2012/0084(COD)
European statistics: professional independence of national statistical authorities
European statistics: professional independence of national statistical authorities 2012/0084(COD)
Next event: 2013/09/10 Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading
Lead committee dossier: ECON/7/09349
Legal basis: TFEU TFEU 338-p1
Next event: 2013/09/10 Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading
| ECON | REGI | |
| Lead Rapporteur | SCICLUNA Edward (S&D) | |
| Opinion Rapporteur(s) |
Legal basis: TFEU TFEU 338-p1
Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage
2012/0084(COD) European statistics: professional independence of national statistical authorities
Next event: Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading 2013/09/10
Lead committee dossier: ECON/7/09349
Legal Basis TFEU TFEU 338-p1
Next event: Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading 2013/09/10
| Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | ECON | SCICLUNA Edward (S&D) | GAUZÈS Jean-Paul (EPP), IN 'T VELD Sophia (ALDE), LAMBERTS Philippe (Verts/ALE), FORD Vicky (ECR), CHOUNTIS Nikolaos (GUE/NGL) |
| Opinion | REGI |
Legal Basis TFEU TFEU 338-p1
Subjects
Activites
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2013/09/10
Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading
- 2012/12/21 Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading
- 2012/12/18 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
- 2012/11/19 Amendments tabled in committee
- #3198
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2012/11/13
Council Meeting
- 2012/10/15 Committee draft report
- 2012/04/20 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
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2012/04/17
Legislative proposal
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COM(2012)0167
summary
PURPOSE : to amend Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics in order to strengthen the professional independence of national statistical authorities. PROPOSED ACT : Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council. BACKGROUND : recent economic developments have once again demonstrated the need to further strengthen the credibility of statistics. Reliability of statistical data in terms of technical quality- assessment criteria is a pre-requisite in order to ensure the trust of users. But equally important is the credibility of the institutions producing statistics. In this context, the professional independence of statistical authorities must receive particular attention and be guaranteed by law. The Commission recognised this in its Communication Towards robust quality management for European Statistics where it indicated the need to strengthen the governance of the European Statistical System (ESS) by securing unconditional application of the principle of professional independence of National Statistical Institutes (NSIs), by clarifying their coordinating role in the national statistical systems and by enhancing the use of administrative data for statistical purposes. Furthermore, it was proposed that Commitments on Confidence in Statistics (CoC) be established in order to make national governments aware of their role in, and co-responsibility for, ensuring the credibility of official statistics by respecting the independence of NSIs. According to the Communication, all these measures should be introduced by an amendment of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009. Moreover, the European Statistics Code of Practice should be revised accordingly. The key relevance of the principle of professional independence of NSIs was also explicitly recognised by the European Parliament and the Council in the legislative six-pack on enhanced economic governance, which entered into force in December 2011. It specified that the professional independence of national statistical authorities requires transparent recruitment and dismissal processes based solely on professional criteria. Moreover, on 13 March 2012 the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the Commission to rapidly implement measures to improve quality-management and governance in European statistics. IMPACT ASSESSMENT : no impact assessment was undertaken. The proposal largely builds on the final conclusions and recommendations of the ESS Task Force on the revision of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 and on Commitments on Confidence in Statistics, which met several times in 2011. LEGAL BASIS : Article 338(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. CONTENT : the proposal calls for a revision of the current basic legal framework for European statistics, adapting it to meet the policy needs and challenges created for European statistics by recent developments in the global economy. The main goal is to further strengthen governance in the European Statistical System in order to safeguard its high credibility and to respond adequately to data needs resulting from the enhanced economic-policy coordination in the European Union. Professional independence of national statistical authorities: the proposal refers explicitly to the Heads of NSIs as persons whose independence in performing their duties is a pre-condition for establishing the independence of the respective institutions. To that end, it is indispensable that Heads of NSIs have the freedom to decide on processes, statistical methods, standards and procedures, and on the content and timing of statistical releases and publications for all European statistics. They must be also forbidden from seeking, and protected from receiving, instructions from national governments and other institutions. Moreover, Heads of NSIs should be granted considerable autonomy in deciding on the internal management of the statistical office and allowed