EUROPEAN COMMISSION EUROSTAT

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1 EUROPEAN COMMISSION EUROSTAT Directorate E: Social statistics Doc. Eurostat/E0/03/DSS/6/7/EN DOCUMENT FOR ITEM 6 OF THE AGENDA TASK FORCE ON THE FUTURE OF THE EUROPEAN SYSTEM OF SOCIAL STATISTICS ANNUAL MEETING OF THE EUROPEAN DIRECTORS OF SOCIAL STATISTICS LUXEMBOURG, 7-8 APRIL 2003 BECH BUILDING, ROOM QUETELET, BEGINNING AT A.M. Commission européenne, L-2920 Luxembourg. Telephone: (352) Office: BECH D4/733. Telephone: direct line (352) Fax: (352)

2 1. Recommendation for action The DSS is invited to discuss and approve the proposed approach for the future structure and working mode for Social Statistics in the European Statistical System (ESS). 2. Content, background and brief history of the proposal 2.1. Background and problem statement European Social Statistics currently face major challenges. After times of important economic changes (EMU, introduction of the Euro) which were not accompanied by related social measures, social policy moves nowadays more and more to the centre of political interest, inevitably leading to increasing requests for social statistics. Political priorities of the EU already now require detailed statistics on employment and unemployment, social exclusion, poverty, education, health, demography, migration, asylum and others. Data needs for additional areas will surely follow. This development happens at a time when, in addition, the EU is going to be expanded to 25 and later more Member States and is continuing to include the EFTA countries within the European Economic Area (EEA). The current European System for Social Statistical (ESSS) has to prepare for these challenges. Embedded into the European Statistical System with bodies such as the SPC or the Partnership Group, the current working structure and working modes are more related to the previous situation when European Social Statistics were concentrated on a fairly limited number of statistics in a smaller EU. So far, in order to cope with new challenges, the existing approach has been continuously adapted leading to more and more Working Groups, Task Forces and other groups with more and more participants from the Member States, the Candidate Countries and international organisations, having more and more meetings (in several languages) to deal with the growing work load. Simplifying procedures such as written procedures were not used to its full potential. The overall impression is that the current system is coming to its limits and fairly radical changes are unavoidable. However, whatever is proposed needs to take the current, sometimes burdensome framework into account: existing legal procedures (e.g. co-decision), links between framework and implementation regulations, gentlemen agreements versus legal acts etc. Reality also shows that there are quite some layers between the working level in Eurostat on one hand and the Council and the European Parliament on the other hand, still leading to technical discussions at Council and European Parliament level without always having the right counterparts. The request for changes is not new and not limited to Social Statistics. Without going too far back in history, one might just remember recent statements of the SPC 1, the DSS itself 2, and particularly the DGINS discussion on the future of the ESS in Palermo in September They all strongly ask for action without, however, specifying in detail what to do and where to go. The purpose of this paper is to come up with concrete proposals for a future working structure and a future working mode for the ESSS. Starting point is the ESSS as part of the ESS and its structure and rules (e.g. the preparation of legal acts on social statistics going from the technical level via the SPC to the European Parliament and the Council). A first stake for the new system was the creation of the Sector Group on Social Statistics, the DSS, and its terms of references. They define the areas in which the DSS should be active, distinguishing between strategic, statistical programme and operational terms. The work of the DSS has to take into account other key players in social statistics in the world such as the OECD, the UN including its For example see documents EEA SPC 2002/47/5 on the follow-up of the DGINS conference in Palermo or EEA SPC 2002/44/7 on the Rolling Review on the functioning of the ESS and the mid-term evaluation of the statistical programme For example see the minutes of the last DSS meeting. For example see the presentations of Yves Franchet on the strengths and weaknesses of the ESS, or the presentations of Joachim Lamel, Tamasz Mellar, Johann Hahlen or Donal Garvey on new ideas for ESS development. 2

3 relevant sub-organisations (e.g. UN-ECE in Geneva), the ILO, the IMF or the World Bank as well as key players at the level of the European Union (e.g. CEDEFOP and other agencies) Proposal for future working structure and working modes Framework for an integrated system The following proposal is an attempt for an integrated system of bodies and their working modes in European Social Statistics. The guiding principle of the proposal is that, in a system of increasing complexity with more and more players, more and more statistical areas to cover and a growing request for a better management of scarce resources, the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality require a better split of work between the different core players, a better use of overall resources and the avoidance of overlap of work or even double work. Such an integrated system is supposed to increase confidence between all partners and a better integration of users and producers. The centre of the system is the DSS with its terms of references and its Rules of Internal Procedures. Any kind of integrated system has to take the variety of tasks of the ESSS into account. At a fairly general level, the following tasks can be distinguished: - Development of general and specific strategies - Preparation of legal acts - Development of statistical methodology - Treatment and analysis of data - Exchange of best practices - Research in social statistics The different elements of the integrated system are more or less appropriate for those tasks. The match between the different elements and the different tasks has to be optimised so that the most appropriate groups deal with the relevant task Proposal of an integrated system The proposed integrated system consists of the following elements: a) The proposed new system is hierarchical with the DSS on top. The DSS is the decisive body and reports directly back to the SPC. The DSS organises general seminars of the Mondorf type for a better exchange of views of users and producers on new challenges in the field of social statistics at European level. The DSS might consider the use of the CEIES network for this task. b) The DSS is supported by the Strategic Development Group. Its main purpose is to establish a better link between European and national users and producers and is therefore different from the task of the Partnership Group of the ESS. Its task includes a support function for a better co-ordination at national and European Council level. The Strategic Development Group consists of representatives of only a few Member States. Details need to be further developed. c) All existing Working Groups are replaced. The centre of the proposed system is a limited number of Domain Specific Groups. 4 These groups deal with general aspects of their domains, including the development of relevant strategies and the preparation of legal acts, however without considering methodological details, and report directly back to the DSS. They are consensus oriented and should 4 It has to be checked at a later stage to which extent existing legal acts refer to any of the existing Working Groups. If this is the case, the legal acts have to be changed accordingly. 3

