PURPOSE: the establishment of a “European Advisory Committee on Community Statistical Information Policy”
PROPOSED ACT: Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council.
BACKGROUND: the “European Advisory Committee on Statistical Information in the Economic and Social Spheres” or CEIES was set up in 1991 on the initiative of the then President of the European Commission Jacques Delors. Its purpose is to assist in the co-ordination of the Community’s statistical information policy. CEIES helps assess the relevance of the Community’s statistical programme; it helps monitor the statistical programmes; and it assesses costs incurred.
Both the Commission, in its 2005 Communication on the independence, integrity and accountability of national and Community statistical authorities, and the Council in November 2005, recognised the need to reform CEIES. Reforming CEIES should lead to greater improvements in the governance of the European Statistical system and enhance the quality of Community statistics.
CONTENT: the purpose of this proposal is to repeal Decision 91/116/EEC on the establishment of CEIES and to propose a new Decision setting up a reformed committee. The reform takes account of EU expansion and the increase in EU members from 15 to 25. Concretely speaking the proposed provisions are as follows:
- Name change: The Commission is proposing to drop “Economic and Social Spheres” from the existing heading and rename it: The “European Advisory Committee on Community Statistical Information Policy.”
- More vigorous provisions are proposed regarding the preparation of the Community’s statistical programme as well as the Commission’s annual statistical work programme.
- The Committee may offer advice on user’s needs.
- The Commission will have to report annually on how it has taken the Committee’s views into account when formulating policies.
- Membership of the Committee will be reduced from 79 members to 20 members. Composition of the new committee will include representatives from civil society as well as statisticians. The Director General of Eurostat will be a member.
- Temporary working parties may be set up to report to the Committee.