3.2.2012 Official Journal of the European Union L 32/1 | (Legislative acts) REGULATIONS REGULATION (EU) No 70/2012 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 18 January 2012 on statistical returns in respect of the carriage of goods by road (recast) (Text with EEA relevance) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 338(1) thereof, ) It is therefore appropriate to ensure that the regional origin and destination of transport within the Union is described on the same basis as national transport, and to provide a link between the carriage of goods and vehicle journeys by measuring the degree of utilisation of vehicles carrying out this transport. Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, (55 In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, the creation of common statistical standards allowing the production of harmonised information can be better After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national achieved only at Union level, while data will be parliaments, collected in each Member State under the authority of the bodies and institutions in charge of compiling official statistics. Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (1), (6)  Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Whereas: Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics (}) provides a reference framework for the provisions laid down by this Regulation, in (1) Council Regulation (EC) No 1172/98 of 25 May 1998 particular those concerning access to the sources of on statistical returns in respect of the Carriage of goods administrative data, the cost-effectiveness of available by road (%) has been substantially amended several times. resources and statistical confidentiality. Since further amendments are to be made, that Regu- lation should be recast in the interests of clarity. (7  Communication of individual data, once rendered anonymous, is necessary in order to estimate the (20  In order to carry out the tasks entrusted to it in the overall accuracy of the results. context of the common transport policy, the Commission should have at its disposal comparable, o o o reliable, synchronised, regular and comprehensive stat- (8) It is important to ensure that statistical information is istical data on the scale and development of the adequately disseminated. carriage of goods by road by means of vehicles registered in the Union, and on the degree of utilisation of vehicles ) " ) o ) carrying out this transport. (9)  In view of the specific geograPh1cal situation .of.Malta, its short-range road transport journeys, its limited road network and the disproportional burden that collecting 3) It is necessary to compile comprehensive regional stat- such data would cause to the Maltese authorities, a dero- istics with regard to both the carriage of goods and gation should be granted to Malta. vehicle journeys. (10) In order to take account of economic and technical (1) Position of the European Parliament of 1 December 2011 (not yet developments, the power to adopt acts in accordance published in the Official Journal) and decision of the Council of 12 December 2011. () O] L 163, 6.6.1998, p. 1. () O] L 87, 31.3.2009, p. 164.