Council Regulation (EC) No 1172/98 (repealed)Show full title

Council Regulation (EC) No 1172/98

of 25 May 1998

on statistical returns in respect of the carriage of goods by road (repealed)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 213 thereof,

Having regard to the draft Regulation submitted by the Commission(1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(2),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(3),

(1) Whereas, in order to carry out the tasks entrusted to it in the context of the common transport policy, the Commission must have at its disposal comparable, reliable, synchronised, regular and comprehensive statistical data on the scale and development of the carriage of goods by road by means of vehicles registered in the Community, and on the degree of utilisation of vehicles carrying out this transport;

(2) Whereas Council Directive 78/546/EEC of 12 June 1978 on statistical returns in respect of carriage of goods by road, as part of regional statistics(4) makes no provision for returns on types of transport which were not authorised at the time when this Directive was adopted; whereas the returns for which provision is made supply different information for national and international transport and whereas it provides no information on the degree of utilisation of vehicles carrying out this transport;

(3) Whereas it is necessary to compile comprehensive regional statistics with regard to both the carriage of goods and vehicle journeys;

(4) Whereas it is therefore appropriate to amend the system laid down by Directive 78/546/EEC in order to ensure the description of the regional origin and destination of intra-Community transport on the same bases as national transport, and to provide a link between the carriage of goods and vehicle journeys by measuring the degree of utilisation of vehicles carrying out this transport;

(5) Whereas, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, the creation of common statistical standards allowing the production of harmonised information can be tackled efficiently only at Community level, while data will be collected in each Member State under the authority of the bodies and institutions in charge of compiling official statistics;

(6) Whereas Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 of 17 February 1997 on Community statistics(5) provides a reference framework for the provisions laid down by this Regulation, in particular those concerning access to the sources of administrative data, the cost-effectiveness of available resources and statistical confidentiality;

(7) Whereas communication of individual data, once rendered anonymous, is necessary in order to estimate the overall accuracy of the results;

(8) Whereas it is important to ensure that statistical information is adequately disseminated;

(9) Whereas, during the start-up period, the Community will need to provide the Member States with a financial contribution for the execution of the necessary work;

(10) Whereas it is appropriate to provide for a simplified procedure for implementing this Regulation and adapting it to economic and technical progress;

(11) Whereas the Statistical Programme Committee established by Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom(6) has been consulted in accordance with Article 3 thereof; whereas it has stated that it is in favour of this Regulation,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

(1)

OJ C 341, 11. 11. 1997, p. 9.

(2)

OJ C 104, 6. 4. 1998.

(3)

OJ C 95, 30. 3. 1998, p. 33.

(4)

OJ L 168, 26. 6. 1978, p. 29. Directive as last amended by the 1994 Act of Accession.

(5)

OJ L 52, 22. 2. 1997, p. 1.

(6)

OJ L 181, 28. 6. 1989, p. 47.