On Wednesday 24 August, the European Commission unveiled a draft regulation to improve data collection in the social domain from 2019 onwards.
"Good policies start with good data", said EU Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Marianne Thyssen as she presented the initiative.
The Commission says the draft framework regulation will boost the comparability and coherence of social statistics in the EU by grouping together seven household surveys currently used in the EU, and by harmonising variables shared by two or more surveys. The seven surveys in question are on the labour force, European statistics on income and living conditions, adult education, healthcare interviews, household ICT use, household budgets and a harmonised survey of use of time.
The draft legislation also suggests reducing transmission times in areas such as the survey into the labour force and European statistics on income and living standards. The Commission says the publication deadline for these surveys could be reduced by 11 months.
Finally, the Commission says that rationalising the social data collection system will lead to substantial savings in the long run, which it estimates at more than €10 million by 2027 despite a costly introduction phase.
Similar initiatives are being prepared for trade and agriculture statistics.
Thyssen said the initiative will help establish a reference framework for a European system of social rights in Europe, an ambitious project that is currently being put to a public consultation (see EUROPE 11507, EUROPE 11477). The consultation will be finalised at the beginning of next year, she said, adding that times are changing so one has to ask the question of whether social rights are fit for coping with the future. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)