CELEX: 51995PC0287
Language: en
Date: 1995-06-27
Title: Draft COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) on statistics on the structure and distribution of earnings

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                    Brussels, 27.06.1995
                                    C()M(95)287 final
                                       95/0171(CNS)
                          Draft
            COUNCIL REGULATION (EC)
on statistics on the structure and distribution of earnings
            (proposed by the Commission )
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                       EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1. In order to carry out its tasks in the field of economic and social affairs,
   particularly with regard to employment and working conditions, the Commission
   needs to have at its disposal comparable data on the distribution and structure of
   earnings in the European Union. This is why, pursuant to Council Regulations,
   four Community surveys directly relating to this matter were carried out between
    1966 and 1978 in the areas of industry, commerce, banking and insurance. The
   results of these surveys, which were published by Eurostat, were very much
   appreciated by the departments within the Commission, the national governments,
   the economic and social sectors and researchers, and served as a basis for labour-
   market analyses.
2. Despite the fact that various factors - the main one being the considerable burden
    on the national statistical offices - meant that these surveys were discontinued at
    Community level, some Member States nevertheless continued to carry out
    surveys of this kind. There is still a current need for such data. Various
    departments in the Commission have pointed out to Eurostat the need to have
    information available on the structure and distribution of earnings at European
    level. In response to the proposal made by Eurostat, all Member States gave their
   backing to a survey on the structure of earnings based on accounting data for
    1995.
3.  In line with the decisions taken at the Essen summit, the Member States of the
    European Union have taken measures to put in place various action programmes
    concerning in particular, labour-market flexibility, job-creation and fighting
    unemployment. In order to set out more clearly the context in which these policies
    are being implemented and to provide the means for a follow-up to the national
    employment programmes, the departments of the Commission will in the coming
    years need to have statistical information available on the various aspects of
    earnings.
4.  In keeping with the principle of subsidiarity, responsibility for the overall planning
    of a survey on the structure of earnings at EU level is shared between the
    Commission and the Member States. The aim is to achieve harmonization of
    concepts and classifications in the data collected, and to identify the information
    required by the principal users, i.e. Community institutions, national governments,
    regional and local authorities, international organizations, employers' associations,
    trade unions and research bodies. The actual collection of data and the methods
    used to do this are the responsibility of the Member States.
 ---pagebreak--- 5. It is not intended that all businesses be covered as part of an exhaustive survey,
   but rather that a representative sample be taken. Accordingly iri countries with
   sufficient sources of statistical data, especially data gathered by public authorities,
   it will acceptable for such data to be used (or possibly set out in a simplified form
   on questionnaires), provided that this approach is compatible with the definitions
   and methodology being used and meets all requirements concerning variables.
6. The legal basis for the survey ensures that a common set of variables will be
   available which have been collected and processed using harmonized classification
   systems and methodology. Legislation in this field has proved necessary because
   the proposed survey extends beyond the scope of existing national surveys.
   Legislation at EU level is thus necessary both for carrying out the survey and for
   the required adjustments to be made to national laws.
7. The basic aim of statistics on the structure of earnings is to bring out the
   relationship, in statistical terms, between earnings and certain characteristics of
   wage-earners (sex, level of education, professional qualifications, age, type of
    employment contract, length of service, etc.) and of the business or kind-of-
    activity unit employing them (economic activity, size, region, etc.). In addition,
    these statistics provide information on the distribution of individual earnings and
    on differences in earnings between the various categories of wage-earner; they also
    help to establish the extent to which differences in earnings levels between
    different economic activities and different countries are attributable to differences
    in the structure of the workforce. Finally, these statistics play a key role in
   Eurostat's system of statistics in that they provide a means of assessing the degree
    of comparability of harmonized earnings data and serve as a basis for the possible
    use of weightings in other surveys.
8.  The main aim of compiling statistics on the structure of earnings is to provide
    comparable good-quality information on all EU Member States. There is currently
    a lack of such data, even though they are indispensable for defining and assessing
    the effect of social policies and measures on the labour market at both national and
    EU level. For example, the lack of comparable data on the structure of earnings
    makes it difficult to assess employment policies aimed at various categories of
    employee in the EU, such as young people.
