What changed between the draft committee report of 19 Dec 2023 and the draft committee report of 3 Apr 2025

Added:SHORT JUSTIFICATION

Removed:Recital 4 a (new): (4a) It is important for analytical purposes that an appropriate amount of back data is available to be able to assess labour cost indices over time. However, in order to reduce the burden imposed on Member States, the transmission should be limited to back data that at least covers the calendar years 2024 and 2025.

Added:The Council position at first reading reflects the agreement reached between Parliament and the Council in interinstitutional negotiations at early second reading stage, after legal-linguistic verification. Since the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON), in its vote on 16 January 2025, already confirmed the outcome of those interinstitutional negotiations, as your rapporteur, I propose that ECON recommends that the Plenary confirms the position of the Council at first reading without amending it.

Removed:In its opinion, the ECB suggests that the requirement of providing information that makes it possible to understand the impact of changes to the methodology or sample population (in particular, an appropriate amount of back data, which may be based on estimates, proxies, and other data sources) should be expressly laid down in the proposed Regulation.

Removed:Recital 9: (9) To limit the burden on enterprises, in particular on SMEs, the national statistical authorities should consider administrative and innovative sources, the main aim of which is not the provision of statistics, as a substitute for or a complement to statistical surveys, subject to the quality requirements for official statistics. The latest technological and digital developments can contribute to this objective. However, it is necessary to limit the number of sources from which data may be collected and transmitted, to what is necessary and proportionate to achieve the objective of this Regulation. Therefore, the Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts to specify from which sources, other than survey data and administrative records, data may be collected and transmitted under this Regulation. In any event, any processing of data stemming from those other sources should be without prejudice to Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council1a. / 1a Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (Directive on privacy and electronic communications) (OJ L 201, 31.7.2002, p. 37, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2002/58/oj).

Removed:‘Other sources’ may consist of a multitude of sources, potentially including sensitive data that would enable to draw more intimate inferences on the data subject's’ life and could represent a significant risk for their rights and freedoms. The list of sources should thus be limited to what is necessary and proportionate. It is also important to recall that data concerning the use of publicly available electronic communications services and networks and the accessing or storing of information in the end-user’s terminal equipment is subject to the ePrivacy Directive.

Removed:Recital 10 a (new): (10a) Where the activities to be carried out under this Regulation involve the processing of personal data, such processing should comply with the relevant Union legislation on personal data protection, namely Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council1a and Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council1b. In accordance with the data minimisation principle set out in those Regulations, data provided under this Regulation should be aggregated to such a degree that individuals cannot be identified. / 1a Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/1725/oj). / 1b Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj).

Removed:Any processing of personal must comply with the requirements of the GDPR. Therefore, it would be appropriate to make explicit reference to the applicability of the GDPR and EUDPR to the processing of personal data under the future Regulation, similar as in recital 14 of the Commission's recent Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics, as amended by the Parliament.

Removed:Recital 10 b (new): (10b) Processing of personal data for the statistical purposes, which is considered to be in the public interest, should be subject to appropriate safeguards in accordance with Article 89 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. In particular, compliance with the principle that personal data are to be rendered anonymous should be ensured.

Removed:It is important to make specific reference to compliance with the safeguards relating to processing of personal data for statistical purposes under Article 89 GDPR and Article 13 EUDPR, in particular that the data shall in principle be rendered anonymous.

Removed:Recital 11: (11) Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 constitutes the reference framework for this Regulation, including as regards the protection of confidential data and the processing and sharing of personal data, including of privately held data.

Removed:It is important to clarify the relationship of the future Regulation 223/2009 (including the ongoing review) with regard to the processing of personal data. It is also important to ensure that only non-personal (anonymised) data will be requested from private data holders.

Removed:Recital 13: (13) The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted in accordance with Article 42(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council21 and delivered an opinion on 25 September 2023.

