When determining the characteristics to be surveyed, an effort should be made to limit, as far as possible, the burden on respondents to the survey. In accordance with Article 8(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 571/88, certain Member States have asked to be authorised to use, in the 2007 survey on the structure of agricultural holdings, for certain characteristics, information that is already available from sources other than statistical surveys.

The Member States asking for authorisation to use data from sources other than statistical surveys have provided the Commission with technical documentation as to the relevance and the accuracy of these sources. The Commission has examined the documentation and found it to be appropriate. The authorisations requested by the Member States should therefore be granted.

The results of the Farm Structure Surveys are of great importance for the Common Agricultural Policy. For that reason, it is necessary to maintain a high quality of information, and the use of data from sources other than statistical surveys should only be accepted if these data are as reliable as those from statistical surveys. The Member States should therefore be required to take the necessary measures to ensure that the information submitted is of equal quality to that of information obtained from statistical surveys and to report on the quality.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee for Agricultural Statistics,