REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of Decision No 1608/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on science and technology statistics
Date: 2020-11-18
Institutions: European Commission, Eurostat
Subjects: EU statistics, applied sciences, data collection, information system, innovation, research and development, statistical method, technology

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 18.11.2020  COM(2020) 738 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of Decision No 1608/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on science and technology statistics  
 
 
1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Official statistics on science, technology and innovation in the European Union are based 
on Decision No 1608/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 July 
2003 concerning the production and development of Community statistics on science and 
technology1. 

Article 5  of  Decision  No 1608/2003/EC  (the  ‘Decision’)  requires  the  Commission  to 
present  a  report  to  the  European  Parliament  every  3  years  evaluating  the  Decision’s 
implementation. This is the fifth implementation report2 submitted by the Commission to 
the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  under  Article  5.  The  report  evaluates  the 
implementation  of  the  individual  statistical  actions  listed  in  Article 2  of  the  Decision. 
These  actions  are  aimed  at  establishing  a  statistical  information  system  on  science, 
technology and innovation to support and monitor EU policies. The report mainly covers 
developments since the previous report in 2018. 

The  Commission  implements  the  Decision  through  regulatory  measures  and  voluntary 
data  collections  in  the  EU  Member  States,  and  through  Eurostat’s  own  production  of 
statistics. 

In  2012,  the  Commission  adopted  Implementing  Regulation  (EU)  No 995/20123.  The 
Implementing  Regulation  lays  down  the  rules  for  the  Decision’s  implementation  and 
focuses in particular on statistics on:  

 

research and development (R&D);  

  government budget allocations for research and development (GBARD); 

 

innovation; and 

  other  relevant  aspects,  namely  human  resources  in  science  and  technology; 

patents; high-technology industries; and knowledge-based services. 

By specifying both the statistical units required and the uniform reporting standards, the 
Implementing  Regulation  also  makes  R&D  and  innovation  statistics  in  the  EU  more 
harmonised and strengthens the link of these statistics with European business statistics. 
The  statistics  collected  have  become  widely  quoted  reference  data  in  EU  policy 
monitoring. 

The  Decision  and  the  Implementing  Regulation  have  improved  statistics  on  R&D  and 
innovation, helping to implement the following EU actions: 

1  Decision No 1608/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 July 2003 concerning 
the  production  and  development  of  Community  statistics  on  science  and  technology  (OJ  L  230, 
16.9.2003, p. 1). 

2   The previous reports were COM(2007) 801, adopted on 14 December 2007; COM(2011) 184, adopted 
on  11 April  2011;  COM(2014)  211,  adopted  on  7 April  2014;  COM(2018)  769,  adopted  on  28 
November 2018. 

3  Commission  Implementing  Regulation  (EU)  No  995/2012  of  26 October  2012  laying  down  detailed 
rules  for  the  implementation  of  Decision  No  1608/2003/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  concerning  the  production  and  development  of  Community  statistics  on  science  and 
technology (OJ L 299, 27.10.2012, p. 18). 

 
 
                                                 
 

 

In June 2010, the European Council adopted the Europe 2020  strategy for jobs  and 
smart,  sustainable  and  inclusive  growth4.  One  of  the  strategy’s  five  EU  headline 
targets is to improve the conditions for innovation and R&D, with the aim of raising 
combined public and private R&D investment levels to 3% of GDP by 2020. 

In its Communication of 6 October 20105 on the innovation union flagship initiative, 
the  Commission  proposed  creating  additional  indicators  to  measure  the  intensity  of 
R&D  and  about  high-growth  innovative  companies.  It  also  proposed  creating  an 
annual  innovation  union  scoreboard6  to  monitor  overall  progress  in  innovation 
performance. In 2017 and 2019, the European Innovation Scoreboard was improved, 
using more insights from the EU’s 'Community Innovation Survey'7 (CIS). The 2020 
European Innovation Scoreboard was published on 23 June 2020. Data on R&D and 
innovation are the basis for the Commission’s reporting on sustainable development 
and on the European Research Area. Data on R&D expenditure are used for national 
accounting purposes.  

