Legal provisions of COM(2014)724 - Harmonised indices of consumer prices

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dossier COM(2014)724 - Harmonised indices of consumer prices.
document COM(2014)724 EN
date May 11, 2016

Contents

Article 1 - Subject matter

This Regulation lays down a common framework for the development, production and dissemination of harmonised indices of consumer prices (HICP, HICP-CT, OOH price index) and of the house price index (HPI) at Union and national level.

Article 2 - Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(1)‘products’ means goods and services as defined in paragraph 3.01 of Annex A to Regulation (EU) No 549/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7) (‘ESA 2010’);

(2)‘consumer prices’ means the purchase prices paid by households to purchase individual products by means of monetary transactions;

(3)‘house prices’ means the transaction prices of dwellings purchased by households;

(4)‘purchase prices’ means the prices actually paid by purchasers for products, including any taxes less subsidies on the products, after the deduction of discounts from standard prices or charges, excluding interest or services charges added under credit arrangements and any extra charges incurred as a result of failing to pay within the period specified at the time of purchase;

(5)‘administered prices’ means prices that are either directly set or influenced to a significant extent by the government;

(6)‘harmonised index of consumer prices’ or ‘HICP’ means the comparable index of consumer prices produced by each Member State;

(7)‘harmonised index of consumer prices at constant tax rates’ or ‘HICP-CT’ means the index that measures changes in consumer prices without the impact of changes in tax rates on products over the same period of time;

(8)‘tax rate’ means a tax parameter and may be a certain percentage of the price or an absolute tax amount levied on a physical unit;

(9)‘owner-occupied housing price index’ or ‘OOH price index’ means the index that measures changes in the transaction prices of dwellings new to the household sector and of other products that the households acquire in their role as owner-occupiers;

(10)‘house price index’ or ‘HPI’ means the index that measures changes in the transaction prices of dwellings purchased by households;

(11)‘sub-index of the HICP or the HICP-CT’ means the price index for any category of the European classification of individual consumption according to purpose (ECOICOP) as set out in Annex I;

(12)‘harmonised indices’ means the HICP, the HICP-CT, the OOH price index and the HPI;

(13)‘flash estimate of the HICP’ means an early estimate of the HICP provided by Member States whose currency is the euro that may be based on provisional information and, if necessary, appropriate modelling;

(14)‘Laspeyres-type index’ means the price index that measures the average change in prices from the price reference period to a comparison period using expenditure shares from a period prior to the price reference period, and where the expenditure shares are adjusted to reflect the prices of the price reference period.

A ‘Laspeyres-type index’ is defined as:

The price of a product is denoted by p, the price reference period is denoted by 0, and the comparison period is denoted by t. Weights (w) are expenditure shares of a period (b) prior to the price reference period, and are adjusted to reflect the prices of the price reference period 0;

(15)‘index reference period’ means the period for which the index is set to 100 index points;

(16)‘price reference period’ means the period to which the price of the comparison period is compared; for monthly indices, the price reference period is December of the previous year, and for quarterly indices, the price reference period is the fourth quarter of the previous year;

(17)‘basic information’ means data covering:

(a)with reference to the HICP and the HICP-CT:

(i)purchase prices of products which need to be taken into account in order to compute sub-indices in accordance with this Regulation;

(ii)characteristics that determine the product price;

(iii)information on taxes and excise duties levied;

(iv)information as to whether a price is fully or partially administered; and

(v)weights reflecting the level and structure of the consumption of the products concerned;

(b)with reference to the OOH price index:

(i)transaction prices of dwellings new to the household sector and of other products that the households acquire in their role as owner-occupiers which need to be taken into account to compute the OOH price index in accordance with this Regulation;

(ii)characteristics which determine the dwelling price and the prices of other products that the households acquire in their role as owner-occupiers; and

(iii)weights reflecting the level and structure of the relevant housing expenditure categories;

(c)with reference to the HPI:

(i)transaction prices of dwellings purchased by households which need to be taken into account to compute the HPI in accordance with this Regulation;

(ii)characteristics which determine the dwelling price; and

(iii)weights reflecting the level and structure of the relevant housing expenditure categories;

(18)‘household’ means a household as referred to in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 2.119 of Annex A to ESA 2010, irrespective of nationality or residence status;

