European Union Balance of Payments and International Investment Position statistical sources and methods “B.o.p. and i.i.p. book” November 2016 Contents Euro area 5 1 Introduction 5 2 Compilation of euro area balance of payments and international investment position statistics 6 3 Concepts, definitions and agreed practices 14 Belgium 66 1 Institutional environment 66 2 Statistical processes 67 Bulgaria 83 1 Institutional environment 83 2 Statistical processes 84 Czech Republic 98 1 Institutional environment 98 2 Statistical processes 99 Denmark 112 1 Institutional environment 112 2 Statistical processes 112 Germany 123 1 Institutional environment 123 2 Statistical processes 124 Estonia 140 1 Institutional environment 140 2 Statistical processes 141 Ireland 155 1 Institutional environment 155 2 Statistical processes 156 "B.o.p. and i.i.p. book", November 2016 1 Greece 168 1 Institutional environment 168 2 Statistical processes 169 Spain 180 1 Institutional environment 180 2 Statistical processes 182 France 197 1 Institutional environment 197 2 Statistical processes 198 Croatia 212 1 Institutional environment 212 2 Statistical processes 213 Italy 227 1 Institutional environment 227 2 Statistical processes 228 Cyprus 245 1 Institutional environment 245 2 Statistical processes 247 Latvia 264 1 Institutional environment 264 2 Statistical processes 264 Lithuania 275 1 Institutional environment 275 2 Statistical processes 276 Luxembourg 286 1 Institutional environment 286 2 Statistical processes 287 "B.o.p. and i.i.p. book", November 2016 2 Hungary 299 1 Institutional environment 299 2 Statistical processes 300 Malta 315 1 Institutional environment 315 2 Statistical processes 316 Netherlands 326 1 Institutional environment 326 2 Statistical processes 327 Austria 339 1 Institutional environment 339 2 Statistical processes 341 Poland 355 1 Institutional environment 355 2 Statistical processes 356 Portugal 370 1 Institutional environment 370 2 Statistical processes 371 Romania 386 1 Institutional environment 386 2 Statistical processes 387 Slovenia 400 1 Institutional environment 400 2 Statistical processes 401 Slovakia 417 1 Institutional environment 417 2 Statistical processes 418 "B.o.p. and i.i.p. book", November 2016 3 Finland 426 1 Institutional environment 426 2 Statistical processes 427 Sweden 439 1 Institutional environment 439 2 Statistical processes 440 United Kingdom 454 1 Institutional environment 454 2 Statistical processes 455 Annex. Contact information 475 "B.o.p. and i.i.p. book", November 2016 4 Euro area 1 Introduction The European Central Bank (ECB) compiles and publishes the balance of payments (b.o.p.) and the international investment position (i.i.p.) of the euro area with the support of the ESCB's Statistics Committee. These statistics depict the economic relations of the euro area as a whole vis-à-vis the rest of the world. The euro area is, therefore, considered as a single economy. The euro area b.o.p. and i.i.p. are compiled by summing up the individual b.o.p. and i.i.p. statistics of each euro area country vis-à-vis non-euro area countries (with some exceptions, as explained in Section 2.5 on the methods for compiling the euro area aggregates). Cross-border transactions/positions of euro area countries vis-à-vis each other are therefore excluded. B.o.p. and i.i.p. statistics provide important indicators of economic performance of the euro area. The ESCB analyses the euro area b.o.p. and i.i.p. in the context of its tasks, particularly monetary policy, macro prudential analysis and reserve assets management. B.o.p. and i.i.p. statistics for the individual European Union (EU) Member States also provide crucial indicators of economic performance. These are closely monitored e.g. by the IMF in Article IV reports, the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) in the Risk Dashboard and in the context of the European Commission’s macroeconomic imbalances procedure (MIP). This publication, commonly referred to as the "B.o.p. and i.i.p. book", aims at providing users with an overview of the main features of the b.o.p. and i.i.p. methodological framework and of the data sources and compilation methods used in the euro area and in the individual EU Member States. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on the methodological aspects drawing on the sixth edition of the IMF’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6), the worldwide reference standard for the compilation of b.o.p. and i.i.p. statistics. This last edition was revised in parallel with the System of National Accounts 20081 (2008 SNA) to ensure consistency between external and domestic macroeconomic statistics. Chapters 2 and 3 describe the concepts, classifications and special conventions that euro area countries observe when compiling their contributions to the euro area external statistics, as legally defined in the ECB Guideline (ECB/2011/23) of 9 December 2011 on the statistical reporting requirements of the ECB in the field of external statistics (as amended by Guidelines 2 ECB/2013/25 and ECB/2015/39). 