This  is  why  the  Commission's 
Progress  Report  on  the European  Agenda  on  Migration11  mentions a  clear  need  for specific 
amendments  to  Regulation  (EC) No  862/2007,  pointing  to  very  precise  improvements, 
especially  as  regards  returns  (more  frequent  statistics),  resettlements,  residence  permits  and 
migrant  children.  The  most  recent  ‘Progress  Report  on  the  Implementation  of  the  European 
Agenda  on  Migration’12,  which  followed  it,  notes  that  the  Commission  is  considering 
amending  EU  rules  on  the  collection  and  the  regularity  of  statistics  on  migration  and 
international  protection  so  as  to  ensure  a  comprehensive  overview  and  address  some  of  the 
gaps identified in the statistics available. 

The  issue  is  even  more  acute  for  EU-level  policy-makers  and  policy  evaluation.  There  is  a 
clear demand to improve statistics on migration-related administrative events, to reflect recent 
and  forthcoming  policy  changes  and  make  the  European  Statistical  System  (ESS)13  more 
receptive to changes in migration itself and related EU-level policies. There is also a need to 
make  sure  that  voluntary  national  transmissions  of  data  are  more  complete  and  reliable. 
Moreover, a mechanism for further improving migration statistics needs to be developed, to 
make the ESS more responsive to any further developments in migration data requirements. 
Failure to upgrade European statistics in this domain is likely to rapidly widen existing gaps 
between the demand for such statistics and the supply available, especially for policy-making 
and  evaluation,  and  thus  to  hold  policymakers  back  from  responding  to  future  migration-
related challenges on the basis of evidence. 

9 
COM(2015) 453 final, 'EU action plan on return'. 
10 
COM(2017) 211 final, 'The protection of children in migration'. 
11 
COM (2017)669 final.   
12 
COM (2018)250 final. 
13 
The  ESS  is  the  partnership  between  the  European  statistical  authority,  which  is  the  Commission 
(Eurostat), and the national statistical institutes (NSIs) and other national authorities (ONAs) responsible in each 
Member State for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics. 

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The aim of this proposal is to support the European Agenda on  Migration by providing EU 
policy  and  decision-makers  with  better  and  timelier  policy-relevant  statistics,  and  to 
strengthen the response to the challenges posed by migration. In particular, the initiative will 
upgrade European statistics on asylum and managed migration by providing a legal basis for 
statistics that are currently collected voluntarily. 

By  this  token,  the  revision  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  862/2007  would  improve  completeness, 
accuracy, timeliness and certainty with respect to the existing voluntary transmissions of data 
by  national  authorities.  In  particular,  it  will  ensure  provision  of  statistics  in  areas  where 
stakeholders have expressed clear needs - on asylum, returns (higher frequency), resettlement, 
residence permits and migrant children.  

Looking  beyond these specific and immediate needs, and to support future developments in 
migration  policy  in  general,  the  revision  will  provide  an  embedded  flexibility  for  further 
improvements to migration statistics. It will also allow for responsiveness in developing new 
migration  indicators  that  will  better  support  the  ‘Agenda  on  Migration’  priorities,  by 
providing an evidence base. Such flexibility will improve the quality of European statistics, 
mainly by making them more relevant. 

• 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

All  the  statistics  on  asylum  and  managed  migration  that  Eurostat  regularly  collects  are 
expected  to  be  in  full  compliance  with  Regulation  (EC)  No  862/2007.  Other  existing 
legislation  on  supplying  data  to  the  Commission  (Eurostat),  namely  the  abovementioned 
Directives  2009/50/EC,  2011/98/EU,  2014/36/EU,  2014/66/EU  and  (EU)  2016/801,  also 
ensures consistency with the methodological framework put in place by Regulation (EC) No 
862/2007. Consequently, amending Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 will help ensure maximum 
consistency of statistics in this policy area by maintaining a single consistent methodological 
framework  for  past,  current  and  future  statistics  on  asylum  and  managed  migration.  This 
initiative will contribute to the implementation of the European Agenda on Migration. 

