COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION
of 23 September 2013
granting derogations for implementing Regulation (EC) No 452/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the production and development of statistics on education and lifelong learning with regard to Belgium, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Poland and Portugal
(notified under document C(2013) 5897)
(Only the Dutch, French, Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish texts are authentic)
(2013/472/EU)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 452/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 concerning the production and development of statistics on education and lifelong learning (1), and in particular Article 6(3) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Regulation (EC) No 452/2008 applies to the production of statistics in three specific domains set out in its Article 3.
(2)
Article 6(3) of Regulation (EC) No 452/2008 provides for adoption of limited derogations and transition periods for Member States, if necessary, both to be based on objective grounds.
(3)
The international comparability of statistics on education requires the Member States and the Union institutions use classifications of education that are compatible with the revised International Standard Classification of Education ISCED 2011 (hereinafter referred to as ‘ISCED 2011’), as adopted by the Unesco Member States at their 36th General Conference in November 2011.
(4)
Data collection from administrative and other sources on student mobility for all cycles of study should be improved, in order to monitor progress and identify challenges, as well as to contribute to evidence-based policy making.
(5)
It emerges from information provided to the Commission that certain Member States’ requests for derogations are due to the need for major adaptations to national statistical systems in order to comply in full with Regulation (EC) No 452/2008.
(6)
Such derogations should therefore be granted as requested to Belgium, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Poland and Portugal.
(7)
The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the European Statistical System Committee,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Derogations are hereby granted to the Member States as set out in the Annex.
Article 2
This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Hellenic Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic, the Republic of Poland and the Portuguese Republic.
Done at Brussels, 23 September 2013.