11 Statistics
| Committee's assessment
| Politically important |
| Committee's decision | Not cleared from scrutiny; further information requested
|
| Document details | Draft Regulation about Commission powers in relation to EU external trade statistics
|
| Legal base | Article 338 TFEU; co-decision; QMV
|
| Department
Document numbers
| Office for National Statistics
(35303), 13517/13, COM(13) 579
|
Summary and Committee's conclusions
11.1 Regulation (EC) 471/2009 concerning statistics on EU trade
with non-Member States, contains pre-Lisbon Treaty provisions
about the comitology powers of the Commission. This draft Regulation
would replace the remaining pre-Lisbon comitology provisions in
Regulation (EC) 471/2009 with powers allowing the Commission to
adopt delegated and implementing acts.
11.2 When we considered this proposal previously,
we noted, whilst accepting the Government's case for its general
support for the proposal, its intention to secure improvements
in the text, in order to properly circumscribe the Commission's
use of delegated acts.
11.3 The Government tells us now of its progress
in meeting its objective. But it also tells us of the Presidency's
rush, after much delay, to force final agreement on the draft
Regulation.
11.4 While we recognise the progress made in negotiation
of this proposal, the Presidency's precipitate rush to final agreement
is regrettable. Nevertheless, we note the Government's intention
to abstain, on parliamentary scrutiny grounds, from voting on
the proposal. We look forward to a full account from the Government
of the outcome of the Presidency's efforts. Meanwhile the document
remains under scrutiny.
Full details of
the documents: Draft Regulation amending
Regulation (EC) No. 471/2009 on Community statistics relating
to external trade with non-member countries as regards conferring
of delegated and implementing powers upon the Commission for the
adoption of certain measures: (35303), 13517/13, COM(13) 579.
Background
11.5 Regulation (EC) 223/2009, commonly referred
to as the "European Statistical Law", is the framework
legislation for the European Statistical System (ESS), comprising
the Commission's statistical office (Eurostat) and producers of
official statistics in Member States. All other legislation under
which EU statistics are produced must be made in accordance with
the European Statistical Law.
11.6 Regulation (EC) 471/2009 concerns statistics
on EU trade with non-Member States. It contains pre-Lisbon Treaty
provisions about the comitology powers of the Commission. The
Commission's comitology committee for statistics is the European
Statistical System Committee (ESSC), which oversees the full range
of EU statistics and of which the UK's National Statistician is
a member.
11.7 This draft Regulation would replace the comitology
provisions in Regulation (EC) 471/2009 with powers allowing the
Commission to adopt delegated and implementing acts. For statistics,
a delegated act, on which the ESSC advises, can be used to amend
the detail of requirements to ensure that data collected remained
topical and relevant. The proposed Regulation includes a clause
restricting the scope of the changes, as follows: "The Commission
should ensure that these delegated acts do not impose a significant
additional administrative burden on the Member States or on the
respondent units". A statistics implementing act is used
to ensure a common approach among Member States to implementing
aspects of the Regulation's requirements. An implementing act
can only be adopted with the agreement of Member States through
QMV in the ESSC.
11.8 When we considered this proposal, in October
2013, we noted, whilst accepting the Government's case for its
general support for the proposal, its intention to secure improvements
in the text, in order to properly circumscribe the Commission's
use of delegated acts. So we asked, before we would consider the
proposal further, to hear about the Government's progress in this
regard. Meanwhile the document remained under scrutiny.
The Minister's letter of 16 December 2014
11.9 The Minister for Civil Society, Cabinet Office
(Mr Rob Wilson) writes now to update us on the Government's efforts
to properly circumscribe the Commission's use of delegated acts,
telling us that:
· the
Government has so far been able to secure amendments that oblige
the Commission to ensure that delegated acts do not impose a significant
additional burden on Member States or respondents to relevant
statistical surveys, and to ensure appropriate consultation with
experts in developing any proposed delegated acts; and
· the
Council and the European Parliament will have the right to review
the delegated powers after a period of five years.
11.10 However, the Minister also says, in relation
to the timetable for consideration of the proposal, that:
· following
initial discussion at working party level under the Greek Presidency
there was a long period of inactivity;
· the
Italian Presidency announced only at the Council Working Party
on Statistics on 10 December 2014 that the position described
to us had been secured in trilogue;
· the
Presidency also announced its intention to seek Coreper final
approval of the text at its meeting on 17 December 2014;
· he is
sorry, therefore, that he has been unable to inform of this in
time for us to formally scrutinise the final proposal, due to
the prohibitive timetable imposed by the Presidency;
· he was
instructing the UK Permanent Representative to abstain from voting
at the Coreper meeting on the grounds of a parliamentary scrutiny
reservation still being in place;
· none
of the proposed changes being put to Coreper are in dispute between
the European Parliament and the Council, except that the Commission's
obligation to consult with experts on the preparation of delegated
acts is currently set out in the recitals rather than the Articles
of the compromise text being placed before Coreper;
· the
Government was therefore seeking to strengthen this provision
by seeking its inclusion within the main Articles; and
· he would
update us again once Coreper have considered the proposal.
Previous Committee Reports
Seventeenth Report HC 83-xvi (2013-14), chapter 13
(9 October 2013).
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