• 

Consistency with other Union policies 

The  proposed  limited  amendments  address  new  needs  and  inadequately  covered  areas  that 
have become increasingly apparent with the recent development of specific policies laid down 
in  the  Commission  Communication  on  the  Delivery  of  the  European  Agenda  on  Migration. 
These  include  the  Common  European  Asylum  System,  migrant  children,  legal  migration, 
resettlement,  humanitarian  admission  and  other  forms  of  legal  admission.  To  further 
safeguard consistency with other EU policies, the present proposal will form an integral part 
of  the  package  'Delivering  on  the  EU  agenda  on  Migration',  which  includes  several  other 
migration-related legislative initiatives proposed by the Commission. The flexibility of these 
initiatives is designed to ensure maximum responsiveness and consistency in the future. 

2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

Article  338  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union  (TFEU)  provides  the 
legal  basis  for  European  statistics.  Acting  in  accordance  with  the  ordinary  legislative 
procedure, the European Parliament and the Council adopt measures to ensure that statistics 
are produced where this is necessary to enable the Union to perform its role. Article 338 sets 
out  the requirements for producing European statistics necessary for the performance  of the 
activities  of  the  Union,  which  must  meet  certain  standards  of  impartiality,  reliability, 

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objectivity,  scientific  independence,  cost-effectiveness  and  statistical  confidentiality  without 
entailing excessive burdens on economic operators. 

• 

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)  

The  objective  of  this  initiative  -  to  revise  and  complete  the  existing  common  rules  on 
collecting  and  compiling  European  statistics  on  migration  and  international  protection  - 
cannot be adequately achieved by individual EU countries acting separately. Given the scale 
of  the  initiative  and  the  need  for  comparability,  it  can  be  better  achieved  at  EU  level.  To 
compile  statistics  on  migration  and  international  protection  at  EU  level,  a  standard 
methodology  is  needed,  and  standard  outputs  to  be  provided  by  Member  States  must  be 
defined.  

The  new  needs  for  statistics  on  asylum  and  managed  migration  in  line  with  the  European 
Agenda on Migration and its development are not covered by the current Regulation, (EC) No 
862/2007.  The  Regulation  thus  requires  amendment  if  it  is  to  provide  a  sound  basis  for 
compilation  of  the  necessary  data.  The  subsidiarity  principle  applies  because  the  proposal 
does  not  fall  within the exclusive competence of the EU. The purpose of the initiative is  to 
ensure that the data currently shared by the national authorities on a voluntary basis are more 
complete and reliable; to allow for future improvements in migration statistics; and to show 
that  the  Commission  is  responsive  to  the  need  to  develop  migration  data  that  will  better 
support  the  priorities  of  the  migration  agenda.  The  data  concerned  can  be  collected  by  the 
various national authorities. The EU can therefore adopt measures in this area in accordance 
with the principle of subsidiarity, as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. 

• 

Proportionality 

The proposal complies with the proportionality principle. Stakeholder needs generated by the 
activities  undertaken  in  light  of  the  European  Agenda  on  Migration  can  be  met  through  a 
limited amendment to Regulation (EC) No 862/2007, based largely on the existing voluntary 
collections of data, combined with the introduction of flexibility based on implementing acts. 
This will enable new and emerging data needs to be addressed more quickly in future. 

In accordance with the principle of proportionality, the regulation proposed confines itself to 
the minimum required to achieve its objective and does not go beyond what is necessary for 
that purpose.  

• 

Choice of instrument 

Proposed instrument: a regulation. Given the objectives and content of the proposal and the 
fact  that  this  is  a  proposal  amending  an  existing  regulation,  a  regulation  is  the  most 
appropriate instrument. 

3. 

• 

RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Ex-post evaluations of/fitness checks on existing legislation 

As required by Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 862/2007, the Commission submitted two 
reports to the European Parliament and the Council on the statistics compiled in accordance 
with the Regulation and on their quality14. A final consideration is that the data required under 
the  Regulation  should  reflect  users’  changing  needs,  while  also  taking  data  providers’ 

14 

COM(2015) 374 and COM (2012) 528 final. 

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capacity into account. This led to proposals for amendments to Regulation (EC) No 862/2007, 
to add new, specific disaggregations.  