(19)‘economic territory of the Member State’ means the economic territory as referred to in paragraph 2.05 of Annex A to ESA 2010, with the exception that the extraterritorial enclaves situated within the boundaries of the Member State are included and the territorial enclaves situated in the rest of the world are excluded;

(20)‘household final monetary consumption expenditure’ means that part of final consumption expenditure incurred:

—by households,

—in monetary transactions,

—on the economic territory of the Member State,

—on products that are used for the direct satisfaction of individual needs or wants, as defined in paragraph 3.101 of Annex A to ESA 2010,

—in one or both of the time periods being compared;

(21)‘significant change in the production method’ means a change that is estimated to affect the annual rate of change of a given harmonised index or part thereof in any period by more than:

(a)0,1 percentage points for the all-items HICP, HICP-CT, OOH price index or HPI;

(b)0,3, 0,4, 0,5 or 0,6 percentage points for any ECOICOP division, group, class or subclass (5-digit), respectively, for the HICP or the HICP-CT.

Article 3 - Compilation of the harmonised indices

1. Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat) with the harmonised indices as defined in point (12) of Article 2.

2. The harmonised indices shall be annually chain-linked Laspeyres-type indices.

3. The HICP and the HICP-CT shall be based on the price changes and weights of products included in the household final monetary consumption expenditure.

4. Neither the HICP nor the HICP-CT shall cover transactions between households, except in the case of rentals paid by tenants to private landlords, where the latter act as market producers of services purchased by households (tenants).

5. The OOH price index shall be compiled, where possible and provided that the data are available, for the 10 years preceding the entry into force of this Regulation.

6. Sub-indices of the HICP and of the HICP-CT shall be compiled for the categories of ECOICOP. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts specifying uniform conditions for the application of the ECOICOP for the purpose of the HICP and the HICP-CT. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 11(2).

7. By 31 December 2018, the Commission shall prepare a report which shall address the suitability of the OOH price index for integration into the HICP coverage. Depending on the results of the report, the Commission shall, where appropriate, submit, within a reasonable timeframe, a proposal for amending this Regulation with regard to integrating the OOH price index into the HICP coverage. If the report establishes that further methodological developments are required for the integration of the OOH price index into the HICP coverage, the Commission shall pursue the methodological work and report to the European Parliament and to the Council on that work, as appropriate.

8. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts specifying the breakdown of the flash estimate of the HICP provided by Member States whose currency is the euro. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 11(2).

9. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts specifying the breakdowns of the OOH price index and of the HPI. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 11(2).

10. Each year, Member States shall update sub-index weights for the harmonised indices. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts specifying uniform conditions for the quality of weights of the harmonised indices. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 11(2).

Article 4 - Comparability of the harmonised indices

1. For the harmonised indices to be considered comparable, any differences across Member States at all levels of detail shall only reflect differences in price changes or expenditure patterns.

2. Any sub-indices of the harmonised indices that deviate from the concepts or methods of this Regulation shall be deemed comparable if they result in an index that is estimated to differ systematically by:

(a)less than or equal to 0,1 percentage points on average over one year against the previous year from an index compiled following the methodological approach of this Regulation, in the case of the HICP and the HICP-CT;

(b)less than or equal to one percentage point on average over one year against the previous year from an index compiled following the methodological approach of this Regulation, in the case of the OOH price index and the HPI.

Where the calculations referred to in the first subparagraph are not possible, Member States shall set out in detail the consequences of using a methodology which deviates from the concepts or methods of this Regulation.

3. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 10 for the amendment of Annex I, in order to ensure comparability of the harmonised indices at international level in accordance with changes to the UN COICOP.

4. In order to ensure uniform conditions in producing comparable harmonised indices, and for the purposes of achieving the objectives of this Regulation, the Commission shall adopt implementing acts further specifying improved methods based on voluntary pilot studies as referred to in Article 8, and the methodology. Those implementing acts shall concern:

(i)sampling and representativity;

(ii)collection and treatment of prices;

(iii)replacements and quality adjustment;

(iv)index compilation;

(v)revisions;

(vi)special indices;

(vii)treatment of products in specific areas.

The Commission shall ensure that those implementing acts do not impose a significant additional burden on the Member States or on the respondents.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 11(2).

5. With a view to the production of the harmonised indices, in order to take account of technical developments in the statistical methods and based on the evaluation of the pilot studies referred to in Article 8(4), the Commission shall be empowered to amend, by means of delegated acts adopted in accordance with Article 10, the first subparagraph of paragraph 4 of this Article by adding items to the list set out therein, provided that such added items do not overlap with existing ones and do not change the scope or nature of harmonised indices as set out in this Regulation.