9.  The Commission has been behind a number of initiatives aimed at combatting
    discrimination as regards earnings, in particular the Directive on equal treatment
    between men and women and the Commission Opinion on an equitable wage,
    which was presented in September 1993. In this Opinion, the Commission
    considered that appropriate measures had to be taken to improve the quality of
    information available at Community level with respect to the structure of earnings.
    As regards the matter of equal pay for men and women, it was important to carry
    out comparisons in terms of the individual characteristics of the individuals
    concerned (e.g. profession, similar areas of activity and lengths of service).
 ---pagebreak--- 10   Following the adoption by the Member States of a Community Charter of
     Fundamental Social Rights of Workers, the Commission presented a number of
     initiatives, some of which related to employment contracts and measures to
     combat distortion of competition. The reasons for these measures and the follow-
     up work on the impact of this legislation make it necessary to have better
     monitoring of developments as regards earnings, particularly in relation to the
     nature of employment contracts and hours worked.
11.  The initial surveys which were carried out looked only at industry; subsequent
     surveys also covered wholesale and retail trade, banking and insurance. However,
     the increase in jobs in the services sector means that it too must be better covered
     by statistical surveys. The attention which the White Paper gives to the services
     and tourism sectors as sources of new jobs also serves to confirm this. This is why
     Eurostat proposed that the scope of the survey be extended to cover all economic
     activity. Such blanket coverage has, however, proved extremely difficult for some
     Member States. Therefore, the following sections of NACE Rev. 1, which are
      referred to in the draft Regulation, have been declared priority areas for those
      countries unable to carry out surveys covering the entire economy: C to E (all
      industries), F (construction), G (commerce), H (hotels and restaurants), I
      (transport and telecommunications), J (finance) and K (real estate, letting and
      leasing and business services). This choice of areas takes account of the
      Commission's current priorities as regards the compilation of statistics on the
      services sector. While covering the traditional aspects of earnings in the same way
      as in the past, the new survey which is proposed will also cover some aspects for
      the first time, such as type of employment contract, level of education, existence of
      collective agreements, etc.
 12.  The "Earnings Statistics" working party has urged that a decision giving the go-
      ahead for this statistical information to be gathered be taken as quickly as possible
      in order to allow the businesses and local units to be included in the sample to
       make the necessary arrangements enabling them to respond to the questionnaires
       from 1995 onwards. The Statistical Programme Committee, which met on 1 and 2
      December 1994 in Luxembourg, gave a favourable opinion on this draft
       Regulation.
 13.   To this end, the Commission submits the attached draft Regulation for the
       approval of the Council.
 ---pagebreak---                                                          DRAFT COUNCIL REGULATION (EG
on statistics on the structure and distribution of earnings
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 213
thereof,
Having regard to the draft Regulation submitted by the Commission,
Whereas, in order to carry out the tasks assigned to it, the Commission must be kept informed
of the position and trend of earnings in the countries of the European Community with regard,
on the one hand, to their variations in terms of the structure of the labour force and on the other
hand to the distribution of employees according to earnings level;
Whereas the development of the European Community and the operation of the internal market
increase the need for comparable data on the structure of earnings, particularly as a means of
analysing the progress of economic and social cohesion and for establishing reliable comparisons
between the Member States and the regions of the European Community;
Whereas the best method of assessing the situation as regards the structure and distribution of
 earnings is to carry out Community surveys of the structure of earnings using harmonised
 methods and definitions, as was done in 1966, 1972, 1974 and 1978 pursuant to Council
Regulations (EEC) No 188/64, 2395/71, 178/74 and 494/781;
Whereas, owing to the changes which occur in the structure of the labour force and in the
 distribution of earnings, particularly as regards economic activities, the results of the earlier
 surveys are no longer up-to-date and do not cover all the countries of the European
 Community;
 Whereas the data currently available for the Member States as a whole supply only averages and
 are not therefore likely to provide any indication either of the relationship between earnings and
 the individual characteristics of wage earners (particularly age, sex, professional status, length of
 service) or of the spread of earnings;
 Whereas statistical information in this field is available only in certain Member States and