The two reports concerned examined existing data against the even more specific and detailed 
quality criteria for European statistics provided for by Regulation (EC) No 223/200915. They 
concluded that the data required under Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 need to be improved to 
meet  those  quality  criteria,  particularly  relevance,  punctuality  and  timeliness.  To  respond 
precisely,  Eurostat  has  started  with  voluntary  data  collections  that  have  confirmed  the  need 
for  more  timely  and  disaggregated  data.  On  the  basis  of  these  voluntary  collections,  the 
envisaged proposal responds directly and precisely to the needs identified.  

The most recent developments in the migratory crisis have made it clearer than ever that the 
frequency  and  the  level  of  disaggregation  of  statistics  provided  for  in  Regulation  (EC)  No 
862/2007 in its current form are no longer sufficient for the purpose of policy monitoring, as 
explained in the Commission communication ‘Progress Report on the Implementation of the 
European  Agenda  on  Migration’  16.  As  regards  data  frequency,  for  instance,  annual  data  on 
returns of third-country nationals collected by Eurostat are not sufficiently frequent for close 
monitoring  of  developments  in  the  area  of  return  policy.  The  inadequate  level  of  data 
disaggregation  and  information  gaps  as  regards  the  outcomes  for  children  including 
unaccompanied minors’ asylum procedures are examples of shortcomings in the data needed 
to  monitor  the  situation  of  this  especially  vulnerable  group  of  asylum  seekers.  Given  the 
important role in policy-making of the statistics covered by this regulation, it is important to 
have full coverage of all Member States and certainty of data transmissions, which voluntary 
collection  cannot  guarantee.  A  proposal  for  a  regulation  amending  Regulation  (EC)  No 
862/2009 is the only way to achieve these objectives. 

The conclusions set out in the 2012 and 2015 Commission reports are based on cooperation 
with  the  EU  countries’  national  authorities  over  more  than  a  decade.  The  drawbacks  of  the 
current  framework  have  been  assessed  in  close  cooperation  with  the  policy  Directorate-
Generals  concerned  -  mainly  Directorate-General  for  Migration  and  Home  Affairs  and 
Directorate-General for Justice, but also EU agencies active in the field of migration (EASO, 
FRONTEX  and  FRA)  -  and  in  various  settings  (face-to  face  meetings,  expert  groups  and 
statistical conferences). This assessment has involved other stakeholders, such as researchers, 
advocacy groups and international organisations. There have also been ongoing discussions of 
a  similar  nature  with  national  data  providers  represented  by  EU  countries’  home  affairs  or 
justice ministries or related national immigration authorities, at meetings of expert groups and 
elsewhere. 

In response to input received in the course of the above-mentioned discussions, Eurostat has 
developed  a  series  of  voluntary  data  collections  designed  to  start  filling  the  data  gaps 
identified.  It  has  taken  account  of  the  need  for  flexibility.  For  over  10  years,  at  10  expert 
group meetings, Eurostat has been discussing the problems arising from the limitations of the 
statistics  collected  under  Regulation  (EC)  No  862/2007.  The  documents  presented  at  these 

15 
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).  
16 
COM(2018) 250 final, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European 
Council and the Council, Progress report on the Implementation of the European Agenda on Migration (available 
only in English). 

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expert group meetings, as well as the agenda and the minutes of the discussions, are public. 
They can be found in the open access part of Circabc17, which contains the documents of the 
Expert  Group  on  Asylum,  Residence  Permits,  Enforcement  and  Migrant  Integration18.  This 
Expert Group comprises government experts working on asylum and managed migration area 
in home affairs ministries or national immigration authorities. Moreover, as early as 2009 the 
Directors-General of the Member States' National Statistical Institutes confirmed the need for 
such a development in stressing that the statistics covered by Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 
meet only part of policy needs for information.19 

This  initiative  will  make  EU  statistics  on  migration  more  relevant.  As  mentioned  above, 
migration  is  a  fast-changing  phenomenon  requiring  policies  that  can  adapt  quickly  to  new 
needs. This means that statistical information must be very flexible to stay relevant.  
The  European  Commission's  Knowledge  Centre  on  Migration  and  Demography  (KCMD)20 
has  also  acknowledged  the  limitations  of  the  current  legal  framework  on  various  occasions. 
Three  recent  KCMD  workshops  on  EU  migration  data  provided  Commission  Directorates-
General with the opportunity to discuss data gaps in migration statistics and to contribute to a 
discussion  paper,  ‘Towards  an  EU  policy  on  migration  data’.  This  paper  identified  possible 
action that can be taken to close such gaps.  

