EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 28.7.2023

COM(2023) 459 final

2023/0288(COD)

Proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on European Union labour market statistics on businesses, repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 530/1999 and Regulations (EC) No 450/2003 and (EC) No 453/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council

(Text with EEA relevance)

{SEC(2023) 295 final} - {SWD(2023) 265 final} - {SWD(2023) 266 final}

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

•Reasons for and objectives of the proposal

The information collected in several LMB data sets is biased due to the incomplete coverage of the public sector (or parts of it) and micro firms. For several Member States, businesses with one to nine employees are not covered in the structure of earnings survey or in the labour cost survey. This creates biases in key statistics such as the average and median earnings, which are used to derive the gender pay gap or to assess the adequacy of minimum wages. Moreover, the lack of a legal obligation to provide information on the gender pay gap became more problematic as the current data collection is voluntary and does not cover all EU countries or all the required variables. This creates a risk for monitoring gender equality and fair working conditions.

•Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area

•Consistency with other EU policies

2.LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY

•Legal basis

•Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)

•Proportionality

•Choice of the instrument

3.RESULTS OF EX POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS

•Ex post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation

On the positive side, the evaluation shows that LMB allow collecting high quality information that are widely used for the intended purposes. The strengths of LMB lie in their coherence, efficiency, comparability and the fact that they are well established, reliable and widely used by organisations and policymakers at all levels. One of the current legal framework’s weaknesses is that it does not cover data collection on the gender pay gap. The lack of a legal obligation to provide annual information on the gender pay gap has become more problematic as the voluntary data collection infringes on its quality and brings risk factors to following up the European Pillar of Social Rights, EU monitoring of goal 5 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and monitoring the gender equality strategy and the directive on pay transparency. Some Member States have not provided any annual gender pay gap data.

Another weakness of the current legal framework is that it does not capture significant actors of the EU economy, such as micro firms. Some shortcomings of the LMB that were already identified when the legal acts were adopted remain. These shortcomings were addressed in different ways in the existing framework (by requiring feasibility studies that could have led to an amendment of the legislation or by providing financial support for creating the capabilities needed) but were not resolved for some data collections. Therefore, the information collected is biased in several LMB, in particular due to the incomplete coverage of some sectors of the economy or of micro-enterprises. As a result, the data provided to Eurostat cannot be used to their full potential: EU aggregates cannot be calculated for the whole economy, and it is difficult to compare countries.

Moreover, there is room for improving the timeliness and frequency of LMB data. The results of the stakeholder consultation show that the frequency of the structure of earnings survey and the labour cost survey is not sufficient anymore for some users. They also believe that the timeliness could be improved for both surveys as well as for the labour cost index.

Another shortcoming is that LMB, with an increased focus on evidence-based policy making, became important over time for improved analysis. The existing legislation focuses on data needs for the policy priorities at the time when the initiative was originally developed. Over time, these priorities have evolved, and the current LMB no longer cover policy breakdowns or variables sufficiently. Most notably, the gaps confirmed in the stakeholder consultation focus on a series of variables that, when included in the structure of earnings survey, would allow for a better analysis of the microdata and the derived gender pay gap. Lastly, more granular data on job vacancies was considered necessary.

An additional weakness of the current legal framework is that it is not adapted to make use of new sources in Member States and at EU level. The LMB regulations did not envisage the use of innovative data as a possible source because they were not available at that time. Therefore, the current quality reporting framework is not fit for assessing those new data sources. Moreover, the increased use of administrative data that has been observed in recent years would require proper documentation, which is not possible through the existing quality reporting.

•Stakeholder consultations

The consultation strategy mapped key stakeholder profiles in three main groups: (i) providers of source data (such as holders of administrative data) and respondents (data providers in businesses participating directly in the data collection); (ii) statistics producers (mainly national statistical institutes); and (iii) statistics users.

The consultation included the following activities: public and targeted consultations, a targeted workshop, interviews with key stakeholders and desk research.

The stakeholder consultation successfully reached the intended stakeholder groups (except administrative data providers, individual enterprises employing less than 10 people, and media organisations). The burden on enterprises related to LMB was assessed indirectly via the national statistical institutes, and some business associations also gave their views. Given the subject’s technical nature, respondents’ overall engagement was considered sufficient to support the back-to-back evaluation and impact assessment of LMB.

•Collection and use of expertise

The LMB review was presented and discussed with Commission expert groups to seek advice and input on the progress of the evaluation and impact assessment. These were mostly meetings of Eurostat-led expert groups with the participation of Member State experts, namely the Labour Market Statistics Working Group  and the ( group of the European Directors of Social Statistics ). The European Statistical System Committee 10  was also kept informed of progress.

Eurostat carried out this evaluation with support from a study contracted to ICF SA, Belgium. This support study provided the preparation of the evaluation and impact analysis, the analysis of the public consultation, and the organisation and analysis of stakeholder consultation activities (except for the public consultation that was prepared by Eurostat).

