Steel industry: annual Community statistics on steel for 2003-2009

PURPOSE : to establish a common framework for the systematic production of Community statistics on the steel industry for the reference years 2003-2009. LEGISLATIVE ACT : Regulation 48/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the production of annual Community statistics on the steel industry for the reference years 2003-2009. CONTENT : This Regulation proceeds from the fact that it is necessary to continue collecting statistics on the steel industry in order to implement future Community policies on the steel industry. No other existing statistical system at a European level is able to satisfy the need for such statistics. A new Regulation based on the EC Treaty is therefore needed on the collection of Community statistics on the steel industry. Enterprises in the steel industry need worldwide information on investment and capacity in order to assess possible future under capacity or overcapacity for particular classes of steel products. Community statistics on investment and capacity contribute to a global network of information on world steel capacity organised under the auspices of the OECD. Statistics on energy consumption in the steel industry yield information not only on energy use and production within the steel industry but indirectly also on emission of pollutants. Statistics on the availability of stocks of iron and steel scrap are needed to monitor the use of this important raw material for steel making. This Regulation provides as follows: - The Regulation covers data on the steel industry, which is defined as group 27.1 of the statistical classification of economic activities in the EC, (NACE Rev. 1), established by Council Regulation 3037/90/EEC. Where the value-added at factor cost of the enterprises in a Member State's steel industry represents less than 1 % of the Community total, the data on the characteristics need not be collected. - The data supplied, which must conform to the format set out in the Annex, must relate to kind-of-activity unit characteristics as defined in Council Regulation 696/93/EC and to enterprises having 50 or more employees. - Member States must compile on an annual basis the data specified in the Annex for the first time for the year 2003 and for each year thereafter until 2009. - Member States must transmit data and metadata to the Commission (Eurostat) in electronic form within six months from the end of the reference year. However, the Commission may extend this period to 12 months for the first transmission for those Member States who have difficulties implementing the Regulation. ENTRY INTO FORCE : 02/02/04.