 therefore valid comparisons cannot be made and, consequently, the surveys of the structure of
 earnings must be carried out on the basis of common definitions and harmonised methodologies;
 Whereas, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, the creation of common statistical
 standards enabling harmonised information to be produced is action which can only be
 effectively undertaken at Community level and these will be implemented in each Member State
 on the authority of the agencies and institutions appointed to compile official statistics;
          Regulation No 188/64 EEC, OJ No 214, 24.12.1964, p. 3634/64
          Regulation (EEC) No 2395/71, OJ No L249, 10.11.1971, p. 52
          Regulation (EEC) No 178/74, OJ No L21, 25.01.1974, p. 2
          Regulation (EEC) No 495/78, OJ No L68, 10.03.1978, p. 3
 ---pagebreak--- Whereas the conduct of a survey of the structure of earnings at Community level is one of the
priority actions in the Statistical Programme 1993 to 19972;
Whereas it may be acceptable for the countries which have administrative sources or other
appropriate statistical sources to use these or perhaps link them up with a simplified
questionnaire if this method is compatible with the definitions and methods approved and
corresponds to the whole set of variables required;
Whereas the Statistical Programme Committee established by Council Decision 89/382
(EEC/ Euratom)3 has reached a favourable conclusion to the Commission proposal.
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION
 2
          Council Decision No 93/464/EEC, OJ No L 219, 28.8.1993, p. 1
 3
          OJL 181,28.6.1989, p.47
                                                   r
 ---pagebreak---                                            Article 1
                                       Gêner»! provisions
The Member States shaD undertake a Community statistical survey on the structure and
distribution of all employées' earnings that shall be aimed at employees in the economic activities
defined in Article 3.
                                           Article 2
                                       Reference period
The survey shall be carried out on the basts of statistical information for thefinancialyear of
1995 and for a corresponding representative month.
                                           Article 3
                                        Survey coverage
The survey shall cover all activities defined in sections C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J and K of the
Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community, hereinafter referred to as
M
  NACE Rev. 1" established by Council Regulation (EEC) No 3037/90 of 9 October I9904 and
amended by Commission Regulation (EEC) No 761/93 of 24 March 1993s.
                                           Article 4
                                         Survey Units
Collection of data and compilation of statistics on the structure and distribution of earnings shall
be based on a sample drawn in respect of any of the statistical units defined in the Council
Regulation (BEC) N° 696793* and which provides information for a sample of employees in
local units of 10 and more employees classified by size and principal activity.
4
         OJ No L 293, 24.10.1990, p. 1
5
         OJNoLS3,3.4J993,p.l
         OJ No L76, 30.3.1993, p. 1
                                               • 6
 ---pagebreak---                                              Article 5
                       Characteristics of the required information
Data shall be collected on:
1.    The local unit to which the sampled employees are attached:
      the region of workplace, size, economic activity classified according to NACE Rev. 1, the
      form of financial and economic control within the meaning of the Commission Directive
      EEC N° 723/80 and the type of collective pay agreement in force.
2.    Each employee in the sample:
a)    gross earnings for a complete pay period for the reference month, including the various
      bonuses regularly paid, additional payments for overtime, shift work, night work,
      weekend work and commissions; likewise included are remuneration for periods of
      absence (leave or sickness) entirely paid by the employer and family allowances and other
      benefits laid down by collective agreements or voluntarily within the local unit; the
       following must be specified separately: 1) total earnings related to overtime; 2) special
       payments for shift work, night work or weekend work;
b)     annual gross earnings in the relevant financial year, i.e. the gross earnings as defined in 2
       a) referred to an annual basis, plus occasional bonuses (such as holiday bonuses, 13th
       month and profit sharing); the amount of occasional bonuses must be specified separately;
c)     the number of hours paid or the number of hours in a standard working week or month for
       which payment is made, the number of paid overtime hours in the pay period and the
       number of holidays, excluding public holidays per year;
d)     the sex, age, occupation classified according to the International Standard Classification of
       Occupations hereinafter referred to as ISCO-88 (COM), level of education and training,
       length of service in the enterprise, working arrangements, i.e. full time or part time and
       type of employment contract.