•Impact assessment

The general objective set out in the impact assessment is to produce LMB that are up to date, relevant, comprehensive in coverage of all economic sectors, comparable across Member States and consistent with related statistical domains. This can be broken down into three specific objectives aligned to the problems outlined above:

·adapt the regulatory framework to allow for flexibility in meeting emerging needs, publish more timely statistics, and promote the use of innovative sources and methods (whose quality has been duly assessed);

·extend the coverage of statistics to the whole economy, and ensure gender pay gap data are provided by all Members States;

·improve the consistency with related statistical domains.

Policy options have been developed by grouping detailed policy measures that address the specific objectives.

Option 0 is the baseline scenario.

In option 1, the data collections specified in the three existing regulations are integrated under a new single framework regulation that also covers the gender pay gap. Definitions, concepts and approaches are aligned, and an overall planning is set up to better synchronise data transmissions. Except for the new legal basis for the gender pay gap, all improvements that go beyond a mere recast of the current legislation would remain voluntary. As a result, option 1 does not address emerging needs. It would only partially address the existing coverage gaps or slightly improve the timeliness of LMB data for a few voluntary countries.

In option 2, the coverage is extended to micro businesses for the structure of earnings survey (only for collecting the main information to limit burden) but not for the labour cost survey. The scope of both those surveys is extended to the NACE section ‘Public administration and defence; compulsory social security’, and job vacancy statistics cover the whole economy in all countries. Timeliness is slightly improved for the quarterly labour cost index and for the 4-yearly structure of earnings survey but not for the labour cost survey. The frequency of both surveys stays as it is in the baseline. Developing a legal basis for the gender pay gap and covering emerging needs is also part of this option. This option also ensures improved quality reporting for all data collections and better harmonisation and planning via the integrated framework regulation.

Option 3 exhaustively tackles the need for improvement and harmonisation of all LMB as expressed by stakeholders. It includes all identified policy measures or the most ambitious ones when alternative ones were envisaged. These measures are related to coverage, timeliness, high frequency of surveys on the structure of earnings and labour costs, quality reporting, use of administrative data and innovative sources, alignment of concepts across LMB domains, making gender pay gap data collection compulsory and covering emerging needs. That means that the coverage of both surveys is extended to micro firms and to the NACE section ‘Public administration and defence; compulsory social security’, and job vacancy statistics cover the whole economy. The timeliness of the structure of earnings survey shows a significant improvement, while the labour cost survey shows a moderate improvement; the timeliness of the labour cost index also improves. In this option, LMB benefits from improved quality reporting and better harmonisation and planning through one integrated framework regulation.

A qualitative assessment of the four options selected for the impact assessment was carried out. It assessed proportionality, followed by effectiveness, efficiency and coherence.

According to the estimates based on information from the national statistical institutes, option 3 creates a significant increase in the burden on businesses, and this leads to an 88% increase in their costs for answering surveys. Option 2 results in an 11% increase in the burden on businesses. In option 3, the costs for data compilers increase by 64% against 12% in option 2. Option 1 creates a negligible increase in the burden on and costs for businesses and national statistical institutes.

•Regulatory fitness and simplification

(a)Merging the existing three framework regulations into one single legal act.

(b)Fostering the use of alternative administrative sources and modern digital techniques, including web scraping and automatically transferring payroll data, which will play a role in mitigating the burden on enterprises in general and small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in particular. This could be achieved by extracting earnings and labour cost data from the payroll systems of companies and job advertisements from internet. New administrative and innovative data should also help cover emerging needs.

(c)Only collecting variables on apprentices from those countries where they represent a sizeable share of all employees (more than 1%).

•Fundamental rights

4.BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS

5.OTHER ELEMENTS

•Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements

•Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal

2023/0288 (COD)

Proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on European Union labour market statistics on businesses, repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 530/1999 and Regulations (EC) No 450/2003 and (EC) No 453/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 338(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee 13 ,

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions 14 ,

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,

Whereas:

(1)Labour market statistics on businesses in the European Union are required for the design, implementation and evaluation of the Union policies, in particular those addressing economic, social and territorial cohesion, the European employment strategy, the European Pillar of Social Rights and the European Semester.

(2)The prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances according to Regulation (EU) 1176/2011 15 and the monitoring of adequate minimum wages according to Directive (EU) 2022/2041 of the European Parliament and of the Council 16 require accurate information on the evolution of hourly labour costs and wage levels across Member States.

(3)The European Central Bank uses European labour market statistics on businesses, in the context of the single monetary policy, for monitoring inflation and deflation risks arising from labour costs. Therefore, accurate, timely and comparable Union statistics on the evolution of labour costs are necessary.

(4)It is necessary to extend the coverage of job vacancy statistics and the timeliness of the labour cost index as both indicators are listed among the Principal European Economic Indicators (PEEIs) 17 , needed to monitor monetary and economic policies.

(5)A legal basis is necessary to regulate the transmission of the annual gender pay gap for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals under the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations (UN), in particular, goal 5 on Gender Equality.

