REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EC) 184/2005 on Community statistics concerning balance of payments, international trade in services and foreign direct investment
Date: 2025-07-22
Institutions: European Commission, Eurostat
Subjects: EU statistics, European Commission, balance of payments, delegated legislation, direct investment, foreign investment, international trade, powers of the institutions (EU), service, trade statistics

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 22.7.2025  COM(2025) 412 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EC) 184/2005 on Community statistics concerning balance of payments, international trade in services and foreign direct investment     
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission 
pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 184/2005 on Community statistics concerning balance 
of payments, international trade in services and foreign direct investment 

1.  INTRODUCTION 

Regulation (EU) 2016/1013 of the European Parliament and of the Council1 aligned, among 
other  things,  the  powers  conferred  on  the  Commission  by  Regulation  (EC)  No 184/20052 
with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). 

Under Regulation (EC) No 184/2005, as amended, the Commission can adopt delegated acts 
in accordance with Article 290 TFEU for the following purposes: 

➢ 

➢ 

➢ 

to update the geographical breakdown levels, institutional sector breakdown levels and 
economic  activity  breakdown  levels,  set  out  in  Tables  6,  7  and  8  of  its  Annex  I,  to 
reflect economic or technical changes (Article 2(3)); 

to eliminate or reduce certain requirements of data flows in its Annex I, provided that 
such an elimination or reduction does not reduce the quality of the statistics produced 
in accordance with that regulation (Article 2(3)); 

to extend the deadline for the report under Article 5(5) of that regulation as regards the 
findings of the pilot studies on foreign direct investment (FDI) statistics  based on the 
ultimate  ownership  concept  and  FDI  statistics  distinguishing  greenfield  FDI 
transactions from takeovers (Article 5(6)). 

When exercising these powers, the Commission should ensure that the delegated acts adopted 
under these provisions do not impose a significant additional burden on Member States or on 
the  respondent  units,  exceeding  what  is  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  Regulation  (EC) 
No 184/2005,  nor  modify  the  applicable  underlying  conceptual  framework.  Article 10(4)  of 
that  regulation  provides  for  systematic  consultations  of  Member  State  experts  by  the 
Commission  during  its  preparatory  work  on  delegated  acts,  in  accordance  with  the 
Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making3. Under Article 10(5) of 
that regulation, the Commission must notify the European Parliament and the Council as soon 
as it adopts a delegated act. 

1  Regulation  (EU)  2016/1013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  8 June  2016  amending 
Regulation (EC) No 184/2005 on Community statistics concerning balance of payments, international trade in 
services and foreign direct investment (OJ L 171, 29.6.2016, p. 144). 

2  Regulation  (EC)  No 184/2005  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  12 January  2005  on 
Community  statistics  concerning  balance  of  payments,  international  trade  in  services  and  foreign  direct 
investment (OJ L 35, 8.2.2005, p. 23). 

3 Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the 

European Commission of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making (OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1). 

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2.  LEGAL BASIS 

Under  Article 10(2)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 184/2005,  the  power  to  adopt  delegated  acts  is 
conferred on the Commission for a period of five years from 19 July 2021. The delegation of 
power is to be extended tacitly for periods of five years, unless the European Parliament or 
the  Council  opposes  such  an  extension  not  later  than  three  months  before  the  end  of  each 
period. 

The Commission is required to draw up a report on the delegation of power no later than nine 
months before the end of the five-year period. This report fulfils that obligation. 

3.  COMMISSION’S EXERCISE OF THE DELEGATION 

In a 2020 report4, the Commission reviewed the use of the delegation of powers during the 
first five years of application of Regulation (EC) No 184/2005. Since the entry into force of 
Regulation  (EU)  2016/1013,  the  Commission  has  adopted  one  delegated  act,  namely  the 
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/5055. This act, which is based on Article 2(3) 
of  Regulation  (EC)  No 184/2005,  updated  the  geographical  breakdown  levels  set  out  in 
Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 184/2005 to reflect economic and technical developments. 

During  the  following  period,  starting  on  19 July  2021  as  per  the  tacit  extension  of  the 
delegation of powers, it was considered that the existing regulatory framework underpinned 
the  statistical  and 
by  Regulation  (EC)  No 184/2005  was  fully  adequate 
methodological  needs  of  the  balance  of  payments,  international  trade  in  services,  and  FDI 
domains  during  the  reporting  period.  This  was  confirmed  through  extensive  consultations 
with  the  balance  of  payments  expert  group  and  other  relevant  expert  groups,  ensuring 
stakeholder involvement to monitor any potential need for delegated acts. 

to  meet 

On the other hand, the Commission exercised its power to adopt delegated acts conferred by 
Article 10  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 184/2005  to  adapt  references  to  the  classification  of 
economic activities (NACE) through Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/31046. 

4  European  Commission, Report  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the 
exercise  of  the  power  to  adopt  delegated  acts  conferred  on  the  Commission  pursuant  to  Regulation  (EC) 
184/2005 on Community statistics concerning balance of payments, international trade in services and foreign 
direct 
10.9.2020, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
490 
content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0490. 

COM(2020) 

investment, 

final, 

5  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2019/505  of  19 December  2018  amending  Annex  I  to  Regulation 
(EC)  No 184/2005  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council,  as  regards  the  geographical  breakdown 
levels (OJ L 85, 27.3.2019, p. 1). 

6  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2024/3104  of  2 September  2024  amending  Regulation  (EC) 
No 184/2005  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council,  as  regards  references  to  the  statistical 
classification  of  economic  activities  NACE  established  by  Regulation  (EC)  No 1893/2006  of  the  European 
ELI: 
Parliament 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2024/3104/oj). 

12.12.2024, 

2024/3104, 

Council 

and 

(OJ 

the 

L, 

of 

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4.  CONCLUSION 

Since  19 July  2021,  the  Commission  has  exercised  the  power  to  adopt  delegated  acts 
conferred  under  Regulation  (EC)  No 184/2005  to  adapt  references  to  the  classification  of 
economic activities (NACE). 

The  Commission  considers  that  it  should  retain  the  delegated  powers  provided  by  the 
Regulation. These powers remain essential to address potential future needs, such as updates 
to classifications, methodologies or variables, and to ensure that EU statistics in the fields of 
balance  of  payments,  international  trade  in  services  and  FDI  continue  to  meet  high  quality 
standards. 

The Commission invites the European Parliament and the Council to take note of this report. 

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