                                           Article 6
                                        Data collection
 1.     The survey shall be carried out through the appropriate statistical services of the Member
        States which shall draw up the appropriate methods for collecting the information.
 2.     For some characteristics such as level of education and training, as well as type of
        employment contract, the Member States are allowed to carry out trailer surveys in a
        subsample of employees drawn on the main survey.
                                               4?
 ---pagebreak--- 3      Persons required to supply information shall reply to the questions truthfully, completely
       and within the time limits set. The Member States shall take appropriate measures to
       avoid any infringement of the obligation to supply the information referred to in Article 5.
4.     The survey need not be carried out if the Member States have information from other
       appropriate sources which is at least equivalent as regards accuracy, quality and
      timeliness.
5.    The Member States shall transmit to the Commission (Eurostat) at its request all
      information, particularly concerning methodologies, needed for the application of this
      Regulation.
                                              Article 7
                                     Representativeness
The reliability and comparability on a high quality level shall be attained by the use of sampling
sizes allowing that the relative standard error for the variable average gross hourly earnings by
section or subsection, where it exists, of NACE Rev. 1 at NUTS 1 level does not exceed 3 %.
                                           Article 8
                                    Processing of results
The Statistical services of the Member States shall process the replies to the questions
(Article 6 §3) or the information from other sources (Article 6 §4) so as to obtain comparable
results.
                                           Article 9
                                   Transmission of results
The results shall be transmitted within a delay of 18 months from the end of the calendar year of
the reference period, including data declared confidential by the Member States pursuant to
domestic legislation or practice concerning statistical confidentiality, in accordance with the
provisions of Council Regulation (EEC/Euratom) No 1588/90 of 11 June 19907 on the
transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality to the Statistical Office of the European
Communities.
         OJNoL 151, 15.06.90, p. 1
                                               $8
 ---pagebreak---                                               Article 10
                                              Committee
The arrangements for implementing the present regulation, in particular:
             definitions to be used,
             accuracy and quality rules,
             the levels of breakdown to be applied to the variables,
             the appropriate forms of the transmitted variables and
             the list of tables to be disseminated
shall be laid down by the Commission after consulting the Statistical Programme Committee set
up by Council Decision 89/382 (EEC/ Euratom)8 in conformity with the procedure set out in the
article 11.
                                              Article 11
                                              Procedure
1.     The representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee a draft of the
       measures to be taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time
       limit which the Chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The
       opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148(2) of the Treaty in the
       case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the
       Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member States within the committee
       shall be weighted in the manner set out in that topic. The chairman shall not vote.
2.     The Commission shall adopt measures which shall apply immediately. However, if these
       measures are not in accordance with the opinion of the committee, they shall be
       communicated by the Commission to the Council forthwith. In that event, the Commission
       may defer application of the measures which it has decided for a period of not more than
       one month from the date of such communication.
The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take a different decision within the time limit
referred to the previous paragraph.
                                            Article 12
                                         Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day after its publication in the Official
Journal of the European Communities.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
 8
         OJL 181 ,28.6.1989, p.47
 ---pagebreak---                                             ANN1£X
                                    SPECIAL PROVISIONS
I. Exceptions to the scope of the survey
1. For Germany: sections H, I, the division 67 of the J section and section K
2. For Greece: sections F and K
3. For Ireland: sections I, J and K
II. Exceptions to the reference period
 1. For France: thefinancialyear of 1994 and a corresponding representative month
2. For Austria: thefinancialyear of 1996 and a corresponding representative month
m . More complete information
 Member States may provide for the supply of more detailed information, for example by
 covering other sections of the NACE Rev. 1 or by covering units with fewer than 10 employees.
