Commission Regulation (EU) No 557/2013 of 17 June 2013 implementing Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European Statistics as regards access to confidential data for scientific purposes and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 831/2002  Text with EEA relevance

18.6.2013 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 164/16
COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 557/2013
of 17 June 2013
implementing Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European Statistics as regards access to confidential data for scientific purposes and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 831/2002
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics (1) and in particular Article 23 thereof,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Data Protection Supervisor,
Whereas:
(1) Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 establishes a legal framework for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics, including the general provisions on protection of and access to confidential data.
(2) The benefits of data collected for the purposes of European statistics should be maximised, inter alia, by improving the access to confidential data by researchers for scientific purposes.
(3) Many questions raised in the fields of economic, social, environmental and political sciences can be answered adequately only on the basis of relevant and detailed data allowing in-depth analyses. The quality and the timeliness of available detailed information for research has, in this context, become an important component of a science-based understanding and governance of society.
(4) The research community should, therefore, enjoy wider access to confidential data used for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics, for analysis in the interest of scientific progress, without compromising the high level of protection that confidential statistical data require.
(5) Bodies with the objective of promoting and providing access to data in the interest of scientific research in socially- and policy-relevant areas could contribute to the process of releasing confidential data for scientific purposes, thereby improving the accessibility of confidential data.
(6) A risk management approach should be the most efficient model with a view to making a wider range of confidential data available for scientific purposes while preserving the confidentiality of respondents and statistical units.
(7) The physical and logical protection of confidential data should be ensured by regulatory, administrative, technical and organisational measures. These measures should not be so excessive as to limit the utility of the data for the purpose of scientific research.
(8) To this effect, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 223/2009, Member States and the Commission should take appropriate measures to prevent and sanction any violations of statistical confidentiality.
(9) This Regulation ensures, in particular, full respect for private and family life and for the protection of personal data (Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union).
(10) This Regulation should apply without prejudice to Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (2) and to 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 (3).
(11) This Regulation should apply without prejudice to Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003 on public access to environmental information (4) and to Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September 2006 on the application of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters to Community institutions and bodies (5).
(12) Commission Regulation (EC) No 831/2002 of 17 May 2002 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 on Community statistics, concerning access to confidential data for scientific purposes (6) should be repealed.
(13) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the European Statistical System Committee (ESS Committee),