(6)The implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation 18 requires comparable data on wages received by men and women. Directive (EU) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women 19 requires Member States to provide the Commission with up-to-date gender pay gap data annually and in a timely manner. This obligation should be complemented by the appropriate necessary statistical frame for compiling and transmitting gender pay gap data.

(7)In order to simplify the existing legislation and foster harmonisation in scope, concepts, definitions and quality reporting, this Regulation should cover all European labour market statistics on businesses.

(8)This Regulation should take into account new needs that have emerged with the development and deepening of the Union and the euro area, provided that its provisions do not create a disproportionate burden on respondents or national statistical authorities.

(9)To limit the burden on enterprises, in particular on SMEs, the national statistical authorities should consider administrative and innovative sources, the main aim of which is not the provision of statistics, as a substitute for or a complement to statistical surveys, subject to the quality requirements for official statistics. The latest technological and digital developments can contribute to this objective.

(10)In order to improve the efficiency of the statistical production processes of labour market statistics and to reduce the statistical burden on respondents, national statistical authorities should have the right to access and use, promptly and free of charge, all national administrative records and to integrate those administrative records with statistics, to the extent necessary for the development, production and dissemination of European Union labour market statistics on businesses, in accordance with Article 17a of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council 20 .

(11)Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 constitutes the reference framework for this Regulation, including as regards the protection of confidential data.

(12)Since the objective of this Regulation, namely the establishment of a common framework for systematic production of high quality European Union labour market statistics on businesses, cannot be sufficiently achieved by Member States but can rather, for reasons of consistency and comparability, 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 does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective. 

(13)The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted in accordance with Article 42(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council 21  and delivered an opinion on [xxx].

(14)For the appropriate implementation of this Regulation in Members States, at least 12 months after the date of entering into force are needed before the first data collection.

(15)The European Statistical System Committee has been consulted.

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Subject matter

This Regulation lays down a common legal framework for the development, production and dissemination of labour market statistics on businesses in the Union.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

(1)‘statistical unit’ means the entity on which the data are collected or compiled;

(2)‘enterprise’ means a set of legal units as defined in Council Regulation (EEC) No 696/93 22 ; This includes non-market producers and other institutional units that belong to the general government sector;

(3)‘local unit’ means an enterprise, or a part thereof, situated in a geographically identified place;

(4)‘resident enterprise’, respectively ‘resident local unit’, means an enterprise, respectively a local unit, carrying out economic activities contributing to the gross domestic product (GDP);

(5)‘employee’ means any person irrespective of his/her nationality, residency or how long he/she has worked in the Member State who has a direct employment contract with an enterprise (whether the agreement is formal or informal) and receive remuneration, irrespective of the type of work performed, the number of hours worked (full-time or part-time) and the duration of the contract (fixed or indefinite, including seasonal); the remuneration of an employee can take the form of wages and salaries, including bonuses, pay for piecework and shift work, allowances, fees, commission and remuneration in kind;

(6)‘employer’ means an enterprise or a local unit that has a direct employment contract with an employee (whether the agreement is formal or informal);

(7)‘domain’ means one or several data sets that cover one or several topics;

(8)‘topic’ means the content of the information to be collected about the statistical units in a data collection, with each topic covering several detailed topics;

(9)‘detailed topic’ means the detailed content of the information to be collected about the statistical units related to a topic; each detailed topic covers one or several variables;

(10)‘variable’ means a characteristic of a unit that may assume more than one of a set of values, which can be an absolute figure, a proportion, or a reference to a position in a classification;

(11)‘breakdown’ means a predefined discrete, exhaustive and mutually exclusive set of values which can be assigned to a variable characterising statistical units;

(12)‘microdata’ means data concerning only one statistical unit without a direct identifier;

(13)‘aggregated data’ means data concerning a set of several statistical units;

(14)‘statistical population’ means the set of statistical units about which information is wanted and estimates are required;

(15)‘sampling frame’ means a list, map or other specification of the units which determine a statistical population that is to be completely enumerated or sampled;

(16)‘sample’ means a subset of a sampling frame whose elements are selected based on a process with a known probability of selection, designed so as to allow for deriving valid estimations for the statistical population;

(17)‘respondent’ means the reporting unit that supplies information to the authority conducting the survey;

(18)‘survey data’ means data collected on a sample of respondents and extrapolated to the statistical population by using appropriate mathematical methods;

(19)‘administrative records’ mean data generated by an administrative entity, usually a public body, the main aim of which is not the provision of statistics;

(20)‘other sources’ means data generated by a non-administrative entity including private records, websites and databases, the main aim of which is not the provision of official statistics;

(21)‘statistical classification’ means an ordered list, with one or more levels of detail, of related though mutually exclusive categories used to structure information in a given statistical domain according to its similarities;

(22)‘reference period’ means the period to which the data refer;

(23)‘data collection period’ means the time period at which the data are collected.

(24)‘metadata’ means information that is needed to use and interpret statistics and that describes the data in a structured way;

(25)‘pre-checked data’ means data verified by Member States based on agreed common validation rules;

(26)‘quality report’ means a report conveying information about the quality of a statistical product or process.

