(1)

Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 of 23 November 1998 concerning the collection of statistical information by the European Central Bank (4) is a key component in the legal framework supporting the statistical information collection tasks of the European Central Bank (ECB) assisted by the national central banks. The ECB has consistently relied on it to carry out and monitor the coordinated collection of statistical information necessary to undertake the tasks of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).

(2)

In order to maintain Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 as an effective instrument for the ECB to carry out the statistical information collection tasks of the ESCB and to guarantee the continued availability to the ECB of statistical information of the necessary quality and covering the entire range of tasks of the ESCB it is essential to review the scope of the reporting requirements that the named Regulation imposes. In this context, attention needs to be paid not only to the performance of the tasks of the ESCB and to its independence, but also to the statistical principles laid down in this Regulation.

(3)

It is necessary to amend Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 to enable the ECB to collect the statistical information needed to undertake the ESCB’s tasks referred to in the Treaty. Accordingly, the purposes for which statistical information may be collected should also comprise the compilation of macro-prudential statistics required for the performance of the ESCB’s tasks under Article 105 of the Treaty.

(4)

The scope of the reporting requirements necessary for the performance of the ESCB’s tasks should also take into account structural developments in the financial markets and address related statistical information requirements that were less apparent when Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 was adopted. For that reason, it is necessary to allow the collection of statistical information from the entire sector of financial corporations, and in particular from the insurance corporations and pension funds, which represent the second largest sub-sector of financial corporations in the euro area in terms of financial assets.

(5)

In order to allow for the continued compilation of balance of payments statistics of sufficient quality, it is necessary to clarify the reporting requirements imposed in connection with data on all positions and transactions between the residents of participating Member States.

(6)

Researchers increasingly require access to confidential statistical information which does not allow direct identification in order to analyse and understand developments within sectors and across countries. Therefore, it is important to allow the ECB and the national central banks to grant to scientific research bodies access to such detailed statistical information at the ESCB level, while maintaining strict confidentiality safeguards.

(7)

To minimise the reporting burden and to enable the efficient development, production and dissemination of high-quality statistics, and the proper performance of the ESCB’s tasks, the ECB prioritises statistical needs and assesses the reporting burden. For the same reason, it is necessary to allow the maximum use of existing information, surveys, administrative data, statistical registers and other sources available, including an exchange of confidential statistical information within the ESCB and with the European Statistical System (ESS).

(8)

European statistics are developed, produced and disseminated by both the ESCB and the ESS but under separate legal frameworks, reflecting their respective governance structures. Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 should therefore apply without prejudice to Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics (5).

(9)

European statistics are developed, produced and disseminated by the ESCB in accordance with the statistical principles of impartiality, objectivity, professional independence, cost-effectiveness, statistical confidentiality, minimisation of the reporting burden and high output quality, including reliability. These principles are defined and further elaborated by the ECB and published on its website as a public commitment concerning European statistics produced by the ESCB. These principles are similar to the statistical principles laid down in Regulation (EC) No 223/2009.

(10)

The development, production and dissemination of European statistics should take into account best practice and the relevant European and international statistical standards.

(11)

In line with Article 5.1 of the Statute, the ESCB and the ESS cooperate closely to ensure the coherence necessary to develop, produce and disseminate European statistics. In particular, the ESCB and the ESS cooperate when elaborating their own statistical principles, when designing their respective statistical work programmes and when striving to reduce the overall response burden. To this end the exchange of appropriate information related to the ESCB and the ESS statistical work programmes between the relevant ESCB and ESS committees, as well as between the ECB and the Commission, is of particular importance to maximise the benefits of good cooperation and to avoid duplication in collecting statistical information.

(12)

The ESS members need part of the data collected by the ESCB for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics within the meaning of Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009. Appropriate arrangements for making the respective data available to the ESS members should therefore be set up.

(13)

Furthermore, it is important to ensure close cooperation between the ESCB and the ESS, and notably to foster the exchange of confidential statistical information between the two systems for statistical purposes, in the light of Article 285 of the Treaty and Article 5 of the Statute.

(14)

In order to enhance transparency, the statistics compiled on the basis of the statistical information collected from financial sector institutions by the ESCB should be made publicly available but a high level of protection of confidential information should be guaranteed.

(15)

Confidential statistical information collected and supplied to a member of the ESCB by an ESS authority should not be used for purposes that are not exclusively statistical, such as for administrative or tax purposes or legal proceedings or for the purposes referred to in Articles 6 and 7 of Regulation (EC) No 2533/98. In this respect, it is necessary to ensure the physical and logical protection of this confidential statistical information and ensure that no unlawful disclosure or use for non-statistical purposes occurs.

(16)

Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (6) has entered into force and must be complied with in the development, production and dissemination of statistics by the ESCB,

1.

Article 1 is replaced by the following:

(*1)   OJ L 310, 30.11.1996, p. 1.’ "

2.

Article 2 is amended as follows:

3.

The following Article is inserted after Article 2:

4.

Article 3 is replaced by the following:

5.

The following Article is inserted after Article 3:

(*2)   OJ L 87, 31.3.2009, p. 164.’ "

6.

