What changed

21.2.2024

ORDINARY LEGISLATIVE procedure

PROVISIONAL AGREEMENT RESULTING FROM INTERINSTITUTIONAL NEGOTIATIONS

Follow up to the European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics

Subject: Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics

1. Rapporteur: Johan VAN OVERTVELDT (ECR / BE)

(COM(2023)0402 – C90246/2023 – 2023/0237(COD))

2. Reference numbers: 2023/0237 (COD) / A9-0386/2023 / P9_TA(2024)0152

The interinstitutional negotiations on the aforementioned proposal for a regulation have led to a compromise. In accordance with Rule 74(4) of the Rules of Procedure, the provisional agreement, reproduced below, is submitted as a whole to the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs for decision by way of a single vote.

3. Date of adoption of the resolution: 13 March 2024

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

4. Legal basis: Article 338(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union

amending Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics

5. Competent Parliamentary Committee: Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON)

(Text with EEA relevance)

6. Commission's position: accepts all amendments

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 338(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Central Bank,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishes the legal framework at Union level for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics.

(2) Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 was amended in 2015 to further strengthen the governance in the European Statistical System (ESS) in particular its professional independence, and since then the strengthened governance has proven to be effective.

(2a) On 6 March 2023, the European Statistical Governance Advisory Board (ESGAB) published its Annual Report 2022. As stated in the Report, ensuring professional independence is fundamental for providing objective and impartial European statistics and for building public trust in decisions and policies based on them. Therefore, Member States and the Commission should follow the international best practices, regarding the selection, appointment and dismissal of the heads of NSIs and the Director-General of the Commission (Eurostat) respectively, based on clear professional criteria such as statistical reputation and a high level of competence in the field of statistics. In the event of early termination of the contract, the reasons for it should not compromise the professional independence; they should be well justified, specified and communicated in an appropriate way, while respecting the rights of the person concerned. Furthermore, the Commission (Eurostat) should inform ESGAB about any serious concerns on the implementation of the European statistics Code of Practice, considering its important role as a Union body tasked with providing an independent assessment of the ESS’s implementation of the CoP and advice on strengthening users’ confidence and trust in European statistics.

(3) Digital transformation has ushered in radically different realities and created a new environment with new needs for European statistics. Moreover, recent humanitarian and political events, such as the ▌ Covid pandemic, and the energy and the cost-of-living crisis triggered by the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, have amplified the demands and expectations for timelier, more frequent and more detailed European statistics needed to support EU decision-making and ensure the best possible Union response to crises.

(3a) Crisis situations can occur in which timely and innovative European statistics are necessary in order to respond to urgent policy needs. An example is the lack of timely data on unit profits and business profits, which hampers policy makers in their effort to comprehensively assess the issue of price surges at a time where research is done on the impact of corporate policies as a possible contributor to inflation. It is therefore crucial to establish procedures to respond to urgent policy needs for European statistics.

(4) To address growing expectations for timelier, more frequent and more detailed European statistics as well as for a faster and more coordinated ESS response to urgent statistical demands in times of crisis, it is necessary to amend Regulation (EC) No 223/2009. The purpose of this Regulation is to ensure that European statistics stay relevant by taking into account those changing and more demanding user needs, notably by tapping the full potential of digital data sources and technologies, by enabling their use for European statistics, by making the ESS more agile and able to respond effectively and swiftly to crises, and by allowing data sharing and strengthening coordination among ESS partners.

(5) To reflect today’s realities and the digital age in which the ESS operates, new or updated definitions should be introduced into Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 to clarify the concepts of ‘data’, ‘metadata’, ‘data holder’, ‘data source’, ‘data access’ and ‘use for statistical purposes’.

(6) The recent developments such as the Covid pandemic and the energy and cost-of-living crisis triggered by the Russian military aggression against Ukraine demonstrated that the availability of timely, reliable and comparable European statistics is vital to the effectiveness of public authorities’ response to emergency situations. Therefore, the ESS should be given the possibility to swiftly initiate coordinated actions if urgent data and statistics needs arise outside the regular planning framework, especially in times of crisis recognised by Union legal acts, such as Council implementing decision (EU 2018/1993), Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Regulation (EU) 2016/3693, Council Regulation (EU) 2022/23724, Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) [xxx/xxx]. In such situation, a data holder should make, upon request, data available to a national statistical institute (NSI) or the Commission (Eurostat) that demonstrates an exceptional need to use the data requested, in accordance with the rules laid down in Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 of the European Parliament and of the Council. The Commission (Eurostat) should be able to undertake urgent statistical actions in close cooperation with the ESS Committee, where NSIs and other statistical authorities should be able to join on a voluntary basis.

