The European Statistical System (‘ESS’), as a partnership, has, in general, successfully consolidated its activities to ensure the development, production and dissemination of high-quality European statistics, including by improving governance of the ESS.
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However, some weaknesses have recently been identified, in particular with regard to the statistical quality-management framework.
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In its Communication of 15 April 2011 entitled ‘Towards robust quality management for European Statistics’ the Commission suggested action to address those weaknesses and to strengthen governance of the ESS. In particular, it suggested a targeted amendment of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3).
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In its conclusions of 20 June 2011, the Council welcomed the Commission's initiative and stressed the importance of continuously improving the governance and efficiency of the ESS.
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The impact on the statistical domain of recent developments in the context of the economic-governance framework of the Union should be taken into account, in particular those aspects related to professional independence such as transparent recruitment and dismissal processes, budgetary allocations and release calendars, as laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1175/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4), as well as those aspects related to the requirement for bodies in charge of monitoring the implementation of national fiscal rules to enjoy functional autonomy, as laid down in Regulation (EU) No 473/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5).
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Those aspects that relate to professional independence, such as transparent recruitment and dismissal processes, budgetary allocations and release calendars, should not remain limited to the statistics produced for the purposes of the fiscal surveillance system and the excessive deficit procedure but should apply to all European statistics developed, produced and disseminated by the ESS.
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Moreover, the adequacy of resources attributed on an annual or a multiannual basis and available to meet statistical needs is a necessary condition for ensuring the professional independence of statistical authorities and the high quality of statistical data.
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To that end, the professional independence of statistical authorities should be strengthened and minimum standards, applicable across the Union, should be ensured. Specific guarantees should be provided to the heads of national statistical institutes (NSIs), in terms of the performance of statistical tasks, organisational management and resource allocation. The procedures for recruitment of heads of NSIs should be transparent and based only on professional criteria. They should ensure that the principle of equal opportunities is respected, in particular with regard to gender.
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While credible European statistics require strong professional independence on the part of statisticians, European statistics should also respond to policy needs and provide statistical support for new policy initiatives at national and at Union level.
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It is necessary for the independence of the statistical authority of the Union (Eurostat) to be consolidated and guaranteed by means of effective parliamentary scrutiny and for the independence of NSIs to be consolidated and guaranteed by means of democratic accountability.
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Furthermore, the coordinating role already attributed to the NSIs should be clarified as regards its scope, in order to achieve more efficient coordination of statistical activities at national level, including quality management, while duly taking into account the statistical tasks performed by the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). To the extent that European statistics may be compiled by National Central Banks (NCBs) in their capacity as members of the ESCB, the NSIs and the NCBs should cooperate closely in accordance with national arrangements with a view to ensuring production of complete and coherent European statistics, while ensuring the necessary cooperation between the ESS and the ESCB.
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In order to reduce the burden on statistical authorities and respondents, the NSIs and other national authorities should be able to access and use administrative records promptly and free-of-charge, including those filed electronically, and to integrate those records with statistics.
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European statistics should be easy to compare and to access and should be updated promptly and regularly so as to ensure that Union policies and funding initiatives take full account of developments in the Union.
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The NSIs should furthermore be consulted at an early stage on the design of new administrative records that could provide data for statistical purposes and on planned changes to, or cessation of, existing administrative sources. They should also receive relevant metadata from the owners of administrative data and coordinate standardisation activities concerning administrative records that are relevant for statistical data production.
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The confidentiality of data obtained from administrative records should be protected under the common principles and guidelines applicable to all confidential data used for the production of European statistics. Quality assessment frameworks applicable to those data, as well as principles of transparency, should also be drawn up and published.
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All users should have access to the same data at the same time. NSIs should draw up release calendars for the publication of periodical data.
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The quality of European statistics could be strengthened and the confidence of users reinforced, by involving national governments in the responsibility of applying the European Statistics Code of Practice (the Code of Practice). To that end, a ‘Commitment on Confidence in Statistics’ (Commitment) by a Member State, taking account of national specificities, should include specific undertakings by the government of that Member State to improve or maintain the conditions for the implementation of the Code of Practice. The Commitment, which should be updated as necessary, could include national high quality assurance frameworks, including self-assessments, improvement actions and monitoring mechanisms.
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The Commission (Eurostat) should take all necessary measures to allow easy online access to complete and user-friendly data series. Where possible, periodic updates should provide year-on-year and month-on-month information on each Member State.
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As the production of European statistics must be based on long-term operational and financial planning in order to ensure a high degree of independence, the European statistical programme should cover the same period as the multiannual financial framework.
(20)
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 confers powers on the Commission to implement some of the provisions of that Regulation in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC (6). As a consequence of the entry into force of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7), which repeals Decision 1999/468/EC, the powers conferred upon the Commission should be aligned to that new legal framework. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011. The Commission should ensure that those implementing acts do not impose a significant additional administrative burden on the Member States or on the respondents.
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The Commission should have the power to adopt implementing acts in accordance with Article 291(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) in order to ensure uniform application of quality requirements by laying down the modalities, structure and periodicity of quality reports covered by sectoral legislation, when sectoral statistical legislation does not provide for those. The Commission should ensure that those implementing acts do not impose a significant additional administrative burden on the Member States or on the respondents.
(22)
There is a need for uniform conditions for implementing access to confidential data for scientific purposes. In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission with a view to establishing the arrangements, rules and conditions governing such access at Union level. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.
(23)
Since the objective of this Regulation, namely to strengthen governance of the ESS, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather, by reason of the requirement to have credible data established at the Union level, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.
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The independence of the ESCB in the performance of its tasks as described in Protocol No 4 on the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank should be fully respected in the implementation of this Regulation, in conformity with Articles 130 and 338 TFEU.
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The ESS Committee has been consulted.
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Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 should therefore be amended accordingly,