Finally,  Eurostat  was  also  very  actively 
the  International 
Recommendations  on  Refugee  Statistics,  which  have  recently  been  adopted  by  the  UN 
Statistical  Commission.  The  international  standards  recommended  by  the  expert  group 
developing  these  recommendations  include  a  call  for  more  detailed  data  on  asylum  seekers 
and refugees, including unaccompanied minors. 

in  developing 

involved 

The  improvements  in  the  envisaged  proposal  take  account  of  the  fact  that  most  national 
authorities already voluntarily send data to Eurostat on all the areas covered by the proposed 
amendments, or have said they are willing to do so. Updated tables setting out the data sent to 
Eurostat are regularly presented at Expert Group meetings.  

The  proposed  changes  should  not  significantly  increase  the  burden  on  the  various  national 
authorities,  as  they  are  based  on  the  existing  voluntary  collection  of  data.  Moreover,  these 
data are already generally available in the national authorities’ administrative sources. 

• 

Stakeholder consultations 

Considering that the proposed amendment of Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 would not have 
any  significant  impact  on  society  or  the  economy  (see  the  explanation  below),  the 
Commission (Eurostat) consulted the European Statistical System Committee, as the national 

https://circabc.europa.eu/w/browse/1977c9be-d5af-452a-9bf4-3b5e888fa35d 

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/1001617/4339944/malta-declaration.pdf/b83b3965-27f0-47af-

17 
Circabc  (Communication  and  Information  Resource  Centre  for  Administrations,  Businesses  and 
Citizens)  is  an  application  used  to  create  collaborative  workspaces  where  communities  of  users  can  work 
together over the web and share information and resources. 
18 
English). 
19 
8b3f-5c84735b91bc (available only in English). 
20 
The KCMD Steering Group consists of: JRC and DG HOME (co-chairs), SG, DG DEVCO, DG ECHO, 
DG RTD, DG ESTAT, EPSC and EEAS. JRC is running its daily activities. Directorates-General associated to 
the work of KCMD are, CLIMA, ECFIN, EAC, EMPL, JUST, NEAR, REGIO, COMM, as well as SG. KCMD 
strategic partners include, amongst others, the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), the 
Organisation  for  Economic  Cooperation  and  Development  (OECD)  and  the  International  Organization  for 
Migration (IOM) – Global Migration Data Analysis Centre (GMDAC). 

(available 

only 

in 

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statistical institutes (NSIs) are responsible for coordinating all activities relating to European 
statistics at national level.  
Moreover, as the main policy user of statistics on migration and international protection, the 
Commission’s  Directorate-General  for  Migration  and  Home  Affairs  has  been  consulted 
several times and has also provided valuable feedback. 
The highest priorities are: to  increase the frequency  of statistics  on obligations to  leave  and 
returns  from  annual  to  quarterly,  while  introducing  additional  disaggregations;  adding  new 
disaggregations  of  asylum  statistics  by  unaccompanied  minors;  amending  statistics  on 
resettlements;  and  introducing  statistics  on  first-time  asylum  applicants,  new  statistics  on 
Dublin re-examination requests, and amendments to statistics on residence permits. 

Given the strictly limited nature of this proposal, it was not considered necessary to involve 
any other body. 

• 

Collection and use of expertise 

The proposed amendments are largely based on existing voluntary data collections conducted 
by most national authorities. During the stages of development, implementation and voluntary 
data collection numerous exchanges with experts from national statistical authorities led to the 
selection  of  practicable  methodological  and  technical  solutions.  Subsequently  the  processes 
were fine-tuned and optimised so as to respond best to both policy needs and relevance on the 
one  hand,  and  to  data  availability  at  national  level  on  the  other.  The  amendments  detailed 
below incorporate these tried-and-tested choices into EU acquis. 

• 

Impact assessment 

No  impact  assessment  was  conducted,  as  the  proposal  does  not  have  significant  economic, 
social or environmental consequences and imposes no additional burden on businesses or the 
public. 