(7) Accessing and using new data sources, including big data, which emerge from digital services and the Internet of Things (IoT), is becoming vital for producing timely, suitably frequent and sufficiently detailed European statistics in a more efficient and less costly way. Such new data sources are also an important contribution to building statistical sampling frames for ESS purposes. Therefore, access to new data sources in general and particularly to privately held data for the development and production of European official statistics on a sustainable basis and according to fair, clear , predictable and proportionate rules, in line with the Union’s fundamental rights framework, should be ensured. Access to privately held data should be ensured in conformity with the principle of cost-effectiveness and should not entail excessive burdens on economic operators as laid down in Article 338(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

(7a) Privately held data refers to the vast amount of data held by private entities obtained as a result of their activity, which could be used by statistical authorities to produce official statistics. It may include data held by civil society organisations, among others. This data can be key to complement official statistics and monitor economic, social, and environmental progress and in particular on the Sustainable Development Goals. Such use should therefore be strongly promoted.

(8) Access to new data sources, including particularly to privately held data, has been a longstanding request by the ESS as demonstrated by the ESS Position Paper on access to privately held data which are of public interest from November 2017, and the ESS Position Paper on the future Data Act proposal from June 2021.

(9) The use of privately held data and other new data sources should be subject to strict legal, technical and procedural safeguards and guarantees, including applying a high level of security, confidentiality and respect for privacy, as already enshrined in Regulation (EC) No 223/2009. ▌ Access to privately held data should be limited to the national statistical institutes (NSIs), acting on their own or on behalf of other national authorities (ONAs) of the ESS, and the Commission (Eurostat) only. The data requested should be strictly necessary for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics, as well as for statistics under development. Such privately held data should be pseudonymised in accordance with Article 89 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

(10) Data requests for privately held data by the NSIs or the Commission (Eurostat) should be transparent and proportionate in terms of their scope and level of detail. In that connection, it is necessary to specify and explain the purpose of the request, the intended use of the data requested, the frequency with which and deadlines by which the data should be made available as well as the operational arrangements for making them available. Any processing of data in connection with such data requests should be without prejudice to Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council as appropriate. As official statistics are a public good, the access to data should be free of charge. When the data is requested by the NSI, Member States may provide a compensation to the private data holder that is limited to the processing service according to the specifications requested, except where national legislation does not allow the statistical authorities to do so. When the data is requested by the Commission (Eurostat), it should propose a reasonable compensation to the private data holder that is limited to this specific processing service according to the specifications requested.

(11) With the data requests, the NSI or the Commission (Eurostat) should, respectively, invite the private data holder to a dialogue to specify the concrete parameters of data requests and other specific arrangements, including how to make data available as well as any organisational and technical measures to protect data confidentiality and trade secrets, with a view to concluding an agreement on those aspects. If no agreement is concluded within three months, or if the private data holder does not comply with the agreement, the NSI or the Commission, respectively, should have the possibility to issue a second request to the private data holder to make data available. If the data holder intentionally or negligently fails to transmit the ▌data within the deadline or transmits incorrect, incomplete or misleading data, the Member State or the Commission should¸ respectively, adopt enforcement measures, including the possibility to impose penalties, that should be effective, proportionate and dissuasive, taking into account the nature, gravity, recurrence and duration of the violation, in view of the public interest pursued. Maximum amounts for penalties adopted by the Commission should be established. The Commission should have the possibility to issue guidelines on the calculation of the fines. All decisions taken by the Commission under this Regulation are subject to review by the Court of Justice of the European Union in accordance with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The Court of Justice of the European Union should have unlimited jurisdiction in respect of fines adopted by the Commission in accordance with Article 261 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

(12) The further integration of statistics and geospatial information should also be encouraged to enable a more efficient use of resources and improved integration of data by different public organisations and to produce new statistical outputs, such as spatial analysis, and visualisation and dissemination of data. These will support decision-making and the monitoring of policy goals at both Union and national level.

