Regulation 2014/545 - Amendment of Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98 on the organisation of a labour force sample survey in the EC - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 163/10

In order to effectively combat discrimination in accordance with Article 10 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), to assist in ensuring compliance with Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and to pursue the aim of full employment and social progress, in accordance with Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), as well as in order to monitor progress towards Union policy objectives, such as the Europe 2020 headline targets, it is necessary to have comparable, reliable and objective statistics on the situation of employed persons, unemployed persons and persons outside the labour market, while respecting statistical confidentiality, privacy and protection of personal data.

As a consequence of the entry into force of the TFEU, the powers conferred upon the Commission need to be aligned with Article 290 thereof and with the new legal framework resulting from the entry into force of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2).

The Commission has committed itself, under Regulation (EU) No 182/2011, to reviewing legislative acts which currently contain references to the regulatory procedure with scrutiny in the light of the criteria laid down in the TFEU.

Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98 (3) contains references to the regulatory procedure with scrutiny and should therefore be reviewed in the light of the criteria laid down in the TFEU.

In order in particular to take account of economic, social and technical developments, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission in respect of the adjustment of the list of survey variables, specified within the list of 14 groups of survey characteristics referred to in Regulation (EC) No 577/98, to establish a three-year programme of ad hoc modules, specifying, for each ad hoc module the subject, the list and description of the area of specialised information (‘ad hoc sub-modules’) and the reference period. In addition, the Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts in order to adopt the list of structural variables and the survey frequency. The Commission should ensure that these delegated acts do not impose a significant additional burden on the Member States or on the respondents.

It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level. The Commission, when preparing and drawing up delegated acts, should ensure a simultaneous, timely and appropriate transmission of relevant documents to the European Parliament and to the Council.

In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 577/98, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

In view of the importance of the Labour Force Survey ad hoc modules for Union policies, a contribution by the Union to the financing of their implementation is...