Article 5 - Data requirements

1. Basic information collected by Member States for the harmonised indices and their sub-indices shall be representative at Member State level.

2. The information shall be obtained from statistical units as defined in Council Regulation (EEC) No 696/93 (8) or from other sources, provided that the comparability requirements for the harmonised indices referred to in Article 4 of this Regulation are met.

3. The statistical units that provide information on products included in the household final monetary consumption expenditure shall cooperate in the collection or provision of basic information, as required. The statistical units shall give accurate and complete basic information to the national bodies responsible for compiling the harmonised indices.

4. Upon the request of the national bodies responsible for compiling the harmonised indices, the statistical units shall provide, where available, electronic records of transactions, such as scanner data, and at the level of detail necessary in order to produce harmonised indices and to evaluate compliance with the comparability requirements and the quality of the harmonised indices.

5. The common index reference period for the harmonised indices shall be 2015. That index reference period shall be used for the full time series of all harmonised indices and their sub-indices.

6. The harmonised indices and their sub-indices shall be rescaled to a new common index reference period in the case of a major methodological change of the harmonised indices which is adopted in accordance with this Regulation, or every 10 years after the last rescaling starting from 2015. The rescaling to the new index reference period shall take effect:

(a)for monthly indices, with the index for January of the following year after the index reference period;

(b)for quarterly indices, with the index for the first quarter of the following year after the index reference period.

The Commission shall adopt implementing acts establishing detailed rules on the rescaling of the harmonised indices. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 11(2).

7. Member States shall not be required to produce and transmit:

(a)sub-indices of the HICP and of the HICP-CT accounting for less than one part in a thousand of the total expenditure;

(b)sub-indices of the OOH price index and of the HPI accounting for less than one part in a hundred of the total owner-occupier housing expenditure and total purchases of dwellings, respectively.

8. Member States shall not be required to produce the following sub-indices of ECOICOP, either because they are not included in the household final monetary consumption expenditure or because the degree of methodological harmonisation is not yet sufficient:

02.3Narcotics;
09.4.3Games of chance;
12.2Prostitution;
12.5.1Life insurance;
12.6.1FISIM.

The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 10 to modify the list set out in this paragraph in order to include games of chance in the HICP and the HICP-CT.

Article 6 - Frequency

1. Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat) with the HICP, the HICP-CT and their respective sub-indices at monthly intervals, including those sub-indices produced at longer intervals.

2. Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat) with the OOH price index and the HPI at quarterly intervals. They may be provided at monthly intervals on a voluntary basis.

3. Member States shall not be required to produce sub-indices at monthly or quarterly intervals where less frequent data collection fulfils the comparability requirements of Article 4. Member States shall inform the Commission (Eurostat) of the ECOICOP, the OOH price index and the HPI categories for which they intend to collect data at intervals less frequent than monthly, in the case of ECOICOP categories, and quarterly, in the case of the OOH price index and the HPI categories.

4. Each year, Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat) with updated sub-index weights for the harmonised indices.

Article 7 - Deadlines, exchange standards and revisions

1. Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat) with the harmonised indices and all sub-indices by no later than:

(a)15 calendar days, for the February to December indices, and 20 calendar days, for the January indices, after the end of the month for which the indices are calculated; and

(b)85 calendar days after the end of the quarter for which the indices are calculated.

2. Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat) with the updated weights by no later than:

(a)13 February each year for the monthly indices;

(b)15 June each year for the quarterly indices.

3. Member States whose currency is the euro shall provide the Commission (Eurostat) with the flash estimate of the HICP no later than the penultimate calendar day of the month to which the flash estimate refers.

4. Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat) with the data and metadata required by this Regulation in accordance with data and metadata exchange standards.

5. Harmonised indices and their sub-indices that have already been published may be revised.

6. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts specifying in detail the data and metadata exchange standards referred to in paragraph 4, and the uniform conditions for the revision of harmonised indices and their sub-indices as referred to in paragraph 5. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 11(2).

Article 8 - Pilot studies

1. Whenever improved basic information is required for the compilation of the harmonised indices, or when the need for improved comparability of the harmonised indices is identified in the methods referred to in Article 4(4), the Commission (Eurostat) may launch pilot studies, to be carried out on a voluntary basis by Member States.

