29.6.2007 Official Journal of the European Union L171/17 REGULATION (EC) No 716/2007 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 20 June 2007 on Community statistics on the structure and activity of foreign affiliates (Text with EEA relevance) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EURO- (4)  The information provided under existing Community leg- PEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu- nity, and in particular Article 285(1) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Central Bank (1), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (2), Whereas: (1)  Regular and good quality Community statistics on the structure and activity of foreign affiliates in the whole economy are essential for an adequate assessment of the impact of foreign-controlled enterprises on the European Union economy. This would also facilitate the monitor- ing of the effectiveness of the internal market and the gradual integration of the economies in the context of glo- balisation. In this context, multinational enterprises are playing a leading role, but small and medium-sized enter- prises can also be concerned by foreign control. (2)  The implementation and review of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and of the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPs) as well as the current and future negotiations on further agreements call for the relevant statistical information to be made available in order to assist the negotiations. (3) For the preparation of economic, competition, enterprise, research, technical development and employment policies in the context of the liberalisation process, statistics on foreign affiliates to measure direct and indirect effects of foreign control on employment, wages and productivity in particular countries and sectors are necessary. (1) OJ C 144, 14.6.2005, p. 14. (%) Opinion of the European Parliament delivered on 12 December 2006 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 25 May 2007. islation or available in Member States is insufficient, inad- equate or insufficiently comparable to serve as a reliable basis for the work of the Commission. (5)  Regulation (EC) No 184/2005 (?) establishes a common framework for the systematic production of Community statistics on balance of payments, international trade in services and foreign direct investment. As balance of pay- ments statistics cover only partially the data included in the GATS, it is essential that detailed statistics on foreign affiliates be produced regularly. (6)  Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 58/97 of 20 Decem- ber 1996 concerning structural business statistics (*) and Council Regulation (EEC) No 696/93 of 15 March 1993 on the statistical units for the observa- tion and analysis of the production system in the Com- munity (5) established a common framework for the collection, compilation, transmission and evaluation of Community statistics on the structure and activity of busi- nesses in the Community. (7 The compilation of national accounts according to the Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 of 25 June 1996 on the European system of national and regional accounts in the Community (6) requires comparable, complete and reliable business statistics on foreign affiliates. (8)  Collectively, the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services of the United Nations, the Balance of Payments Manual (fifth edition) of the International Monetary Fund, the Benchmark Definition on foreign direct investment and the Handbook on Economic Globalisation Indicators of the Organisation for the Economic Cooperation and Development establish the general rules for compiling international comparable statistics on foreign affiliates. () OJ L 35, 8.2.2005, p. 23. Regulation as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 602/2006 (O] L 106, 19.4.2006, p. 10). (*) OJ L 14,17.1.1997, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 393, 30.12.2006, p. 1). (°) OJ L 76, 30.3.1993, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 18822003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (O] L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1). () OJ L 310, 30.11.1996, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regula- tion (EC) No 1267/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Coun- cil (O] L 180, 18.7.2003, p. 1).