Legal provisions of COM(2013)342 - Provision and quality of statistics for the macroeconomic imbalances procedure - Main contents

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dossier	COM(2013)342 - Provision and quality of statistics for the macroeconomic imbalances procedure.
document	COM(2013)342
date	June 7, 2013

CHAPTER I - SUBJECT MATTER

Article 1

1. This Regulation lays down the rules on the provision and quality monitoring of statistical data which are compiled or transmitted for the purpose of the procedures for the detection of macroeconomic imbalances as well as the prevention and correction of excessive macroeconomic imbalances within the Union established under Articles 3 to 11 of Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 (hereinafter referred to as the MIP relevant data).

2. This Regulation shall apply to the MIP relevant data compiled and transmitted by Member States, irrespective of whether the Council or the Commission consider that an imbalance exists and whether an excessive imbalance has been established by the Council pursuant to Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011. This Regulation shall apply also to the Member States for which the macroeconomic imbalances procedure has been suspended in accordance with Article xxxx of Regulation xxxx (reference will be made to the 2-Pack Regulation when it is adopted).

CHAPTER II - TRANSMISSION OF DATA TO THE COMMISSION

Article 2

1. The MIP relevant data to be transmitted by the Member States shall cover the preceding year (n-1) and the previous nine years (n-2 to n-10).

2. The deadlines for the transmission of the MIP relevant data shall be those laid down pursuant to the relevant basic acts or shall be communicated by the Commission in specific calendars taking into account the needs of the Union.

3. The Commission shall indicate to the Member States, each year, the timetable of the annual Alert Mechanism Report established by Article 3 of Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011. Based on this timetable and on the deadlines and calendars referred to in paragraph 2, the Commission shall also decide on and communicate, to the Member States, a cut-off date for their transmission of all the most up-to-date MIP relevant data.

CHAPTER III - QUALITY REPORTS

Article 3

1. When transmitting the MIP relevant data referred to in Article 1, Member States shall send, to the Commission (Eurostat), information showing how these data are calculated, including any changes in the sources and methods, in the form of a quality report.

2. The quality criteria referred to in Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 shall apply to the data to be transmitted.

3. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts with a view to defining the modalities, structure and periodicity of the quality reports. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 14(2).

Article 4

In the event of doubt regarding the correct implementation of the rules governing the compilation and transmission of the MIP relevant data, the Member State concerned shall request clarification from the Commission (Eurostat). The Commission shall promptly examine the issue and communicate its clarification to the Member State concerned, to the relevant expert group on macroeconomic statistics established by the Commission, to all other Member States and to the public.

CHAPTER IV - QUALITY ASSESSMENT

Article 5

1. The Commission (Eurostat) shall regularly assess the quality of the MIP relevant data. The assessments shall focus mainly on areas specified in the inventories referred to in Article 6, where applicable, and the quality reports of Member States. The quality assessments shall be carried out in conformity with the statistical principles laid down in Regulation (EC) No 223/2009. The quality assessments shall, as appropriate, make full use of the work carried out, and the results obtained, in the context of existing quality frameworks for MIP relevant data.

2. Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat), as promptly as possible, with the data and information requested for the purposes of the data quality assessment, without prejudice to the provisions relating to statistical confidentiality of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009.

3. The Commission (Eurostat) shall assess Member States’ MIP relevant data each year with the assistance of the relevant expert group on macroeconomic statistics.

4. This assessment shall be carried out in accordance with the quality criteria referred to in Article 3(2). The following elements in particular shall be considered in the assessment:

(a)        the MIP relevant data transmitted by Member States;

(b)        the quality reports and the inventories referred to in Article 6;

(c)        reports arising from missions to and discussions with Member States in relation to the MIP relevant data.

CHAPTER V - INVENTORIES OF SOURCES AND METHODS USED TO COMPILE MIP RELEVANT DATA

Article 6

1. Member States shall transmit to the Commission (Eurostat) a complete and up-to-date description of the sources and methods (hereinafter referred to as ‘the inventories’) used to compile their MIP relevant data.

2. Member States shall establish the inventories and send them to the Commission (Eurostat) at the latest on […][nine months after the adoption of this Regulation– exact date to be inserted by OP upon publication]. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts with a view to defining the structure and the modalities for the updating of these inventories by […][within six months after the adoption of this Regulation– exact date to be inserted by OP upon publication]. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 14(2).

3. Member States shall make their inventories public.

CHAPTER VI - MISSIONS TO MEMBER STATES

Article 7

1. Where the Commission (Eurostat) identifies problems, in particular in the context of the quality assessment under Article 5, it may decide to carry out missions to the Member State concerned.

2. The aim of such missions shall be to investigate in depth the quality of the MIP relevant data concerned. The missions shall concentrate on methodological issues, the sources and methods described in the inventories, the data and supporting statistical processes with a view to assessing their compliance with the relevant accounting and statistical rules.

3. The Commission (Eurostat) shall report to the Economic Policy Committee set up by Council Decision 74/122/EEC on the findings of these missions, including any comments on these findings made by the Member State concerned. After having been transmitted to the Economic Policy Committee, these reports, along with any comments made by the Member State concerned, shall be made public, without prejudice to the provisions concerning statistical confidentiality in Regulation (EC) No 223/2009.

4. Member States shall, at the request of the Commission (Eurostat), provide the assistance from experts on statistical issues related to the macroeconomic imbalances procedure, including for the preparation and carrying-out of the missions. In the exercise of their duties, these experts shall provide independent expertise. A list of those experts shall be constituted by (date to be fixed) on the basis of proposals sent to the Commission (Eurostat) by the national authorities responsible for the MIP relevant data.

