PR\609575EN.doc PE 371.951v01-00

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EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT2004 «

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Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

PROVISIONAL2005/0032(COD)

7.4.2006

***IDRAFT REPORTon the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a common framework for business registers for statistical purposes and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 2186/93(COM(2005)0112 – C6-0089/2005 – 2005/0032(COD))

Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

Rapporteur: Hans-Peter Martin

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PR_COD_1am

Symbols for procedures

* Consultation proceduremajority of the votes cast

**I Cooperation procedure (first reading)majority of the votes cast

**II Cooperation procedure (second reading)majority of the votes cast, to approve the common positionmajority of Parliament’s component Members, to reject or amend the common position

*** Assent proceduremajority of Parliament’s component Members except in cases covered by Articles 105, 107, 161 and 300 of the EC Treaty and Article 7 of the EU Treaty

***I Codecision procedure (first reading)majority of the votes cast

***II Codecision procedure (second reading)majority of the votes cast, to approve the common positionmajority of Parliament’s component Members, to reject or amend the common position

***III Codecision procedure (third reading)majority of the votes cast, to approve the joint text

(The type of procedure depends on the legal basis proposed by the Commission.)

Amendments to a legislative text

In amendments by Parliament, amended text is highlighted in bold italics. Highlighting in normal italics is an indication for the relevant departments showing parts of the legislative text for which a correction is proposed, to assist preparation of the final text (for instance, obvious errors or omissions in a given language version). These suggested corrections are subject to the agreement of the departments concerned.

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CONTENTS

Page

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION ................................5

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT.........................................................................................23

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DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a common framework for business registers for statistical purposes and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 2186/93(COM(2005)0112 – C6-0089/2005 – 2005/0032(COD))

(Codecision procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2005)0112)1,

– having regard to Article 251(2) and Article 285(1) of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C6-0089/2005),

– having regard to Rule 51 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs(A6-0000/2006),

1. Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it intends to amend the proposal substantially or replace it with another text;

3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

Text proposed by the Commission Amendments by Parliament

Amendment 1Recital 4 a (new)

(4a) Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 of 17 February 1997 on Community Statistics1 established a common framework for statistical confidentiality.___________1 OJ L 52, 22.2.1997, p. 1.

Justification

Legal clarification.

1 Not yet published in OJ.

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Amendment 2Recital 4 b (new)

(4b) Whereas the specific rules forprocessing data within the framework of the Community Statistical Programme will not affect Directive 95/46/ECof the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data1._______________1 OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31.

Justification

Legal clarification.

Amendment 3Recital 5 a (new)

(5a) Business registers provide the basic information that is required to meet the strong policy interest in rural development, not only on agriculture but also on its increasing combination with other activities not covered by the product-based agricultural statistics.

Justification

Business registers need to enlarge their scope and include the agriculture sector, whichconstitutes a considerable part of the economy; at the present moment, the exclusion of this sector reduces the usefulness of the statistics.

Amendment 4Recital 10 a (new)

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(10a) Council Regulation (EC) No 184/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 January 2005 on Community statistics concerning balance of payments, international trade in services and foreign direct investment 1

has established a common framework for the compilation, transmission and evaluation of relevant Community statistics.______________________1 OJ L 35, 8.2.2005, p. 23.

Justification

Legal clarification.

Amendment 5Article 2

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

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

(a) 'Legal unit' shall mean a legal unit as defined in Section II.A.3 of the Annex to Regulation (EEC) No 696/93.

(a) 'Legal unit', ‘Enterprise’, ‘Local unit’ and ‘Enterprise group’ shall be as defined in the Annex to Regulation (EEC) No 696/93.

(b) 'Enterprise' shall mean an enterprise as defined in Section III.A of the Annex to that Regulation.

(b) ‘National authorities’ shall be as defined in Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97.

(c) 'Local unit' shall mean a local unit as defined in Section III.F of the Annex to that Regulation.

(c) ‘Statistical purposes’ shall be as defined in Article 2(4) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1588/90.

(d) 'Enterprise group’ shall mean an enterprise group as defined in Section III.C of the Annex to Regulation (EEC) No 696/93.

