RAPORT referitor la propunerea de regulament al Parlamentului European şi al Consiliului de modificare a Regulamentului (CE) nr. 1059/2003 privind instituirea unui nomenclator comun al unităţilor teritoriale de statistică (NUTS), având în vedere aderarea Bulgariei şi a României la Uniunea Europeană

privind propunerea de regulament al Parlamentului European şi al Consiliului de modificare a Regulamentului (CE) nr. 1059/2003 privind instituirea unui nomenclator comun al unităţilor teritoriale de statistică (NUTS), având în vedere aderarea Bulgariei şi a României la Uniunea Europeană

(COM(2007)0095 – C6‑0091/2007 – 2007/0038(COD))

(Procedura de codecizie: prima lectură)

Parlamentul European,

–   având în vedere propunerea Comisiei prezentată Parlamentului European şi Consiliului (COM(2007)0095)[1],

–   având în vedere articolul 251 alineatul (2) şi articolul 285 alineatul (1) din Tratatul CE, în temeiul cărora propunerea a fost prezentată de către Comisie (C6‑0091/2007),

–   având în vedere articolul 51 din Regulamentul său de procedură,

–   având în vedere raportul Comisiei pentru dezvoltare regională (A6‑0285/2007),

1.  aprobă propunerea Comisiei astfel cum a fost modificată;

2.  solicită Comisiei să îl sesizeze din nou, în cazul în care intenţionează să modifice în mod substanţial această propunere sau să o înlocuiască cu un alt text;

3.  încredinţează Preşedintelui sarcina de a transmite prezenta rezoluţie Consiliului şi Comisiei.

Amendamentul 1

CONSIDERENTUL 4a (nou)

• [1]  Nepublicată încă în JO.

1. Introduction

Regional statistics are used at Community level as an objective statistical base for a number of very diverse purposes. Major political importance attaches to some of these, e.g. the determination of the areas eligible for the Structural Funds or for state aids (in the latter case, subject to compatibility with Articles 87 to 89 of the EC Treaty).

Regulation EC 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and the Council establishes a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) based on demographic criteria, pursuant to the Community's need for a suitable legal basis for such classification.

2. Background

Regional statistics are a cornerstone of the European statistical system, being used for a wide range of purposes and by a wide range of users. For instance, regional data of the EU Member States are used for allocating structural funds in a rational and consistent way. Hence, regional statistics are the objective statistical base for important political decisions. The work on a Regulation to give NUTS a legal status started in spring 2000, with the adoption and entering into force in 2003 of the above mentioned Regulation.

The current NUTS breakdown subdivides each Member State into a number of regions at NUTS 1 level. Each of these is then subdivided into regions at NUTS level 2, and these in turn into regions at NUTS level 3. The European Parliament has urged for including a fourth NUTS category (see for example report A5-0071/2003; rapporteur: Rosa Miguélez Ramos) in order to cover smaller territorial units.

In order to meet a growing general need for information at local level, the Commission set up an infra-regional information system, the first step being to compile a Community classification of local administrative units ("LAU") compatible with NUTS. Accordingly, the LAU are the basic components of NUTS regions. Following this, two further LAU levels have been defined in accordance with the NUTS principles, but only the last and smallest (LAU level 2) has been fixed for all Member States. This usually corresponds to the concept of the 'municipality' or 'commune'.

With the approach of a large number of new Member States entering the Union, the criteria was set to clarify the reference territorial units (NUTS) in order to define a consistent regional breakdown of territory for statistical purposes. This purely technical aspect had in fact major implications for local and regional governments.

In 2005, the Commission presented a Communication as provided for in art 2(5) of the above mentioned Regulation EC 1059/2003, on the appropriateness of establishing rules on a Europe-wide basis for more detailed levels in the NUTS Classification (COM(2005)0473).

The Commission concludes in its Communication (COM(2005)473 final) that, currently, no additional level of regional breakdown should be envisaged in the framework of the NUTS Regulation.

3. The European Commission proposal for a regulation

The Commission is proposing to amend Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) by reason of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU.

The amending Regulation coherently follows a previous one, Regulation (EC) No 1888/2005 of the European Parliament and the Council due to the accession of ten Member States in 2004.

4. Conclusion

According to your rapporteur, it is necessary to integrate, in line with the Commission proposal, the classification of the territorial units of Bulgaria and Romania into the statistical classification of the Community. He therefore welcomes the Commission's initiative regarding adaptation of the annexes to Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council in this regard.

Your rapporteur does not consider it necessary to table amendments to the Commission proposal. Nonetheless, as has been stressed by the European Parliament earlier, certain elements should be highlighted such as the treatment of smaller administrative units. A NUTS level for 'smaller administrative units' would make it possible to reflect real circumstances more accurately and avoid anomalies such as the presence of regional units with highly differing populations within the same NUTS level. Your rapporteur therefore strongly encourages the Commission, as also mentioned in the Communication (COM(2005)473 final), to reassess the situation during the year to come, which follows the start of the new Cohesion Policy period, in order to look closer at the prospects of creating another NUTS level.

Attention should, however, be paid concerning Annex 3 as amended which do not strictly follows the population criteria with regard to two regions in Romania, named non-administrative in the regulation. Since this appeared the best classification to make for the sake of continuity of statistical data, and since, this classification was also agreed upon by concerned authorities, your rapporteur does not see any need to propose other classification. However, it would be appropriate to revise this classification in the next revision of current structure.

Furthermore, your rapporteur recommends the harmonisation of LAU level 1 to be supported actively by the Commission at a European scale. This could be done through exchange of views between statistical offices, encouraged and supported by the Commission, and the elaboration of guiding principle to harmonise the concepts with regard to the definition of LAU level 1 regions.