Article 8 is replaced by the following:

7.

The following Articles are inserted after Article 8:

(*3)   OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31."

(*4)   OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.’."

8.

Annexes A and B are deleted.

(1)

A number of nutritional substances such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids and others may be added to foods for particular nutritional uses in order to ensure that the particular nutritional requirements of the persons for whom those foods are intended are fulfilled and/or in order to satisfy legal requirements laid down in specific directives adopted pursuant to Article 4(1) of Directive 2009/39/EC. The list of those substances had been established by Commission Directive 2001/15/EC of 15 February 2001 on substances that may be added for specific nutritional purposes in foods for particular nutritional uses (2) and, following requests submitted by interested parties, new substances have been evaluated by the European Food Safety Authority, and consequently, that list should be completed and updated. Furthermore, it is appropriate to introduce specifications for some vitamin and mineral substances for their identification.

(2)

It is neither possible to define nutritional substances as a distinct group for the purpose of this Regulation nor to draw up at this stage an exhaustive list of all categories of nutritional substances that may be added in foodstuffs for particular nutritional uses.

(3)

The range of foods for particular nutritional uses is very wide and diversified and the technological processes used for their manufacture are varied. For this reason, the widest possible choice of substances that can be safely used in the manufacture of foods for particular nutritional uses should be available for the categories of nutritional substances to be listed in this Regulation.

(4)

The choice of substances should be based primarily on their safety and subsequently on their availability for use by humans and on their organoleptic and technological properties. Unless otherwise specified in provisions applicable to specific categories of foodstuffs, the inclusion of substances in the list of those that may be used in the manufacture of foodstuffs for particular nutritional uses does not mean that their addition to those foodstuffs is necessary or desirable.

(5)

Where the addition of a nutritional substance has been judged necessary, this has been stipulated by specific rules in the relevant specific directives together with the appropriate quantitative conditions, as the case may be.

(6)

In the absence of any specific rules or in the case of foodstuffs for particular nutritional uses not covered by specific directives, nutritional substances should be used in order to manufacture products that are in conformity with the definition of such products and fulfil the particular nutritional requirements of the persons for whom they are intended. The products in question must also be safe when used as instructed by the manufacturer.

(7)

The provisions concerning the list of the nutritional substances that may be used in the manufacture of infant formulae and follow-on formulae and of processed cereal-based foods and baby foods for infants and young children are laid down in Commission Directive 2006/141/EC of 22 December 2006 on infant formulae and follow-on formulae and amending Directive 1999/21/EC (3), and Commission Directive 2006/125/EC of 5 December 2006 on processed cereal-based foods and baby foods for infants and young children (4). Therefore those provisions need not be repeated in this Regulation.

(8)

A number of the nutritional substances may be added for technological purposes as additives, colourings, flavourings or other such uses including authorised oenological practices and processes provided for by relevant Community legislation. In this context specifications are adopted for them at Community level. It is appropriate that those specifications should be applicable for the substances whatever the purpose of their use in foodstuffs.

(9)

Pending the adoption of purity criteria for the rest of the substances at Community level, and in order to ensure a high level of protection for public health, generally acceptable purity criteria recommended by international organisations or agencies including but not limited to the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and EUP (European Pharmacopoeia) should apply. Member States should be permitted to maintain national rules setting stricter purity criteria, without prejudice to the rules set out in the Treaty.

(10)

Some specific nutrients or their derivatives have been identified as specifically necessary for the manufacture of some foodstuffs belonging to the group of foodstuffs for special medical purposes and their potential use should be reserved to the manufacture of these products.

(11)

For the sake of clarity, Directive 2001/15/EC and Commission Directive 2004/6/EC of 20 January 2004 derogating from Directive 2001/15/EC to postpone the application of the prohibition of trade to certain products (5) should be repealed and replaced by this Regulation.

(12)

The measures provided in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

(1)

Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 881/2002 lists the persons, groups and entities covered by the freezing of funds and economic resources under that Regulation. It includes Mr Shafiq Ben Mohamed Ben Mohamed Al-Ayadi and Mr Faraj Faraj Hussein Al-Sa’idi, who were listed in 2002 (2) and 2003 (3), respectively.

(2)

Each natural person concerned challenged the listing decision made as regards him. The Court of First Instance rejected their challenges (4). Appeals against the judgments of the Court of First Instance are pending in the Court of Justice (5).

(3)

Following recent case-law of the Court of Justice (6), the UN Al Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee provided, in spring 2009, the grounds for its decisions listing Mr Shafiq Ben Mohamed Ben Mohamed Al-Ayadi and Mr Faraj Faraj Hussein Al-Sa’idi. The Commission has published notices (7) for the attention of the person concerned to inform them that the UN Al Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee had provided the grounds for their listing, which would be communicated upon request with a view to giving them the opportunity to make his point of view on these grounds known. Communications were sent to the addresses included in the relevant entries. Furthermore, by communications dated 24 June 2009, the grounds for listing were notified to either person concerned, at the address of his lawyer, in order to give them the opportunity to comment on these grounds and to make their point of view known.

