Statistics on population and housing
The European Parliament adopted a legislative resolution approving the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on European statistics on population and housing, amending Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 and repealing Regulations (EC) No 763/2008 and (EU) No 1260/2013.
The proposed regulation aims at establishing a harmonised framework for European statistics on population and housing by integrating existing statistics on demography, migration, and censuses. It seeks to enhance the comparability, timeliness, and relevance of data across Member States, supporting EU policies related to demographic change, social cohesion, and sustainable development.
Population base
The Council’s position includes the obligation to apply estimation methods to the total population at national level only. This obligation applies specifically to three statistical topics: “The person’s basic characteristics”, “The person’s socio-economic characteristics” and “The person’s household situation”. Furthermore, Member States may use a dedicated adjustment category where further estimations are available.
Regarding the population figures for the needs of Qualified Majority Voting, Eurostat will provide the Council with the total population of each Member State by 30 September each year, based on data submitted by Member States as outlined in the Annex of the Regulation. Member States may revise their figures until 1 September each year.
Hard-to-reach population groups
The Council’s position introduces a definition of hard-to-reach population groups and specifies that Member States must strive to ensure that these groups are adequately covered. The text includes provisions for pilot and feasibility studies aimed at assessing the availability of data on groups such as persons in institutions, homeless individuals, and persons with disabilities.
Derogations
Where the application of the Regulation, or its delegated or implementing acts, require major adaptations to be made to national statistical systems, Member States may request a derogation for an initial period of up to three years, with the possibility of a one-time extension of maximum three years more, provided sufficient justification is given.
Safeguards
The text introduces qualitative safeguards adjusted to European statistics on population and housing specificities. Furthermore, the compromise text excludes the collection of data that by their nature can only be obtained directly from individual through surveys.
Delegated and implementing acts
The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts to amend the list of detailed topics set out in the Annex. When a delegated act introduces a new detailed topic, it may also include the relevant frequency, reference points, submission deadline, and territorial level. These delegated acts must be adopted at least 18 months before the relevant reference point.
The Commission will adopt implementing acts to specify the datasets and metadata to be transmitted to the Commission (Eurostat). These implementing acts must be adopted at least 18 months before the start of the relevant reference period. Two exceptions apply: implementing acts for the first reference times will be adopted not later than 12 months ahead of the first reference times while the implementing acts concerning census data shall be adopted at least 24 months ahead of the reference date.
Ad hoc data collection
The text establishes a structured mechanism for additional data collection. These collections, which are intended to address unexpected short-term or crisis-related statistical demands, are set up through delegated and implementing acts.
Annex
The annex presents the statistical requirements, periodicity, territorial breakdowns and transmission deadlines safeguarding feasibility and high data quality.