to publicly comment on the budget allocated to the NSI in the context of statistical tasks to be performed. Furthermore, there must exist transparent and legally binding rules for the appointment, transfer and dismissal of Heads of NSI, based solely on professional criteria. However, Heads of NSIs should not only enjoy broad autonomy, they should also be accountable for the results the NSIs provide both in terms of statistical output and budget execution. Accordingly, they should present an annual report on the statistical activities and the financial situation of the respective authority. Commitments on Confidence in Statistics: the proposal also includes the establishment of Commitments on Confidence in Statistics. These declarations of respect of the European Statistics Code of Practice, and notably of the principle of independence of NSIs, aim at strengthening statistical governance in the EU and safeguarding the credibility of European statistics. According to the proposal, they should be signed by the governments of all Member States and counter-signed by the Commission, both at the highest applicable level. Each CoC is intended to be drafted individually by the Member State concerned and to contain country-specific improvement actions. The actual implementation of these actions would be monitored by Eurostat as part of the already established regular assessment of Member States compliance with the European Statistics Code of Practice. The role of the NSIs: the coordinating role of NSIs in the national statistical systems is clarified by the proposal and explicit references to institutions and functions to be coordinated have been added. In addition, the proposal contains further amendments. Administrative data: the proposal aims to establish a legal framework for more extensive use of administrative data sources for the production of European statistics without increasing the burden on respondents, NSIs and other national authorities. According to the proposal, NSIs should be involved, to the extent necessary, in decisions on the design, development and discontinuation of administrative records, which could be used in the production of statistical data. They should also coordinate relevant standardisation activities and receive metadata on administrative data extracted for statistical purposes. Free and timely access to administrative records should be granted to NSIs, other national authorities and Eurostat, but only within their own respective public administrative system and to the extent necessary for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics. Eurostat: the proposal incorporates the need to adequately secure the independent position of Eurostat at Union level in the same way as is proposed for NSIs at national level. It is crucial for the credibility of the entire European Statistical System and was strongly emphasised by a vast majority of the Member States in the preceding stakeholder consultation. Programming period: in order to simplify budget planning for statistical activities and to make it more stable, the programming period of the European statistical programme was brought into line with the Unions multi-annual financial framework. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS : The proposal is expected to have no resource impact within the ESS. On the contrary, it is meant to simplify and improve coordination and collaboration within the system, thus ultimately leading to more efficient production of European statistics and to a reduced burden on respondents. The human resources required within the Commission will be met by staff from the Directorate General who are already assigned to management of the legal act concerned and/or have been redeployed within the Directorate General. DELEGATED POWERS : the Commission will have the power to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty.
- DG {u'url': u'http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/eurostat/home', u'title': u'Eurostat'}, ŠEMETA Algirdas
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COM(2012)0167
summary
Documents
- Legislative proposal published: COM(2012)0167
- Committee draft report: PE497.894
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE500.544
- Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A7-0436/2012
| Amendments | Dossier |
| 69 |
2012/0084(COD) European statistics: professional independence of national statistical authorities
2012/11/19
ECON
69 amendments...
Amendment 13 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 1 (1) The European Statistical System (the ESS), as a partnership, has in general successfully consolidated its activities to ensure the development, production and dissemination of high-quality, regulated and reliable European statistics, including by improving the governance of the system.
Amendment 14 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 2 (2) Some weaknesses have, however, recently been identified, in particular with regard to the statistical quality- management framework, and there is a need to further strengthen the credibility of statistics.
Amendment 15 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 2 (2) Some serious systemic inaccuracies and weaknesses have, however, recently been identified, in particular with regard to the statistical quality-
Amendment 16 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 2 (2)
Amendment 17 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 3 (3) The Commission suggested action to address these weaknesses and to strengthen the governance of the ESS in its Communication of 15 April 2011 to the European Parliament and the Council ‘Towards robust quality management for European Statistics’ . In particular, it suggested a targeted amendment of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics .
Amendment 18 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 6 (6) Those aspects 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, including those relating to growth and employment, taking account of and assessing the added value of statistics gathered for attainment of the targets of the Europe 2020 Strategy.
Amendment 19 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 7 (7) Moreover, the adequacy of resources attributed on an annual or a multiannual basis and available to meet statistical needs is a necessary condition for the professional independence of statistical authorities and to ensure high quality statistical data.
Amendment 20 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 7 (7) Moreover, the adequacy of resources attributed on an annual or a multiannual basis and available to meet statistical needs is a necessary condition
Amendment 21 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 8 (8) To that effect, the professional independence of statistical authorities should be strengthened and minimum standards should be enforced, in particular as regards the heads of national statistical institutes (NSIs), to whom specific guarantees should be provided in terms of the performance of statistical tasks, organisational management and resource allocation. To this end, national parliaments have a particularly important role to play regarding the legitimacy of the process and in terms of parliamentary control. .
Amendment 22 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 8 8. To that effect, the professional independence of statistical authorities should be strengthened and minimum standards should be enforced, in particular as regards the heads of national statistical institutes (NSIs), to whom specific guarantees should be provided in terms of the performance of statistical tasks, organisational management and resource allocation and whose professional abilities should be assessed.
Amendment 23 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 8 (8) To that effect, the professional independence of statistical authorities should be strengthened in order to safeguard their high credibility and minimum standards should be enforced, in particular as regards the heads of national statistical institutes (NSIs), to whom specific guarantees should be provided in terms of the performance of statistical tasks, organisational management and resource allocation.
Amendment 24 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 8 (8) To that effect, the professional independence of statistical authorities should be strengthened and minimum standards, unified at European level, should be enforced, in particular as regards the heads of national statistical institutes (NSIs), to whom specific guarantees should be provided in terms of the performance of statistical tasks, organisational management and resource allocation.
Amendment 25 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 8 a (new) (8a) As well as the independence of national statistical institutes (NSIs), it is necessary for the independence of Eurostat to be consolidated and guaranteed by means of effective parliamentary consultation and control.
Amendment 26 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 9 (9) Furthermore, the coordinating role already attributed to the NSIs should be clarified as regards its scope, so as to achieve more efficient coordination of statistical activities at national level, including quality management. At the same time, it is necessary to step up coordination and cooperation national statistical institutes (NSIs) and Eurostat and remedy any shortcomings observed in this respect.
Amendment 27 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 9 (9) Furthermore, the coordinating role already attributed to the NSIs for European statistics produced through the ESS should be clarified as regards its scope, so as to achieve more efficient coordination of statistical activities within the ESS at national level, including quality management.
Amendment 28 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 9 a (new) (9 a) In accordance with Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 and Article 2a of Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 of 23 November 1998 concerning the collection of statistical information by the European Central Bank1, the ESS and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) cooperate closely to ensure complete and coherent European statistics produced by the two statistical systems in their fields of competence in accordance with their respective work programmes. Particular areas of cooperation include national accounts and balance of payment statistics, as well as the provision of advice to the Commission on statistics related to the excessive deficit procedure. ______________ 1 OJ L 318, 27.11.1998, p. 8.
Amendment 29 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 10 (10) 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 of publicly available information, including those filled electronically, promptly and free-of-
Amendment 30 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 10 a (new) (10a) National and European statistical data must be easy to compare and access and must be updated promptly and regularly so as to ensure that EU policies and funding initiatives take full account of developments in Europe, in particular the consequences of the economic crisis.
Amendment 31 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 11 (11) 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. The exercise by the NSIs and other national authorities of competences related to access, use, standardisation, initial design, subsequent development and cessation of ESCB administrative records should not interfere with the performance of ESCB tasks specified in Article 127 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and with safeguards on central bank independence under Articles 130 and 282 (3) of the TFEU and Article 7 of Protocol (No 4) on the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank.