  Data on R&D and innovation are a basis for the Commission’s analysis of the EU’s 
performance  in  science,  research  and  innovation,  published  in  the  Commission’s 
report ‘Science, Research and Innovation Performance of the EU’ (SRIP). 

This  report  takes  stock  of  the  implementation  of  the  statistical  information  system  on 
science,  technology  and  innovation  (STI).  Chapter  2  of  the  report  focuses  on  the  most 
important  developments  in  the  implementation  of  measures.  Chapter  3  covers  data 
quality,  and  Chapter  4  looks  at  costs  and  statistical  burden.  Chapter  5  looks  ahead  to 
future developments. 

2. 

MOST IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS SINCE NOVEMBER 2018 

The  most  important  developments  in  the  implementation  of  measures  since  November 
2018 under Article 2 of the Decision are listed below: 

  On 27 November 2019, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation 
(EU)  2019/2152  on  European  business  statistics8,  covering,  amongst  other  things, 
European statistics on R&D and innovation. This Regulation will repeal the Decision 
with  effect  from  2021.  A  major  impact  of  Regulation  (EU)  2019/2152  is  a  better 
integration  of  different  branches  of  business  statistics  and  different  statistical 
production  systems.  This  will  improve  the  quality  of  the  data  and  lead  to  a  more 
efficient  production  of  data.  The  CIS  and  the  R&D  enterprise  survey  have  been 
reviewed  to  ensure  their  definitions  are  fully  compliant  with  the  general  definitions 
set out in Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 and which are used across European business 
statistics (e.g. in the Statistical Business Register and the Structural Business Survey). 
This makes the results more consistent and reduces the burden on respondents by re-

4  European Council conclusions of 17 June 2010. 
5  Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, Europe 2020 Flagship Initiative 
Innovation Union, COM(2010) 546. 

6   Renamed ‘European Innovation Scoreboard’ in 2016. 
7   A  survey  sent  to  businesses  across  Europe  every  2  years  to  assess  their  innovativeness,  and  obtain 

insights into which business environments are conducive to innovation. 

8   Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on 

European business statistics (OJ L 327, 17.12.2019, p. 1). 

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using information already available from other sources. Moreover, the alignment with 
other relevant data collections and national accounts standards makes it easier to use 
R&D and innovation data in cross-sectional reports. 

  European  statistics  on  R&D  and  GBARD  are  consistent  with  the  guidelines  in  the 
OECD’s  ‘Frascati  Manual  ─  Guidelines  for  Collecting  and  Reporting  on  Research 
and  Experimental  Development’.  This  enables  international  comparison  beyond  the 
EU.  In  2015,  the  OECD  released  a  new  version  of  the  Frascati  Manual  (FM2015). 
Subsequently, Eurostat, in close cooperation with the EU Member States, adapted its 
data collections on R&D and GBARD statistics to ensure continued alignment with 
the  guidelines  of  the  FM2015.  Eurostat  developed  methodological  guidelines  for 
issues  where  the  FM2015  leaves  choices  between  different  options  or  room  for 
interpretation.  These  methodological  guidelines  will  make  it  that  much  easier  to 
compare R&D and GBARD statistics across EU Member States.  

  European statistics on innovation are aligned with the ‘Oslo Manual ─ Guidelines for 
collecting and interpreting innovation data’. The Oslo Manual is co-published by the 
OECD and Eurostat. The fourth edition of the Oslo Manual was published late 2018. 
It better clarifies concepts used in innovation statistics and covers new topics related 
to  business  innovation.  To  make  the  most  of  this  new  edition  of  the  Oslo  Manual, 
Eurostat,  in  close  co-operation  with  the  EU  Member  States,  has  changed  the 
Community  Innovation  Survey  (CIS)  extensively.  The  CIS  now  better  reports  on 
innovation activities and capabilities, knowledge flows, external drivers and enablers, 
and  innovation  output,  including  on  innovations  with  environmental  benefits  (eco-
innovations).  In  addition,  Eurostat  has  re-designed  the  CIS  to  provide  more 
information on all enterprises, i.e. on both innovative enterprises and non-innovative 
enterprises.  This  will  help  policymakers  to  understand  better  what  distinguishes 
strong  innovators  from  weak  or  non-innovators,  and  to  design  appropriate  polices. 
These changes will increase the quality and policy relevance of the results. 

