Note to the reader see page 3 of the cover. Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular its Article ,. This proposal had strong ties with the current more general proposal, as the former was developed against a legal background which is subject to modifications today.
Therefore, as was underlined in the opinion on health statistics, under point 10, a close link exists between these two initiatives. Both elements were included in the conclusion of the above mentioned Opinion. The EDPS is currently working together with Eurostat's services in order to conduct this common review 2. Although not formally consulted by the European Commission on the proposal, the EDPS underlined the relevance of data protection in that context. He also reiterated his concerns about the crucial importance of correctly defining the legal framework in which statistical data are processed and the need for clarifications of certain definitions.
Finally, the EDPS, as member of the Article 29 Working Party, actively participated in the preparation of the opinion on the concept of personal data 4 , which also analyses certain aspects pertaining to statistical data.
According to the explanatory memorandum, the proposal aims to revise the existing basic legal framework governing the production of statistics at European level with a view to adapting it to the current reality and also to improving it to meet future developments and challenges.
In the view of the Commission, European Statistics constitute an essential contribution to building the information capacity required to sustain EU strategic objectives and the underlying policies and supporting instruments. Furthermore, the Commission states that there are also calls for a certain degree of flexibility in the statistical confidentiality regime to allow controlled access to detailed statistical data without compromising the high level of protection that confidential statistical data require.
