Harmonisation of gross national income (GNI) at market prices

PURPOSE: to reinforce the comparability, reliability and exhaustiveness of the GNI (Gross National Income) aggregate.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) 2019/516 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the harmonisation of gross national income at market prices and repealing Council Directive 89/130/EEC, Euratom and Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1287/2003 (GNI Regulation).

CONTENT: Gross national income at market prices (GNI) constitutes the basis for calculating the largest share of own resources in the general budget of the Union. Therefore, it is necessary to further reinforce the comparability, reliability and exhaustiveness of that aggregate.

The adopted Regulation, repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1287/2003 (the "GNI Regulation"), is a simple update of the existing system. It provides that gross national income at market prices (GNI) and gross domestic product at market prices (GDP) are defined in accordance with the European system of accounts (ESA 2010), established by Regulation (EU) No 549/2013.  

Before 1 October each year, Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat), in the context of national accounting procedures, with figures for GNI aggregates and their components. Totals for GDP and its components shall be presented in accordance with the three approaches used to define and calculate GNI at market prices: the production approach, the expenditure approach and the income approach.

The Commission shall establish a formal expert group, composed of representatives of all the Member States and chaired by a representative of the Commission, to advise the Commission on, and to express its views regarding, the comparability, reliability and exhaustiveness of GNI calculations, to examine issues of implementation of this Regulation and to issue annual opinions on the appropriateness of the GNI data submitted by the Member States for own resources purposes.

The Commission may carry out GNI information visits to verify the quality of GNI aggregates and their components and to verify compliance with the ESA 2010, as well as to ensure that GNI data are comparable, reliable and exhaustive.

It shall have the power to adopt:

- delegated acts for a period of five years (renewable) as regards the list of issues to be addressed in every verification cycle;

- implementing measures to establish the structure and detailed arrangements of the inventory of the sources and methods used to produce GNI data and their components, in accordance with Annex A to Regulation (EU) No 549/2013, as well as the timetable for its updating and transmission, and the specific measures aimed at improving the comparability, reliability and exhaustiveness of Member States' GNI data based on the list of issues defined by the Commission. Before 1 January 2023, the Commission shall present to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the application of the Regulation.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 18.4.2019.