The  initiative  is  designed  mainly  to  amend  Regulation  (EC)  No  862/2007  providing  a  legal 
basis for the existing voluntary data collections, while providing the requisite flexibility with 
a  view  to  future  data  needs.  In  particular,  it  does  not  involve  any  changes  to  the  themes  or 
subject matter of the statistics already collected under this Regulation. 

The vast majority of EU national authorities already provide or have expressed their readiness 
to  provide  the  statistics  requested  in  the  envisaged  amendments  on  a  voluntary  basis. 
Consequently,  it  is  concluded  that  these  data are  already  generally  available  in  the Member 
States’ administrative sources. 

• 

Regulatory fitness and simplification 

Regular evaluation of the existing legal framework concludes that the data required under the 
Regulation should reflect changing user needs, while also taking into account the capacity of 
the data providers. This has resulted in proposals that the Regulation be amended through the 
addition of new disaggregations. In this way, voluntary data collections have been developed 
further, and the need for flexibility has been taken into account. The amendments should not 
result in a significant burden increase, as they are based on the existing voluntary collections 
and the data are already generally available in the Member States’ administrative sources.  

The transmission of data proposed in the amendment entails only negligible additional costs 
and  burden  for  the  Member  States;  the  continuous  exchange  of  experience  and  practice 
between national data providers in the course of expert group meetings over many years has 

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lightened  burdens.  Significant  improvements  in  transmission  methods  have  been  achieved 
over  time,  reducing  the  effort  needed  to  prepare  and  supply  data.  Among  other  actions, 
Eurostat  has  implemented  data  transmission  formats  that  enable  national  data  providers  to 
extract  data  directly  from  their  databases  (thereby  avoiding  time-consuming  manual  data 
compilations  in  Excel  format)  and  provide  them  via  automated  transmission  tools  including 
standardised and automated validation procedures.  

Instant  quality  feedback  diminishes  the  effort  required,  as  it  leads  to  situations  in  which 
Member  States  have  to  provide  data  once  only,  rather  than  having  to  come  back  to  it 
repeatedly. This has led to efficiency gains and significantly reduced multiple transmissions 
on  account  of  errors  found  in  the  data  provided.  These  efficiency  gains,  which  have 
materialised  at  national  level,  have  reduced  exchanges  between  national  data  providers  and 
the  burden  on  them.  Feedback  from  the  countries  concerned  collected  at  expert  group 
meetings  and  at  the  working  level  shows  that  these  improvements  are  considered  to  have 
reduced both labour and costs for data-providing entities.  

The Member States have already set up their data provision mechanisms based on Regulation 
(EC)  No  862/2007.  The  approach  of  remaining  within  this  structure  for  the  inclusion  of 
current  needs,  and  for  the  future-oriented  flexibility  mechanism,  minimises  the  additional 
burden on data providers by keeping the same methodological framework. 

• 

Fundamental rights 

By  improving  completeness,  accuracy,  timeliness  and  certainty  with  respect  to  the  existing 
voluntary  transmissions  of  data  by  national  authorities,  and  by  providing  an  embedded 
flexibility for further improvements to migration statistics, with a view to improve the quality 
and  relevance  of  European  statistics  in  this  area  for  the  purpose  of  policy-making  and 
evaluation,  the proposal supports the implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of 
the EU, and in particular Article 18 (Right to asylum), Article 19 (Protection in the event of 
removal, expulsion or extradition) and Article 24 (The rights of the child). 

Moreover,  the  most  relevant  considerations  for  this  proposal  are  the  possible  effects  on 
personal data protection (for which rights are laid down by Article 8 (Protection of personal 
data)  of  the  Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights  of  the  EU,  Article  16  TFEU,  and  in  secondary 
legislation21).  None  of  the  provisions,  however,  envisage  any  change  in  provisions  on 
personal data protection. Existing obligations for NSIs and related guarantees and safeguards 
under national and EU legislation on data protection in the area of statistics remain applicable. 
These  provide for a robust  legal  framework covering  all aspects  relevant  to  data  protection, 
such  as  safeguarding  respondent  confidentiality,  anonymising  records  and  protecting  replies 
to questionnaires where applicable. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

The proposal has no implications for the EU budget. 

21 
Regulation  (EU)  2016/679  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  27  April  2016  on  the 
protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such 
data,  and  repealing  Directive  95/46/EC  (General  Data  Protection  Regulation)  (OJ  L  119,  4.5.2016,  p.  1)  and 
Regulation  (EC)  No  45/2001  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  18  December  2000  on  the 
protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies 
and on the free movement of such data (OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1). 

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5. 

• 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements 

As  the  proposed  amendments  are  based  on  the  existing  voluntary  data  transmissions, 
implementation would be limited to including the new provisions in the legislation, and will 
be monitored as legally required.  

Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 stipulates that the Commission must, once every 
three  years  from  2012  onwards,  submit  a  monitoring  and  evaluation  report  to  the  European 
Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the  statistics  compiled  in  accordance  with  to  this  regulation 
and on their quality. The Commission adopted the latest Report on migration and international 
protection statistics on 30 July 201522, and the next is due by August 2018. 

• 

Explanatory documents (for directives) 

Not applicable. 

• 

Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal 

On the basis of feedback from our stakeholders, in particular from the Directorate-General for 
Migration and Home Affairs, the immediate priorities based on the most serious existing gaps 
were established as: 

increasing  the  frequency  of  statistics  on  returns  and  obligations  to  leave  from  annual  to 
quarterly, while introducing additional disaggregations; 

new disaggregations of asylum statistics by unaccompanied minors; and 

adding  new  disaggregations  of  resettlement  statistics;  introducing  statistics  on  first-time 
asylum applicants and new statistics on Dublin re-examination requests; and introducing new 
disaggregations of statistics on residence permits. 

The  needs  expressed  by  stakeholders  could  be  met  by  a  limited  amendment  to  Regulation 
(EC) No 862/2007, based to a large extent on existing voluntary data collections, combined 
with  the  introduction  of  flexibility  so  that  new  and  emerging  data  needs  can  be  addressed 
more rapidly in future. 

The proposal does not change the essence of Regulation (EC) No 862/2007, as it amends no 
more than absolutely necessary to achieve its limited objectives. 

It is therefore proposed that certain provisions of Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 be amended 
or replaced as follows: 

Article 4: 

For statistics  on international  protection,  the amendment provides  for the introduction  of an 
unaccompanied  minor  disaggregation,  the  introduction  of  new  statistics  on  Dublin  're-
examination  requests'  and  'first-time  asylum  applicants',  and  the  introduction  of  requested 
disaggregations by 'country of residence' and 'type of asylum decision' for persons subject to a 
resettlement scheme. 

Article 6: 

22 COM (2015) 374.  

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For statistics on residence permits, the amendment provides for further disaggregations by age 
and sex, which are also needed. In addition, breakdown of the number of long-term residents 
by type of long-term status is introduced. 

Article 7: 

For  statistics  on  third-country  nationals  found  to  be  illegally  present  in  the  territory  of  the 
Member  State  who  are  subject  to  an  administrative  or  judicial  decision  or  an  act  stating  or 
declaring  that  their  stay  is  illegal  and  imposing  an  obligation  to  leave  the  territory  of  the 
Member State, and for statistics on third-country nationals who have left the territory of the 
Member State following an administrative or judicial decision or act, the amendment provides 
for a change in frequency from 'annual' to 'quarterly'.  

For  statistics  on  third-country  nationals  who  have  left  the  territory  of  the  Member  State 
concerned following an administrative or judicial decision or act, the amendment provides for 
the  introduction  of  three  disaggregations:  'Type  of  return  and  assistance  received',  'Type  of 
agreement procedure' and 'Country of destination'. 

Article 8 is deleted because it is obsolete. 

To ensure better availability of European statistics on asylum and managed migration and to 
ensure a flexibility mechanism, Article 10(1) is amended by empowering the Commission to 
adopt implementing acts for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions on disaggregations 
by specifying in further detail their content in line with Articles 4, 5, 6 and 7.  

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2018/0154 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
on Community statistics on migration and international protection 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 338(1) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, 

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

Regulation  (EC)  No  862/2007  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council23 
establishes  a  common  and  comparable  legal  framework  for  European  statistics  on 
migration and international protection. 

To  respond  to  new  needs  within  the  Union  for  statistics  on  asylum  and  managed 
migration,  and  whereas  the  characteristics  of  migration  are  subject  to  rapid  change, 
there is a need for a framework allowing quick response to changing needs as regards 
statistics on asylum and managed migration. 

To support the Union in responding effectively to the challenges posed by migration, 
there is a need for sub-annual frequency data on asylum and managed migration. 

Asylum and managed migration statistics are fundamental for the study, definition and 
evaluation of a wide range of policies, particularly as regards responses to the arrival 
of persons seeking protection in Europe. 

To  ensure  the  quality,  and,  in  particular,  the  comparability,  of  data  provided  by  the 
Member  States,  and  for  reliable  overviews  to  be  drawn  up  at  Union  level,  the  data 
used  should  be  based  on  the  same  concepts,  and  should  refer  to  the  same  reference 
date or period. 

(6) 

Data  provided  on  asylum  and  managed  migration  should  be  consistent  with  the 
relevant information collected pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 862/2007. 

23  Regulation  (EC)  No  862/2007  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  11 July  2007  on 
Community  statistics  on  migration  and  international  protection  and  repealing  Council  Regulation  (EEC) 
No 311/76 on the compilation of statistics on foreign workers (OJ L 199, 31.7.2007, p. 23). 

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(7) 

Regulation  (EC)  No  223/2009  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council24 
provides a reference framework for European statistics on migration and international 
protection.  In  particular,  it  requires  compliance  with  the  principles  of  professional 
independence,  impartiality,  objectivity,  reliability,  statistical  confidentiality  and  cost 
effectiveness. 

(8)  When  developing,  producing  and  disseminating  European  statistics,  the  national  and 
European  statistical  authorities,  and,  where  applicable,  other  relevant  national  and 
regional  authorities,  should  take  account  of  the  principles  set  out  in  the  European 
Statistics  Code  of  Practice,  as  reviewed  and  updated  by  the  European  Statistical 
System Committee on 28 September 2011. 

(9) 

The objective of this Regulation, namely to revise and complete the existing common 
rules  for  the  collection  and  compilation  of  European  statistics  on  migration  and 
international protection, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States acting 
individually. Rather, for reasons of harmonisation and comparability, it can be better 
achieved  at  Union  level.  The  EU  may  therefore  adopt  appropriate  measures,  in 
accordance  with  the  principle  of  subsidiarity  set  out  in  Article  5  of  the  Treaty  on 
European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that 
Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that 
objective. 

(10)  This  Regulation guarantees the right to  respect for private and family life and to  the 
protection  of  personal  data,  as  set  out  in  Articles  7  and  8  of  the  Charter  of 
Fundamental Rights of the European Union. 

(11)  To ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this regulation, implementing 
powers  should  be  conferred  on 
in  respect  of  specifying 
disaggregations.  Those  powers  should  be  exercised  in  accordance  with  Regulation 
(EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council(25). 

the  Commission 

(12)  Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 should therefore be amended accordingly. 

(13)  The European Statistical System Committee has been consulted, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 is amended as follows: 

(1) Article 4 is amended as follows: 

(a) In paragraph 1, the following point (d) is added:  

24 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). 

25 Regulation  (EU)  No  182/2011  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  16  February  2011  laying 
down  the  rules  and  general  principles  concerning  mechanisms  for  control  by  Member  States  of  the 
Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13). 

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‘(d)  persons  having  submitted  an  application  for  international  protection  or  having  been 
included in such an application as a family member during the reference period and applying 
for international protection for the first time.’ 

(b) The last subparagraph of paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: 

‘These statistics shall be disaggregated by age and sex and by the citizenship of the persons 
concerned,  and  by  unaccompanied  minors.  They  shall  relate  to  reference  periods  of  one 
calendar month and shall be supplied to the Commission (Eurostat) within two months of the 
end of the reference month. The first reference month shall be January 2020.’ 

(c) In paragraph 2, the last subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

‘These statistics shall be disaggregated by age and sex and by the citizenship of the persons 
concerned,  and  by  unaccompanied  minors.  They  shall  relate  to  reference  periods  of  three 
calendar months and shall be supplied to the Commission (Eurostat) within two months of the 
end of the reference period. The first reference period shall be January-March 2020.’ 

