(1)

Article 5.1 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank requires the European Central Bank (ECB), assisted by the national central banks (NCBs), to collect either from the competent national authorities or directly from economic agents the statistical information which is necessary to undertake the tasks of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).

(2)

Article 8(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 (2) requires the ESCB members to take all the necessary regulatory, administrative, technical and organisational measures to ensure the physical and logical protection of confidential statistical information. To this end, the ECB must define common rules and implement minimum standards to prevent unlawful disclosure and unauthorised use of confidential statistical information.

(3)

Guideline ECB/1998/NP28 of the European Central Bank (3) establishes the common rules and minimum standards required by Article 8(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2533/98, which ensure a basic level of protection of confidential statistical information collected by the ECB.

(4)

Following the establishment of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), Council Regulation (EU) 2015/373 (4) amended Article 8(1)(d) and Article 8(4) of Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 allowing the transmission and use of confidential statistical information, for the performance of tasks in the field of prudential supervision given to the members of the ESCB. The processing of confidential statistical information by the members of the ESCB should be subject to appropriate protection of confidentiality, as required under Article 8(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2533/98.

(5)

Furthermore, Regulation (EU) 2015/373 inserted a new Article 8(4a) into Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 which allows the ESCB to transmit confidential statistical information to authorities or bodies of the Member States responsible for the supervision of financial institutions, markets and infrastructures to the extent and at the level of detail necessary for the performance of their respective tasks. The authorities or bodies receiving confidential statistical information should take all the necessary regulatory, administrative, technical and organisational measures to ensure the physical and logical protection of confidential statistical information.

(6)

Guideline ECB/1998/NP28 specifies obligations of the members of the ESCB with regard to the handling of confidential statistical information with regard to their tasks outside the SSM. The same level of protection should be ensured in the transmission and subsequent use of confidential statistical information with regard to both national competent authorities (NCAs) of Member States participating in the SSM, including NCBs with regard to their function as NCAs, and the ECB in the performance of its tasks under Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013.

(7)

Article 6(7) of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 empowers the ECB, in consultation with national competent authorities, and on the basis of a proposal from the Supervisory Board, to adopt and make public a framework to organise the practical arrangements for the implementation of that Article, which, inter alia, provides that the ECB is responsible for the effective and consistent functioning of the SSM,

(1)

‘confidential statistical information’ means statistical information which is defined as confidential in accordance with Article 1(12) of Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 and which has been collected in accordance with the provisions and for the purposes outlined in that Regulation;

(2)

‘protection measures’ means procedures appropriate for the protection, both logical and physical, of confidential statistical information;

(3)

‘logical protection measures’ means measures that prevent unauthorised access to confidential statistical information itself;

(4)

‘physical protection measures’ means measures that prevent unauthorised access to a physical area and physical media;

(5)

‘physical area’ means any part of a building in which are located the physical media on which confidential statistical information is stored or over which it is transmitted;

(6)

‘physical media’ means hard copies (paper) and computer equipment (including peripherals and storage devices) on which confidential statistical information is stored or processed;

(7)

‘national competent authority’ has the meaning given in Article 2(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013;

(8)

‘reporting agent’ has the meaning given in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2533/98.