5.8.93 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 196/1 I (Acts whose publication is obligatory) COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2186/93 of 22 July 1993 on Community coordination in drawing up business registers for statistical purposes THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 213 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Whereas the Single Market increases the need to improve statistical comparability in order to meet Community requirements ; whereas, in order to achieve that improve- ment, common definitions and descriptions have to be adopted for enterprises and other relevant statistical units to be covered ; Whereas registers should be drawn up and updated in order to be able to collect information on these units ; Whereas there is a growing need for information on the structure of enterprises, a need which current Community statistics are not able to meet; Whereas business registers for statistical purposes are a necessary tool in keeping track of the structural changes in the economy brought about by such operations as joint ventures, partnerships, buy-outs, mergers and takeovers ; Whereas the important role played by public underta- kings in the national economies of the Member States has been acknowledged, particularly in Commission Directive 80/723/EEC ("), Article 2 of which also defines such undertakings ; whereas they should therefore be identified in business registers; Whereas some statistics are not currently available, parti- cularly in sectors with many smail and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), such as services, because a register of these enterprises for statistical purposes does not exist ; (") Commission Directive 80/723/EEC of 25 June 1980 on the transparency of financial relations between Member States and public undertakings (O] No L 195, 29. 7. 1980, p. 35). Direc- tive as amended by Directive 85/413/EEC (O] No L 229, 28. 8. 1985, p. 20). ‘ , Whereas business registers are one element in reconciling the conflicting requirements for increased information on enterprises and lightening their administrative burden, in particular by using existing information in administrative and legal registers, especially in the case of SMEs, pursuant to recommendation 90/246/EEC (% ; Whereas business registers for statistical purposes repre- - sent a basic element of systems of information on enter- prises, making it possible to organize and coordinate statistical surveys by providing a sampling base, possibili- ties of extrapolation and means of monitoring the replies from enterprises, in particular those covered by Directives 78/660/EEC (*) and 83/349/EEC (%); Whereas the setting-up of a new statistical collection system covering trade in goods and services between Member States necessitates a register of those persons required to give information ; whereas it is desirable "to derive that register of persons required to give informa- tion from a central register of enterprises used for statis- tical purposes;’ Whereas the business registers for statistical purposes are at a different stage of development in each Member State ; whereas the long and costly development of these regis- ters can be carried out only in two stages, the first of which must relate to harmonization of the basic units in those registers in accordance with an established time- table, (3 Council recommendation 90/246/EEC of 28 May 1990 rela- ting to the implementation of a policy of administrative sim- plification in favour of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Member States (O] No L 141, 2. 6. 1990, p. S5). () Fourth Council Directive 78/660/EEC of 25 July 1978 based on Article 54 (3) (g) of the Treaty on the annual accounts of certain types of companies (O] No L 222, 14. 8. 1978, p. 11). Directive as last amended by Directive 90/605/EEC (O] No L 317, 16. 11. 1990, p. 60). () Seventh Council Directive 83/349/EEC of 13 June 1983 ba- sed on Article 54 (3) (g) of the Treaty on consolidated ac- counts (OJ No L 193, 18. 7. 1983, p. 1). Directive as last amended by Directive 90/605/EEC (OJ No L 317, 16. 11. 1990, p. 60).