(12a) The Commission (Eurostat), NSIs and other national authorities responsible for the production of European statistics should strive to provide access to their databases and supporting metadata and other documentation relevant for quality assessment using up-to-date and easy-to-use technologies.

(12b) European statistics are also developed, produced and disseminated by the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) yet under a separate legal framework, reflecting the ESCB's governance structure. Close cooperation and appropriate coordination is required between the ESS and ESCB, in particular to foster the exchange of data between the two systems exclusively for statistical purposes, in line with Article 338(1) TFEU and Article 5 of Protocol No 4 on the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank. Furthermore, this Regulation should apply without prejudice to Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98.

(12c) Exchange of confidential data contributes to enhanced quality of European statistics. The ESS has been working actively on further developing such exchange of data, including by specifying transmission of confidential data in various sectoral legislation. These efforts should be pursued. Mutual exchange of confidential data should be allowed both within the ESS and between the ESS and ESCB, when necessary for the efficient development, production and dissemination of European statistics or for increasing the quality of European statistics. When confidential data have been transmitted to the Commission (Eurostat), the approval of the NSI or other national authority which provided the data should be required.

(13) It is necessary to ensure that national public and semi-public bodies in charge of administrative data sources, databases, interoperability systems or any data relevant for development, production and dissemination of European statistics allow national statistical institutes and other national authorities to access, use and integrate this data free of charge in time and with sufficient frequency for the purpose of developing, producing and disseminating European statistics. The possibility of building statistical sampling frames based on relevant administrative data by the NSIs and ONAs should be ensured by the Member States.

(13a) The use of multi-source statistics should be further encouraged, with statistics developed or produced on the basis of a variety of data sources, including by means of modelling techniques and other statistical methods or innovative approaches.

(14) Where the activities to be carried out under this Regulation involve the processing of personal data for official statistical purposes in accordance with the mandate given to the statistical authorities to request personal data pursuant to the specific methodological description for each statistical product, such processing should comply with the relevant EU legislation on personal data protection, namely Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and Regulation (EU) 2016/679. In accordance with the principles set out in these regulations, the processing should be subject to appropriate safeguards for the rights and freedoms of the data subject. Those safeguards should ensure that technical and organisational measures are in place in particular in order to ensure respect for the principle of data minimization. Those measures may include pseudonymisation.

(15) Processing of personal data for the purposes of official statistics by national statistical authorities, which is considered to be in the public interest, should be covered by derogations and subject to appropriate safeguards, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679. For instance, further processing of personal data for statistical purposes should not be considered to be incompatible with the initial purposes for which they were collected. Personal data processed for statistical purposes in the public interest are confidential data and thus are subject to the statistical confidentiality principle which entails that it should only be used for statistical purposes and should never be used for supporting measures or decisions regarding any particular natural person. In that context, the particular safeguards, which should be applied when data sharing according to this Regulation requires personal data to be processed, include technical and organisational measures such as privacy-enhancing technologies and the respect of the principles of purpose limitation, data minimization, storage limitation and integrity and confidentiality as set out in Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and further elaborated in the European Statistics Code of Practice. In that regard, the use of privacy enhancing technologies that are specifically designed to implement these principles should be the way to share data. Pursuant to Article 89(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 derogations should be granted by national legislation to the development, production and dissemination of European statistics by national statistical authorities, under the safeguards laid down in these provisions.

(16) To be on the forefront of integrating new technologies and new insights progressively, and thereby to ensure that European statistics continuously stay relevant ▌ rules should be established under which, as part of a collective effort by the ESS, statistics can be developed, in accordance with user’s needs, in specific areas in the form of statistics under development or experimental statistics with the aim of integrating them in the regular production of European Statistics. Although not necessarily fulfilling all quality criteria laid down in Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009, those statistics should be treated as European statistics. Transparent information on the quality of statistics under development or experimental statistics should accompany their publication.

(17) While striving to ▌innovate and develop new statistical outputs, national statistical authorities should take the utmost account of users’ needs as expressed notably by national statistical user councils or other appropriate bodies. At Union level, the European Statistical Advisory Committee (ESAC), established by Decision No 234/2008/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as the main Union body representing users, respondents and producers of European statistics, should be informed by the Commission on how it has taken into account the ESAC’s opinions, particularly with regard to developing new European statistics.