2. The general budget of the Union shall, where appropriate, contribute to the financing of such pilot studies.

3. The pilot studies shall assess the feasibility of obtaining improved basic information or adopting new methodological approaches.

4. The results of the pilot studies shall be evaluated by the Commission (Eurostat) in close cooperation with Member States and the main users of the harmonised indices, taking into account the benefits of having improved basic information or new methodological approaches relative to the additional costs of production of harmonised indices.

5. By 31 December 2020 and every five years thereafter, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council evaluating, if applicable, the main findings of the pilot studies.

Article 9 - Quality assurance

1. Member States shall ensure the quality of the harmonised indices provided. For the purposes of this Regulation, the standard quality criteria set out in Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 shall apply.

2. Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat) with:

(a)annual standard quality reports covering the quality criteria referred to in Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009;

(b)annually updated inventories containing details of data sources, definitions and methods used;

(c)further related information at the level of detail necessary to evaluate compliance with the comparability requirements and the quality of the harmonised indices, if requested by the Commission (Eurostat).

3. If a Member State intends to introduce a significant change in the production methods of the harmonised indices or a part thereof, the Member State shall inform the Commission (Eurostat) thereof at the latest three months before any such change would enter into force. The Member State shall provide the Commission (Eurostat) with a quantification of the impact of the change.

4. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts establishing technical quality assurance requirements regarding the content of the annual standard quality reports, the deadline for providing the reports to the Commission (Eurostat) and the structure of the inventories and the deadline for providing the inventories to the Commission (Eurostat). Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 11(2).

Article 10 - Exercise of the delegation

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

2. When exercising the power delegated in Articles 4(3), 4(5) and 5(8), the Commission shall ensure that the delegated acts do not impose a significant additional burden on Member States or on the respondents.

In addition, the Commission shall duly justify the actions provided for in those delegated acts, considering, where appropriate, cost-effectiveness, including the burden on respondents and the production costs in accordance with Article 14(3) of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009.

The Commission shall follow its usual practice and carry out consultations with experts, including Member States' experts, before adopting those delegated acts.

3. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Articles 4(3), 4(5) and 5(8) shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of five years as from 13 June 2016. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power no later than nine months before the end of the five-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 no later than three months before the end of each period.

4. The delegation of power referred to in Articles 4(3), 4(5) and 5(8) 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.

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

6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Articles 4(3), 4(5) and 5(8) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of three 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 three months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

Article 11 - Committee procedure

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

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

Article 12 - Repeal

1. Without prejudice to paragraph 2, Member States shall continue to provide the harmonised indices in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 2494/95 up to the transmission of data relating to 2016.

2. Regulation (EC) No 2494/95 is repealed with effect from 1 January 2017.

References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as references to this Regulation and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table set out in Annex II.

3. When first adopting the implementing acts referred to in Articles 3(6), 3(9), 3(10), 4(4), 5(6) and 7(6), the Commission shall, to the extent compatible with this Regulation, incorporate the relevant provisions of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1749/96 (9), Commission Regulation (EC) No 2214/96 (10), Council Regulation (EC) No 1687/98 (11), Commission Regulation (EC) No 2646/98 (12), Commission Regulation (EC) No 1617/1999 (13), Council Regulation (EC) No 2166/1999 (14), Commission Regulation (EC) No 2601/2000 (15), Commission Regulation (EC) No 2602/2000 (16), Commission Regulation (EC) No 1920/2001 (17), Commission Regulation (EC) No 1921/2001 (18), Commission Regulation (EC) No 1708/2005 (19), Council Regulation (EC) No 701/2006 (20), Commission Regulation (EC) No 330/2009 (21), Commission Regulation (EU) No 1114/2010 (22) and Commission Regulation (EU) No 93/2013 (23) adopted on the basis of Regulation (EC) No 2494/95, whilst reducing, to the extent appropriate, the overall number of implementing acts. The Regulations adopted on the basis of Regulation (EC) No 2494/95 shall remain applicable for a transitional period. That transitional period shall end on the date of application of the implementing acts first adopted on the basis of Articles 3(6), 3(9), 3(10), 4(4), 5(6) and 7(6) of this Regulation, which shall be the same date for all of those implementing acts.

Article 13 - 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.

It shall apply for the first time to data relating to January 2017.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.