                                              • AX)
 ---pagebreak---                             IMPACT ASSESSMENT FORM
       THE IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL ON BUSINESS, WITH SPECIAL
         REFERENCE TO SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES
TITLE OF PROPOSAL:            DRAFT COUNCIL REGULATION ON STATISTICS ON THE
                              STRUCTURE AND DISTRIBUTION OF EARNINGS
THE PROPOSAL:
       Taking account of the principle of subsidiarity, why is Community
       legislation necessary in this area and what are its main aims?
       In order to carry out its tasks in the field of economic and social affairs,
       particularly with regard to employment and working conditions, the Commission
       needs to have at its disposal comparable information on the structure and
       distribution of earnings in the Member States of the EU. This need has become
       more pressing because of the new policies set out in the White Paper on Growth,
       Competitiveness and Employment.
       The main aim of this survey is to respond to the political needs which existing
       Community statistics are unable to meet. The Commission has identified a
       number of areas in which statistics on the structure of earnings are necessary.
                 the functioning of labour markets in the Community;
                 the problem of adjustment of workforces in sectors exposed to
                 increased competition;
                 the development of indicators enabling regional policies to be
                 implemented;
                 policy on equal pay for men and women, equitable wages and low
                 wages;
                 wage differentials by profession;
                 wage negotiations.
        There is currently a lack of such data, even though they are indispensable for
        defining and assessing the effect of social policies and measures on the labour
        market at both national and Community level.
        The statistical information available in each of the Member States does not allow
        proper comparisons to be made, one particular reason for this being the
        differences in the nature of the surveys and the existing sources of data. In order
        to ensure that data are comparable, the surveys must be carried out and evaluated
        on the basis of standard definitions and a shared methodology, but without at the
                                             I
                                       A4
 ---pagebreak---        same time attempting to harmonize the Member States' existing arrangements for
       the collection of data. In the same way, existing administrative sources must be
       adapted to requirements and drawn on using a methodology set out beforehand.
       Legislation at Community level is the only way of ensuring that the required
       variables will be taken into account and processed in accordance with a common
       set of definitions and methods aimed at guaranteeing the comparability of results.
THE IMPACT ON BUSINESS:
2      Who will be affected by the proposal?
       - which sectors of business
       The survey will cover businesses engaging in activities defined in sections C, D,
       E, F, G, H, I, J and K of the Classification of Economic Activities in the
       European Community (NACE Rev. 1). It is intended that some countries' surveys
       should also cover sections L, M, N and O of NACE Rev. 1.
       - which sizes of business (what is the concentration of small and medium-sized
           firms)
       The statistical unit to be used in the survey is individuals in local units with 10 or
       more people in paid employment.
       It is intended that results be obtained for various sizes of business.
       Units employing fewer than 10 persons are not covered by the Regulation, but
        some Member States plan to have their surveys include units with one or more
        employees.
        In the countries in which specific surveys are carried out, these will use a
        sampling method in order to lessen the burden on businesses and the national
        statistical offices. The sampling plans will be drawn up by the national statistical
        offices, which generally use different sampling ratios depending on the size of the
        statistical units to be used. A large proportion of the information requested on
        the questionnaires is available in businesses' administrative files, which means that
        the inconvenience will.not be great. Likewise, the registers of businesses/local
        units also contain some of the information required. In Member States using
        other data sources, the burden on businesses will be considerably less because
        some variables will be derived from these sources.
                                              I
 ---pagebreak--- - are there particular geographical areas of the Community where these
    businesses are found
In certain areas of the EU, small and medium-sized enterprises predominate. In
order to draw up more detailed tables on salary structure at regional level, some
data are requested at NUTS 1 level.
What will business have to do to comply with the proposal?
The units which are to be included in the surveys will be called on to give
accurate and complete information on the questionnaires which will have been
sent to them by their national statistical offices (and to return the questionnaires
within the given deadline).