4 aim to present unanimous proposals to the DSS. The Domain Specific Groups are chaired by the corresponding Head of Unit of Eurostat. All Member States are represented at least at Head of Unit level with political responsibilities. Member States might send more than one representative, particularly in cases when the NSI is not responsible for all aspects of the domain in its country. The meetings of the Domain Specific Groups might last for more than two days with a varying representation from the Member States depending on the subject. The number of the Domain Specific Groups, their Terms of References and their work are prepared, followed-up and evaluated by the DSS (evaluation of one Domain Specific Group per year). The number of the Domain Specific Groups is not finally fixed but should not exceed some five groups. Their attributions might change over time. As a first indication, one might think about the creation of five Domain Specific Groups for the time being on - Labour Market covering employment, unemployment, wages etc. - Education and culture - Demography including migration - Living Conditions covering income, poverty, social exclusion etc. - Health and Social Protection including (public) health and safety at work The exact attribution of subjects to the different Domain Specific Groups should be one outcome of the test phase (for details see chapter 7). Cross domain subjects such as harmonisation, ageing, gender or general indicators as well as new subjects not covered by any of the existing Domain Specific Groups should be dealt with by specific Task Forces (for details see below under d)) reporting directly to the DSS. New subjects might in the long run lead to the creation of new or the reorganisation of existing Domain Specific Groups. Domain Specific Groups should meet at least once a year. All papers for the meetings should be available in DE, EN and FR. As far as resources are available, interpretation should be made from and into further languages due to real needs. Domain Specific Groups might organise seminars and training courses specific for their domains. d) All methodological/technical aspects are dealt with by Task Forces. They are created by the DSS on request of the Domain Specific Groups or on the DSS's own request. Task Forces have to have concrete Terms of References and exist only for a very limited period. They report back to and are evaluated once a year by the group, which created them. The results of the work of the Task Forces are made available on CIRCA sites. Task Forces have between four and eight members plus the secretary coming from the responsible unit of Eurostat. They are chaired by Eurostat or a Member State, depending on their Terms of References. Task Forces which are involved in the preparation of legal acts have to be chaired by Eurostat. The core criterion for membership in Task Forces is the level of experience of the potential members in the field under consideration. The decision on Task Force membership is taken by the corresponding Domain Specific Group and the DSS respectively on the basis of Curriculum Vitae. Discussions in Task Force meetings are only held in English. All documents are made available in English. Task Forces should not only have physical meetings. Written procedures and the use of modern technologies such as videoconferences, exchange of s and documents or the use of joint CIRCA sites is encouraged. All Member States not represented in Task Forces should be involved through electronic means (video-conferencing, ing, CIRCA sites etc.) or through bilateral contacts ('virtual Working Group') during the time of existance of the Task Force. 4

5 e) Main users from other services of the European Commission should have the possibility to participate and are particularly welcome in the Strategic Development Group. Their participation should not be seen as a risk for the data producers to jeopardise their independence but more as a chance for a better mutual understanding which, in the end, will contribute to the consolidation of statistics. In particular, well justified cases, a participation of national users and researchers should also be possible. f) The creation of a fast-track procedure ('Rapid Reaction Force') as proposed at the DGINS meeting in Palermo should be considered in the area of social statistics. More input is needed from forthcoming discussions at ESS level before any decision on its implementation in social statistics can be taken. g) Research in social statistics is no core activity of the ESSS. Such activities should be organised through LEGs on specific topics, the organisation of special events at EU and international level (SIENA group, other 'city groups') and the use of the service of appropriate private and public institutions, including conferences, seminars and alike organised by them. h) In order to better harmonise the work in the field of social statistics at international level, joint groups with other international statistical organisations such as the OECD might be created. The composition of such groups might differ from EU groups and should deal with topics of special interest at international level without delaying the current work at EU level. i) The following table summarises the 'Who does what' in the European System for Social Statistics according to the proposed integrated system. It shows how the different tasks are distributed amongst the proposed set of actors. Table 1 Responsibilities of the different actors in the ESSS Task Actor Strategy Preparation of legal acts Statistical methodology Treatment and analysis of data Exchange of best pactise Research in social statistics DSS X X Strategic X Developm ent Group Domain Specific Group X X X Task Force X X X X LEG et al. X X j) The proposed system has a number of advantages and disadvantages. The core advantage is that the new system will enable the ESSS to react more flexibly and more cost-efficient to its growing tasks. Though fewer people will meet physically, the available expertise will not get lost through the works of the Domain Specific Groups, the Task Forces and the related 'virtual Working Groups' as well as through conferences, seminars and training courses. Less time will be spent for missions, an aspect which might be particularly relevant for smaller countries whose delegates often have to represent their countries in more than one Working Group. The new approach has to make sure that the advantages of the current system do not get lost. A core aspect in this respect is the danger that (social) contacts which were well established over the years might be cut. The intention to more intensively organise conferences, seminars and alike will not only reduce this risk but also contribute to a better understanding between producers and users. Another crucial aspect is the language problem. The concentration on English will mean for some national experts that they feel uncomfortable in meetings and are therefore not available as potential Task Force 5

