On the draft Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 concerning the collection of statistical information by the European Central Bank (ECB/2025/17)

Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs · Rapporteur: Aurore Lalucq

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

on the draft Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 concerning the collection of statistical information by the European Central Bank (ECB/2025/17)

(09737/2025 – C100118/2025 – 2025/0806(CNS))

(Special legislative procedure – consultation)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the recommendation of the European Central Bank (09737/2025 – ECB/2025/17),

– having regard to Article 129(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Articles 5.4 and 41 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C100118/2025),

– having regard to Rule 84 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A100000/2025),

1. Approves the draft proposed in the recommendation of the European Central Bank as amended;

2. Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

3. Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to substantially amend the draft proposed in the recommendation of the European Central Bank;

4. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Amendment 1

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 3

Text proposed by the Council	Amendment
(3) Digital transformation has introduced radical, new opportunities to integrate digital technologies not only in businesses, but also in the provision of public services. It has created an unprecedented environment with new needs for statistics to undertake the ESCB’s tasks and new possibilities for the more efficient collection of granular data. Moreover, recent economic and financial developments such as the climate emergency, the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy and cost-of-living crisis triggered by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine have amplified the demands and expectations for timelier, more frequent and more detailed statistics needed to support the performance of the ESCB’s tasks. At the same time, it is important to balance these demands and expectations with the need to keep the burden placed on the reporting agents to a minimum, given that competitiveness and productivity are essential conditions for businesses to flourish. For this reason, it is important to adapt the legal framework to support the ‘once-only’ principle in relation to statistical and regulatory reporting wherever possible to ensure that reporting agents do not have to report the same data more than once. These adaptations should have regard to the independence of the ECB and the statistical principles laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2533/98.	(3) Digital transformation has introduced radical, new opportunities to integrate digital technologies not only in businesses, but also in the provision of public services. It has created an unprecedented environment with new needs for statistics to undertake the ESCB’s tasks and new possibilities for the more efficient collection of granular data. Moreover, recent economic and financial developments such as the climate emergency, the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy and cost-of-living crisis triggered by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine have amplified the demands and expectations for timelier, more frequent and more detailed statistics needed to support the performance of the ESCB’s tasks. At the same time, it is important to balance these demands and expectations with the need to keep the burden placed on the reporting agents to a minimum, given that competitiveness and productivity are essential conditions for businesses to flourish. For this reason, it is important to adapt the legal framework to support the ‘once-only’ principle in relation to statistical and regulatory reporting wherever possible to ensure that reporting agents do not have to report the same data more than once. These adaptations should have regard to the independence of the ECB and the statistical principles laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2533/98. The European Central Bank should assess, within five years after the entry into force of this amending Regulation, the opportunities and challenges of the use of the new digital technologies for the collection of statistical data, and draw conclusions from this assessment, with, if needed, a new recommendation for amending this Regulation.

Or. en

Amendment 2

Proposal for a regulation

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4 – point b a (new)

Regulation (EC) No 2533/98

Article 7 – paragraph 4 a (new)

Text proposed by the Council	Amendment
	(ba) the following paragraph is added:
	‘4a. The ECB shall update the fines set out in paragraph 4 every five years in accordance with the inflation rate of the euro area.’

Or. en

Amendment 3

Proposal for a regulation

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5

Regulation (EC) No 2533/98

Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point b

Text proposed by the Council	Amendment
(b) shall share confidential statistical information with other legitimate parties for the performance of their respective statutory tasks relating to prudential supervision and the stability of the financial system;	(b) shall share confidential statistical information with other legitimate parties for the performance of their respective statutory tasks relating to prudential supervision, stability of the financial system, market integrity and investor protection.

Or. en

Amendment 4

Proposal for a regulation

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5

Regulation (EC) No 2533/98

Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point 2 a (new)

Text proposed by the Council	Amendment
	(2a) When ESCB members grant access to confidential statistical information in the cases referred in points (e) and (g) of this paragraph, the natural person or legal entity receiving this access shall use these data only for the purpose consented to by ESCB members and, if applicable, by the reporting agent or other legal or natural person, entity or branch, which can be identified. If the natural person or legal entity receiving access to these data can store them, this storage shall be secured to avoid any breach of confidentiality. This storage shall not exceed more than three years.

Or. en

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Your rapporteur welcomes the recommendation of the European Central Bank to amend Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 in order to take into account the significant changes in the collection, compilation, dissemination and use of statistical information by the ESCB owing to the digital transformation.

As ECB stresses in its recommendation, these changes have led to a demand for timelier, more frequent and more detailed statistical information, and also offered new possibilities for a more efficient collection of statistical information. These demands and opportunities should be, indeed, balanced by minimising the associated risks. Among these risks, your rapporteur would like to stress the importance of minimising the risk of breach of confidentiality or misuse of confidential information for purposes other than those consented to between the parties involved. For this purpose, this Regulation should be further amended to reduce any risk of breach of confidential statistical information and bring adequate safeguards, in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

In addition, ECB recommends increasing the amount of sanctions in case of failure to comply with obligations resulting from ECB regulations or decisions defining and imposing statistical reporting requirements. Your rapporteur welcomes this amendment and suggests that ECB updates the amount of these sanctions every five years in accordance with the inflation rate of the euro area. The periodical review of these amounts may avoid that these sanctions lose their deterrent effect and effectiveness overtime.

ANNEX: DECLARATION OF INPUT

The rapporteur declares under her exclusive responsibility that she did not include in her report input from interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or from representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies, to be listed in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.