However, in the Member States which already carry out this type of survey
(France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) and those which
will use administrative data sources (Denmark, Portugal, Finland and Sweden),
the extra effort required of businesses will not be very great, since the proposed
variables do not exceed by much the scope of those which already exist.
What economic effects is the proposal likely to have?
- on employment
- on investment and the creation of new businesses
- on the competitive position of businesses
Generally speaking, statistical data - and especially data relating to earnings - are
necessary for implementing and assessing economic and social policies in the
 areas referred to in point 1 above. In this respect, the proposal will have
 beneficial effects on employment and the fight against unemployment, and on
 investment and competitiveness. The access to reliable, up-to-date data provided
 to those responsible for economic and social-policy decisions will enable them to
 better appreciate the socio-economic conditions in which they have to work, and
 will allow employers to define general business policy more clearly.
 The importance of the Community measures which would benefit in terms of
 both implementation and follow-up from the availability of better statistics would
 indicate that the resulting benefits will more than justify the costs involved.
                                       i
                                      13
 ---pagebreak--- Does the proposal contain measures to take account of the specific situation
of small and medium-sized firms?
Yes. In order to reduce the number of units to be covered by the survey, units
with fewer than 10 employees will not fall within its scope. Furthermore, the
percentage of small and medium-sized enterprises included in the survey is
generally very much lower than that of large enterprises because of the sampling
method used.
Consultation
The Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE) took
part from the outset in meetings organized by the "Earnings Statistics" working
party throughout the phase during which the proposal was being formulated.
Given the importance (which was mentioned several times) to employers'
associations of information on the structure and distribution of earnings, the
representatives of this organization made an active contribution to defining the
nature of the survey.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) took part in some meetings.
It warmly welcomed the plan to carry out a survey on the structure and
distribution of earnings at EU level The representatives of this organization were
pleased with l&ie choice of writfbles tto be used m the survey.
The mam SUSSES in the Ckmaamssism (DG II and DG V) were consulted on a
number erf occasions while the draft was being prepared Accordingly, their
requirements were made Sknown at the meetings of the working party, thereby
enabling ithe representatives of the statistical services t o take better account of
their suggestions
The awwscall iplknning of ithe proposed draft has greatly benefited from the
expérience «ff Menfcer States wliutih carry <®m talis ttype of survey, and from
 studies amfl analyses % soie Commission .and scientific 'bodies on the basis of
The Stattffljisrati l&mgmnntm Committee, whtûh imet on il and 2 December 1994 in
Lu^anrntouiasL teawe a ifevouribte aspmion on ;
 ---pagebreak---                         FINANCIAL STATEMENT NO 1
1. TITLE OF THE ACTION
   Draft Council Regulation on statistics concerning the structure and distribution of
   earnings.
2. BUDGET LINES INVOLVED
   Financial perspectives - 4, other policies
   Sub-section B-5: Consumer protection, internal market, industry and trans-
   European networks
   Chapter B5-60: Statistical information policy connected with the completion of the
   internal market and in support of Community policies.
   Line B5-6000: Operating appropriations
3. LEGAL BASIS
   Article 213 of the Treaty
   Council Decision 89/382/EEC of 19 June 1989 establishing a Committee on the
   Statistical Programmes of the European Communities (OJ L 219, 28.8.1993).
4. DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION
   4.1      General purpose of the action
            The purpose of the present Council Regulation is to make harmonized
            statistics on the structure and distribution of workers' earnings in the
            European Union available to all users. These data are essential for defining,
            monitoring and assessing social and labour market policies at the regional,
            national and Community levels.
            The beneficiaries of this action are: the Community Institutions, the
            governments of the Member States, the economic and social
            decision-makers in the Member States and also research institutes,
            universities and the media.
            To conduct this survey at European Union level is one of the priority
            projects of the 1993-1997 framework statistical programme of the
            Community (OJ L 219, 28.8.1993).
