L 64/6 Official Journal of the European Union 7.3.2015 REGULATIONS COUNCIL REGULATION (EU) 2015/373 of 5 March 2015 amending Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 concerning the collection of statistical information by the European Central Bank THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, and in particular to Article 5.4 thereof, Having regard to the Recommendation of the European Central Bank (%), Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament (3, Having regard to the Opinion of the European Commission (), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 129(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and in Article 41 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, Whereas: (1)  Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 (*) is a key component of the legal framework supporting the statistical information collection tasks of the European Central Bank (ECB) assisted by the national central banks. The ECB has consistently relied on that Regulation to carry out and monitor the coordinated collection of statistical information necessary to undertake the tasks of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), including the task of contributing to the smooth conduct of policies pursued by the competent authorities relating to the prudential supervision of credit institutions and the stability of the financial system, as specified in Article 127(5) of the Treaty. (2)  Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 (°) confers on the ECB specific tasks concerning policies relating to the prudential supervision of credit institutions and the stability of the financial system within the Union and individual Member States. (3)  In order to minimise the reporting burden on reporting agents and to enable the proper performance of supervision of financial institutions, markets and infrastructures conferred on all competent authorities, as well as the proper performance of the tasks given to authorities responsible for the protection of the stability of the financial system, it is necessary to amend Regulation (EC) No 253398 to enable the transmission and use, by ESCB members and the relevant authorities, of the statistical information collected by the ESCB. Those authorities should include the competent authorities responsible for the supervision of financial institutions, markets and infrastructures and macro-prudential oversight, the European Supervisory Authorities, the European Systemic Risk Board as well as authorities authorised to resolve credit institutions. (4)  This Regulation should not apply to confidential statistical information collected in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (%), () O] C188,20.6.2014, p. 1. (¥) Opinion delivered on 26 November 2014 (not yet published in the Official Journal). () 0] C362,14.10.2014,p. 1. (*) Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 of 23 November 1998 concerning the collection of statistical information by the European Central Bank (OJ L 318, 27.11.1998, p. 8). () Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 of 15 October 2013 conferring specific tasks on the European Central Bank concerning policies relating to the prudential supervision of credit institutions (O L 287, 29.10.2013, p. 63). () Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics and repealing Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1101/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality to the Statistical Office of the European Communities, Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 on Community Statistics, and Council Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom establishing a Committee on the Statistical Programmes of the European Communities (O] L 87, 31.3.2009, p. 164).