  Eurostat has technically improved the transmission of data on R&D and GBARD as 
well as data from the CIS. Data used to be sent via extensive Excel sheets but is now 
sent according to the statistical data and metadata exchange (SDMX) format. This has 
led to significant improvements in data transmission, which helps to shorten the time 
Eurostat  needs  to  validate  the  data.  This  also  has  the  potential  to  improve  the 
timeliness of data release in the future. 

  For European statistics on ‘human resources devoted to science and technology’ and 
‘gender-disaggregated  statistics  on  science  and  technology’,  Eurostat  has  reviewed 
the statistical production process to ensure full compliance with the data from the EU 
Labour Force Survey. 

  Apart from the areas mentioned above, the Decision requires new statistical variables 
to  be  developed  in  ‘patents  statistics’  and  ‘high-technology  statistics’.  The 
development  of  methodology  and  the  production  of  data  for  ‘high-technology 
statistics’ continues. For ‘patents and intellectual property rights (IPRs)’, Eurostat has 
discontinued its activities because the European Patents Office now publishes related 
data itself. 

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3. 

DATA QUALITY 

Statistics  must  be  sound  and  fit  for  purpose.  The  R&D  and  innovation  data  collections 
are undergoing a systematic quality review, which involves collecting quality reports and 
regularly monitoring compliance. 

The  European  Statistics  Code  of  Practice9  sets  the  standard  for  developing,  producing 
and disseminating European statistics. It covers 16 main principles, some of which relate 
to  the  general  institutional  conditions  (professional  independence  or  adequacy  of 
resources)  required  of  EU  Member  State  authorities  and  organisations  dealing  with 
statistics. These principles strengthen the overall quality of European statistics. The Code 
of Practice covers several quality principles relating directly to the STI surveys (such as 
accuracy,  coherence  and  comparability),  and  these  principles  are  monitored  through 
regular quality reporting. 

EU Member State compliance with the mandatory data-provision requirements has been 
very  satisfactory  overall.  However,  some  compliance  problems,  mainly  related  to  late 
data  delivery,  remain  in  isolated  cases.  Eurostat  has  been  annually  collecting  national 
quality  reports  on  R&D  and  GBARD  statistics  since  2007.  It  has  also  been  collecting 
national quality reports for each round of the CIS since 2004 (the CIS is released every 2 
years) and produces a synthesis of the CIS quality reports. Regulation (EU) No 995/2012 
made  quality  reporting  part  of  mandatory  data  provision  as  of  2013.  A  consultation 
between  data  producers  and  users  in  2017  confirmed  that  the  data  most  relevant  for 
national  and  EU  policy-making  are  covered  by  that  Regulation.  In  2018  and  2019, 
Eurostat  conducted  an  in-depth  consultation  on  the  process  for  collecting  R&D  and 
GBARD data and on the quality of this data, and discussed possible ways of improving 
this  with  EU  Member  States  during  the  Working  Group  on  ‘Science  Technology  and 
Innovation’ in November 2019. 

Data for optional variables or categories10 are not always delivered. EU Member States 
cite  cost,  high  burden  to  respondents  and  certain  characteristics  of  their  national  data 
production  systems  as  reasons  for  not  delivering  this.  Eurostat  continues  to  encourage 
EU  Member  States  to  provide  data  on  optional  variables  and  categories,  aiming  to 
receive consistent data across EU Member States and over time. Since the early 2000s, 
this data has become slowly but steadily more complete. Given that the drive to improve 
the completeness of optional variables and categories is a long process, the Commission 
will continue its policy of providing guidance and support to increase completeness. 

For R&D statistics, Eurostat and the EU Member States continue to work to ensure that 
data  are  collected  for  all  organisations  engaged  in  R&D,  regardless  of  their  size  or  the 
economic  sector  they  are  in.  Moreover,  where  EU  Member  States  provide  estimates, 
Eurostat regularly assesses their quality. 

9 

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/4031688/8971242/KS-02-18-142-EN-N.pdf.  The  European 
Statistics  Code  of  Practice  was  endorsed  by  the  Statistical  Programme  Committee  on  24 February 
2005. It was revised by the European Statistical System Committee (ESSC) on 28 September 2011 and 
again on 16 November 2017. 