Article 3

Sources and methods

1. For the purpose of compiling statistics under this Regulation, Member States shall use or reuse one or a combination of the following sources provided they meet the quality standards referred to in Article 8:

(a)survey data;

(b)administrative records;

(c)other sources.

2. Surveys used for the purpose of labour market statistics on businesses shall be based on samples which are representative of the statistical population. Samples of enterprises or local units shall be drawn from the national statistical business registers as defined in Article 8(4) of Regulation (EU) 2019/2152.

3. Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat) with detailed information on the sources and methods used through the quality reports referred to in Article 8(4).

Article 4

Data requirements

1. Labour market statistics on businesses shall cover the following domains and topics:

(a)earnings:

–(i) structure of earnings;

–(ii) gender pay gap;

(b)labour costs:

–(i) structure of labour costs;

–(ii) labour cost index;

(c)labour demand:

–(i) job vacancies.

The topics labour cost index, referred to in point (b)(ii), and job vacancies, referred to in point (c)(i), include their respective early estimates referred to in Article 5.

2. For each topic listed in paragraph 1, the detailed topics, their corresponding periodicity, reference periods and transmission deadlines shall be as set out in the Annex.

3. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 13 to amend the list of the detailed topics, the periodicity, the reference periods and the transmission deadlines set out in the Annex.

4. When exercising power to adopt delegated acts pursuant to paragraph 3, the Commission shall ensure that the amendments do not impose significant and disproportionate burden on Member States and respondents. For this purpose, feasibility studies as set out in Article 9 shall be launched and their results duly assessed and taken into account.

5. The data shall be transmitted to the Commission (Eurostat) in the form of aggregated data, except for the topic structure of earnings, referred to in paragraph 1, point (a)(i), for which microdata shall be transmitted for individual employees and local units.

6. Member States shall provide pre-checked data and related metadata using a technical format specified by the Commission (Eurostat) for each data set. The single entry point services shall be used to provide the data to the Commission (Eurostat).

7. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts specifying the following elements for each topic:

(a)the list and description of variables;

(b)statistical classifications and data breakdowns;

(c)precision targets;

(d)the metadata to be transmitted with the same periodicity, reference period and deadlines as the data they refer to;

(e)the data collection periods.

These implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 14(2) at least 12 months before the beginning of the relevant reference period.

Article 5

Early estimates

1. Early estimates for the labour cost index referred to in Article 4(1), point (b)(ii) and job vacancies referred to in Article 4(1), point (c)(i) shall be transmitted:

(a)by Member States whose annual number of employees represents more than 3% of the EU total, for each of the 3 latest consecutive years; and

(b)by Member States of the euro area whose annual number of employees represents more than 3% of the euro area total, for each of the 3 latest consecutive years;

2. The shares of employees in the EU total and euro area total mentioned in paragraph 1 shall be assessed by the Commission (Eurostat) based on the available EU labour force survey annual data.

3. Should there be any change in the list of Member States whose annual number of employees is higher than the thresholds referred to in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 1, the Commission (Eurostat) shall notify the Member State(s) concerned within 6 months after the end of the period used to assess the 3% threshold. If the updated shares of employees fall below the respective thresholds referred to in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 1, the Member State(s) concerned shall be allowed to stop transmitting early estimates as from the reference quarter of the first calendar year following the date of the notification. If the updated shares fall above those thresholds, the Member State(s) concerned shall transmit the early estimates from the first reference quarter of the third calendar year following the date of the notification.

Article 6

Statistical units and statistical population

1. Statistics under this Regulation shall be compiled for one or more of the following statistical units:

(a)enterprises;

(b)local units;

(c)employees.

2. For topics labour cost index, referred to in Article 4(1), point (b)(ii) and job vacancies, referred to in Article 4(1), point (c)(i), the statistical population shall consist of all enterprises or all local units that are resident of the Member State and which fulfil the following conditions:

(a)their main economic activity is included in any section of the NACE classification 23 , except ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’, ‘Activities of households as employers and undifferentiated goods – and services – producing activities of households for own use’ and ‘Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies’ and

(b)they have 1 or more employees.

3. For topics structure of earnings, referred to in Article 4(1), point (a)(i), and gender pay gap, referred to in Article 4(1), point (a)(ii), as regards data on the employer, the statistical population shall consist of all local units that are resident of the Member State and which fulfil the following conditions:

(a)their economic activity is included in any section of the NACE classification, except ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’, ‘Activities of households as employers and undifferentiated goods – and services – producing activities of households for own use’ and ‘Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies’; and

(b)they have 1 or more employees.

For the topics structure of earnings and the gender pay gap, as regards data on the employee, the statistical population shall consist of all employees whose local unit belongs to the statistical population defined under points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph.

4. By derogation to points (a) and (b) of paragraph 3, as regards gender pay gap data for reference period 2026, the transmission shall cover all local units that are part of enterprises with 10 or more employees and that, in addition to the activities excluded in paragraph 3 point (a), do not belong to the section ‘Public administration and defence; compulsory social security’ of the NACE classification.