Justification

Cleaning up. Precise definitions on 'national authorities' and 'statistical purposes' are needed to avoid misinterpretations of concepts.

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Amendment 6Article 3, paragraph 1, point (c)

(c) truncated enterprise groups and the information on the multinational enterprise groups defined in the Annex.

(c) truncated enterprise groups and the multinational enterprise groups.

Justification

Clarification.

Amendment 7Article 3, paragraph 6

6. The extent to which enterprises with less than half a person employed, and all-resident enterprise groups of no statistical importance to the Member States are to be included in the registers shall be decided under the procedure laid down in Article 14.

6. The extent to which enterprises with less than half a person employed, and all-resident enterprise groups of no statistical importance to the Member States are to be included in the registers, and the definition of units consistent with those for agricultural statistics shall be decided in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14(2).

Justification

Clarification. Also see justification to amendment 3.

Amendment 8Article 5, paragraph 2

The list of characteristics shall be updated and the characteristics and continuity rules defined in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14.

The list of characteristics shall be updated and the characteristics and continuity rules defined in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14(2).

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Justification

Legal clarification.

Amendment 9Article 6, paragraph3

3. The common quality standards, as well as the content and periodicity of the quality reports, shall be specified by the Commission (Eurostat) in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 14 and taking into account the implications as regards the cost of compiling the data.

3. The common quality standards, as well as the content and periodicity of the quality reports, shall be specified in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14(2), and taking into account the implications as regards the cost of compiling the data.

Justification

It is preferable that the quality standards, the content and the periodicity of the quality reports are to be laid down by the regulatory procedure, rather than by Eurostat alone.

Amendment 10Article 8, paragraphs 3 and 4

3. The rules for updating shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in article 14.

3. The rules for updating shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14(2).

4. Member States shall make annually a copy that reflects the state of the registers at the end of the year and keep that copy 30 years for the purpose of analysis.

4. Member States shall make annually a copy that reflects the state of the registers at the end of the year and keep that copy for at least 30 years for the purpose of analysis.

Justification

Legal and time period clarification.

Amendment 11Article 9, paragraph 1

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Transmission of data Transmission of reports1. Member States shall carry out statistical analyses of the registers and transmit the information to the Commission (Eurostat), following a format and a procedure defined by the Commission in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14.

1. Member States shall carry out statistical analyses of the registers and transmit the information to the Commission (Eurostat), following a format and a procedure defined by the Commission in accordance with theprocedure laid down in Article 14(2).

Justification

Same as amendment 8.

Amendment 12Article 10

The exchange of confidential data, as defined by Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 322/97, shall be allowed between Member States where the exchange is necessary to ensure the quality of the multinational enterprise group information in the European Union.

The exchange of confidential data may take place exclusively for statistical purposes between the appropriate national authorities of different Member States, in accordance with national laws, where the exchange is to ensure the quality of the multinational enterprise group information in the European Union.

Member States receiving confidential data from other Member States shall treat that information confidentially.

National central banks, in accordance with national laws, may be a party to the exchange.

Justification

It is necessary to clarify that confidential information is not exchanged between the Member States themselves as such but between the relevant authorities (national statistics institutes, etc.) of the Member States, and only for statistical purposes and in respect of national law. National central banks also need to have access to these confidential data.

Amendment 13Article 11

Transmission of multinational enterprise group data

Exchange of confidential data between the Commission (Eurostat) and Member States

1. Member States shall transmit individual 1. National authorities shall transmit

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data on multinational enterprise groups and their constituent units, as defined in the Annex, to the Commission (Eurostat) to provide for the statistical information on multinational groups in the European Union.

individual data on multinational enterprise groups and their constituent units, as defined in the Annex, to provide information exclusively for statistical purposes to the Commission (Eurostat) on multinational groups in the European Union.

2. In order to ensure a consistent record of data, the Commission (Eurostat) shall transmit to each Member State data on a multinational enterprise group, including its constituent units, when at least one legal unit of this group is located in the territory of that Member State.