10   Variables, or particular categories within variables, that are part of the European R&D and CIS data 

collections, but are not covered by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 995/2012. 

4 

 
 
                                                 
4. 

COST AND BURDEN 

Eurostat has made several attempts in the past to collect data on the cost and burden of 
collecting STI data. Eurostat has requested that exact  figures be included in  the quality 
reporting,  but  it  has  proved  difficult  to  obtain  consistent  data  allowing  comparison  or 
evaluation of the overall costs. Many EU Member States have pointed out that it will not 
be  possible  to  separate  the  cost  of  compiling  European  R&D  and  innovation  statistics 
from the cost of compiling other European business statistics or from the cost of similar 
activities  that  serve  mainly  national  information  needs.  Where  data  are  available, 
reporting  methodologies  vary  between  EU  Member  States  and  between  institutions 
within  EU  Member  States.  These  variations  preclude  meaningful  comparison  or 
publication of the individual cost estimates. 

However,  on  various  occasions  in  recent  years,  national  statistical  authorities  have 
reported a lack of resources, raising serious concerns about their ability to meet existing 
or new European data requirements. Priority setting is therefore more crucial than ever, 
for existing and planned statistical operations alike. 

To  limit  the  cost  of  producing  statistics,  the  overall  requirements  in  Regulation  (EU) 
2019/2152  on European Business  Statistics are being kept  at  the current  level.  Eurostat 
has  also  taken  action  to  increase  cost  efficiency  and  relevance.  A  sample  selection  of 
what it has done is described below. 

  Between  2016  and  2020,  Eurostat  better  integrated  the  CIS  data  collection  into 
business  statistics,  making  it  possible  to  reuse  information  already  available  from 
other statistics. 

  Eurostat has revised the concepts used in the R&D business survey and in particular 
in  the  CIS  to  correspond  to  accounting  conventions  and  common  practices  in 
business. This makes reporting by businesses easier and increases the quality of the 
data.  

  Eurostat has promoted more efficiency in a variety of ways. For example, it has set 
technical transmission standards. It has also set common rules and procedures for the 
validation of data. This has made producing statistics more efficient in EU Member 
States and at Eurostat. 

5. 

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS 

A major goal for the future development of EU statistics on science and technology will 
be to further strengthen the link between these statistics and other business statistics. To 
achieve  this,  R&D,  GBARD  and  innovation  statistics  are  included  in  Regulation  (EU) 
2019/2152 on European Business Statistics. This will make the data more consistent and 
easier to compare and help to reduce cost and burden at the same time. 

During the Working Group on ‘Science Technology and Innovation’ in November 2019, 
Eurostat  and  the  EU  Member  States  agreed  that  the  2020  CIS  would  provide  data  on 
innovations with environmental benefits and data on the perceived relevance of climate 
change for businesses. This data is highly relevant for ‘The European Green Deal’. 

5 

 
 
 
The continued internationalisation of R&D, innovation, and other business activities pose 
additional  challenges  for  compiling  science,  technology  and  innovation  (STI)  statistics, 
and  will  continue  to  pose  challenges  in  the  future.  These  challenges  include  both 
obtaining new statistical data on internationalisation and mastering business surveys in a 
more globalised (and therefore more complex) world. 

Eurostat and the EU Member States will work closely together to make better use of the 
CIS  data  in  the  future.  This  work  will  not  increase  the  burden  on  survey  respondents. 
Eurostat and the EU Member States are working on projects that aim to: 

 

report  on  different  innovation  profiles  of  enterprises  (e.g.  ‘strategic  innovator’, 
‘adaptor’,  ‘weak or non-innovator’). This  would  make it possible to  show which of 
these  innovation  profiles  are  more  common  in  each  country.  For  example,  it  could 
show  what  percentage  of  the  businesses  in  a  country  are  'strategic  innovators',  and 
what  percentage  are  'adaptors'.  Moreover,  it  will  be  possible  to  identify  the 
characteristics of the different profiles. The aim is to provide policymakers with more 
differentiated insight into what drives or hampers innovation.  

  better  measure  the  outcomes  of  innovation  by  linking  CIS  data  to  time-lagged  data 
from  the  Statistical  Business  Register  and  the  Structural  Business  Survey.  This 
activity can improve statistical information about start-ups and scale-ups11.  

  support the production of regional CIS data. 