Amendment 32 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 11 (11) 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, as long as such consultations do not delay the administrative procedures unduly. Consultations can be informal if this speeds up the process. 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.
Amendment 33 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 12 (12) 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
Amendment 34 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 12 (12) 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.
Amendment 35 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 13 (13) 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. To this end, a ‘Commitment on Confidence in Statistics’ should be established in each Member State and include specific undertakings by its government to implement the Code and national high quality-assurance frameworks, including self-assessments and improvement actions with the participation and supervision of national parliaments.
Amendment 36 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 13 (13) The quality of European statistics could be strengthened and the confidence of users reinforced, by involving national governments in power at the time in the responsibility of applying the European Statistics Code of Practice and providing the final guarantee for the accuracy of data supplied by the Central Statistical Institute. To this end, a ‘Commitment on Confidence in Statistics’ should be established in each Member State and include specific undertakings by its government to implement the Code and national quality-assurance frameworks, including self-assessments and improvement actions.
Amendment 37 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 13 (13) The quality of European statistics could be strengthened and the confidence of users reinforced, by involving national governments in the responsibility of rigorously applying the European Statistics Code of Practice. To this end, a ‘Commitment on Confidence in Statistics’ should be established in each Member State and include specific undertakings by its government to implement the Code and national quality-assurance frameworks, including self-assessments and improvement actions.
Amendment 38 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 13 a (new) (13 a) The Commission (Eurostat) website should allow easy access to complete, user-friendly data series and should include easily comprehensible, comparative, coloured graphs. This should apply to all data sets, and equal representation of those sets should be guaranteed. Where possible, periodic updates should provide year-on-year and month-on-month information on each Member State.
Amendment 39 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 18 (18) There is a need for uniform conditions for implementing access to confidential data for scientific purposes without compromising transparency. Implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission with a view to establishing the arrangements, rules and conditions governing such access at Union level, in accordance with the examination procedure laid down in Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and the Council laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by the Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers.9
Amendment 40 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 19 (19) Since the objective of this Regulation cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can 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
Amendment 41 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 2 Regulation No 223/2009 on European Statistics Article 5 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 1. The national statistical authority designated by each Member State as the body having the responsibility for coordinating all activities
Amendment 42 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 2 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics Article 5 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 The coordinating responsibility of the NSI shall cover all other national authorities responsible for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics produced under this Regulation. The NSI shall, in particular, be responsible at national level for coordinating statistical programming and reporting, quality monitoring, methodology, data transmission and communication on ESS statistical actions and shall cooperate with the respective national central bank (NCB) to ensure production of complete and coherent European statistics through the ESS and the ESCB in their respective fields of competence.
Amendment 43 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 2 Regulation 223/2009 Article 5 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 The coordinating responsibility of the NSI shall cover all other national authorities responsible for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics. The NSI shall, in particular, be responsible at national level for coordinating statistical programming and reporting, quality monitoring, elucidating methodology, data transmission and communication on ESS statistical actions.
Amendment 44 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 3 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics Article 5a – paragraph 1 1. Within their national statistical system, the heads of NSIs shall have the sole responsibility for deciding on processes, statistical methods, standards and procedures, and on the content and timing of statistical releases and publications for all European statistics. They shall be empowered to decide on all matters regarding the internal management of the NSI. They shall coordinate the statistical activities of all national authorities that contribute to the development, production and dissemination of European statistics produced through the ESS. Furthermore, they shall cooperate with the respective NCBs on issues related to the production of European statistics that are common to the ESS and to the ESCB. When carrying out these tasks, the heads of NSIs shall act in an independent manner; they shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government or other institution, body, office or entity; they shall refrain from any action incompatible with the performance of these tasks.