(4)

The Commission has received comments from Mr Shafiq Ben Mohamed Ben Mohamed Al-Ayadi and from Mr Faraj Faraj Hussein Al-Sa’idi and examined these comments.

(5)

The list of persons, groups and entities to whom the freezing of funds and economic resources should apply, drawn up by the UN Al Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee, currently comprises Mr Shafiq Ben Mohamed Ben Mohamed Al-Ayadi and Mr Faraj Faraj Hussein Al-Sa’idi.

(6)

After having carefully considered the comments received from Mr Shafiq Ben Mohamed Ben Mohamed Al-Ayadi in a letter dated 23 July 2009, and given the preventive nature of the freezing of funds and economic resources, the Commission considers that the listing of Mr Shafiq Ben Mohamed Ben Mohamed Al-Ayadi is justified for reasons of his association with the Al-Qaida network.

(7)

After having carefully considered the comments received from Mr Faraj Faraj Hussein Al-Sa’idi in a letter dated 16 July 2009, and given the preventive nature of the freezing of funds and economic resources, the Commission considers the listing of Mr Faraj Faraj Hussein Al-Sa’idi is justified for reasons of his association with the Al-Qaida network.

(8)

In view of this, the listing decisions concerning Mr Shafiq Ben Mohamed Ben Mohamed Al-Ayadi and Mr Faraj Faraj Hussein Al-Sa’idi should be replaced by new decisions confirming their inclusion in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 881/2002.

(9)

These new decisions should apply from 30 May 2002 as regards Mr Shafiq Ben Mohamed Ben Mohamed Al-Ayadi and from 21 November 2003 as regards Mr Faraj Faraj Hussein Al-Sa’idi, given the preventive nature and objectives of the freezing of funds and economic resources under Regulation (EC) No 881/2002 and the need to protect legitimate interests of the economic operators, who have been relying on the decisions made in 2002 and 2003.

(10)

The Sanctions Committee amended the identifying data concerning Mr Shafiq Ben Mohamed Ben Mohamed Al-Ayadi on 16 September 2008 and 23 March 2009. The published information (8) concerning Mr Shafiq Ben Mohamed Ben Mohamed Al-Ayadi should therefore be updated.

(11)

The Sanctions Committee amended the identifying data concerning Mr Faraj Faraj Hussein Al-Sa’idi on 11 August 2008, 30 January 2009 and 13 February 2009. The published information (9) concerning Mr Faraj Faraj Hussein Al-Sa’idi should therefore be updated,

(1)

The representative prices and additional duties applicable to imports of white sugar, raw sugar and certain syrups for the 2009/10 marketing year are fixed by Commission Regulation (EC) No 877/2009 (3). These prices and duties have been last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 950/2009 (4).

(2)

The data currently available to the Commission indicate that those amounts should be amended in accordance with the rules and procedures laid down in Regulation (EC) No 951/2006,

(1)

On 24 January 2006, the Council adopted Decision 2006/116/EC appointing the members and alternate members of the Committee of the Regions for the period from 26 January 2006 to 25 January 2010 (1).

(2)

A member’s seat on the Committee of the Regions has become vacant following the end of the term of office of Mr Juan José IBARRETXE MARKUARTU. An alternate member’s seat has become vacant following the end of the term of office of Mr Iñaki AGUIRRE ARIZMENDI,

(a)

as member:

and

(b)

as alternate member:

(1)

The communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and to the Council on a Community action plan on the protection and welfare of animals 2006-2010 (3) identifies as one area of action the upgrading of existing minimum standards for animal protection and welfare in line with new scientific evidence and socioeconomic assessments as well as securing efficient enforcement.

(2)

In order to improve the welfare of certain categories of transported animals, Community legislation lays down requirements concerning maximum journey times after which the animals are to be unloaded, fed and watered and rested. Such obligatory breaks in the long-distance transport of animals take place at control posts, as defined in Article 1(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1255/97 of 25 June 1997 concerning Community criteria for control posts and amending the route plan referred to in the Annex to Directive 91/628/EEC (4).

(3)

The increased transport of animals by road over long journeys has raised the need for improved control posts. There is a need to determine, through the consultation of stakeholders and their technical expertise, quality criteria for control posts and which strategies should be developed within the Community to improve their use by transporters.

(4)

In addition, control posts are missing in certain locations and a number of existing control posts are of poor quality standards. A preparatory action including the building or renovating of certain control posts should therefore be carried out.

(5)

In 2008, a call for proposals was published by the Commission for a similar preparatory action, but none of the proposals received met the minimum criteria of the call, due to the lack of sufficient information regarding the economic viability of the projects as well as the source of co-financing.

(6)

It is appropriate to provide Community financing for that preparatory action. In the general budget of the European Communities for 2009, the budgetary authority allocated EUR 4 000 000 to a preparatory action on control posts.

(7)

This Decision constitutes a financing decision within the meaning of Article 75(2) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 and Article 90 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002.

(8)

Pursuant to Article 83 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002, the validation, authorisation and payment of expenditure should be completed within the time limits laid down in the Implementing Rules.

(9)

For the application of this Decision, it is appropriate to define the term ‘substantial change’, within the meaning of Article 90(4) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002,