                                           •  ^
 ---pagebreak---    4.2     Period covered by the action and procedures for renewing or extending it
           Once-only action in accordance with the draft Council Regulation
           <£urstom, EEC) on stattàÉks concernrag the structure and distribution of
           «nângs (collection and processing of data andforwarding of the results to
           feiro^at) covering the period 1996-199^.
5. CLASSfflCATION OF EXPENDITURE/INCOME
   5.1.    Nim-cmnpulsory expenditure
   5.2.    IMg^rentiaied appropriations
   5.3.    lype&f'incomeenvisaged
           Sales of statistical products (database data and publications) cover some of
           tfee production costs.
6. TYPEOFEXPENDmJRE/ÏNCOME
   The Commission's contribution represents only part of the meal cost of collecting
   data - of the order of 18% - since the Commission's statistical work is subsidized
   to a very great extent, the operating and administrative costs being home almost
   exclusively t>y the national governments. Nevertheless, the expenditure envisaged
   is essential to promote standardization of te data collected, and for these data to
   be processed and sent to Eurostat
   CofhacRCÈag % the public sector (out of the budgets of the national statistical
   offices) and the private sector (income from sales of statistical products).
7. FINANCIAL EMECT ON                      IOTERVEfOTON            APPROPRIATIONS
   (PAXrS-OF TÏEE BUDGET)
    7.1    Method of calculating the total cost of the action (definition of unit costs)
           The amount to be taken from the Community budget for the project to
           expend the existing systems for collecting data or setting up new surveys
            on the structure of earnings is calculated as follows:
            \%% of the operating costs for the two/three years of the project:
            conducting the survey (1996) and sending the data to Eurostat
            (1997/1998).
                                           * 46
 ---pagebreak---            Type of expenditure to be borne by the Member States: production of
           questionnaires, contribution to the costs of collecting, processing, and
           disseminating the data and other operating costs.
           The total action represents an average expenditure of approximately
           ECU 25 million for all the Member States.
   Total contribution to the Member States (18% of total) (ECU 4.50 million)
   7.2.    Indicative timetable for commitment and payment appropriations
           The survey will be conducted at the beginning of 1996 and the data sent to
           Eurostat in 1997/1998. It is proposed that payment be made in three
           phases: the first two tranches as a contribution to the cost of collecting and
           processing the data (1996/1997) and a third tranche once the results have
           been received. The last tranche will be payable in either 1997 or 1998
           depending on whether the data are sent to Eurostat in 1997 or 1998.
                            1996              1997               1998               Total
             C.A.     ECU 4.5 million                                          ECU 4.5 million
             PA.      ECU 4.5 million   ECU 1.8 million    ECU 1.35 million    ECU 4.5 million
                           30%                40%                30%
8.      ANTI-FRAUD PROVISIONS (AND RESULTS OF IMPLEMENTING
        THEM)
        Payment for the contracts and agreements concluded by the Commission is
        made only on the basis of detailed reports on the completion of the operations
        concerned or the results obtained.
        Statistical information is considered to be an objective instrument for
        evaluating Community action programmes and thus contributes to
        consolidating the anti-fraud provisions.                  *
                                    4 t
 ---pagebreak--- 9. COST/EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS ITEMS
   9.1. Specific and quantifiable objectives, target population
        The purpose of this Council Regulation is to establish comparable
        statistics on the structure and distribution of earnings of workers in the
        European Union. Following the guidelines in the White Paper on
        Growth, Competitiveness and Employment, and the conclusions of the
        Essen Summit, these statistics aie indispensable for establishing,
        monitoring and assessing regional national and Community policies, in
        particular for monitoring national employment programmes
   9.2. Groundsfor the action
        The responsibility forfinancingthis action rests mainly on the Member
        States (cf. 6 above), which have a well-established structure for
        collecting and processing data. Nevertheless, fundsfromthe Community
        budget appear to be necessary, both for countries which are going to
        carry out this type of survey for thefirsttime, and for those which must
        adjust existing surveys to Community needs. The purpose of this
        financial contribution is to co-finance part of the costs of collecting and
        processing data.