5. For the topic structure of labour costs, referred to in Article 4(1), point (b)(i), the statistical population shall consist of all local units that are resident of the Member State and which fulfil the following conditions:

(a)their economic activity is included in any section of the NACE classification, except ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’, ‘Activities of households as employers and undifferentiated goods – and services – producing activities of households for own use’ and ‘Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies’; and

(b)they are part of enterprises with 10 or more employees.

Article 7

Ad hoc data requirements

1. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts supplementing this Regulation in accordance with Article 13 by specifying the information to be provided by Member States on an ad hoc basis, where, within the scope of this Regulation, the collection of additional data is deemed necessary for the purpose of addressing additional statistical data needs. Those delegated acts shall specify:

(a)the detailed topics to be provided in the ad hoc data collection related to the domains and topics specified in Article 4 and the reasons for such additional needs;

(b)the reference periods and transmission deadlines.

2. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts referred to in paragraph 1 starting with reference year 2028 and with a minimum of 2 years between each ad hoc collection.

3. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts to specify the ad hoc information referred to in paragraph 1 and metadata. Those implementing acts shall specify the following technical elements, where appropriate:

(a)the list and description of variables;

(b)statistical classifications and data breakdowns;

(c)detailed specifications of the statistical units covered;

(d)the metadata to be transmitted;

(e)the data collection periods.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 14(2) not later than 24 months before the beginning of the relevant reference period.

Article 8

Quality requirements and quality reporting

1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure the quality of the data and metadata transmitted.

2. Member States shall ensure that the data obtained using the sources laid down in Article 3 provide a full coverage of and give accurate estimates on the statistical units and population defined in Article 6.

3. For the purpose of this Regulation, the quality criteria defined in Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 shall apply.

4. Member States shall transmit quality reports on the sources and methods for each of the topics listed in Article 4.

5. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts to set out the practical arrangements for the quality reports and their content. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 14(2).

6. Member States shall inform the Commission (Eurostat) about any relevant information or change with regard to the implementation of this Regulation that would influence the quality of the data transmitted. The information shall be given as soon as possible and no later than 3 months after any such change enters into force.

7. Upon a duly reasoned request from the Commission (Eurostat), Member States shall provide additional information necessary to evaluate the quality of the statistical information.

8. The Commission (Eurostat) shall assess the quality of the data transmitted, the sources and methods used and the sampling frames.

Article 9

Feasibility and pilot studies

1. In order to improve the labour market statistics on businesses or to limit the burden on enterprises, the Commission (Eurostat) may initiate feasibility and pilot studies. The purpose of such studies shall include improving quality and comparability, exploring new possibilities and implementing new features to respond to user needs, improving integration between surveys and other data sources, and reducing the burden on respondents. The studies shall take into account technological and digital developments.

2. Member States may participate in those studies on a voluntary basis. In cooperation with the Commission (Eurostat), they shall ensure the studies are representative at Union level.

3. The results of those studies shall be evaluated by the Commission (Eurostat) in cooperation with Member States and the main stakeholders. The Commission (Eurostat) shall prepare reports on the findings of the studies in cooperation with the Member States.

Article 10

Financing

1. A financial contribution may be provided from the general budget of the Union to the national statistical institutes and other national authorities, referred to in Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009, to:

(a)improve sources, including sampling frames, for the labour market statistics on businesses, from the date this Regulation enters into force until 31 December 2029 at the latest;

(b)improve methods for the labour market statistics on businesses, including the feasibility and pilot studies referred to in Article 9.

The Union shall not finance costs for the regular compilation of statistics to be transmitted under this Regulation.

2. The Union financial contribution shall not exceed 90% of the eligible costs.

Article 11

Protection of the financial interests of the Union

1. The Commission shall take appropriate measures to ensure that, when actions financed under this Regulation are implemented, the financial interests of the Union are protected by the application of preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities, by effective checks and, if irregularities are detected, by the recovery of the amounts wrongly paid and, where appropriate, by effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative and financial penalties.

2. The Commission or its representatives and the Court of Auditors shall have the power of audit, on the basis of documents and on-the-spot checks, over all grant beneficiaries, contractors and subcontractors who have received Union funds under this Regulation.

3. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, in accordance with the provisions and procedures laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council 24 and Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 25 with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union in connection with a grant agreement or grant decision or contract funded under this Regulation.

4. Without prejudice to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, cooperation agreements with third countries and with international organisations, contracts, grant agreements and grant decisions resulting from the implementation of this Regulation shall contain provisions expressly empowering the Commission, the Court of Auditors, the European Public Prosecutor and OLAF to conduct such audits and investigations, in accordance with their respective competences.

Article 12

Derogations

1. Where the application of this Regulation, or the delegated or implementing acts adopted pursuant thereto, requires major changes to be made to a Member State’s national statistical system, the Commission may grant, by means of implementing acts, derogations to the Member State, for a maximum duration of 2 years. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 14(2).