(18) In order to keep up with the most recent academic trends and to improve the quality of statistical data and methods, statistical authorities should also promote, at both national and European level, a strong, structured and sustained interdisciplinary cooperation with academic and research institutions, especially when developing new statistics, testing new methods and technologies and promoting innovation and experimentation. For the purpose of this Regulation, scientific purposes should cover research activities such as technological development and demonstration, fundamental research or applied research.

(19) Given the trust granted to NSIs and their high technical expertise in data and metadata management, data quality and data protection, Member States should be encouraged, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, to assign to the NSIs an important role in the national data governance frameworks including those foreseen in Regulation (EU) 2022/868 (Data Governance Act), with the objective of promoting data sharing, data integration and inter-operability, metadata description, quality assurance and standard setting. In that regard, the involvement of NSIs and ONAs in the initial design, subsequent development and discontinuation of administrative data should be recalled and reinforced when appropriate, with a view to ensuring, among other things, consistency and data quality and to minimising the reporting burden.

(20) Data lawfully available to the public that remain available to the public according to national or Union legislation should not be considered confidential when used for statistical purposes or for the dissemination of statistics obtained from those data.

(21) In the interest of increased timeliness at Union level, the Commission (Eurostat) should be allowed to disseminate Member States’ European statistics as soon as they have been published nationally, even if this was done ahead of the deadlines for providing the statistics that are set out in the relevant sectoral Union legislation.

(21a) Lack of coordination may lead to inefficiencies and inconsistencies and raise issues of quality of European statistics. Union bodies and agencies should systematically consult the Commission (Eurostat) on statistical methodologies and data quality when developing new statistics in their fields of competence. Coordination should also extend to 'other statistics' that are key to informing policy-makers and citizens, in particular because the quality of such statistics could affect the reputation of European statistics.

(22) Since the objective of this Regulation, namely the amendment of the legal framework for developing, producing and disseminating European statistics, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather, for reasons of consistency and comparability, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures to achieve that objective, 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.

(23) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission in respect of specifying the urgent statistical actions and setting out the procedure for undertaking them, including the relevant timespan, frequency and quality requirements to be applied by those Member States participating voluntarily in the urgent statistical action and for extending those urgent actions, as well as the technical aspects of data sharing between the statistical authorities under this Regulation. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

(24) The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted in accordance with Article 42(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council and delivered an opinion on 6 September 2023.

(25) The European Statistical System (ESS) Committee was consulted,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1 Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 223/2009

Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 is amended as follows:

(1) Article 3 is amended as follows:

(a) the following points ▌ are inserted:

‘4a. ‘data’ means any digital or non-digital representation of acts, facts or information and any compilation of such acts, facts or information on the units observed;

4b. ‘metadata’ means any information that defines and describes ▌data and processes ▌;

4c. ‘data holder’ means a legal or natural person or any other entity who has the right, in accordance with applicable Union legal acts or national legislation ▌, and the ability ▌ to manage and make available data obtained as a result of their activity;

▌ ’

(b) the following points ▌ are inserted:

‘5a. ‘data source’ means a source providing data that is relevant and necessary, in itself or in combination with data from other sources, for the development and production of statistics, including surveys, censuses, administrative data or data made available by data holders on request;

5b. ‘data access’ means processing by a national statistical institute (hereafter NSI) or other national authorities or by the Commission (Eurostat) of data that has been provided or made available by a ▌ data holder, in accordance with specific technical, legal or organisational requirements ▌ ;

▌ ’

(c) point 8 is replaced by the following:

‘8. ‘use for statistical purposes’ means the exclusive use for the development, production and dissemination of statistical results and analyses by the statistical authorities, including for ▌research and scientific activities, or the establishment of sampling frames; ▌’

▌

(2) the following Article 16a is inserted:

‘Article 16a

Statistical response to urgent policy needs in crisis situations

1. The Commission (Eurostat) shall examine a crisis situation and may undertake urgent statistical actions as appropriate, subject to the procedures set out in this Article, where both of the following conditions are met:

(a) it is strictly necessary to respond to urgent policy needs which arise from the crisis situation following established emergency mechanisms activated in accordance with Union legal acts, such as the EU Integrated Political Crisis Response Arrangements or other Union emergency legal acts.

