THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 338(1) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,
Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,
Whereas:
(1)
In order to effectively combat discrimination in accordance with Article 10 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), to assist in ensuring compliance with Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and to pursue the aim of full employment and social progress, in accordance with Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), as well as in order to monitor progress towards Union policy objectives, such as the Europe 2020 headline targets, it is necessary to have comparable, reliable and objective statistics on the situation of employed persons, unemployed persons and persons outside the labour market, while respecting statistical confidentiality, privacy and protection of personal data.
(2)
As a consequence of the entry into force of the TFEU, the powers conferred upon the Commission need to be aligned with Article 290 thereof and with the new legal framework resulting from the entry into force of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
(3)
The Commission has committed itself, under Regulation (EU) No 182/2011, to reviewing legislative acts which currently contain references to the regulatory procedure with scrutiny in the light of the criteria laid down in the TFEU.
(4)
Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98 contains references to the regulatory procedure with scrutiny and should therefore be reviewed in the light of the criteria laid down in the TFEU.
(5)
In order in particular to take account of economic, social and technical developments, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission in respect of the adjustment of the list of survey variables, specified within the list of 14 groups of survey characteristics referred to in Regulation (EC) No 577/98, to establish a three-year programme of ad hoc modules, specifying, for each ad hoc module the subject, the list and description of the area of specialised information (‘ad hoc sub-modules’) and the reference period. In addition, the Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts in order to adopt the list of structural variables and the survey frequency. The Commission should ensure that these delegated acts do not impose a significant additional burden on the Member States or on the respondents.
(6)
It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level. The Commission, when preparing and drawing up delegated acts, should ensure a simultaneous, timely and appropriate transmission of relevant documents to the European Parliament and to the Council.
(7)
In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 577/98, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.
(8)
In view of the importance of the Labour Force Survey ad hoc modules for Union policies, a contribution by the Union to the financing of their implementation is to be awarded in accordance with the principle of reasonable financial-burden-sharing between the budgets of the Union and the Member States. Grants should be provided, without calls for proposals, in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council. The grants should be awarded, subject to the actual implementation of the ad hoc modules, to the national statistical institutes and other national authorities referred to in Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Grants that are provided for the purpose of carrying out labour force surveys may take the form of lump sums. In this context, the use of lump sums should be one of the principal means of simplifying grant management.
(9)
By way of derogation from Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, and in view of the increased burden related to the additional information to be collected for the Labour Force Survey ad hoc modules which will contribute to providing the indicators for the Union policy targets, it is necessary to co-finance the salary costs of the personnel of national administrations even if the relevant public authority would have carried out the supported action without a Union grant, as well as to co-finance other relevant eligible costs.
(10)
As regards conferral of powers on the Commission, this Regulation is limited to aligning the existent conferral of powers on the Commission contained in Regulation (EC) No 577/98 to Article 290 TFEU and to the new legislative framework resulting from the entry into force of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011, as well as, where appropriate, to reviewing the scope of those powers. Since it remains the case that the objectives of Regulation (EC) No 577/98 cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 TEU. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.
(11)
In order to ensure legal certainty, it is necessary that procedures for the adoption of measures which have been initiated but not completed before the entry into force of this Regulation not be affected by this Regulation.
(12)
Regulation (EC) No 577/98 should therefore be amended accordingly,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: