PURPOSE: to revise and complete the existing common rules for the collection and compilation of European statistics on migration and international protection.
PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.
BACKGROUND: Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishes a common and comparable legal framework for European statistics on migration and international protection.
To respond to new needs within the Union for statistics on asylum and managed migration, and the rapidly changing characteristics of migration, the Commission considers that there is a need for a framework allowing quick response to changing needs as regards statistics on asylum and managed migration.
The Commission has regularly acknowledged the need to improve the collection of statistics, particularly as regards the figures on the return of third-country nationals staying illegally in the EU, and as regards children.
CONTENT: the main purpose of this initiative is to amend Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 so as to provide a legal basis for existing voluntary data collections already conducted by most national authorities, while providing the necessary flexibility to adapt to future data needs.
On the basis of information provided by stakeholders and taking into account immediate priorities to address the most serious shortcomings, it is proposed to:
In order to ensure a better availability of European statistics on asylum and managed migration and to introduce a flexibility mechanism, the Commission could adopt implementing acts for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions on disaggregations.