The projects will be combined to make the most of synergies. 

As was the case with the R&D and GBARD data, EU Member States will transmit CIS 
data via SDMX in the future. This will increase the efficiency, flexibility and timeliness 
of data transmission. 

Eurostat and the EU Member States will improve the provision of metadata and quality 
reports for R&D and GBARD statistics. 

Eurostat and the EU Member States will seek further measures to increase the timeliness 
of estimates for key indicators from the CIS. 

These  developments  will  take  account  of  the  increasingly  vital  role  of  research  and 
innovation  in  coping  with  the  challenges  that  lie  ahead,  as  outlined  in  the  following 
examples: 

  Under  ‘The  European  Green  Deal’,  the  von  der  Leyen  Commission  has  set  the 
ambition  of  transforming  the  EU’s  economy  and  putting  it  on  a  new  path  of 
sustainable growth. To achieve this, the European Commission has designed a set of 
deeply transformative policies, ensuring that sustainability is a mainstream part of all 
EU  policies12.  The  Commission  has  proposed  several  instruments,  like  the  new 
Horizon  Europe  programme,  proposals  mentioned  in  the  Sustainable  Europe 
Investment  Plan,  and  the  InvestEU  Programme13.  An  important  aspect  of  ensuring 
that  sustainability  is  always  taken  into  account  is  to  mobilise  research  and  foster 

11   Companies that are too old to be classified as start-ups but that experience strong growth. 
12   COM(2019) 640 final. 
13    Section 2.2.1 of COM(2019) 640 final. 

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innovation14. To formulate and implement related policies requires high-quality data 
on  R&D  and  innovation,  including  data  related  to  innovation  with  environmental 
benefits. 

  The  von  der  Leyen  Commission  has  presented  its  ambition  of  shaping  Europe’s 
digital future. The Commission is working on a digital transformation, based on three 
pillars: technology that works for people; a fair and competitive digital economy; an 
open,  democratic  and  sustainable  society.  Research  and  innovation  in  digital 
technologies and their application are a key aspect of the digital transformation, and 
data on R&D and business innovation are needed to support related policymaking.  

 

In  March  and  April  2019,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  reached  a 
provisional agreement on Horizon Europe. The European Commission is proposing a 
the  EU’s  scientific  and 
budget  of  around  EUR 100  billion 
technological  bases  and  the  European  Research  Area  (ERA);  boost  the  EU’s 
innovation capacity, competitiveness and jobs; and deliver on citizens’ priorities and 
sustain the EU’s socio-economic model and values. 

to:  strengthen 

  The  Commission’s  Proposal  for  the  revised  multiannual  financial  framework  2021-
2027, adopted on 28 May 202015, underlines that research and innovation will remain 
a priority for EU policymaking in the years to come. 

6. 

CONCLUSION 

This  report  evaluates  the  implementation  of  actions  listed  in  Article 2  of  Decision  No 
1608/2003/EC,  which  is  aimed  at  creating  a  statistical  information  system  on  science, 
technology and innovation. The most important developments since 2018 have been: (i) a 
better  integration  of  R&D  and  innovation  statistics  into  European  business  statistics  in 
order to improve the quality of the data and produce the data with greater efficiency; (ii) 
the adaptation of the data collection on R&D to the 2015 edition of the Frascati Manual; 
(iii)  the  review  of  the  CIS  to  increase  the  quality  and  policy  relevance  of  the  survey’s 
results  and  align  it  with  the  latest  edition  of  the  Oslo  Manual;  and  (iv)  a  technically 
improved  transmission  of  the  data  (SDMX  format).  The  constant  monitoring  of  the 
compliance and quality of R&D and CIS statistics required by EU legislation shows that 
the quality of the data Eurostat publishes is good. Eurostat, in cooperation with the EU 
Member  States,  is  taking  several  measures  to  increase  cost  efficiency  and  reduce  the 
administrative burden of producing these statistics, and to increase their completeness. 

14   Section 2.2.3 of COM(2019) 640 final. 
15   COM(2020) 443 final. 

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