        The purpose of this action is to achieve four results, viz. :
        - to provide the Community Institutions with the quantitative data for
           drawing up, monitoring and evaluating any programme of action
           pursuant to Article 3 (2) of the Financial Regulation: "it therefore
           contributes to more effective and relevant use of the Community
        - to provide the national governments with comparable statistics on all
           the Member States for evaluating and monitoring the progress of
           Community policies;
        - to provide political, economic and social decision-makers in the
           Community with the data necessary to take and assess decisions in
           their respective fields of action: it is therefore a key component of the
           European information market;
        - to provide the scientific community with the information necessary to
            further study and obtain more information on economic and social life
            in the Community.
         The results of the action will contribute to improving the statistical
         information used in the work linked to social policy, economic cohesion
         and convergence in the internal market.
                                      %4%
 ---pagebreak---                    Statistical information is collected using a highly-subsidized system, in
                   which the national systems have a responsibility as regards each Member
                   State. The Community Statistical Programme will become an integral
                   part of the national statistical programmes, thus contributing to creating
                   a European statistical area.
                   The potential of multiplier effects is fairly small. Nevertheless, the data
                   concerned by the draft regulation will be of increased interest in that
                   users will have access to a set of data which will enable them to make
                   international comparisons of the structure and distribution of earnings.
                   The specific results of the action could be affected if some of the
                   Member States - or the Commission - did not succeed in releasing the
                   resources needed for the action to succeed.
            9.3. Monitoring and assessing the action
                   The action forms part of the Community Statistical Programme, which is
                   monitored continuously by means of a general table which determines
                   the objectives and resources required for each project as a function of
                   the objective/performance ratio. At the beginning of each year, Eurostat
                    produces a progress report on the programme as at the end of the
                   previous year. It comprises three parts as follows:
                    the first summarizes the main achievements of the year in respect of each
                    policy;
                    the second describes the objective of each project and the results
                    achieved;
                    the third gives statistics on the use of human, budgetary, computer and
                    administrative resources in the course of the previous year.
            9.4. Cohesion with the financial programming
The Council Decision of 22 July 1993 on the framework programme for priority actions in
the field of statistical information 1993 to 1997 provides for a survey to be carried out on
the structure of earnings.1
 'OJL 219, 28.8.1993
                                                 •       ^
 ---pagebreak--- 10.  ADMfoHSrmATTVE EXPENDITURE (PART A OF THE BUDGET)
     10.1. Does the proposed action involve an increase in the number of
              Commission staff? If so, how many?
           Yes: 1B post asfrom1995
           The administrative resources required for this action will be obtained by
           means of credits allocated by the Commission, including staffing and
           supplementary amounts approved by the budgetary authority.
     10.2. State the amount of staff and administrative expenditure involved in the
           proposed action. Explain the method of calculation
           Indicators: annual cost of the post for 1995 (estimate)
           Base: Average cost of aB2 post: ECU 90 009, of which ECU 73 711 is
           staff expenditure and ECU 16 298 administrative expenditure
                               Title Al                    Title A2
    Ej^pciud^uce:              StafT                       Administration
    Fiiiaacinlymih 1995        73 711                       \62M
    etaaq.
            Costin constant ecus (1995 value).
                                       «    & >
 ---pagebreak---  ADDITIONAL STATEMENT CONCERNING THE EFTA MEMBERS OF THE
                                            EEA
TITLE OF THE PROPOSED LEGISLATION
Proposal for a Regulation on the statistics of the distribution and structure of earnings
IMPACT ON THE EFTA MEMBERS OF THE EEA
The EFTA members of the EEA have an interest in the proposed Regulation, and have
been associated in its discussion.
All the EFTA members of the EEA took part in the meetings of the Working Party
relating to this matter.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
The financial statement annexed to this document concerns the Member States of the
European Union.
                                               24
 ---pagebreak---                                                                    ESN 0254-1475
                                                             COM(95) 287 final
                                              DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                            17
                                     Catalogue aamber : CB-CO-95-318-EN-C
                                                              ISBN 92-77-90914-5
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