PURPOSE: to extend the European statistical programme (ESP) 2013-17, for the period 2018-2020.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) 2017/1951 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 99/2013 on the European statistical programme 2013-17, by extending it to 2020.

CONTENT: this Regulation amending Regulation (EU) No 99/2013 provides the programming framework for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics, the main fields and the objectives of the actions envisaged for the period from 2013 to 2020 .

The implementation of Union policies requires high-quality, comparable and reliable statistical information about the economic, social, territorial and environmental situation in the Union and its components at national and regional level.

Statistics developed, produced and disseminated under the programme contribute to the implementation of the Union's policies as reflected in the TFEU and Europe 2020 and its respective flagship initiatives, as well as other policies set out in the Commission's strategic priorities.

In particular, the programme shall:

support political priorities and economic policy coordination throughout the European Semester ; provide new population projections , including as regards migration flows, in order to update the analyses of the social, economic and budgetary implications of population ageing and of economic inequalities; develop statistics on climate change adaptation, as well as on energy consumption , energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, energy dependence and security of supply, and on circular economy; monitor the objectives and targets of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to be set at Union and Member State level; improve the quality and quantity of information that contributes to the exhaustiveness of the national accounts and, consequently, improve the estimates of tax loss and tax avoidance; measure pockets of high unemployment , including youth unemployment in cross-border regions; reflect the new orientations, in particular in line with the Vision 2020 of the European Statistical System (ESS), to complement the existing objectives, ongoing prioritisation and the availability of data in a context where the Union is facing important challenges in terms of economic development and social cohesion.

The financial envelope for the implementation of the programme for 2018 to 2020 is set at EUR 218.1 million , covered by the programming period 2014 to 2020.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 20.11.2017.

APPLICATION: from 1.1.2018.

The European Parliament adopted by 512 votes to 54 with 676 abstentions a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 99/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European statistical programme 2013-17, by extending it to 2018-2020.

Parliament’s position adopted in first reading following the ordinary legislative procedure amended the Commission proposal as follows:

Reliable, comprehensive European statistics is an important public good : the amended text stressed that the availability of reliable, comprehensive European statistics benefits decision-makers, researchers and the public with the aim of providing accurate data to assist further integration processes in the Union.

Furthermore, high-quality statistics developed, produced and disseminated under the programme, in particular statistics on innovation, research and development, social statistics, environmental statistics as well as energy and transport statistics should allow the monitoring of objectives and targets of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development .

The amendments underlined that the extension of the programme is an opportunity that should be taken to make adaptations and reflect the new orientations, in particular in line with the European Statistical System (ESS) Vision 2020 , to complement the existing objectives, and the availability of data in a context where the Union is facing important challenges in terms of economic development and social cohesion.

Statistical infrastructure and objectives of the European statistical programme 2013-17 : Parliament specified that the production of statistics should involve, inter alia :

employment indicators distinguishing between part-time and full-time employment and between fixed-term contracts and permanent contracts, as well as indicators on unemployment that take into account people in activation policies such as training. These indicators should also include data on gender divides; providing statistical input for efficiently monitoring economic inequalities; statistics that enable better understanding of the economic, social and environmental effects of globalisation; the provision of data that allow for an analysis of the positive and negative consequences for the Union market, in particular the Union labour market ; high-quality macroeconomic indicators in order to better understand and analyse economic fluctuations as well as to better understand and analyse the evolution of economic inequalities and their effects on society; the production of indicators on income, consumption and wealth distribution across households; the development of a framework for measuring quality of life ; the development of indicators measuring environmental sustainability and external effects with a national account perspective; the measurement and analysis of gender inequality , including the wage gap; the development of a methodology for a voluntary survey on gender-based violence; the development of comprehensive indicators on the situation of migrants within the Union; the preparation and implementation of the agricultural census scheduled for 2020.

Statistics are also needed on the main areas of social policy such as: well-being; sustainability; social cohesion; poverty; inequalities; demographic challenges, depopulation, the labour market; education and training, learning mobility of young people, culture, safety, health, disability; consumption, technological innovation and new lifestyle choices etc.

European citizens should be able to draw easily and without obstacles on European statistics to enable them to use such data for their education and decision-making.

Implementation: the Commission shall adopt annual work programmes that shall set out the objectives pursued and the expected results. Each annual work programme shall be communicated to the European Parliament.

Report: by 31 December 2021, the Commission shall, after consulting the ESSC and the ESAC, submit a final evaluation report on the implementation of the programme to the European Parliament and to the Council. The report shall in particular evaluate: (i) the outcome of the reprioritisation and cost evaluation of statistical products; (ii) the progress on rendering access to official statistics easier and more user-friendly, including the provision of data on the Eurostat website; and (iii) the progress on the improvement of data availability, including on social economy activities and on the Europe 2020 indicators.

The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs adopted the report by Roberto GUALTIERI (S&D, IT) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 99/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European statistical programme 2013-17, by extending it to 2018-2020.