Amendment 45 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 3 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 5a – paragraph 1 1. Within their national statistical system, the heads of NSIs shall have the sole responsibility for
Amendment 46 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 3 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 5a – paragraph 1 1. Within their national statistical system, the heads of NSIs shall have the sole responsibility for deciding on processes, statistical methods, standards and procedures, and on the content and timing of statistical releases and publications for all European statistics which are produced by NSIs. They shall be empowered to decide on all matters regarding the internal management of the NSI. They shall
Amendment 47 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 3 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 5 a – paragraph 1 (1) Within their national statistical system, the heads of NSIs shall have the sole responsibility for deciding on processes, statistical methods, standards and procedures, and on the content and timing of statistical releases and publications for all European statistics. They shall be empowered to decide on all matters regarding the internal management of the NSI. They shall coordinate the statistical activities of all national authorities that contribute to the development, production and dissemination of European statistics. When carrying out these tasks, the heads of NSIs shall act in an independent manner; they shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government or other institution, body, office or entity; they shall refrain from any action incompatible with the performance of these tasks; failure to do so will result in immediate suspension and holding those responsible personally to account.
Amendment 48 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 3 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 5a – paragraph 2 Amendment 49 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 3 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 5a – paragraph 2 2. The procedures for recruitment, transfer and dismissal of heads of NSIs shall be transparent and based on professional criteria only. Heads of NSIs shall be appointed by national governments after consulting the National Parliament. Candidates shall be invited to appear before the relevant national parliamentary committees prior to their appointment. The Heads of NSIs shall have the sole responsibility for deciding on the processes, statistical methods, standards and procedures, and on the content and timing of statistical releases and publications for all statistics produced by the respective NSIs. The Head of NSI shall be empowered to decide on all matters regarding the internal management of the NSI. When carrying out these tasks the Heads of NSIs shall act in an independent manner and shall neither seek nor take any instructions from any government or any institution, body, office or agency. The Heads of NSIs shall be accountable for the statistical activities and budget execution of the respective NSIs. He/She may be invited to appear before the relevant committee of the national parliament to discuss a matter pertaining to statistical governance and express comments on budget allocation issues related to the statistical activities of the respective NSIs.
Amendment 50 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 3 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 5a – paragraph 2 2. The procedures for recruitment, transfer and dismissal of heads of NSIs shall be transparent
Amendment 51 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 3 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 5 a – paragraph 2 (2) The procedures for recruitment, transfer and dismissal of heads of NSIs
Amendment 52 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 3 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 5a – paragraph 2a (new) 2 a. The dismissal of the heads of NSIs shall be duly motivated and not consequent on political changes.
Amendment 53 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 3 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 5a – paragraph 3 3. The heads of NSIs shall be accountable for the statistical activities and budget execution of the NSI; they shall publish an annual report and may be invited to appear before the relevant committee of the national parliament to discuss matter pertaining to statistical governance and express comments on budget allocation issues related to the statistical activities of the respective NSIs.
Amendment 54 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 3 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 5 a – paragraph 3 (3) The heads of NSIs shall be accountable for the statistical activities and budget execution of the NSI; they shall publish an annual report and may express comments on budget allocation issues in national parliaments related to the statistical activities of the NSI.
Amendment 55 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 3 a (new) Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 5b (new) (3a) The following Article 5b is inserted: Article 5b National Statistical Advisory Boards 1. A National Statistical Governance Advisory Board (the Board) shall be established in each Member State. The purpose of the Board shall be to provide an independent overview of the national providers of European statistics as regards the implementation of the Code of Practice. 2. The Board shall report annually to national Parliaments on the implementation of the Code of Practice in a Member State, and advise the national authorities on appropriate measures to facilitate its implementation. 3. The Board shall represent a cross- section of Union interests and for that purpose they shall comprise at least one Member designated by the Commission.