2. In order to ensure a consistent record of data exclusively for statistical purposes,the Commission (Eurostat) shall transmit to the appropriate national authorities of each Member State, data on a multinational enterprise group, including its constituent units, when at least one legal unit of this group is located in the territory of that Member State.

3. The scope, format and procedure for the transmission of the individual data to the Commission (Eurostat) and for the transmission of data on the multinational enterprise groups to the Member Statesshall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14.

3. In order to ensure that the data transmitted under this Article is used exclusively for statistics, the purpose,scope, format, security and confidentiality measures and procedure for the transmission of the individual data to Eurostat and for the transmission of data on the multinational enterprise groups to the Member States shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14(2).

Justification

Same as amendment 12.

Amendment 14Article 11 a (new)

Article 11aConfidentiality and access to identifiable

dataFor the purposes of Articles 10 and 11 and of this Article:1. The Commission (Eurostat), national authorities, national central banks and the European Central Bank receiving confidential data shall treat that

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information confidentially in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97.2. For the purposes of this Regulation, Article 14 of Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 shall read: "Transmission between national authorities and the Community authority of confidential data may take place to the extent that this transmission is necessary for the production of specific Community statistics. Any further transmission must be explicitly authorised by the national authority that collected the data."

Justification

Needed clarification for consistency's sake with Regulation 322/97.

Amendment 15Article 12, paragraph 2

For agriculture, forestry and fishing, public administration and defence, and compulsory social security, the transitional period shall not exceed three years.

For agriculture, forestry and fishing, public administration and defence, and compulsory social security, and for the additional characteristics relating to enterprise groups, the Commission (Eurostat) may grant derogations at the request of Member States for a transitional period that shall not exceed five years.

Justification

Enlarging the business registers' scope to include agriculture and enterprise groups is a costly and time-consuming task for national statistics institutes. It is therefore necessary to grant them a long transitional period.

Amendment 16Article 13

The measures for implementing this Regulation shall be laid down inaccordance with the procedure specified in

The measures for implementing this Regulation shall be laid down in accordance with the procedure laid down

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Article 14. Such measures concern: in Article 14(2). Such measures concern:

a) the coverage of smallest enterprises and all-resident enterprise groups, as provided for in Article 3;

a) the coverage of smallest enterprises and all-resident enterprise groups, as provided for in Article 3;

b) the transmission of registers information and quality reports, as provided for in Articles 6 and 9;

b) the transmission of registers information and quality reports, as provided for in Articles 6 and 9;

c) the rules for updating registers, as provided for in Article 8;

c) the rules for updating registers, as provided for in Article 8;

d) the transmission of individual data for multinational enterprise groups to the Commission (Eurostat) and the transmission of multinational enterprise group data to the Member States, as provided for in Article 11;

d) the transmission of individual data for multinational enterprise groups to the Commission (Eurostat) and the transmission of multinational enterprise group data to the Member States, as provided for in Article 11;

e) the updating of the list of registers characteristics in the Annex, their definitions and their continuity rules, as provided for in Article 5, in so far as such updating, after a quantitative assessment, does not imply a burden on the units or on the Member States, which is disproportionate to the anticipated results.

e) the updating of the list of registers characteristics in the Annex, their definitions and their continuity rules, as provided for in Article 5, in so far as consideration is given to the principle that the benefits of the updating must outweigh its cost, and to the principle that the additional resources involved either for Member States or for enterprises remain within a reasonable limit.

Justification

It is necessary to always perform a cost-benefit analysis and to limit additional resources being used.

Amendment 17Annex 1, Legal Unit

CONTROL OF UNITS

1.12 (a) Country(ies) of registration, and (b) identity number(s) or, name(s),address(es) and VAT number(s), of non-resident

CONTROL OF UNITS

1.12a Country(ies) of registration, and identity number(s) or, name(s) andaddress(es), of the non-resident legal unit(s), which are controlled by the legal unit

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legal unit(s), which are controlled by the legal unit

1.12b Conditional VAT number(s) of non-resident legal unit(s), which are controlled by the legal unit

1.13 (a) Country of registration, and (b) identity number or, name, address and VAT number, of the non-resident legal unit, which controls the legal unit

1.13a Country of registration, and identity number or, name, address, of the non-resident legal unit, which controls the legal unit

1.13b Conditional VAT number of the non-resident legal unit, which controls the legal unit

The resident ownership can be recorded either top-down (1.14a) or bottom-up (1.14b).

