Article 1 Objective
The objective of this Regulation shall be to establish a common framework for the systematic production of Community statistics on the information society.
Article 2 Definitions
For the purpose of this Regulation: (a) ‘Community statistics’ shall have the meaning assigned to it in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 322/97; (b) ‘production of statistics’ shall have the meaning assigned to it in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 322/97; (c) ‘reference period’ shall mean a period to which data refer; (d) ‘reference year’ shall mean a reference period of one calendar year; (e) ‘collection period’ shall mean a period specified in implementing measures during which a collection of data takes place.
Article 3 Scope
1. The statistics to be compiled shall include information which is useful to the structural indicators and required to benchmark political strategies of the Community on the development of the European information space, business innovation and the European information society, such as the i2010 benchmarking framework and its developments under the Lisbon strategy, and other information necessary to provide a uniform basis on which to analyse the information society. 2. The statistics shall be grouped as modules, as defined in Annexes I and II.
Article 4 Modules
The modules in this Regulation shall cover the following domains: — enterprises and the information society, as defined in Annex I, — individuals, households and the information society, as defined in Annex II.
Article 5 Methodological manual
The Commission, in close cooperation with Member States, shall draw up, and update as made necessary by new implementing measures, a methodological manual which contains recommended guidelines concerning the Community statistics produced pursuant to this Regulation.
Article 6 Treatment, transmission and dissemination of data
1. Member States shall transmit the data and the metadata required by this Regulation and its implementing measures to the Commission (Eurostat) in accordance with Article 21 of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics ( 5 ) on the transmission of confidential data. 2. Member States shall transmit the data and metadata required by this Regulation in electronic form, in accordance with an interchange standard agreed between the Commission and the Member States. 3. Chapter V of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 shall apply to the treatment and dissemination of confidential data.
Article 7 Statistical quality and reports
1. Member States shall ensure the quality of the data transmitted. 2. For the purpose of this Regulation, the quality criteria as laid down in Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 shall apply. 3. Every year, Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat) with a report on the quality of the data transmitted as well as on any methodological changes that have been made. The report shall be provided one month after the transmission of the data.
Article 8 Implementing measures
1. The measures for implementing the modules of this Regulation shall concern the selection and specification, adjustment and modification of subjects and their characteristics, the coverage, reference periods and breakdowns of characteristics, the periodicity and timing of data provision and the deadlines for transmission of results. 2. The implementing measures, including adjustment and updating measures to take account of economic and technical changes, shall be adopted by the Commission. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, inter alia , by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 9(2), taking into account Member States’ resources and the burden on respondents, technical and methodological feasibility and reliability of results. 3. Implementing measures shall be drawn up at least nine months before the start of a data collection period.
Article 9 Committee procedure
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Statistical Programme Committee. 2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1) to 4 and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.
Article 10 Financing
1. For at least the first year in which Community statistics as provided for in implementing measures adopted pursuant to this Regulation are produced by Member States, the Commission shall make a financial contribution to the Member States to help cover the costs incurred by them in producing, processing and transmitting those statistics. The amount of the financial contribution shall not exceed 90 % of such costs. 2. The conditions and procedures for making the financial contribution and for its payment and control shall be in accordance with Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities ( 6 ). 3. If budgetary conditions so permit, the Commission shall continue to make a financial contribution to Member States in order to help offset the costs of providing these statistics in subsequent years. 4. The budgetary authority shall authorise the appropriations available for such financial contribution in the framework of the annual budgetary procedures of the European Communities.
Article 11 Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union . This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.