Amendment 56 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 4 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 6 – paragraph 2 2. At Union level, the Commission (Eurostat) shall act independently in ensuring the production of European statistics according to established rules and statistical principles. In this respect, it shall have the
Amendment 57 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 4 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 6 – paragraph 2 2. At Union level, the Commission (Eurostat) shall act independently in ensuring the production of European statistics according to established rules and statistical principles, through cooperation and coordination with national statistics institutions (NSIs). In this respect, it shall have the sole responsibility for deciding on processes, statistical methods, standards and procedures, and on the content and timing of statistical releases.’
Amendment 58 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4 a (new) Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 6a (new) (4a) the following article is inserted: Article 6a Director-General of the Commission (Eurostat) 1. The statistical office of the Commission (Eurostat) shall be headed by a Director- General. The Director-General shall be appointed by the Commission for a once- renewable term of office of seven years, in accordance with the procedure specified in paragraph 2. 2. The Commission shall publish a call for applications in the Official Journal of the European Union no later than six months before the end of the term of office of the Director-General in office. The procedure for the recruitment of the Director-General shall be transparent and based only on professional criteria. The Commission shall draw up a list of suitably qualified candidates and shall appoint the Director-General after consulting the European Parliament. 3. The Director-General shall have the sole responsibility for deciding on processes, statistical methods, standards and procedures, and on the content and timing of statistical releases and publications for all statistics produced by the Commission (Eurostat). The Director- General shall be empowered to decide on all matters regarding the internal management of the Commission (Eurostat). When carrying out these tasks, the Director-General shall act in an independent manner and shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government or any institution, body, office or agency. 4. The Director-General shall be accountable for the statistical activities and budget execution of the Commission (Eurostat). He or she may be invited to appear before the relevant committee of the European Parliament to discuss matters pertaining to statistical governance and express comments on budget allocation issues related to the statistical activities of the Commission (Eurostat).
Amendment 59 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4 a (new) Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 6 a (new) (
Amendment 60 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4 a (new) Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 7 a (new) Amendment 61 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4 b (new) Regulation (EC) No 233/2009 Article 7 b (new) Amendment 62 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4 c (new) Regulation (EC) No 233/2009 Article 7 c (new) (4c) the following Article is inserted: "Article 7c Transmission and quality of data In case the data flow from NSIs to Eurostat, or the quality of the data, is not to the satisfaction of the Commission, the Commission shall send a public warning to the Member State concerned, publish it on the Eurostat website, and include a reference to it in the corresponding data set. If within six months the problems have not been remedied, the Commission may impose fines in accordance with article [to be inserted, article 7b new on fine for manipulation of statistics]."
Amendment 63 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 5 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 11 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 3. Member States shall take all necessary measures to implement the Code of Practice in order to maintain confidence in their statistics. To this effect, each Member State, represented by its government, shall sign and implement a ‘Commitment on Confidence in Statistics’ whereby specific policy commitments are made to implement the Code and to establish a national quality assurance framework, including self-assessments and improvement actions. The Commitment shall be counter-signed by the Commission. The statistical data, with particular reference to accounting and financial data, used for the purpose of implementing Protocol No 12 on the excessive deficit procedure and the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union shall be certified by the European Court of Auditors, where appropriate on the basis of certification of national statistical data by national audit bodies.
Amendment 64 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 5 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 11 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 3. Member States shall take all necessary measures to implement the Code of Practice in order to maintain confidence in their statistics. To this effect, each Member State, represented by its government, shall sign and implement a “Commitment on Confidence in Statistics” whereby specific policy commitments are made to implement the Code and to establish a national quality assurance framework, including self-assessments and improvement actions. The Commitment shall be counter-signed by the Commission, published on the website of the NSI and Eurostat, and be accompanied by a "Citizen's" summary.
Amendment 65 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 5 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 11 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 3. Member States shall take all necessary measures to implement the Code of Practice in order to maintain confidence in their
Amendment 66 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 5 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 11 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 3. Member States shall take all necessary measures to implement the Code of Practice in order to maintain confidence in their statistics. To this effect, each Member State, represented by its government,
Amendment 67 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 5 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 11 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 3. Member States shall take all necessary measures to implement the Code of Practice in order to maintain confidence in their statistics. To this effect, each Member State, represented by its government, shall sign and implement a ‘Commitment on Confidence in Statistics’ whereby specific policy commitments are made to implement the Code and to establish a national high quality assurance framework, including self-assessments and improvement actions with the participation ad supervision of the national parliaments. The Commitment shall be counter-signed by the Commission.
