91997E2675

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2675/97 by Joaquim Miranda (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (1 September 1997)

Subject: Data relating to Portugal in the Commission's 'First Report on Economic and Social Cohesion - 1996'

In a recent report of the Portuguese Economic and Social Council on 'Implementation of the Community Support Framework - 1995', Prof. Dr José da Silva Lopes, author of the report, expresses doubts regarding certain figures quoted in the Commission's 'First Report on Economic and Social Cohesion - 1996', in particular the 13% increase in Portugal's per capita GDP relative to the European average between 1983 and 1993 and especially the 8.6% increase in the period 1990-1993.

More specifically, the report states the following: 'The abnormal per capita GDP percentage increase relative to the EU average is most probably due to the changes introduced by Eurostat in 1990 in methods for calculating PPP (purchasing power parity).'

In view of the importance of this matter, which is not merely statistical, will the Commission clear the doubts raised in the report of the Portuguese Economic and Social Council and, in particular, provide figures concerning the actual trend in Portuguese per capita GDP in the aforementioned periods, should it be confirmed that the published figures are the result of changes in calculation methods?

Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (24 September 1997)

The increase in per capita GDP in Portugal between 1983 and 1993 relative to the per capita GDP in the Community, calculated in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), is due to two main factors:

The first is Portugal's good economic performance over that period. The increase in Portugal's per capita GDP is greater than the Community average and Portugal's purchasing power has increased as a result of accession to the single market, reducing the cost of imports by abolishing customs duties. On average, Portugal's per capita GDP moves about one percentage point closer to the Community average each year.

There is a second factor alongside this economic aspect: the adjustment of the Community average between 1990 and 1991 as a result of the inclusion of the former German Democratic Republic (ex-GDR) in the statistics. The per capita GDP was lower in the ex-GDR at that time than in any of the Member States, and this caused a reduction in Germany's per capita GDP and a lower growth rate in the Community's. As a result, Portugal's per capita GDP increased relative to the Community average by slightly less than two percentage points between 1990 and 1991, which is logical and arithmetically correct.

In contrast, the revisions applied to the methodology (inclusion of the Azores and Madeira in the Portuguese national accounts and change in the method of calculating purchasing power parities) did not have a significant impact on Portuguese per capita GDP.