It sets up a system for the gathering and compilation of statistics on income and living conditions in the European Union (EU), known as EU-SILC.
These data serve to monitor the progress of the Europe 2020 strategy and more particularly its target of poverty reduction, hence the importance of ensuring that data collected are comparable by ensuring the rules on their collection and compilation are harmonised.

KEY POINTS

EU-SILC seeks to collect timely cross-sectional* and longitudinal* data on income and on the level and composition of poverty and social exclusion at national and European levels.
It covers cross-sectional data on income, poverty, social exclusion and other living conditions, as well as longitudinal data restricted to income, labour and a limited number of non-monetary indicators of social exclusion (e.g. problems in making ends meet, extent of debt and enforced lack of basic necessities).
Cross-sectional and longitudinal data must be based on samples which are nationally representative based on probability.
The regulation lays down a set of rules that defines the harmonised lists of target primary and secondary variables that EU countries must transmit to the statistical office of the European Commission, Eurostat:
- primary variables are collected annually and include, at household level, basic data, housing, material deprivation and income, and at personal level, basic data, education, health, labour and income;
- secondary variables, which are collected every 4 years or less frequently, include information either at household or personal level on aspects such as housing conditions, poverty being passed on from one generation to the next and material deprivation.
To allow multi-dimensional analysis at the level of households and persons, and in particular to investigate major issues of social concern that are new and require specific research, all household and individual data must be linkable in the cross-sectional component and in the longitudinal component.
EU countries seek to ensure that the timing of their collection of data is kept the same from year to year.
For the first 4 years of EU-SILC, EU countries received a financial contribution from the EU towards the work involved in data collection.
Eurostat may grant access on its premises to confidential data or release sets of anonymised micro-data from the EU-SILC source, for scientific purposes.
The European Statistical System Committee composed of national experts assists, and is chaired by, the Commission. It decides on issues such as target secondary areas to be covered.
The regulation has been amended 3 times to coincide:
- in 2004, with the enlargement of the EU to include 10 new countries;
- in 2007, the further enlargement of the EU to include Bulgaria and Romania; and
- in 2013, with the inclusion of Croatia.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 23 July 2003.

BACKGROUND

EU-SILC was first launched in 2003, when it covered 6 EU countries (Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg and Austria), as well as Norway, and is an integral part of the European Statistical System. Over the years, its coverage has expanded to cover all 28 EU countries, the 3 European Free Trade Association countries (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland), as well as the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey.

* KEY TERMS

Cross-sectional data: data relating to a given time or time period. These data may be extracted from cross-sectional sample surveys and may be combined with register data (i.e. data on persons, households or dwellings compiled from an administrative or statistical register).

Longitudinal data: data relating to individual-level changes over time, observed periodically over a certain duration. They may come either from a cross-sectional survey with a rotational sample where individuals, once selected, are followed up or from a pure panel survey. They may be combined with register data.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 June 2003 concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) (OJ L 165, 3.7.2003, pp. 1–9)

Successive amendments to Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 have been incorporated in the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

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