Amendment 68 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 5 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 11 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 3. Member States shall take all necessary measures to implement the Code of Practice in order to maintain confidence in their statistics. To this effect, each Member State, represented by its government, shall sign and implement a “Commitment on Confidence in Statistics” whereby specific policy commitments are made to implement the Code and to establish a national quality assurance framework, including self-assessments and improvement actions. The Commitment shall be counter-signed by the Commission. NSIs shall publish on their websites whether there is a "Commitment on Confidence in Statistics" established in their Member State.
Amendment 69 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 5 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 article 11 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2 These commitments shall be regularly monitored by the Commission on the basis of annual reports sent by Member States. The Commission shall report to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of these commitments within 3 years of the entry into force of this Regulation. If demonstrated that serious problems persist, the Commission shall propose legislation to render the commitment binding.
Amendment 70 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 5 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 11 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2a (new) The Commission shall devise a template for and encourage peer review and best practice exchanges amongst NSIs.
Amendment 71 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 6 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 12 – paragraph 2 Specific quality requirements, such as target values and minimum standards for the
Amendment 72 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 6 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 12(2) Specific quality requirements, such as target values and minimum standards for the production of statistics, and guidance on methodology, may be laid down in sectoral legislation. Where sectoral legislation does not so provide, the Commission may adopt, by means of delegated acts in accordance with Article 26a, such specific quality requirements and guidance on methodology.
Amendment 73 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 6 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 12 – paragraph 2 Specific quality requirements, such as target values and minimum standards for the production of statistics, may be laid down in sectoral legislation. Where sectoral legislation does not so provide, the Commission may adopt, by means of delegated acts in accordance with Article 26a, such specific quality requirements, provided that these delegated acts do not impose a significant administrative burden on the Member States and on the respondent units.
Amendment 74 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 7 a (new) Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 16 – paragraph 1a (7a) In Article 16, paragraph 1, point (a) is replaced by the following: "a) maximising the availability of statistical aggregates at European level thus enlarging its coverage to economic activities of family businesses and of the third sector, including social economy and improving the timeliness of European statistics, especially in relation to the indicators underpinning the EU2020 objectives,"
Amendment 75 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 8 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 17a – paragraph 1 1. In order to reduce the burden on respondents, the NSIs, other national authorities as referred to in Article 4 and the Commission (Eurostat) shall have the right to access and use, promptly and free of charge, all administrative records and to integrate these administrative records with statistics, to the extent necessary for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics produced under this Regulation.
Amendment 76 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 8 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 17a – paragraph 1 1. In order to reduce the burden on respondents, the NSIs, other national authorities as referred to in Article 4 and the Commission (Eurostat) shall have the right to access and use, promptly and free of charge, all administrative records of publicly available information and to integrate these administrative records with statistics, to the extent necessary for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics.
Amendment 77 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 8 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 17a – paragraph 1 (1) In order to reduce the burden on respondents, the NSIs, other national authorities as referred to in Article 4 and the Commission (Eurostat) shall have the right to access and use, promptly and free of charge, all administrative records and to integrate these administrative records with statistics, but only to the extent necessary for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics.
Amendment 78 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 8 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 17a – paragraph 3 3.
Amendment 79 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 8 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 17a – paragraph 4 4.
Amendment 80 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – point 8 Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 Article 17a – paragraph 4a (new) 4a. The NSIs shall receive relevant metadata from the owners of administrative records used for statistical purposes.
Amendment 81 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 2 – paragraph 2 This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It shall be made available in consolidated form within three months of its entry into force.
source: PE-500.544
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History
(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)
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