▌

(b) those urgent policy needs cannot be met under the European statistical programme.

2. The urgent statistical actions referred to in paragraph 1 shall be carried out by the Commission (Eurostat) at Union level in close cooperation with the NSIs and other national authorities, and may include:

(a) producing European statistics based on new data sources or data collections, taking into account the burden on respondents and the cost effectiveness for the Member States;

(b) providing new statistical indicators and insights based on existing data;

(c) developing ▌methodological guidelines ▌ to ensure that statistics across the Member States affected by the crisis situation are comparable and consistent;

(d) other coordinated action at Union level that aims to provide a timely and relevant statistical response to the specific situation.

3. When assessing the need for urgent statistical actions, the Commission (Eurostat) shall promptly inform and consult the ESS Committee and take duly into account its professional guidance. Urgent statistical actions to be undertaken are subject to prior examination of the ESS Committee. To this end, the Commission (Eurostat) shall provide the ESS Committee with thorough information on the actions to be undertaken, their justification on a cost-effectiveness basis, the means and timetables for achieving them, the assessment of the response burden on survey respondents and the financial contribution of the Union to cover the incremental costs incurred by the National Statistical Institutes and other national authorities.

4. The Member States may decide, separately and on a voluntary basis, to participate in these urgent statistical actions. These statistical actions shall be relevant and cover the urgent policy needs deriving from the crisis situation in the EU. When participating in urgent statistical actions, Member States shall comply with the agreed common timespan, frequency and quality requirements for the national data to be provided to the Commission (Eurostat).

5. The Commission may, by way of implementing acts, specify the urgent statistical actions and set out the procedure for undertaking them, including the relevant timespan, frequency and quality requirements to be applied by those Member States participating voluntarily in the urgent statistical action. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 27(2). Without prejudice to the prerogative of the budgetary authority, a financial contribution shall be made available from the Single Market Programme established by Regulation (EU) No 2021/690 of the European Parliament and of the Council and in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council to the NSIs and other national authorities referred to in the list established pursuant to Article 5(2) to cover the incremental costs incurred from the implementation of such urgent statistical actions. In addition, NSIs and other national authorities referred to in the list established pursuant to Article 5(2) may apply for support from other applicable financial programmes of the European Union in accordance with the rules of such programmes. Member States may also apply for support from the Technical Support Instrument. The amount of the financial contribution under this Article shall be established in accordance with the rules of the relevant funding programme, subject to the availability of funding, in particular in accordance with the rules of the European statistical programme.

6. Measures adopted under paragraph 5 shall remain in force for a period no longer than the duration of the crisis situation, and in any event not exceeding 12 months that may be extended by way of an implementing act for an additional 12-month period in duly justified cases. This implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 27(2).’

(3) ▌ Article 17a ▌ is replaced by the following:

‘Article 17a

Access, use and integration of administrative data for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics;’

▌

‘1. National public and semi-public bodies according to national legislation, in charge of administrative data sources, databases, interoperability systems or any data relevant and necessary for development, production and dissemination of European statistics shall allow the NSIs and other national authorities ▌ referred to in Article 4, to access, use and integrate, free of charge, this data and the relevant metadata, in a timely manner and with sufficient frequency and granularity for the purpose of developing, producing and disseminating European statistics.;’

2. The NSIs and the Commission (Eurostat) shall be consulted on, and involved in, the initial design, subsequent development and discontinuation of administrative data sources, databases or interoperability systems built up and maintained by other bodies, thus facilitating the further use of those data sources, databases or interoperability systems for the purpose of producing European statistics. They shall be involved in the standardisation activities concerning administrative data sources, databases or interoperability systems that are relevant for the production of European statistics.

▌

2a. For the purpose of this Regulation, the Commission (Eurostat) shall be allowed, upon request, to access, use and integrate in a timely manner relevant data and metadata from databases and interoperability systems maintained by Union bodies and agencies, and without prejudice to the Union acts establishing these databases and interoperability systems, including the central repository for reporting and statistics (CRRS). For this purpose, the Commission (Eurostat) shall cooperate with the relevant Union bodies and agencies to specify the customised data and metadata required, the operational modalities for data use and the necessary physical and logical safeguards. When data and metadata needed for European statistics are only available in databases and interoperability systems maintained by EU bodies and agencies, the Commission (Eurostat) may, upon request, share these data with the relevant NSIs or other national authorities responsible for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics, without prejudice to the Union acts establishing these databases and interoperability systems.