The committee recommended that the European Parliament’s position, adopted at first reading following the ordinary legislative procedure, should amend the Commission proposal as follows:

Reliable and comprehensive European statistics : the amended text stressed the importance of prompt, reliable, relevant and publicly available evidence based on European statistics without unnecessary time lags in the provision of such statistics in measuring the progress and evaluating the efficiency of the Union’s policies and programmes, especially in the context of the Europe 2020 strategy and the Agenda for jobs, growth, fairness and democratic change.

Moreover, high quality statistics developed, produced and disseminated under the multiannual programme should contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to the 2015 Paris Agreement, through the monitoring of its objectives and targets.

Statistical infrastructure and objectives of the European statistical programme 2013 to 2020 : Members stated that the statistical production should include, inter alia , the following:

employment indicators distinguishing between part-time and full-time employment and between fixed-term contracts and permanent contracts, as well as indicators on unemployment that take into account people in activation policies such as training. That data should also include data on gender divides; statistical input for efficiently monitoring the economic inequalities that hamper economic growth; statistical information for a better understanding of the economic, social and environmental impact of globalisation ; a set of high-quality macroeconomic indicators in order to better understand and analyse economic fluctuations as well as the evolution of economic inequalities and their effects on society; the production of indicators on income, wealth and consumption distribution across households; the development of a measurement framework of quality of life; the development of a conceptual framework for the measurement and analysis of gender inequality , with particular regard to the wage gap; the development of timely indicators on citizens using the portability of their social rights from one Member State to another; the development of comprehensive indicators on the situation of migrants within the Union; the provision of indicators for a comparison of the cost of providing public services , in particular education and health care, between regions.

Lastly, European citizens should be able to draw easily and without obstacles on European statistics to enable them to use such data for their education and decision-making.

Indicators should be published in a timely manner and, when at all possible, within 12 months of the end of the period of time covered. The Commission (Eurostat) should state publicly the reason for any unduly long delays that might occur.

Reports : by 30 June 2019, the Commission shall, after consulting the ESSC and the European Statistical Advisory Committee, submit an intermediate progress report of the programme to the European Parliament and to the Council.

The final evaluation report (to be presented by 31 December 2021 at the latest) shall evaluate in particular the outcome of reprioritisation and cost evaluation of statistical products, the progress on rendering access to official statistics easier and more user-friendly, including the provision of data on its website.

PURPOSE: to extend the European statistical programme (ESP) 2013-17, for the period 2018-2020.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with Council.

BACKGROUND: the implementation and monitoring of EU policies relies on comparable and high-quality statistical information about the economic, social and environmental situation in the EU and its components at national and regional level. European statistics are also indispensable if ‘Europe’ is to be understood by the general public. The current ESP, as laid down in Regulation (EU) No 99/2013 and covering the period from 2013 to 2017 , is the eighth programme of its kind.

Although national statistical systems have made a significant effort to modernise their production methods with the support of the 2013-2017 European statistical programme (ESP), the current statistical production infrastructure is still not flexible enough to deliver new statistics when needed, while also limiting the associated cost and administrative burden.

In order to satisfy the information needs stemming from the Commission’s 10 political priorities, a number of urgent statistical gaps need to be addressed. Furthermore, the timeliness of some European statistics needs to be improved urgently, so that they provide the more up-to-date information needed in the context of the European Semester exercise.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the preferred option is an amended ESP , including new statistical outputs to align statistical production with the Commission’s 10 political priorities, complemented by major initiatives to reduce the burden on respondents and costs to NSIs, and increased annual budget

CONTENT : by amending Regulation (EU) No 99/2013, the aim of the proposal is to extend the ESP 2013-2017 for the period 2018-2020 and provide the financial support that the European statistical system (ESS) needs in order to be able to:

provide high-quality statistical information and close the statistical gaps that need to be addressed most urgently, focusing on a number of priority areas that reflect the Commission’s 10 political priorities for jobs, growth, fairness and democratic change and other Union policies such as the European Semester, the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, and the European Energy Union; implement new methods on production of European statistics aiming to achieve efficiency gains and improvement in quality; strengthen partnership within the ESS and beyond in order to further increase its productivity and secure its leading role in official statistics worldwide.

In specific terms, the proposal amends the ESP 2013-2017, including new statistical outputs to align statistical production with the Commission’s 10 political priorities, complemented by major initiatives to modernise the methods for producing statistics, reduce the burden on respondents and costs to national statistical institutes (NSIs).

In particular, the initiative will underpin Union policies in the following areas:

social indicators to strengthen the EU social dimension, European monetary union and the social impact analysis of macroeconomic policies; further statistical work to analyse the growth and employment impact of technological change and innovation and to put in place a circular economy monitoring system; more detailed data on energy consumption and better early estimates of energy balances; statistics on online cross-border selling for the ‘digital single market’ priority (accessing services provided by intermediaries in content distribution; trust in online platforms and intermediaries; barriers faced by households making crossborder purchases); a harmonised house price index and related statistics in the context of assessing Member States’ structural reforms; statistics to help the EU to steer and monitor the impact of its external policies and assistance programmes, and to contribute to good governance and democratic debate in partner countries.

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS: the total amount to be borne by the EU budget for the extension of the programme (2018-2020) is EUR 218.1 million (current prices).