Conditional The resident ownership can be recorded either top-down (1.14a) or bottom-up (1.14b).

The recording of the information and the threshold used for the shareholding are subject to the availability of this information in the administrative sources. The recommended threshold is 10 % or more of direct ownership.

The recording of the information and the threshold used for the shareholding are subject to the availability of this information in the administrative sources. The recommended threshold is 10 % or more of direct ownership.

OWNERSHIP OF UNITS

1.14a (a) Identity number(s), and (b) shares (%) of resident legal unit(s) owned by the legal unit

OWNERSHIP OF UNITS

1.14a Conditional (a) Identity number(s), and (b) shares (%) of resident legal unit(s) owned by the legal unit

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1.14b (a) Identity number(s), and (b) shares (%) of resident legal unit(s), which own(s) the legal unit

1.14b Conditional (a) Identity number(s), and (b) shares (%) of resident legal unit(s), which own(s) the legal unit

1.15 (a) Country(ies) of registration, and (b) identity number(s) or, name(s), address(es) and VAT number(s), and (c) shares (%) of non-resident legal unit(s) owned by the legal unit

1.15 Conditional (a) Country(ies) of registration, and (b) identity number(s) or, name(s), address(es) and VAT number(s), and (c) shares (%) of non-resident legal unit(s) owned by the legal unit

OWNERSHIP OF UNITS

1.16 (a) Country(ies) of registration, and (b) identity number(s) or, name(s), address(es), and VAT number(s), and (c) shares (%) of non-resident legal unit(s), which own(s) the legal unit

OWNERSHIP OF UNITS

1.16 Conditional (a) Country(ies) of registration, and (b) identity number(s) or, name(s), address(es), and VAT number(s), and (c) shares (%) of non-resident legal unit(s), which own(s) the legal unit

Justification

It is necessary in the annex to distinguish between items marked as “optional”, which are recommended for inclusion, and items marked as “conditional”, which are compulsory, where the information is available in the Member State.

Amendment 18Annex 2, Local Unit

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2.6 Principal activity code at NACE 4-digit level

2.6 Principal activity code at NACE 4-digit level

2.7 Secondary activities, if any, at NACE 4-digit level; this point concerns only local units which are the subject of surveys

2.7 Conditional

Secondary activities, if any, at NACE 4-digit level; this point concerns only local units which are the subject of surveys

2.8 Optional: Activity carried out in the local unit constituting an ancillary activity of the enterprise to which it belongs (Yes/No)

2.8 Optional Activity carried out in the local unit constituting an ancillary activity of the enterprise to which it belongs (Yes/No)

2.9 Number of persons employed

2.9 Number of persons employed

2.10a

Number of employees

2.10a

Number of employees

2.10b

Optional: Number of employees in full-time equivalents

2.10b

Optional Number of employees in full-time equivalents

ECONOMIC/

STRATIFICATION CHARACTERISTICS

2.11 Geographical location code

ECONOMIC/

STRATIFICATION CHARACTERISTICS

2.11 Geographical location code

LINKS WITH OTHER REGISTERS

2.12 Reference to associated registers, in which the local unit appears and which contain information

LINKS WITH OTHER REGISTERS

2.12 Conditional

Reference to associated registers, in which the local unit appears and which contain

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which can be used for statistical purposes (if such associated registers exist)

information which can be used for statistical purposes (if such associated registers exist)

Justification

Same as amendment 17.