3. Access by, and involvement of the NSIs, other national authorities and the Commission (Eurostat) pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be limited to administrative data sources, databases or interoperability systems within their own respective public administrative system.

4. Administrative data sources, databases or interoperability systems made available by their owners to the NSIs, other national authorities and the Commission (Eurostat) in order to be used for the production of European statistics shall be accompanied by relevant metadata.

5. The NSIs, other national authorities and bodies referred to in paragraph 1, shall establish the necessary cooperation mechanisms, in accordance with national specificities. Those mechanisms shall also provide the possibility for the NSIs to perform data quality checks and build statistical frames based on the relevant administrative data accessed. ▌’

(7) the following Articles 17b, 17c, 17d, 17e and 17f are inserted:

‘Article 17b

Obligation of private data holders to make data available for developing, producing and disseminating European statistics

1. Without prejudice to reporting obligations, data collections or any data access laid down in sectoral statistical legislation of the Union or to the obligation for data holders to make data available based on exceptional need in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 of the European Parliament and the Council, an NSI or the Commission (Eurostat) may request a private data holder to make data and the relevant metadata available free of charge when the data requested is strictly necessary for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics and cannot be obtained by other means or their reuse will result in a considerable reduction in the response burden on data holders and other businesses. Those data collections or data accesses may be included by the Commission in the annual work programme.

▌

2. As coordinator of the national statistical system, an NSI may submit a request for data to a private data holder on behalf of an ONA, when the data requested is necessary for European statistics developed, produced and disseminated by that other national authority. The NSI and the other national authorities of a Member State shall cooperate in order to avoid excessive burden on private data holders.

3. The NSIs and the Commission (Eurostat) shall cooperate and mutually assist each other in order to avoid excessive burden on private data holders and to determine who is to submit requests for data. In particular, the request for data shall be submitted to a private data holder by the NSI except when the Commission (Eurostat), and the concerned NSIs agree that the request by the Commission (Eurostat) is more efficient, for instance in the case of data holders operating on a Union wide scale.

4. The Commission (Eurostat) may, in agreement with the NSIs, set up a secure infrastructure, to be used on a voluntary basis, to facilitate the further sharing with the NSIs and the other national authorities of data that has been accessed in accordance with paragraph 3.

The secure infrastructure shall be based on technologies that are specifically designed to comply with Regulations (EU) 2016/679 and (EU) 2018/1725.

4a. When the data requested by an NSI under paragraph 1 need a specific processing service, Member States may provide a compensation to the private data holder for this specific processing service, except where national law prevents NSIs or ONAs responsible for the production of statistics from compensating data holders. When the data is requested by the Commission (Eurostat) for efficiency reasons in accordance with paragraph 3, and a specific processing service is needed, the Commission (Eurostat) shall propose a reasonable compensation to the private data holder for this specific processing service.

5. This Article shall not apply to small and micro enterprises as defined in Article 2 of the Annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC, except in duly justified cases when the data held by these small and micro enterprises are of specific interest for official statistics because of the nature and volume of those data at national level.

Article 17c

Requests for data and arrangements for making data available for development, production and dissemination of European statistics

1. When requesting data in accordance with Article 17b, the NSIs or the Commission (Eurostat) respectively shall:

(a) specify what data and metadata is required;

(b) specify the statistical need for which the data is requested in accordance with Article 17b(1);

(c) specify the frequency with which and the deadlines by which the data is to be made available;

(d) specify the operational arrangements for making the data available;

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2. Requests for data referred to in paragraph 1 shall follow the principle of data minimisation and be proportionate to the statistical need in terms of the level of detail, volume and frequency of the data. Such requests shall concern in principle non-personal data and, only in specific circumstances, personal data from personal data categories to be specified in sectorial legislation.

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3. Following a request for data referred to in paragraph 1, a dialogue shall take place between the NSIs, the ONA or the Commission (Eurostat) respectively and the concerned data holder to discuss and agree on the measures needed for making data available for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics, with the aim of concluding an agreement ▌.

