CHAPTER VSTATISTICAL CONFIDENTIALITY

Article 20Protection of confidential data

1

The following rules and measures shall apply to ensure that confidential data are exclusively used for statistical purposes and to prevent their unlawful disclosure.

2

Confidential data obtained exclusively for the production of European statistics shall be used by the NSIs and other national authorities and by the Commission (Eurostat) exclusively for statistical purposes unless the statistical unit has unambiguously given its consent to the use for any other purposes.

3

Statistical results which may make it possible to identify a statistical unit may be disseminated by the NSIs and other national authorities and the Commission (Eurostat) in the following exceptional cases:

a

where specific conditions and modalities are determined by an act of the European Parliament and of the Council acting in accordance with Article 251 of the Treaty and the statistical results are amended in such a way that their dissemination does not prejudice statistical confidentiality whenever the statistical unit has so requested; or

b

where the statistical unit has unambiguously agreed to the disclosure of data.

4

Within their respective spheres of competence, the NSIs and other national authorities and the Commission (Eurostat) shall take all necessary regulatory, administrative, technical and organisational measures to ensure the physical and logical protection of confidential data (statistical disclosure control).

F1The NSIs, other national authorities and the Commission (Eurostat) shall take all necessary measures to ensure the alignment of principles and guidelines with regard to the physical and logical protection of confidential data. The Commission shall ensure such alignment by means of implementing acts, without supplementing this Regulation. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 27(2).

5

Officials and other staff of the NSIs and other national authorities having access to confidential data shall be subject to compliance with such confidentiality, even after cessation of their functions.