Amendment 19Annex 3, Enterprise

3. ENTERPRISE 3. ENTERPRISE

3.1 Identity number 3.1 Identity number3.2a Name 3.2a Name3.2b Optional: Postal,

electronic mail and web site addresses

3.2b Optional Postal, electronic mail and web site addresses

IDENTIFICATION CHARACTERISTICS

3.3 Identity number(s) of the legal unit(s) of which the enterprise consist(s)

IDENTIFICATION CHARACTERISTICS

3.3 Identity number(s) of the legal unit(s) of which the enterprise consist(s)

3.4 Date of commencement of activities

3.4 Date of commencement of activities

DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS

3.5 Date of final cessation of activities

DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS

3.5 Date of final cessation of activities

3.6 Principal activity code at NACE 4-digit level

3.6 Principal activity code at NACE 4-digit level

ECONOMIC/

STRATIFICATION CHARACTERISTICS 3.7 Secondary activities,

if any, at NACE 4-digit level; this point concerns only enterprises which are the subject of surveys

ECONOMIC/

STRATIFICATION CHARACTERISTICS

3.7 Conditional

Secondary activities, if any, at NACE 4-digit level; this point concerns only enterprises

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which are the subject of surveys

3.8 Number of persons employed

3.8 Number of persons employed

3.9a Number of employees 3.9a Number of employees

3.9b Optional: Number of employees in full-time equivalents

3.9b Optional Number of employees in full-time equivalents

3.10 Turnover; optional for agriculture, fishing and public sector

3.10 Partoptional

TurnoverOptional for agriculture, hunting and forestry, fishing, and public administration and defence, compulsory social security, private households with employed persons and extra-territorial organisations

3.11 Institutional sector and sub-sector according to European System of Accounts

3.11 Institutional sector and sub-sector according to European System of Accounts

Justification

Same as amendment 17.

Amendment 20Annex 4, Enterprise Group

4. ENTERPRISE GROUP 4. ENTERPRISE GROUP

IDENTIFICATION CHARACTERISTICS

4.1 Identity number of the resident/truncate

IDENTIFICATIONCHARACTERIST

4.1 Identity number of the resident/trunc

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d group ated group4.2a Name of the

resident/truncated group

4.2a Name of the resident/truncated group

4.2b Optional: Postal, electronic mail and web site addresses of the resident/truncated head office

4.2b Optional Postal, electronic mail and web site addresses of the resident/truncated head office

4.3 Identity number of the resident/truncated group head (equals the identity number of the legal unit, which is the resident group head).

If the controlling unit is a natural person, who is not an economic operator, recording is subject to the availability of this information in the administrative sources

4.3 Part conditional

Identity number of the resident/truncated group head (equals the identity number of the legal unit, which is the resident group head).

Conditional If the controlling unit is a natural person, who is not an economic operator, recording is subject to the availability of this information in the administrative sources

4.4 Type of enterprise group:1. all-resident group;2. domestically controlled truncated group;3. foreign controlled truncated group;

ICS

4.4 Type of enterprise group:1. all-resident group;2. domestically controlled truncated group;3. foreign controlled truncated group;

DEMOGRAPHIC 4.5 Date of DEMOGRAPHIC 4.5 Date of

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commencement of the resident/truncated enterprise group

commencement of the resident/truncated enterprise group

CHARACTERISTICS

4.6 Date of cessation of the resident/truncated enterprise group

CHARACTERISTICS

4.6 Date of cessation of the resident/truncated enterprise group

4.7 Principal activity code of the resident/truncated group at NACE 2-digit level

4.7 Principal activity code of the resident/truncated group at NACE 2-digit level

4.8 Optional: Secondary activities of the resident/truncated group at NACE 2-digit level

4.8 Optional Secondary activities of the resident/truncated group at NACE 2-digit level

4.9 Number of persons employed in the resident/truncated group

4.9 Number of persons employed in the resident/truncated group

ECONOMIC/ STRATIFICATION CHARACTERISTICS

4.10 Optional: Consolidated turnover

ECONOMIC/ STRATIFICATION CHARACTERISTICS

4.10 Optional Consolidated turnover

4.11 Identity number of the global group

4.11 Identity number of the global group

4.12a Name of the global group

4.12a Name of the global group

4.12b Optional: Country of registration, postal, electronic mail and web site addresses of the global head office

4.12b Optional Country of registration, postal, electronic mail and web site addresses of the global head office

IDENTIFICATION CHARACTERISTICS

4.13 Identity number of the global

IDENTIFICATION CHARACTERISTICS

4.13a Identity number of the

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group head, if the group head is resident (equals the identity number of thelegal unit, which is the group head). If the global group head is non-resident, its country of registration, and optionally: its identity number or name and address.

global group head, if the group head is resident (equals the identity number of the legal unit, which is the group head). If the global group head is non-resident, its country of registration.