5. The Commission (Eurostat) shall lay down the rules and procedures related to the selection of the experts, taking into account an appropriate distribution of experts across Member States and an appropriate rotation of experts between Member States, their working arrangements and the financial details. The Commission (Eurostat) shall share with the Member States the full cost incurred by the Member States for the assistance from their national experts.

6. The Commission (Eurostat) shall ensure that officials and experts participating in these missions meet every guarantee as regards technical competence, professional independence and observance of confidentiality.

CHAPTER VII - PROVISION OF DATA BY THE COMMISSION (EUROSTAT)

Article 8

1. The Commission (Eurostat) shall provide the MIP relevant data used for the purposes of the macroeconomic imbalances procedure including by means of news releases and/or other channels as it considers appropriate.

2. The Commission (Eurostat) shall not delay the provision of the MIP relevant data of Member States where a Member State has not transmitted its own data.

3. The Commission (Eurostat) may express a reservation on the quality of a Member State's MIP relevant data. No later than three working days before the planned publication date, the Commission (Eurostat) shall communicate to the Member State concerned and to the President of the Economic Policy Committee the reservation it intends to express and make public. Where the issue is resolved after publication of the data and the reservation, withdrawal of the reservation shall be made public immediately thereafter.

4. The Commission (Eurostat) may amend data transmitted by Member States and provide the amended data and a justification of the amendment where there is evidence that the data reported by Member States do not comply with the requirements of Article 3(2). No later than three working days before the planned publication date, the Commission (Eurostat) shall communicate to the Member State concerned and to the President of the Economic Policy Committee the amended data and the justification for the amendment.

CHAPTER VIII - SANCTIONS CONCERNING THE MANIPULATION OF STATISTICS

Article 9

1. The Council, acting on a proposal by the Commission, may decide to impose a fine on a Member State that intentionally or by serious negligence misrepresents the MIP relevant data.

2. The fine referred to in paragraph 1 shall be effective, dissuasive and proportionate to the nature, seriousness and duration of the misrepresentation. The amount of the fine shall not exceed 0.05% of the GDP of the Member State concerned.

3. The Commission may conduct all investigations necessary to establish the existence of the misrepresentations referred to in paragraph 1. It may decide to initiate an investigation when it finds that there are serious indications of the existence of facts liable to constitute such a misrepresentation. In investigating the putative misrepresentations, the Commission shall take into account any comments submitted by the Member State concerned. In order to carry out its tasks, the Commission may request the Member State to provide information, and may conduct on-site inspections and access the underlying statistical information and documents related to the MIP relevant data. If the law of the Member State concerned requires prior judicial authorisation for on-site inspections, the Commission shall make the necessary applications.

Upon completion of its investigation, and before submitting any proposal to the Council, the Commission shall give the Member State concerned the opportunity of being heard in relation to the matters under investigation. The Commission shall base any proposal to the Council only on facts on which the Member State concerned has had the opportunity to comment.

The Commission shall fully respect the rights of defence of the Member State concerned during the investigations.

4. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 12 concerning:

(a)        detailed criteria establishing the amount of the fine referred to in paragraph 1;

(b)        detailed rules concerning the procedures for the investigations referred to in paragraph 3, the associated measures and the reporting on the investigations;

(c)        detailed rules of procedure aimed at guaranteeing the rights of the defence, access to the file, legal representation, confidentiality and provisions as to timing and the collection of the fines referred to in paragraph 1.

5. The Court of Justice of the European Union shall have unlimited jurisdiction to review the decisions of the Council imposing fines under paragraph 1. It may annul, reduce or increase the fine so imposed.

CHAPTER IX - NATURE AND BUDGET DISTRIBUTION OF THE SANCTIONS

Article 10

The sanctions imposed pursuant to Article 11 shall be of an administrative nature.

Article 11

The fines collected in accordance with Article 9shall constitute other revenue, as referred to in Article 311 of the Treaty, and shall be assigned to the Union budget.

CHAPTER X - EXERCISE OF THE DELEGATION

Article 12

1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 9(4) shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of three years starting after one month following the adoption of this Regulation. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine months before the end of that 3-year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period.

3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 9(4) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

4. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

5. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 9(4) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

CHAPTER XI - VOTE ON THE SANCTIONS

Article 13

For the measures referred to in Article 9 the Council shall act without taking into account the vote of the member of the Council representing the Member State concerned.

CHAPTER XII - GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 14

1. The Commission shall be assisted by the European Statistical System Committee established by Regulation (EC) No 223/2009. The Committee shall be a committee within the meaning of the Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

Article 15

In line with Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009, the national statistical institutes of the Member States (the NSI) shall ensure the required coordination on the MIP relevant data at national level. All other national authorities shall report to the NSI for this purpose. The Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure the application of this provision.

Article 16

1. Member States shall ensure that the MIP relevant data compiled and transmitted to the Commission (Eurostat) are provided in accordance with the principles established by Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009.

2. Member States shall take appropriate measures to ensure that institutions and officials responsible for the compilation and transmission of the MIP relevant data to the Commission (Eurostat) are accountable and act in accordance with the principles established by Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009.

Article 17

The Commission (Eurostat) shall report regularly to the European Parliament and to the Council on the activities carried out by the Commission (Eurostat) for the purpose of implementing this Regulation.

Article 18

1. By 14 December 2014 and every five years thereafter, the Commission shall review the application of this Regulation and report its findings to the European Parliament and the Council.

2. The review shall, among other things, evaluate:

(a) the progress in ensuring the quality of MIP relevant data;

(b) the effectiveness of this Regulation and the applied monitoring process.

Where appropriate, the review shall be accompanied by a proposal for amendments to this Regulation.

Article 19

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.