Council Regulation (EEC) No 2186/93 of 22 July 1993 on Community coordination in drawing up business registers for statistical purposes

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2186/93 of 22 July 1993 on Community coordination in drawing up business registers for statistical purposes
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 213 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas the Single Market increases the need to improve statistical comparability in order to meet Community requirements; whereas, in order to achieve that improvement, common definitions and descriptions have to be adopted for enterprises and other  relevant statistical units to be covered;
Whereas registers should be drawn up and updated in order to be able to collect information on these units;
Whereas there is a growing need for information on the structure of enterprises, a need which current Community statistics are not able to meet;
Whereas business registers for statistical purposes are a necessary tool in keeping track of the structural changes in the economy brought about by such operations as joint ventures, partnerships, buy-outs, mergers and takeovers;
Whereas the important role played by public undertakings in the national economies of the Member States has been acknowledged, particularly in Commission Directive 80/723/EEC (1), Article 2 of which also defines such undertakings; whereas they should  therefore be identified in business registers;
Whereas some statistics are not currently available, particularly in sectors with many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), such as services, because a register of these enterprises for statistical purposes does not exist;
Whereas business registers are one element in reconciling the conflicting requirements for increased information on enterprises and lightening their administrative burden, in particular by using existing information in administrative and legal  registers, especially in the case of SMEs, pursuant to recommendation 90/246/EEC (2);
Whereas business registers for statistical purposes represent a basic element of systems of information on enterprises, making it possible to organize and coordinate statistical surveys by providing a sampling base, possibilities of extrapolation and  means of monitoring the replies from enterprises, in particular those covered by Directives 78/660/EEC (3) and 83/349/EEC (4);
Whereas the setting-up of a new statistical collection system covering trade in goods and services between Member States necessitates a register of those persons required to give information; whereas it is desirable to derive that register of persons  required to give information from a central register of enterprises used for statistical purposes;
Whereas the business registers for statistical purposes are at a different stage of development in each Member State; whereas the long and costly development of these registers can be carried out only in two stages, the first of which must relate to  harmonization of the basic units in those registers in accordance with an established timetable,