4.13b Optional Global group head identity number or name and address, if non-resident

4.14 Optional: Number of persons employed globally

4.14 Optional Number of persons employed globally

4.15 Optional: Consolidated global turnover

4.15 Optional Consolidated global turnover

4.16 Optional: Country of global decision-centre

4.16 Optional Country of global decision-centre

ECONOMIC/ STRATIFICATION CHARACTERISTICS

4.17 Optional: Countries where enterprises or local units are located

ECONOMIC/ STRATIFICATION CHARACTERISTICS

4.17 Optional Countries where enterprises or local units are located

Justification

Same as amendment 17.

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EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

If EU policy-makers are to make reliable comparisons with other economic blocs for the purposes of choosing the right economic policy decisions, it is indispensable that they have access to a solid and complete statistical picture of the EU's economy. This is all the more important in the current context of globalisation. A part of this statistical picture is the so-called Business Registers (BR), which compiles statistics on businesses operating in EU, namely data on their number, type, size, structure and other characteristics. These statistics need to be relatively homogeneous. The more reliable and accurate these type of statistics are, the more concrete a foundation will policy-makers' decisions have. Moreover, this ties into the general need for more transparency and openness in the EU, at a time when it is lacking: there can be no democracy without transparency.

An old BR regulation has been in place since 1993. The European Commission has now presented a proposal to update the existing BR. The main reasons for doing so are:

- To enlarge the scope: the inclusion of some important sectors in the old BR regulation was optional, namely Agriculture and Public Administrations. This distortion did not allow for a comprehensive picture of the economy and the new proposal aims to fix this problem by enlarging the scope of the regulation;

- To include data on groups: the old BR regulation did not include information on interrelations and links between multinational enterprise groups operating in the EU (data on ownership structures, subsidiaries, etc.). The new proposal includes this type of information on group structures (both inside each Member State as well as cross-border) as otherwise it is not possible to have a reliable picture of the economy.

The rapporteur supports the thrust of this proposal and has presented a series of amendments in order to solve a few problematic issues. First, there is the issue of the administrative burden. After thorough checking, it is clear that the current proposal does not imply any additional costs for private businesses, given that the cost of collecting and analyzing the data is done by the National Statistical Agency (NSI) [this acronym can't be right] of each Member State. Companies will just have to continue replying to surveys as they have done up to now. The more comprehensive the BR regulation is, the less need there will be in the future fordirect surveys with companies. Nevertheless, it is true that initially there will be additional costs to be borne by the NSI's during their adaptation phase to a more comprehensive BR. In order to cater for the concerns of the NSI's of some Member States, and to allow for a transitional period that permits them to adapt their systems for the inclusion of difficult and massive agricultural data, the rapporteur proposes to extend the initial transitional periods originally presented by the Commission.

The second key modification concerns the clarification of the terms and conditions under which confidential data can be transmitted. It must be made clear that transmission of confidential documents amongst NSI's must exclusively be for statistical purposes, and that it must in any case respect national law. In addition, National Central Banks (NCB's) should also be party to these exchanges. That is why a series of amendments have been tabled in this regard.

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Finally, a series of other technical amendments have been tabled, notably to clarify that several definitions and clarifications are to be left to comitology provisions.

In all, the rapporteur believes this proposal is of a technical nature and should not be subject to unrelated political considerations. The European Parliament should proceed with a swift adoption in order to achieve our goal which is to improve the quality and comparability of European business statistics. In the context of globalisation, the EU needs robust statistics to know exactly where it stands vis-à-vis its competitors such as the US and China. It is therefore important to quickly update the old BR regulation which did not include important sectors of the economy (Agriculture, Public Administrations) nor links between groups and conglomerates.