1 The European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA 2010) constitutes the European version of the SNA2008, and is thus also fully consistent with the BPM6. 2 Other EU countries also follow these concepts, classifications and special conventions when sending data to the ECB on a voluntary basis. Chapter 4 provides for each EU Member State a brief description of the data sources used and of the collection and compilation methods implemented by national compilers. This description is not exhaustive and focuses primarily on potential deviations from the agreed international statistical standards and on borderline classification cases. This description also offers relevant information on the institutional framework and on data availability and dissemination policy and tools. 2 Compilation of euro area balance of payments and international investment position statistics 2.1 Legal framework The production of European statistics is organised around two separate pillars, the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the European Statistical System (ESS), with separate legal frameworks and governance structures. The ESCB is a system enshrined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).3 It is composed of the ECB and the national central banks (NCBs); the ECB’s Governing Council is its highest decision-making body. According to its statute,4 the ECB, assisted by the NCBs, may collect the statistics necessary to undertake the ESCB’s tasks, including for monetary policy and financial stability purposes, either from the competent national authorities or directly from economic agents. The data collected may also be used for banking supervision purposes. The Council of the European Union has defined the natural and legal persons subject to reporting requirements by the ECB, the statistical principles to be followed, the confidentiality regime and the appropriate provisions for enforcement.5 The actual statistics that are collected, compiled and disseminated by the ESCB are determined by the ECB’s Governing Council. They are reflected in the ESCB’s statistical work programme, which is approved by the ECB’s Governing Council and supported by comments from its General Council. These are largely financial but also economic statistics, such as b.o.p. statistics and i.i.p. statistics, money and banking (including interest rates) statistics, banknotes statistics, payments and payment systems statistics and financial stability statistics. More specifically, Article 2 of the Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 empowers the ECB to collect information from legal and natural persons residing in a Member State, to the extent that they hold cross-border positions or have carried out cross-border transactions relevant for producing balance of payments statistics. 3 See Article 282(1) TFEU. 4 See Article 5 of Protocol (No 4) of the Statute of the ESCB and of the ECB. 5 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), amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 951/2009 of 9 October 2009 (OJ L 269, 14.10.2009, p. 1) and Council Regulation(EU) No 2015/373 of 5 March 2015 amending Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 concerning the collection of statistical information by the European Central Bank (OJ L 64, 7.3.2015, p. 6). "B.o.p. and i.i.p. book", November 2016 6 The ECB collects the statistical data, assisted by the NCBs and with the support of the ESCB’s Statistics Committee. It then produces the statistics, conducts quality assurance and disseminates them in conformity with the statistical principles of impartiality, objectivity, professional independence, cost-effectiveness, statistical confidentiality, minimisation of the reporting burden and high output reliability.6 These statistical principles are reflected in the ESCB’s Public Commitment on European statistics by the ESCB.7 The statistical requirements of the ECB in the field of external statistics (b.o.p. and i.i.p., as well as the international reserves template and cross-border shipments of euro banknotes) are defined in Guideline ECB/2011/23 of 9 December 20118 (as amended), which is addressed to euro area NCBs, in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/989 of 23 November 1998 (as amended). Recommendation ECB/2011/24 of 9 December 2011 (as amended) complements Guideline ECB/2011/23 by addressing other competent national authorities that are entrusted with the collection and/or compilation of external statistics in their respective countries. The members of the ESCB and the ESS need to cooperate closely to maximise synergies, minimise the reporting burden and ensure the production of complete and coherent European statistics. The two statistical pillars also cooperate closely through the Committee on Monetary, Financial and Balance of Payments Statistics (CMFB), as well as through the European Statistical Forum (ESF).