(Codecision procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2004)0095)(1),

–   having regard to Articles 251(2) and 285(1) of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C5-0083/2004),

–   having regard to Rule 51 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A6-0033/2005),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it intends to amend the proposal substantially or replace it with another text;

3.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

(1) Not yet published in OJ.

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 285(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee(2),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(3),

Whereas:

(1)  At the Lisbon European Council in March 2000 the European Union set the strategic goal of becoming the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based society in the world, capable of sustained economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion.

(2)  The employability, adaptability and mobility of citizens is vital for Europe to maintain its commitment to becoming the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based society in the world.

(3)  Lifelong learning is a key element in developing and promoting a skilled, trained and adaptable workforce.

(4)  The Council Conclusions of 5 May 2003 on reference levels of European average performance in education and training (Benchmarks)(4) adopted the following benchmark: "by 2010, the European Union average level of participation in Lifelong Learning should be at least 12,5% of the adult working age population (25 to 64 age group)".

(5)  The Lisbon European Council confirmed lifelong learning as a basic component of the European social model.

(6)  The new European Employment Strategy confirmed by Council Decision 2003/578/EC of 22 July 2003 on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States(5) aims to contribute better to the Lisbon strategy and to implement coherent and comprehensive strategies for lifelong learning.

(7)  When applying this Regulation, account should be taken of the notion of 'people at a disadvantage in the labour market' given in the Guidelines for the employment policies of Member States.

(8)  Particular attention has to be given to the training at the workplace and during working hours, both these aspects being crucial dimensions of lifelong learning.

(9)  Comparable statistical information at Community level, with specific respect to enterprise training, is essential for the development of lifelong learning strategies and for the monitoring of progress in their implementation.

(10)  The production of specific Community statistics is governed by the rules set out in Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 of 17 February 1997 on Community Statistics(6).

(11)  The transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality is governed by the rules set out in Regulation (EC) No 322/97 and in Council Regulation (Euratom, EEC) No 1588/90 of 11 June 1990 on the transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality to the Statistical office of the European Communities(7).

(12)  Commission Regulation (EC) No 831/2002 of 17 May 2002 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 on Community Statistics, concerning access to confidential data for scientific purposes(8) established the conditions pursuant to which access to confidential data transmitted to the Community authority may be granted.

(13)  Since the objective of this Regulation, namely the creation of common statistical standards that permit the production of harmonised data cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve that objective.

(14)  The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(9). These measures should take into account the available capacities within the Member States for data collection and processing.

(15)  The Statistical Programme Committee has been consulted in accordance with Article 3 of Council Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom of 19 June 1989 establishing a Committee on the Statistical Programmes of the European Communities (10),

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Subject matter

This Regulation establishes a common framework for the production of Community statistics on vocational training in enterprises.

Article 2

Definitions

Article 3

Data to be collected

1.  The data shall be collected by the Member States with a view to producing Community statistics for the analysis of continuing vocational training in enterprises in the following domains:

2.  With respect to initial vocational training in enterprises, specific data shall be collected by the Member States on:

Article 4

Scope

The statistics on vocational training shall cover at least all economic activities defined in sections C to K and O of the NACE Rev. 1.

Article 5

Statistical units

For the collection of the data, enterprises active in one of the economic activities referred to in Article 4 and employing 10 and more employees shall be used as the statistical units.

Having regard to the specific national size distribution of enterprises and the evolution of policy needs, Member States may extend the definition of the statistical unit in their country. The Commission may also decide to extend this definition in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 14(2) if such extension would enhance substantially the representativeness and the quality of the result of the survey in the concerned Member States.

Article 6

Data sources

1.  Member States shall acquire the required data using either a survey in enterprises or a combination of a survey in enterprises and other sources, applying the principles of reduced burden on respondents and of administrative simplification.

2.  Member States shall lay down the modalities for enterprises to reply to the survey.

3.  Through the survey, the enterprises are called upon to give correct and complete data within the prescribed deadlines.

4.  Other sources, including administrative data, could be used to complete the data to be collected where these sources are appropriate in terms of relevance and timeliness.