Removed:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1: (1) ‘statistical unit’ means the natural person or legal entity on which the data are collected or compiled;

Removed:Article 6(1) of the Proposal provides that “[s]tatistics under this Regulation shall be compiled for one or more of the following statistical units: (a) enterprises; (b) local units; (c) employees.” However, under Article 2(1) of the Proposal, ‘statistical unit’ is defined as “(...) the entity on which the data are collected or compiled”, thus excluding employees from the definition. This amendment ensures that the definition encompasses all the persons concerned.

Removed:Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 26 a (new): (26a) ‘back data’ means data covering a period of at least two calendar years prior to the date of application of this Regulation.

Removed:It is important for analytical purposes that an appropriate amount of back data is available to be able to assess labour cost indices over time. However, in its opinion the ECB recognises the burden that would be imposed on Member States if they were required to provide back data over a long time horizon. By this amendment I support limiting transmission of back data to back data that at least covers the calendar years 2024 and 2025.

Removed:Article 3 – paragraph 1 a (new): 1a. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 13, supplementing this Regulation, to specify from which other sources referred to in paragraph 1, point (c), of this Article, data may be collected and transmitted. When exercising the power to adopt such delegated acts, the Commission shall ensure that the use of those other sources is necessary and proportionate to achieve the objective of this Regulation, having due regard to the sensitivity of the data at issue.

Removed:I propose to empower the Commission to specify which ‘other sources’ can be used, in order to limit the list of sources to what is necessary and proportionate to achieve the envisaged purposes.

Removed:Article 8 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States shall ensure that the data, including back data, obtained using the sources laid down in Article 3 provide a full coverage of and give accurate estimates on the statistical units and population defined in Article 6.

Removed:It is important for analytical purposes that an appropriate amount of back data is available to be able to assess labour cost indices over time.

Removed:Article 8 – paragraph 8: 8. The Commission (Eurostat) shall assess the quality of the data transmitted, the sources and methods used and the sampling frames. The Commission (Eurostat) shall prepare and publish reports and communications on the quality of the data transmitted, sources and methods used. In those reports, the Commission (Eurostat) may recommend how to manage the sources considered to be of low quality, and the data collected through those sources.

Removed:Although Article 8(5) specifies that these quality reports will adhere to a format further defined by the Commission through an implementing act, the Commission proposal does not offer additional guidance on how sources categorised as 'low quality' and the data collected through them should be managed. By this amendment I call the Commission to provide such guidance.

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 1 a (new): 1a. The data collected as part of the pilot studies referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be limited to the domains and topics listed in Article 4(1) and the detailed topics specified in the Annex.

Removed:It is important to clarify that such studies would not allow for data collection beyond the 'topics' and 'detailed topics' listed in Article 4(1) and specified within the Annex to the Proposal.

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 a (new): In the reports referred to in the first subparagraph, the Commission (Eurostat) may recommend how pilot studies should be integrated as permanent solutions.

Removed:The proposed Regulation should provide how data obtained through the pilot projects will potentially be integrated as permanent solutions.

Removed:Article 9 – paragraph 3 a (new): 3a. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 13, supplementing this Regulation, to specify the roles and responsibilities of the actors conducting the studies referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article insofar as processing of personal data takes place for the purpose of those studies.

Removed:It is important to specify the roles and responsibilities within the meaning of data protection law of the Commission (Eurostat) and the Member States regarding the pilot studies, insofar processing of personal data takes place for the purpose of the studies.

Removed:Article 13 – paragraph 2: 2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Articles 3(1a), 4(3), 7(1) and 9(3a) shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of time of five years from [Publications Office: please insert exact date of entry into force of the Regulation]. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine months before the end of the five-year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period.

Removed:The aim of this amendment is to align the wording with similar provisions in other legal acts falling within the competence of the ECON committee.

Removed:Article 13 – paragraph 6: 6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Articles 3(1a), 4(3), 7(1) and 9(3a) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of three months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by three months at the initiative of the European Parliament or the Council.

Removed:The aim of this amendment is to align the wording with similar provisions in other legal acts falling within the competence of the ECON committee.

Removed:Annex – Table – column 4 – row 1: Every two years

Removed:Annex – Table – column 4 – row 8: Every two years