4. If no agreement is concluded within three months following the notification of the request for data referred to in paragraph 1 or if the agreement is not fulfilled by the data holder,

(a) When the NSI has requested the data, the NSI may issue a second request to private data holder to make the data available within a specific deadline. The private data holder shall make the relevant data available to the NSI within the deadline;

(b) When the Commission (Eurostat) has requested the data, the Commission may adopt a decision to require the private data holder to make the data available in a period no shorter than 15 calendar days. The decision shall be specific as required under paragraph 1and shall take into account issues on which views may have converged during the dialogue with the data holder. The decision shall indicate the deadline for the private data holder to submit its reply (right to be heard), the deadline for making the data available, the fines provided for under paragraph 6 that may be applied if the data are not provided in time and the means of redress against it. The private data holder shall make the relevant data available to the Commission (Eurostat) within the deadline specified in the decision.

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5a. The Member States shall take appropriate measures to ensure the effective enforcement of the requests referred to in paragraph 4, point (a).

6. The ▌Commission shall take appropriate measures to ensure the effective enforcement of the decisions adopted in accordance with paragraph 4, point (b). Those measures may include the adoption of fines where the private data holder intentionally or negligently fails to supply the data requested by decision within the deadline or supplies incorrect, incomplete or misleading data. In fixing the amount of the fines, ▌the Commission shall have regard to the nature, gravity, duration and recurrence of the infringement.

7. The Commission may adopt decisions imposing fines within one year following the deadline for the submission of data laid down in its decision under paragraph 4(b) where the data holder fails to submit any data or within one year of the submission of incorrect, incomplete or misleading data. Fines may reach up to EUR 25 000 and, in case of recurrence within three years, the fine may reach up to EUR 50 000. The power of the Commission to enforce decisions imposing a fine shall be subject to a limitation period of five years since the day on which the decision becomes final. Before adopting a decision pursuant to paragraph 6 of this Article, the Commission shall give the data holder the opportunity of being heard on preliminary findings and measures that Commission may intend to take in view of the preliminary findings.

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Article 17d

Review of decisions imposing fines by the Court of justice of the European Union

In accordance with Article 261 TFEU, the Court of Justice of the European Union has unlimited jurisdiction to review decisions by which the Commission has imposed fines. It may cancel, reduce or increase the fine imposed.

Article 17e

Obligations of NSIs, other national authorities and the Commission (Eurostat) in using data made available by private data holders for development, production and dissemination of European statistics

1. The NSIs and the Commission (Eurostat) shall use data made available in accordance with Article 17b for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics ▌

(a) exclusively for statistical purposes;

(b) in conformity with statistical principles set out in Article 2; and

(c) in compliance with the obligation not to share them outside the European Statistical System unless the data holder has agreedto do so, subject to paragraph 1a of this Article.▌

1a. The NSIs and the Commission (Eurostat) shall put in place appropriate safeguards relating to the processing of personal data for statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, in particular in order to ensure compliance with the principle that data is to be pseudonymized.

2. The NSIs and the Commission (Eurostat) shall:

(a) take appropriate measures to protect statistical confidentiality and trade secrets ▌ ;

(b) implement, insofar as the processing of personal data is necessary, technical and organisational measures which safeguard the rights and freedoms of data subjects.

3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall apply to an other national authority that has received data following a request submitted on its behalf by a NSI in accordance with Article 17b(2).

▌

Article 17f

Non-confidential data sharing in the ESS and between the ESS and the ESCB

1. Non-confidential data shall be shared, if necessary and available in an aggregated form, upon request between NSIs, by their own or on behalf of an other national authority, and between NSIs and the Commission (Eurostat) exclusively for statistical purposes and for improving the quality of European statistics.

2a. Non-confidential data sharing, including data made available by private data holders, shall take place between the ESS and a member of the ESCB upon request, if necessary and available in an aggregate form, in areas of shared responsibility or common interest and where the data are used exclusively for statistical purposes and for improving the quality of European statistics developed and produced by that member of the ESCB.

3. ▌ The Commission (Eurostat) shall set up a secure infrastructure to facilitate data sharing and the NSIs, and when relevant the other national authorities, or members of the ESCB, may use that secure data sharing infrastructure on a voluntary basis.

