Community statistics after the accession of new Member States to the Union: income and living conditions EU-SILC (amend. Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003)

PURPOSE: To extend provisions concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) to take account of EU enlargement.

LEGISLATIVE ACT:  Regulation 1553/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

CONTENT:  As a result of EU enlargement in May 2004 Annex II of Regulation 1177/2003 concerning statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) needs to be extended. This Annex sets out for each Member State the minimum effective sample sizes required under the scheme. The 2003 Regulation has been amended accordingly. The amendments state that:

-         By way of derogation, the Czech Republic, Germany, Cyprus, Latvia. Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and the United Kingdom may start the annual cross-sectional and longitudinal data collection in 2005.

-         This is subject to those Member States supplying comparable data for the year 2004 for the cross-sectional common EU indicators, which were adopted by the Council before 01/01/2003.

-         Estonia will receive a financial contribution from the Community towards the costs involved for the four years of data collection from 2005.

-         By 2007, a Community finance programme will be made effective.

-         Annex II is replaced to take account of EU enlargement.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 20/10/2005.