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

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

A-9-2023-0386

Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs · Rapporteur: Johan Van Overtveldt

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Parliament's amended version of the Commission proposal to amend Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics updates definitions, strengthens the independence of heads of national statistical institutes and the Director-General of Eurostat, and lets the Commission (Eurostat) launch temporary statistical actions in a crisis. It lets national statistical institutes and Eurostat request privately held data, with a dialogue, a possible justified decision after three months, fines of up to EUR 25 000, and an exemption for small and micro enterprises. It requires national public bodies to give statistical authorities free access to administrative records, allows Eurostat to access Union databases, and sets rules on data sharing, research access and publicly available data. It adds a chapter on developing new statistics, encourages cooperation with academia and national data governance roles for statistical institutes, and requires an evaluation five years after entry into force.

Committee position. The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs adopts Parliament's position at first reading, amending the Commission proposal to strengthen statistical independence, allow access to privately held data, and enable crisis responses.

Key points

  1. New definitions are added for data, metadata, data holder, reuse of data, data sharing, data source, data access, multi-source statistics, privately held data, use for statistical purposes, crisis and other core identification and classification variables.
  2. Member States must select heads of national statistical institutes through a procedure based on professional criteria and equal opportunities, for a fixed, non-renewable term of up to 10 years, acting independently.
  3. Member States must specify the reasons for dismissing a head of a national statistical institute, without compromising their independence.
  4. The Director-General of Eurostat is selected for a fixed, non-renewable term of seven years, must act independently, and must appear before the European Parliament after appointment and annually.
  5. Eurostat must assess data quality, publish reports, and promptly disclose serious concerns and breaches of the European statistics Code of Practice.
  6. Eurostat may undertake temporary statistical actions to respond to a crisis or urgent policy needs, with voluntary participation by Member States and Union funding for incremental costs.
  7. Such temporary measures last no longer than the crisis and at most 12 months, extendable once by 12 months.
  8. National public bodies must give statistical authorities free, timely access to administrative records, and Eurostat may access Union databases and interoperability systems.
  9. National statistical institutes and Eurostat may request privately held data when strictly necessary and not obtainable otherwise, with a dialogue and a possible justified decision after three months.
  10. Fines for failing to provide requested data or providing incorrect data can reach EUR 25 000, or EUR 50 000 for recurrence within three years; small and micro enterprises are exempt.
  11. Data sharing between statistical authorities is allowed for statistical purposes, with safeguards for confidential and personal data, and researchers may access Eurostat databases including private-source microdata.
  12. A new chapter requires continuous innovation in statistics, cooperation with academia, and an evaluation by the Commission five years after entry into force.

Who is affected

  • National statistical institutes and other national statistical authorities: new independence rules, data access rights and data-sharing duties.
  • The Commission (Eurostat): new powers to request private data, launch crisis actions, impose fines and share data.
  • Private data holders: must make data available on request, with possible fines, but small and micro enterprises are exempt.
  • National public bodies holding administrative records: must give statistical authorities free access.
  • The European System of Central Banks: closer cooperation and data sharing with the European Statistical System.

Figures and deadlines

  • Fixed, non-renewable term of up to 10 years for heads of national statistical institutes.
  • Fixed, non-renewable term of seven years for the Director-General of Eurostat.
  • Three months to conclude an agreement before a justified decision can require data.
  • Period for making data available may not be shorter than 15 days.
  • Fines of maximum EUR 25 000, or EUR 50 000 for recurrence within three years.
  • Temporary crisis measures last no longer than 12 months, extendable by an additional 12-month period.
  • Evaluation of the Regulation five years after entry into force.
  • Entry into force on the twentieth day following publication in the Official Journal.

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