▌

6. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, set out the technical aspects of data sharing between the statistical authorities referred to in this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 27(2).

▌ ’

(8) the following Chapter IIIa is inserted:

‘CHAPTER IIIa

DEVELOPMENT OF EUROPEAN STATISTICS

Article 17g

Statistics under development

1. The NSIs, the ONAs and the Commission (Eurostat) shall endeavour to continuously innovate and develop new statistical outputs and insights based on all available data sources and to use state of the art technologies, with the aim of integrating them in the regular production of European statistics. With this aim, the Commission (Eurostat) may initiate, in close cooperation with the ESS Committee, the development of new statistical outputs and insights across the ESS. Those statistical outputs and insights may be included in the annual work programme and implemented through individual statistical actions referred to in Article 14(1).

2. ▌ Statistics under development may not necessarily fulfil all the quality criteria set out in Article 12(1).

3. The Commission (Eurostat) may disseminate European statistics under development with the agreement of the NSIs or ONAs and shall explicitly indicate that these statistics are under development. NSIs and ONAs may also disseminate European statistics under development produced by them.

▌ ’

(9) in Article 18, the following paragraph 4 is inserted:

‘4. The Commission (Eurostat) may disseminate European statistics already published at national level by the Member States ahead of the deadlines set out in the relevant sectoral legislation ▌before the time envisaged in that sectoral legislation, providing it complies with the definitions and classification. ▌’

(9a) In Article 21, paragraphs 1 and 2 are replaced by the following:

‘1. Transmission of confidential data from an ESS authority, as referred to in Article 4, that collected the data to another ESS authority shall be allowed, provided that this transmission is necessary for the efficient development, production and dissemination of European statistics or for increasing the quality of European statistics. If the data have been transmitted to the Commission (Eurostat), the approval of the NSI or other national authority which provided the data is required.

2. Transmission of confidential data between an ESS authority that collected the data and an ESCB member shall be allowed, provided that this transmission is necessary for the efficient development, production and dissemination of European statistics or for increasing the quality of European statistics, within the respective spheres of competence of the ESS and the ESCB, and that this necessity has been justified. If the data have been transmitted to the Commission (Eurostat), the approval of the NSI or other national authority which provided the data is required.’

(9b) Article 23 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 23

Access to confidential data for research purposes’

Access to confidential data, including data made available by private data holders, which only allow for indirect identification of the statistical units may be granted to researchers carrying out statistical analyses for scientific purposes by the Commission (Eurostat) or by the NSIs or other national authorities, within their respective spheres of competence. If the data have been transmitted to the Commission (Eurostat) the approval of the NSI or other national authority which provided the data is required.

The Commission shall establish, by means of implementing acts, the arrangements, rules and conditions for access at Union level. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 27(2). For the purposes of this Regulation, research purposes shall cover research activities such as technological development and demonstration, fundamental research or applied research.’

(10) Article 25 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 25

Publicly available data

Data lawfully available to the public that remain available to the public according to national or Union legislation shall not be considered confidential when used for statistical purposes or for the dissemination of statistics obtained from those data.Such data shall include in particular data on key attributes of individual companies as listed in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138.’

(11) the following Article 26a is inserted:

‘Article 26a

Contribution to ▌ national data governance frameworks

1. In compliance with the principle of subsidiarity, the NSIs may assume at national level functions as laid down in the national data governance frameworks with the goal of promoting data integration and inter-operability, metadata description, quality assurance and standard setting, data sharing and re-use of data, as well as other tasks and functions laid down in Regulation (EU) 2022/868 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

2. The performance of such functions by the NSIs shall be compatible with the exercise of the statistical functions performed according to the statistical principles, as set out in Article 2(1). ▌’

(12) the following Article 27a is inserted:

‘Article 27a

Evaluation and review

By [five years after the entry into force of this amending Regulation], the Commission shall carry out an evaluation of this Regulation and submit a report on its main findings to the European Parliament and to the Council. That evaluation shall assess, in particular:

(a) the statistical response to crisis under Article 16a;

(b) the obligation of private data holders to allow their data to be used for European statistics in accordance with Articles 17b, 17c, 17d and 17e;

(c) the data sharing in the ESS under Article 17f;

(d) the development of European statistics under Chapter IIIa..’

Article 2 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.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President