
Article 1 
For the purposes of this Decision, the following definitions shall apply:

1.. ‘confidential statistical information’ means confidential statistical information as defined in point 12 of Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 2533/98;
2.. ‘delegated decision’ means a decision taken on the basis of a delegation of powers by the Governing Council pursuant to this Decision;
3.. ‘MoU on economic and financial statistics’ means the Memorandum of Understanding on economic and financial statistics between the Directorate-General Statistics of the European Central Bank (DG Statistics) and the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat), concluded on 10 March 2003;
4.. ‘SLA on Data Exchanges’ means the Service Level Agreement (SLA) on Data Exchanges between the European Central Bank (DG Statistics) and the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat), concluded in February 2008, as amended from time to time in accordance with its terms, which forms Annex 2 to the MoU on economic and financial statistics.
Article 2 

1. The Governing Council hereby delegates to the Executive Board the power to decide on the transmission to Eurostat of confidential statistical information within the scope of the MoU on economic and financial statistics.
2. A decision on the transmission of confidential statistical information by the ECB to Eurostat as described in paragraph 1 shall only be adopted by means of a delegated decision if the criteria for the adoption of delegated decisions as set out in Article 4 are fulfilled.
Article 3 

1. The Governing Council hereby delegates to the Executive Board the power to decide on amendments to the SLA on Data Exchanges to the extent necessary for the transmission to Eurostat of the confidential statistical information referred to in Article 2(1).
2. A decision on the amendment to the SLA on Data Exchanges to the extent necessary for the transmission to Eurostat of the confidential statistical information referred to in Article 2(1), as described in paragraph 1, shall only be adopted by means of a delegated decision if the criteria for the adoption of delegated decisions as set out in Article 4 are fulfilled.
Article 4 

1. A decision on the transmission of confidential statistical information referred to in Article 2(1) to Eurostat or on amendments to the SLA on Data Exchanges pursuant to Articles 2 and 3, respectively, shall only be taken by means of a delegated decision where this transmission is necessary for the efficient development, production or dissemination, or for increasing the quality, of European economic and financial statistics and where this necessity has been duly justified. The confidential statistical information referred to in Article 2(1) to be transmitted to Eurostat must be adequate, relevant and not excessive in view of its tasks.
2. A decision on the transmission of confidential statistical information referred to in Article 2(1) to Eurostat or on amendments to the SLA on Data Exchanges pursuant to Articles 2 and 3, respectively, shall only be taken by means of a delegated decision where all of the following conditions are met:
(a) the information is necessary in order for Eurostat to ensure a meaningful compilation of European economic and financial statistics or to assess the quality of the contributions to the aggregates of such statistics;
(b) Eurostat agrees to obtain prior authorisation for any further transmission beyond the first transmission of confidential statistical information referred to in Article 2(1);
(c) the request comprises information that falls within the scope of the MoU on economic and financial statistics; and
(d) the transmission of such information would not be prejudicial to the performance of the tasks of the ESCB.
The ESCB’s Statistics Committee shall provide the Executive Board with an assessment of whether the conditions referred to in the first subparagraph have been met.
3. The Governing Council shall be notified in due course of any decision taken by the Executive Board pursuant to Articles 2 and 3.
4. Where one or more of the criteria for the adoption of a delegated decision, as laid down in paragraphs 1 and/or 2 are not met, decisions on the transmission of confidential statistical information referred to in Article 2(1) to Eurostat and on amendments to the SLA on Data Exchanges to the extent necessary for the transmission to Eurostat of the confidential statistical information referred to in Article 2(1) shall be adopted by the Governing Council upon a proposal by the Executive Board.
Article 5 
This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Done at Frankfurt am Main, 22 October 2020.
The President of the ECB
Christine LAGARDE