When granting the derogations, the Commission shall take into account the comparability of Member States’ statistics and the timely calculation of the required representative and reliable European aggregates. The Commission shall also ensure that the requirements related to statistics, metadata and quality covered under this Regulation that were previously covered under the repealed regulations continue to be met without interruption.

2. The relevant Member State shall submit a duly justified request to the Commission within 3 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation or the delegated or implementing acts adopted pursuant thereto.

Article 13

Exercise of the delegation

1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Articles 4(3) and 7(1) shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from [Publications Office: please insert exact date of entry into force of the Regulation].

3. The delegation of power referred to in Articles 4(3) and 7(1) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect on the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

4. Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making.

5. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Articles 4(3) and 7(1) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or the Council.

Article 14

Committee procedure

1. The Commission shall be assisted by the European Statistical System Committee established by Regulation (EC) No 223/2009. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

Article 15

Repeal

1. Regulations (EC) No 530/1999, (EC) No 450/2003 and (EC) No 453/2008 are repealed with effect from 1 January 2026.

2. References to the repealed Regulations shall be construed as references to this Regulation.

Article 16

Entry into force and application

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 apply from 1 January 2026.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels,

LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT

1.FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE

1.1.Title of the proposal/initiative

1.2.Policy area(s) concerned

1.3.The proposal/initiative relates to:

1.4.Objective(s)

1.4.1.General objective(s)

1.4.2.Specific objective(s)

1.4.3.Expected result(s) and impact

1.4.4.Indicators of performance

1.5.Grounds for the proposal/initiative

1.5.1.Requirement(s) to be met in the short or long term including a detailed timeline for roll-out of the implementation of the initiative

1.5.2.Added value of Union involvement (it may result from different factors, e.g. coordination gains, legal certainty, greater effectiveness or complementarities). For the purposes of this point ‘added value of Union involvement’ is the value resulting from Union intervention, which is additional to the value that would have been otherwise created by Member States alone.

1.5.3.Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past

1.5.4.Compatibility with the multiannual financial framework and possible synergies with other appropriate instruments

1.5.5.Assessment of the different available financing options, including scope for redeployment

1.6.Duration and financial impact of the proposal/initiative

1.7.Method(s) of budget implementation planned

2.MANAGEMENT MEASURES

2.1.Monitoring and reporting rules

2.2.Management and control system(s)

2.2.1.Justification of the management mode(s), the funding implementation mechanism(s), the payment modalities and the control strategy proposed

2.2.2.Information concerning the risks identified and the internal control system(s) set up to mitigate them

2.2.3.Estimation and justification of the cost-effectiveness of the controls (ratio of ‘control costs ÷ value of the related funds managed’), and assessment of the expected levels of risk of error (at payment & at closure)

2.3.Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities

3.ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE

3.1.Heading(s) of the multiannual financial framework and expenditure budget line(s) affected

3.2.Estimated financial impact of the proposal on appropriations

3.2.1.Summary of estimated impact on operational appropriations

3.2.2.Estimated output funded with operational appropriations

3.2.3.Summary of estimated impact on administrative appropriations

3.2.3.1.Estimated requirements of human resources

3.2.4.Compatibility with the current multiannual financial framework

3.2.5.Third-party contributions

3.3.Estimated impact on revenue

LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT

1.FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE

1.1.Title of the proposal/initiative

1.2.Policy area(s) concerned

1.3.The proposal/initiative relates to:

◻ a new action

◻ a new action following a pilot project/preparatory action 26

◻ the extension of an existing action

X a merger or redirection of one or more actions towards another/a new action

1.4.Objective(s)

1.4.1.General objective(s)

1.4.2.Specific objective(s)

1.4.3.Expected result(s) and impact

Specify the effects which the proposal/initiative should have on the beneficiaries/groups targeted.

1.4.4.Indicators of performance

Specify the indicators for monitoring progress and achievements.

1.5.Grounds for the proposal/initiative

1.5.1.Requirement(s) to be met in the short or long term including a detailed timeline for roll-out of the implementation of the initiative

1.5.2.Added value of Union involvement (it may result from different factors, e.g. coordination gains, legal certainty, greater effectiveness or complementarities). For the purposes of this point ’added value of Union involvement’ is the value resulting from Union intervention, which is additional to the value that would have been otherwise created by Member States alone.

1.5.3.Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past

1.5.4.Compatibility with the multiannual financial framework and possible synergies with other appropriate instruments

1.5.5.Assessment of the different available financing options, including scope for redeployment

1.6.Duration and financial impact of the proposal/initiative

◻ limited duration

–◻    in effect from [DD/MM]YYYY to [DD/MM]YYYY

–◻    Financial impact from YYYY to YYYY for commitment appropriations and from YYYY to YYYY for payment appropriations.

x unlimited duration

–Implementation with a start-up period from 2023 to 2024,

–followed by a full-scale operation.