Article 7

Survey characteristics

1.  The survey shall be a sample survey.

2.  Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the data transmitted reflect the structure of the population of the statistical units. The survey shall be conducted in such a way as to permit a breakdown of the results at Community level in at least the following categories:

a)   economic activities pursuant to NACE Rev.1;

b)   size of the enterprises.

3.  Sampling and precision requirements, the sample sizes needed to meet these requirements, specifications of the NACE and size categories into which the results can be broken down shall be determined in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 14(2).

Article 8

Survey approach

1.  In order to reduce the burden on respondents the survey approach shall permit the data collection to be customised with respect to :

2.  The specific data to be collected according to training and non-training enterprises and the different forms of training shall be determined in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 14(2).

Article 9

Quality control and reports

1.  Member States shall take all necessary measures to ensure the quality of the data transmitted.

2.  No later than 21 months after the end of the reference period Member States shall supply the Commission (Eurostat) with a report containing all the information and data that it requests to verify the quality of the data transmitted. They shall specify possible breaches of the methodological requirements.

3.  On the basis of the reports referred to in paragraph 2, the Commission (Eurostat) shall assess the quality of the data transmitted with particular regard to ensuring the comparability of the data between Member States.

4.  The quality requirements for the data to be collected and transmitted for Community statistics on vocational training in enterprises, the structure of the quality reports to be presented by the Member States and any measures necessary for assessing or improving the quality of the data shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 14(2).

Article 10

Reference period and periodicity

1.  The reference period to be covered by the data collection is one calendar year.

2.  The Commission shall determine the first reference year for which the data are to be collected in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 14(2).

3.  Member States shall collect the data every five years.

Article 11

Transmission of data

1.  Member States and the Commission, within their respective fields of competence, shall promote the conditions for increased use of electronic data collection, electronic data transmission and automatic data processing.

2.  Member States shall transmit to the Commission (Eurostat) the individual data from enterprises in accordance with the existing Community provisions on transmission of data subject to confidentiality set out in Regulation (EC) No 322/97 and in Regulation (Euratom, EEC) No 1588/90. Member States shall ensure that the transmitted data do not permit the direct identification of the statistical units.

3.  Member States shall transmit the data in electronic form, in conformance with the appropriate technical format and the interchange standard to be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 14(2).

4.  Member States shall transmit the complete and correct data within 18 months of the end of the reference year.

Article 12

Report on implementation

1.  Within 5 years of the entry into force of this Regulation and after consultation of the Statistical Programme Committee, the Commission shall transmit a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of this Regulation. In particular, this report shall :

2.  Following the report on implementation, the Commission may present measures to improve the application of this Regulation.

Article 13

Implementing measures

The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation, including measures to take account of economic and technical developments concerning the collection, transmission and processing of the data, shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 14(2).

Article 14

Committee

1.  The Commission shall be assisted by the Statistical Programme Committee.

2.  Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three months.

Article 15

Financing

1.  For the first reference year for which the Community statistics provided for in this Regulation are produced, the Commission shall make a financial contribution to the Member States to help cover the costs incurred by them in collecting, processing and transmitting the data.

2.  The amount of the financial contribution shall be fixed as part of the relevant annual budgetary procedure. The budget authority shall determine the appropriation available.

3.  In applying this Regulation, the Commission may have recourse to experts and to technical assistance organisations, the financing of which may be provided for within the overall financial framework for this Regulation. The Commission may organise seminars, colloquia or other meetings of experts as are likely to facilitate the implementation of this Regulation, and undertake appropriate information, publication and dissemination actions.

Article 16

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at ,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

(1) OJ C [], [], p. []. (2) OJ C [], [], p. []. (3) Position of the European Parliament of 23 February 2005 . (4) OJ C 134, 7.6.2003, p.3. (5) OJ L 197, 5.8.2003, p. 13. (6) OJ L 52, 22.2.1997, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No. 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p.1). (7) OJ L 151, 15.6.1990, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No. 1882/2003. (8) OJ L 133, 18.5.2002, p. 7. (9) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. (10) OJ L 181, 28.6.1989, p. 47. (11) OJ L 76, 30.3.1993, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003. (12) OJ L 293, 24.10.1990, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003.