Business statistics

 

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EC) No 295/2008 concerning structural business statistics

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

It seeks to ensure that high-quality structural business statistics (SBSs) are collected, compiled and transmitted by European Union (EU) countries to Eurostat according to agreed standards and formats.

KEY POINTS

What are SBSs?

SBSs describe the structure, main characteristics and performance of businesses and are a vital tool for policymakers, as well as for assisting in business decision-making.

Why have SBSs?

Comparable, reliable, thorough and timely statistics are vital for effective policymaking. SBSs provide a basis from which to analyse the performance of various economic activities and sectors. They are becoming an increasingly important component in checking the effectiveness of policies in areas such as the EU’s internal market and the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy.

What do SBSs cover?

Aspects covered include:

• structure and evolution of the activities ofbusinesses (manufacturing, construction, distribution and services, but not, for example, agriculture, forestry or fishing and public administration);
• factors of production used (labour, capital, etc.) and other elements that allow business activity, competitiveness and performance to be measured;
• regional, national, EU and international development of businesses and markets — useful for understanding specific sectors and comparing activity and performance across markets;
• business conduct in relation to, for example, research and development, environmental protection and investment; and
• small and medium-sized enterprises (e.g. for the evaluation of entrepreneurship).

Collection and transmission of SBSs

Each year, EU countries must send to Eurostat a number of ‘data sets’ (by company size, region, etc.) collected by national statistical institutes. These are compiled using the NACE classification, the nomenclature of economic activities in the European Union. The quality of the data is checked before it is published (free of charge) on Eurostat’s website.

How are SBSs used?

SBSs provide information on:

• the wealth created by each activity, broken down by employee, and productivity;
• trends in the structure of business sectors;
• activities in which countries/regions specialise, and how these are structured in different markets.

Compliance

A 2014 Commission report concludes that compliance with the law is ‘very good’ or ‘good’ for most EU countries.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 29 April 2008.

BACKGROUND

For more information, see:

• ‘ Structural business statistics introduced ’ on Eurostat's website.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Regulation (EC) No 295/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2008 concerning structural business statistics (OJ L 97, 9.4.2008, pp. 13-59)

Successive amendments to Regulation (EC) No 295/2008 have been incorporated in the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of the Regulation (EC) No 295/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning structural business statistics (COM(2014) 243 final, 24.4.2014)

last update 07.11.2016