1.7.Method(s) of budget implementation planned 27

x Direct management by the Commission

–x by its departments, including by its staff in the Union delegations;

–◻    by the executive agencies

◻ Shared management with the Member States

◻ Indirect management by entrusting budget implementation tasks to:

–◻ third countries or the bodies they have designated;

–◻ international organisations and their agencies (to be specified);

–◻ the EIB and the European Investment Fund;

–◻ bodies referred to in Articles 70 and 71 of the Financial Regulation;

–◻ public law bodies;

–◻ bodies governed by private law with a public service mission to the extent that they are provided with adequate financial guarantees;

–◻ bodies governed by the private law of a Member State that are entrusted with the implementation of a public-private partnership and that are provided with adequate financial guarantees;

–◻ bodies or persons entrusted with the implementation of specific actions in the CFSP pursuant to Title V of the TEU, and identified in the relevant basic act.

–If more than one management mode is indicated, please provide details in the ‘Comments’ section.

Comments

2.MANAGEMENT MEASURES

2.1.Monitoring and reporting rules

Specify frequency and conditions.

2.2.Management and control system(s)

2.2.1.Justification of the management mode(s), the funding implementation mechanism(s), the payment modalities and the control strategy proposed

2.2.2.Information concerning the risks identified and the internal control system(s) set up to mitigate them

2.2.3.Estimation and justification of the cost-effectiveness of the controls (ratio of ‘control costs ÷ value of the related funds managed’), and assessment of the expected levels of risk of error (at payment & at closure)

2.3.Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities

Specify existing or envisaged prevention and protection measures, e.g. from the Anti-Fraud Strategy.

3.ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE

3.1.Heading(s) of the multiannual financial framework and expenditure budget line(s) affected

·Existing budget lines

In order of multiannual financial framework headings and budget lines.

·New budget lines requested

In order of multiannual financial framework headings and budget lines.

3.2.Estimated financial impact of the proposal on appropriations

3.2.1.Summary of estimated impact on operational appropriations

–◻    The proposal/initiative does not require the use of operational appropriations

–X    The proposal/initiative requires the use of operational appropriations, as explained below.

EUR million (to three decimal places)

If more than one operational heading is affected by the proposal / initiative, repeat the section above:

This section should be filled in using the ‘budget data of an administrative nature’ to be first introduced in the Annex to the Legislative Financial Statement (Annex 5 to the Commission decision on the internal rules for the implementation of the Commission section of the general budget of the European Union), which is uploaded to DECIDE for interservice consultation purposes.

EUR million (to three decimal places)

EUR million (to three decimal places)

3.2.2.Estimated output funded with operational appropriations

Commitment appropriations in EUR million (to three decimal places)

3.2.3.Summary of estimated impact on administrative appropriations

–◻    The proposal/initiative does not require the use of appropriations of an administrative nature

–x    The proposal/initiative requires the use of appropriations of an administrative nature, as explained below:

EUR million (to three decimal places)

The appropriations required for human resources and other expenditure of an administrative nature will be met by appropriations from the DG that are already assigned to management of the action and/or have been redeployed within the DG, together if necessary with any additional allocation which may be granted to the managing DG under the annual allocation procedure and in the light of budgetary constraints.

3.2.3.1.Estimated requirements of human resources

–◻    The proposal/initiative does not require the use of human resources.

–x    The proposal/initiative requires the use of human resources, as explained below:

Estimate to be expressed in full time equivalent units

3 is the policy area or budget title concerned.

The human resources required will be met by staff from the DG who are already assigned to management of the action and/or have been redeployed within the DG, together if necessary with any additional allocation which may be granted to the managing DG under the annual allocation procedure and in the light of budgetary constraints.

Description of tasks to be carried out:

3.2.4.Compatibility with the current multiannual financial framework

The proposal/initiative:

–X    can be fully financed through redeployment within the relevant heading of the multiannual financial framework (MFF).

–◻    requires use of the unallocated margin under the relevant heading of the MFF and/or use of the special instruments as defined in the MFF Regulation.

–◻    requires a revision of the MFF.

3.2.5.Third-party contributions

The proposal/initiative:

–x    does not provide for co-financing by third parties

–◻    provides for the co-financing by third parties estimated below:

Appropriations in EUR million (to three decimal places)

3.3.Estimated impact on revenue

–X    The proposal/initiative has no financial impact on revenue.

–◻    The proposal/initiative has the following financial impact:

–◻    on own resources

–◻    on other revenue

–please indicate, if the revenue is assigned to expenditure lines ◻    

EUR million (to three decimal places)

For assigned revenue, specify the budget expenditure line(s) affected.

Other remarks (e.g. method/formula used for calculating the impact on revenue or any other information).

(1)    Council Regulations: No 10/1960, No 14/1961, No 28/1962, No 151/1962, No 101/66/EEC, (EEC) No 1899/68, (EEC) No 2259/71, (EEC) No 328/75, (EEC) No 494/78, Regulations (EEC) No 2053/69, (EEC) No 3192/73 and (EEC) No 494/78, (EEC) No 1596/81, (EEC) No 3149/83, (EEC) No 1612/88, (EEC) No 3949/92, No 2744/95, (EC) No 23/97.

