Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2003)50 - Economic Accounts for Agriculture in the EC - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2003)50 - Economic Accounts for Agriculture in the EC. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2003)50  |
| date | 04-02-2003 |
Eurostat has been publishing Economic Accounts for Agriculture (EAA) since 1964. They are based on a gentlemen's agreement by which Member States have committed themselves to respect the concepts and rules laid down in a common methodology, together with a calendar for the transmission of data.
The EAA are satellite accounts to the National Accounts: all the basic concepts and classifications of the European System of Accounts (ESA) are retained. When the ESA 95 was adopted, it became necessary to revise the methodology of the EAA. That revised methodology was published under the title Manual on Economic Accounts for Agriculture and Forestry EAA/EAF 97 (Rev. 1.1).
2. Policy context - factual elements of the proposal
The EAA are mainly used to monitor and evaluate the Common Agricultural Policy. More generally, they are also used in any type of analysis of the economic situation of agriculture. They also represent a valuable contribution to the calculation of National Accounts.
Recent years' experience shows that, lacking a formal legal base, the EAA are coming increasingly under pressure because of budgetary cuts. This not only puts at risk future improvements in quality, but also represents a serious threat even to current standards.
In order to consolidate the methodological framework which has been built in close co-operation with the Member States, to maintain and improve the quality of data, and to establish a framework for their transmission, the Commission proposes a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Economic Accounts for Agriculture in the Community. This proposal extends to neither the Regional Agricultural Accounts (RAA) nor the Economic Accounts for Forestry (EAF).
The establishment of a legal basis for the EAA can be considered as a follow-up to the adoption of the ESA 95 by Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 of 25 June 1996.
In view of the enlargement of the European Union, establishing a legal basis for the EAA gives the Candidate Countries a clear signal underlining the importance of these statistics.
3. Consequences for NSIs
The proposed Regulation in no way goes beyond what is currently done under the gentlemen's agreement, either in terms of data delivery or in terms of deadlines.
4. Risk assessment
In the absence of a legal basis, and in view of diminishing budgetary and staff resources, there is a risk that the quality of the EAA data will deteriorate. Keeping the EAA outside statistical legislation would give a negative sign to the Candidate Countries.