Annexes to COM(1995)472 - Improving Community Agricultural Statistics

Please note

This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.

dossier COM(1995)472 - Improving Community Agricultural Statistics.
document COM(1995)472 EN
date June 25, 1996
ANNEX I


STATISTICAL AREAS IN WHICH POTENTIAL SAVINGS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED (1)

1. Farm structure surveys: simplification and restructuring of the list of characteristics, particularly for intermediate surveys.

2. Survey on the area under vines: simplification of the programme of statistical tables.

3. Survey on fruit trees: reduction in the obligations relating to intermediate surveys.

4. Agricultural income index: elimination of the first disaggregated estimates in October and elimination of any details of secondary importance.

5. Total income of agricultural households: greater flexibility in frequency and in target concepts.

6. Animal surveys: application of the agriflex concept, i.e. adapting the frequency of the surveys to the numbers of livestock in each country.

7. Dairy statistics: elimination of weekly statistics, elimination of statistics on casein, reduction of certain annual statistics and simplification of statistics on dairy structures.

(1) In the review of agricultural statistics carried out under the Statistical Programme of the European Communities 1989-1992. Some of the savings identified have already been implemented since this exercise started.


ANNEX II


STATISTICAL AREAS WHERE THERE ARE NEW OR INCREASING NEEDS (1)


Topics

1. Farm structure survey: adapting the list of characteristics to take account of new needs (activities outside the holding, agri-environmental indicators, more detailed geographical breakdown, particularly for the basic surveys).

2. Rapid estimates of sowing and planting forecasts at the beginning of the winter for principal crops.

3. Improvement in and rapid provision of the production statistics in certain sectors (fruit and vegetables, wine, eggs and poultry, flowers).

4. Improved statistics on consumption and on stock levels and changes for the main products with a view to the regular production of supply balances at European level.

5. Livestock feed: overcoming certain delays in the fodder balances.

6. Development of more harmonized Community forestry statistics.

7. Agricultural price statistics: new selection of the absolute agricultural price series taking into account technical progress and economic changes.


Methodology

8. New and improved methods to enable Member States to meet more efficiently existing and new information needs, e.g. rapid surveys, administrative data, panels, remote sensing.

(1) Identified in the review of agricultural statistics carried out under the Statistical Programme of the European Communities 1989-1992.

N.B.: Any new statistical obligation will be the subject of a separate Council legal instrument.


ANNEX III


OBJECTIVES, CHARACTERISTICS AND CRITERIA OF THE COMMUNITY AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SYSTEM


Constant improvement

1. Community agricultural statistics will steadily increase in cost-effectiveness and in their capacity to meet the statistical needs of the Community and third countries.


Positive comparability checking

2. Community agricultural statistics will incorporate continuous quality checking to ensure that data are adequate for the needs to which they are put. In particular, Member States may be required to inform the Commission and other Member States of the statistical methods used and their suitability.


Response burden

3. Community agricultural statistics will impose the smallest possible burden of response consistent with meeting information needs.


Integration of agricultural statistics with those of other activities

4. The improvement to Community agricultural statistics will facilitate:

(a) drawing on statistics from other areas;

(b) contributing to general statistical systems;

(c) use of the agricultural statistics apparatus to collect statistical information required in other areas.


Complementarity between Community and national levels

5. National agricultural statistics systems may collect and deliver to the Commission data not formally provided for at Community level. Similarly, certain applications developed directly at Community level (for example Eurofarm, SPEL) may be used to provide Member States with information which is not available at national level.


Concentration on the most important aspects

6. The amount of information each Member State supplies may vary according to the importance of the phenomenon covered regionally, nationally and at Community level.


Most efficient national approach

7. Member States may collect basic data by the statistical method which is most efficient, having regard to the definition, time limits and level of accuracy required (subject to the checking referred to in point 2).


Optimization

8. The detailed Community requirements set out in various Community legal instruments and informal agreements do not in themselves constitute an optimized structure. Each Member State must ensure that its national system of agricultural statistics is adapted and responds in an optimum way to Community requirements. Community requirements must not unnecessarily impede national optimization.


ANNEX IV


PRINCIPAL COUNCIL REGULATIONS AND DIRECTIVES ON AGRICUTURAL STATISTICS

>TABLE>