Harmonising gross national income statistics at the European Union level

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EU) 2019/516 on the harmonisation of gross national income at market prices

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

It aims to improve the comparability, reliability and exhaustiveness of statistics on gross national income at market prices (GNI)*. These statistics are used especially to calculate the largest share of own resources in the budget of the European Union (EU).
It takes account of:
- the legal basis for producing statistics (Article 338(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union);
- the own resources decision (Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom) and related legislation;
- Regulation (EU) No 549/2013 setting up the EU’s system of national and regional accounts (known as ESA 2010).
It repeals Directive 89/130/EEC and Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1287/2003.

KEY POINTS

Definitions

The regulation requires that GNI and gross domestic product at market prices (GDP)* be defined in accordance with ESA 2010.

Transmission of data and additional information to the European Commission

EU Member States have to:

calculate GNI;
before 1 October each year, provide the Commission’s statistical office (Eurostat) with data relating to the preceding year and any changes made to the data for previous years, such as:
- figures for GNI aggregates and their components,
- totals for GDP and its components (according to the three approaches);
accompany these data with a report on the quality of GNI data detailing the methodology used to produce the data, and in particular describing any significant changes in the sources and methods used and explaining the revisions made to GNI aggregates and their components compared to previous periods;
provide Eurostat with an inventory of the sources and methods used to produce GNI aggregates and their components.

Procedures and checks on the calculation of GNI

An expert group, set up by a Commission Decision and comprising representatives from the Member States, has been set up to:

advise the Commission on the comparability, reliability and exhaustiveness of GNI calculations;
examine implementation aspects of this regulation;
issue annual opinions on the quality of the GNI data submitted by the Member States for own resource purposes.

With regard to the inventories provided by the Member States, the Commission will verify the sources and their uses and methods, including by carrying out information visits.

Implementing and delegated acts

The regulation gives the Commission powers to adopt:

delegated acts setting out the list of issues to be addressed in every verification cycle in order to ensure the reliability, exhaustiveness and highest possible degree of comparability of GNI data, in line with ESA 2010;
specific implementing acts to make GNI data more comparable, reliable and exhaustive, based on the list of issues set out in the delegated acts.

In October 2020, the Commission adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1546, which sets out the structure and detailed arrangements of the inventory of the sources and methods used to produce GNI aggregates and their components in accordance with ESA 2010.

In November 2021, the Commission adopted:

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1947 defining the geographic territory of Member States for the purposes of Regulation (EU) 2019/516;
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1948 on the treatment of repayments of value added tax (VAT) to non-taxable people and to taxable people for their exempt activities for the purposes of Regulation (EU) 2019/516;
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1949 on the principles for estimating dwelling services for the purposes of Regulation (EU) 2019/516.

In November 2023, the Commission adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2493 on the treatment for national accounts purposes of the non-collected VAT due to VAT fraud and due to insolvency (the discrepancy between theoretical VAT receipts and actual VAT receipts).

European Statistical System Committee

Eurostat is assisted and advised by the European Statistical System Committee, which is composed of representatives from Member States and chaired by the Commission.

Report

The Commission presented its report to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union on the regulation’s application before its deadline of 1 January 2023.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 18 April 2019.

BACKGROUND

For further information, see:

Gross national income (Eurostat).

KEY TERMS

Gross national income at market prices (GNI). The total primary income receivable by resident institutional units: compensation of employees, taxes on production and imports less subsidies, property income (receivable less payable), gross operating surplus and gross mixed income. GNI equals GDP minus primary income payable by resident institutional units to non-resident institutional units plus primary income receivable by resident institutional units from the rest of the world.

Gross domestic product at market prices (GDP). This can be defined in three ways.

1. Production approach. GDP is the sum of gross value added of the various institutional sectors or the various industries plus taxes and less subsidies on products (which are not allocated to sectors and industries). It is also the balancing item in the total economy production account.

2. Expenditure approach. GDP is the sum of final uses of goods and services by resident institutional units (final consumption and gross capital formation) plus exports and minus imports of goods and services.

3. Income approach. GDP is the sum of uses in the total economy generation of income account (compensation of employees, taxes on production and imports less subsidies, gross operating surplus and mixed income of the total economy).

MAIN DOCUMENT

Regulation (EU) 2019/516 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2019 on the harmonisation of gross national income at market prices and repealing Council Directive 89/130/EEC, Euratom and Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1287/2003 (GNI Regulation) (OJ L 91, 29.3.2019, pp. 19–24).

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2493 of 15 November 2023 on the treatment for national accounts purposes of the non-collected VAT due to VAT fraud and due to insolvency (the discrepancy between theoretical VAT receipts and actual VAT receipts) for the application of Regulation (EU) 2019/516 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the harmonisation of gross national income at market prices (OJ L, 2023/2493, 16.11.2023).

Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2021/768 of 30 April 2021 laying down implementing measures for the system of own resources of the European Union and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 608/2014 (OJ L 165, 11.5.2021, pp. 1–8).

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1947 of 10 November 2021 on the definition of the geographic territory of Member States for the purposes of Regulation (EU) 2019/516 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the harmonisation of gross national income at market prices (GNI Regulation) and repealing Commission Decision 91/450/EEC, Euratom and Commission Regulation (EC) No 109/2005 (OJ L 398, 11.11.2021, pp. 1–3).

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1948 of 10 November 2021 on the treatment of repayments of value added tax to non-taxable persons and to taxable persons for their exempt activities for the purposes of Regulation (EU) 2019/516 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the harmonisation of gross national income at market prices (GNI Regulation) and repealing Commission Decision 1999/622/EC, Euratom and Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 116/2005 (OJ L 398, 11.11.2021, pp. 4–5).

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1949 of 10 November 2021 on the principles for estimating dwelling services for the purposes of Regulation (EU) 2019/516 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the harmonisation of gross national income at market prices (GNI Regulation) and repealing Commission Decision 95/309/EC, Euratom and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1722/2005 (OJ L 398, 11.11.2021, pp. 6–18).

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1546 of 23 October 2020 establishing the structure and detailed arrangements of the inventory of the sources and methods used to produce gross national income aggregates and their components in accordance with the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010) (OJ L 354, 26.10.2020, pp. 1–3).

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/2147 of 8 October 2020 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2019/516 of the European Parliament and of the Council by defining the list of issues to be addressed in every verification cycle (OJ L 428, 18.12.2020, p. 9).

Commission Decision of 17 May 2019 setting up the Commission expert group on gross national income (OJ C 174, 21.5.2019, pp. 5–8).

Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union – Part Seven – General and final provisions – Article 338 (ex Article 285 TEC) (OJ C 202, 7.6.2016, pp. 192–193).

Council Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom of 26 May 2014 on the system of own resources of the European Union (OJ L 168, 7.6.2014, pp. 105–111).

Regulation (EU) No 549/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on the European system of national and regional accounts in the European Union (OJ L 174, 26.6.2013, pp. 1–727).

Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) No 549/2013 have been incorporated into the original document. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

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, pp. 164–173).

See consolidated version.

last update 08.01.2024