6 members, with the consequence that existing skills might not get fully exploited. The problem that NSIs are not always responsible in their countries for all topics dealt with in the meetings of the DSS and the Domain Specific Groups can be overcome by a flexible participation from Member States and a better co-ordination at national level, amongst other with the help of the Strategic Development Group. All in all will the proposed system lead to empowerment, increase of mutual trust and of costefficiency. 3. Brief factual statement of the policy context for the proposal The proposal is the answer to a changing world in social statistical at European level. Starting with the Lisbon summit, and confirmed by follow-up summits, the range of tasks for the ESSS has increased considerably. The Spring Summit 2003 will again see a step up when the integration of economic and social cohesion is on the agenda. Requests for new indicators will arise. The ESS and particularly the ESSS is damned to react - and with an increased speed. The proposed system seems to be the only possibility for a better anticipation and a more pro-active approach to face these and future challenges. 4. Consequences of the proposal for NSIs - including financial implications The proposed system will mean a fairly different way of working for Eurostat and the Member States in the area of social statistics. Available human, financial and time resources as well as expertise in the Member States and in Eurostat can be used more cost-efficiently. By far more work at European level will be done directly by and in the Member States for example through written procedures and the use of electronic means. All in all, the approach will not create additional workload, but a fairer split of work and responsibilities and a more effective use of the available resources - under the condition of constant requests. 5. Outstanding problems Though the proposed approach is deemed to solve quite a number of existing problems, two aspects should be explicitly mentioned as still not satisfactorily solved. One problem concerns the representation of Member States in the DSS and the Domain Specific Groups when more than one national institution is involved. The creation of the Strategic Development Group and the possibility of varying representatives in meetings are first steps in this direction. The second outstanding problem is related to discussions and decisions at Council level where often different representatives of Member States decide about legal acts. 6. Risk assessment The ESSS as well as the ESS are faced with an almost insurmountable problem. Everybody is aware of the need for changes but so far only limited and/or restricted proposals exist to solve it. Nobody denies that the current system can not be further applied in a situation with almost 30 countries to deal with continuously increasing requests for social statistics: complex and lengthy procedures, risk of a paralysed system not being able to develop, decide and implement in an acceptable timeframe. The ESSS is therefore condemned to find a solution. If such a system is not found, the ESSS may not be able to deliver the requested data - a situation that might even jeopardise the ESS as a whole and not just the ESSS. 7. Next steps: implementation plan and timetable The implementation of the proposed integrated system will need some time and should be done in a flexible way including implementations in different domains at different speeds. The following general implementation steps are proposed: a) Autumn 2002 to autumn 2003: preparation 6

7 November 2002: first Eurostat internal discussion at the level of head of unit of Directorate E; after approval, sending the draft to the members of the Task Force DSS; done December 2002: discussion of the proposal at the first meeting of the Task Force DSS; done January 2003: update of the proposal and wider internal discussion in directorate E of Eurostat; sending the revised proposal to the Task Force members; done February 2003: discussion of the revised proposal at the second meeting of the Task Force DSS; done March 2003: presentation of the modified proposal to Eurostat's Management Board March to May 2003: Eurostat internal simulation study on the effects of the proposed system April 2003: presentation and discussion of the revised proposal at the regular meeting of the DSS May 2003: information of the SPC June 2003: formal approval of the final proposal by the DSS through written procedure b) Autumn 2003 to the middle/end of 2004: test and interim period September 2003: identification of one Domain Specific Group for which the new system would be tested (current idea: labour market) September 2003 to May 2004: test phase May 2004 to July 2004: evaluation of the experiences from the test phase September 2004: approval of the final system by the DSS and identification of all Domain Specific Groups and Task Forces c) From September 2004 onwards: stepwise full implementation of the system 7

8 1. Annex Future Structure and Working Mode of the European System for Social Statistics SPC Statistical Programme Committee Partnership Group DSS Directors of Social Statistics meetings Strategic development Group (Small number of MS) Report DSG Domain Specific Groups (all MS) (Max. of some 5 Groups) Report Task Forces / LEGs (Small number of MS and for a limited period) 8