01 / 20 The regulation behind NACE Rev. 2.1
What does mandatory use in the EEA mean?
Published Updated
Statistical classification only
Statistical classification only. This guide does not determine any reader's code. Confirm a code with the national statistical institute or the business register that holds the record. This is general information, not advice on any reader's registration.
Mandatory use in the European Economic Area means that statistics presented according to economic activities must be compiled according to NACE, or according to a national classification derived from NACE. Eurostat states in its background article that the use of NACE is mandatory within the European Statistical System, and that statistics produced on the basis of NACE are comparable at European and, in general, at world level.
Which countries and which statistics are covered?
The manual states that the regulation started to apply to data transmitted by European Economic Area countries to Eurostat on 1 January 2008 (FIXED), for NACE Rev. 2. The European Economic Area includes the European Union member states and the European Free Trade Association states that participate in the European Economic Area, and the manual uses the term European Economic Area countries for the countries that transmit data to Eurostat under the regulation. This guide does not list the countries individually, because the manual passage relied on does not list them, and a list would add detail that has not been verified in the sources cited.
The statistics covered are those presented according to economic activities. The background article states that NACE provides the framework for collecting and presenting a large range of statistical data according to economic activity, in fields such as business statistics, labour market statistics and national accounts. The manual states that NACE is the classification used for economic activities in supply, use and input output tables in the European System of Accounts. A statistic that is not presented by economic activity does not engage the mandatory use rule in the same way, and a statistic presented by activity must use NACE or a derived national version.
| Point | What the source states |
|---|---|
| Mandatory use | Imposed by the NACE Regulation in the European Economic Area |
| Statistics covered | Statistics presented according to economic activities |
| Alternative permitted | A national classification derived from NACE |
| Condition on the alternative | Must fit the structural and hierarchical framework of NACE |
| Starting point for Rev. 2 | Data transmitted from 1 January 2008 (FIXED) |
How does a derived national version satisfy mandatory use?
A derived national version satisfies mandatory use because it fits inside the European framework. The manual states that the regulation allows European Economic Area countries to use a national version derived from NACE for national purposes, provided that the national version fits into the structural and hierarchical framework of NACE. Most countries have developed national versions, usually by adding a fifth digit for national purposes. The fifth digit adds national detail below the class level, without changing the European levels above it. Statistics compiled on a derived version can therefore be aggregated back to the European levels, because the European levels are preserved inside the national version.
The approval step supports that aggregation. National versions and updates must be forwarded to the European Commission for approval before publication, as set out in Article 4. That step checks the derived version against the framework before it is published, so that the common structure is preserved. A national version that has been approved and published is therefore a permitted way of satisfying mandatory use for national purposes, while the European structure remains the common basis for comparison.
What does mandatory use not oblige?
Mandatory use does not oblige a country to collect, publish or supply data. The EUR-Lex summary states that the legislation does not oblige European Union member states to collect, publish or supply data. Mandatory use governs how statistics are compiled when they are presented by economic activity. Sectoral legislation governs whether data must be collected and transmitted, for which domains, and on which timetable. The two rules must be read together, and neither must be read as if it did the work of the other.
Mandatory use also does not oblige a business to hold a particular code, and it does not decide the entry in a register. The classification rules in the manual describe how a statistical unit is assigned to a class for statistical purposes, based on its principal activity. The register that holds the entry applies those rules to the information it holds, under its own procedures. A reader who needs to know the entry must ask the institute or register that holds it, and must not treat mandatory use as a direction to a particular code.
Where is mandatory use confirmed?
Mandatory use is confirmed in the manual, in the passage on the main features of Regulation No 1893/2006, and in the background article, in the opening passage on comparability. The derived version rule and the approval step are confirmed in the same manual passage. The collection limit is confirmed in the EUR-Lex summary. Together they describe a mandatory common standard for statistics by activity, with national detail permitted inside the framework, and no wider duty to collect data imposed by the classification regulation itself.
Read the manual for the mandatory use rule and the derived version condition, read the summary for the collection limit, and confirm any entry with the institute or register that holds it.