21.6.2003 Official Journal of the European Union L 154/1 (Acts whose publication is obligatory) REGULATION (EC) No 1059/2003 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 26 May 2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu- nity, and in particular Article 285 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (!), Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (), Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (°), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (4, Whereas: (1) Users of statistics express an increasing need for harmo- nisation in order to have comparable data across the European Union. In order to function, the internal market requires statistical standards applicable to the collection, transmission and publication of national and Community statistics so that all operators in the single market can be provided with comparable statistical data. In this context, classifications are an important tool for the collection, compilation and dissemination of comparable statistics. (2)  Regional statistics are a cornerstone of the European Statistical System. They are used for a wide range of purposes. For many years European regional statistics have been collected, compiled and disseminated on the basis of a common regional classification, called ‘Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics’ (herein- after referred to as NUTS). It is now appropriate to fix this regional classification in a legal framework and to institute clear rules for future amendments of this classi- fication. The NUTS classification should not preclude the existence of other subdivisions and classifications. 1 ) O] C 180 E, 26.6.2001, p. 108. () O] C 260, 17.9.2001, p. 57. () O] € 107, 3.5.2002, p. 54. (*) Opinion of the European Parliament of 24 October 2001 (O] C 112 E, 9.5.2002, p. 146), Council Common Position of 9 December 2002 (O] C 32 E, 11.2.2003, p. 26) and Decision of the European Parliament of 8 April 2003 (not yet published in the Official Journal). 3) (11) Accordingly, all Member States' statistics transmitted to the Commission, which are broken down by territorial units, should use the NUTS classification, where applic- able. In its analysis and dissemination, the Commission should use the NUTS classification for all statistics classified by territorial units, where applicable. Different levels are needed for regional statistics depending on the purpose of these statistics at national and European level. It is appropriate to have at least three hierarchical levels of detail in the European regional NUTS classification. Member States could have further levels of NUTS details, where they consider it necessary. Information on the current territorial composition of NUTS level 3 regions is necessary for the proper admin- istration of the NUTS classification and should therefore be transmitted regularly to the Commission. Objective criteria for the definition of regions are neces- sary in order to ensure impartiality when regional statis- tics are compiled and used. Users of regional statistics need stability of the nomen- clature over time. The NUTS classification should hence not be amended too frequently. This Regulation will ensure a greater stability of rules over time. Comparability of regional statistics requires that the regions be of a comparable size in terms of population. In order to achieve this goal, amendments of the NUTS classification should render the regional structure more homogeneous in terms of population size. The actual political, administrative and institutional situation must also be respected. Non-administrative units must reflect economic, social, historical, cultural, geographical or environmental circumstances. Reference should be made to the definition of the ‘popu- lation’ on which the classification is based.