(d) In paragraph 3, point (a) is deleted. 

(e) In paragraph 3, the last subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

‘Statistics under points (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) and (g) shall be disaggregated by age and sex and 
by the citizenship of the persons concerned,  and by unaccompanied minors. In addition, for 
point  (g),  statistics  shall  be  disaggregated  by  the  country  of  residence  and  by  the  type  of 
asylum  decision.  They  shall  relate  to  reference  periods  of  one  calendar  year  and  shall  be 
supplied to the Commission (Eurostat) within three months of the end of the reference year. 
The first reference year shall be 2020.’ 

(f) In paragraph 4, point (d) is replaced by the following: 

‘(d) the numbers of transfers to which the decisions referred to in points (c) and (h) lead;’ 

(g) In paragraph 4, the following points (f), (g) and (h) are added: 

‘(f)  the  number  of  re-examination  requests  for  taking  back  and  taking  charge  of  an  asylum 
seeker;’ 

(g) the provisions on which the requests referred to in point (f) are based; 

(h) the decisions taken in response to the requests referred to in point (f).’ 

(e) In paragraph 4, the last subparagraph is replaced by the following: 
‘These statistics shall relate to reference periods of one calendar year and shall be supplied to 
the  Commission  (Eurostat)  within  three  months  of  the  end  of  the  reference  year.  The  first 
reference year shall be 2020.’ 

(2) Article 6 is amended as follows: 

(a) Paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: 

‘1. Member States shall supply to the Commission (Eurostat) statistics on: 

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(a) the number of residence permits issued to persons who are third-country nationals, 

disaggregated as follows: 

(i)  permits  issued  during  the  reference  period  whereby  the  person  is  being 
granted permission to reside for the first time, disaggregated by citizenship, by 
the reason for the permit being issued, by the length of validity of the permit, 
by age and by sex; 

(ii) permits issued during the reference period and granted on the occasion of a 
person  changing  immigration  status  or  reason  for  stay,  disaggregated  by 
citizenship, by the reason for the permit being issued, by the length of validity 
of the permit, by age and by sex; 

(iii) valid permits at the end of the reference period (number of permits issued, 
not withdrawn and not expired), disaggregated by citizenship, by the reason for 
the issue of the permit, by the length of validity of the permit, by age and by 
sex; 

(b) the number of long-term residents at the end of the reference period, disaggregated 

by citizenship, by type of long-term status, by age and by sex.’ 

(b) Paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: 

‘The statistics referred to in paragraph 1 shall relate to reference periods of one calendar year 
and  shall  be  supplied  to  the  Commission  (Eurostat)  within  six  months  of  the  end  of  the 
reference year. The first reference year shall be 2020.’ 

(3) Article 7 is amended as follows: 

(a) In paragraph 1, point (b) is replaced by the following: 

‘(b) the number of third-country nationals who have in fact left the territory of the Member 
State,  following  an  administrative  or  judicial  decision  or  act,  as  referred  to  in  point  (a), 
disaggregated by the citizenship of the persons returned, by the type of return and assistance 
received, and by the destination country.’ 

(b) Paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: 

‘2. The statistics referred to in paragraph 1 shall relate to reference periods of three calendar 
months and shall be supplied to the Commission (Eurostat) within two months of the end of 
the reference period. The first reference period shall be January to March 2020.’ 

(4) Article 8 is deleted. 

(5) Article 10 is amended as follows:  

(a) Paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: 

‘1. 
The Commission shall be empowered  to  adopt implementing  acts for the purpose of 
specifying disaggregations in line with Articles 4, 5, 6 and 7 and laying down the rules on the 
appropriate formats for the transmission of data as provided for in Article 9. 

These  implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  referred  to  in 
Article 11(2).’ 

(b) In paragraph 2, point (d) is deleted. 

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Article 2 

Entry into force and application 

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union. 

Article  4  paragraphs  (1)  and  (2)  and  Article  7  paragraph  (1)  point  (b)  and  paragraph  (2)  of 
Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 shall apply from 1 March 2020. 

Article 4 paragraphs (3) and (4) and Article 6 paragraphs (1) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 
862/2007 shall apply from 1 July 2020.  

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.  

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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