(2)     https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/sdi/overview .

(3)     https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/economy-works-people/jobs-growth-and-investment/european-pillar-social-rights_en .

(4)    Directive (EU) 2022/2041 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on adequate minimum wages in the European Union (OJ L 275 of 25.10.2022, p. 33).

(5)    Directive (EU) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms (OJ L 132 of 17.05.2023, p. 21).

(6)    Council Recommendation of 20 September 2016 on the establishment of National Productivity Boards (OJ C 349 of 24.09.2016, p. 1).

(7)    Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the production method of EU statistics: a vision for the next decade (COM/2009/0404 final).

(8)    Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 October 2019 establishing a common framework for European statistics relating to persons and households, based on data at individual level collected from samples (OJ L 261I of 14.10.2019, p. 1).

(9)    Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on European business statistics, repealing 10 legal acts in the field of business statistics (OJ L 327 of 17.12.2019, p. 1).

(10)    Established under Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

(11)    SWD(2023) 265; SWD(2023) 266.

(12)    SEC(2023) 295.

(13)    OJ C , , p. .

(14)    OJ C , , p. .

(15)    Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2011 on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances (OJ L 306, 23.11.2011, p. 25)

(16)    Directive (EU) 2022/2041 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on adequate minimum wages in the European Union (OJ L 275 of 25.10.2022, p. 33).

(17)    Communication of the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on eurozone statistics ‘towards improved methodologies for eurozone statistics and indicators’ – COM/2002/0661 final of 27 November 2002.

(18)    Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation (OJ L 204 of 26.07.2006, p. 23)

(19)    Directive (EU) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms (OJ L 132 of 17.05.2023, p. 21).

(20)    Regulation (EC) No  223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11  March 2009 on European statistics and repealing Regulation (EC, Euratom) No  1101/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality to the Statistical Office of the European Communities, Council Regulation (EC) No  322/97 on Community Statistics, and Council Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom establishing a Committee on the Statistical Programmes of the European Communities (OJ L 87, 31.3.2009, p.  164).

(21)    Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).

(22)    Council Regulation (EEC) No 696/93 of 15 March 1993 on the statistical units for the observation and analysis of the production system in the Community (OJ L 76, 30.3.1993, p. 1), ANNEX-Section III-A.

(23)    Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 establishing the statistical classification of economic activities NACE Revision 2 and amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3037/90 as well as certain EC Regulations on specific statistical domains (OJ L 393, 30.12.2006, p. 1)

(24)    Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 September 2013 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1074/1999 (OJ L 248, 18.9.2013, p. 1).

(25)    Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 of 11 November 1996 concerning on-the-spot checks and inspections carried out by the Commission in order to protect the European Communities’ financial interests against fraud and other irregularities (OJ L 292, 15.11.1996, p. 2.).

(26)    As referred to in Article 58(2)(a) or (b) of the Financial Regulation.

(27)    Details of budget implementation methods and references to the Financial Regulation may be found on the BUDGpedia site: https://myintracomm.ec.europa.eu/corp/budget/financial-rules/budget-implementation/Pages/implementation-methods.aspx .

(28)    Diff. = Differentiated appropriations / Non-diff. = Non-differentiated appropriations.

(29)    EFTA: European Free Trade Association.

(30)    Candidate countries and, where applicable, potential candidates from the Western Balkans.

(31)    According to the official budget nomenclature.

(32)    Technical and/or administrative assistance and expenditure in support of the implementation of EU programmes and/or actions (former ‘BA’ lines), indirect research, direct research.

(33)    Outputs are products and services to be supplied (e.g.: number of student exchanges financed, number of km of roads built, etc.).

(34)    Technical and/or administrative assistance and expenditure in support of the implementation of EU programmes and/or actions (former ‘BA’ lines), indirect research, direct research.

(35)    AC= Contract Staff; AL = Local Staff; END= Seconded National Expert; INT = agency staff; JPD= Junior Professionals in Delegations.

(36)    Sub-ceiling for external staff covered by operational appropriations (former ‘BA’ lines).

(37)    Year N is the year in which implementation of the proposal/initiative starts. Please replace ‘N’ by the expected first year of implementation (for instance: 2021). The same for the following years.

(38)    As regards traditional own resources (customs duties, sugar levies), the amounts indicated must be net amounts, i.e. gross amounts after deduction of 20% for collection costs.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 28.7.2023

COM(2023) 459 final

ANNEX

to the Proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on European labour market statistics on businesses, repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 530/1999 and Regulations (EC) No 450/2003 and (EC) No 453/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council

{SEC(2023) 295 final} - {SWD(2023) 265 final} - {SWD(2023) 266 final}

ANNEX

Domains, topics and detailed topics; periodicity of the data provision, reference periods and deadline for data transmission per topic

(1)After the end of the reference period “T”.

(2)When the above-mentioned deadlines fall on a Saturday or a Sunday, the effective deadline shall be the following Monday before 12:00 am (CET).