Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
The EuroGroups register (EGR) is the statistical business register of Eurostat and the EU Member States and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries for multinational enterprise groups. The purpose of the EGR is to offer to statistical users a tool for coordinating frame population, to derive consistent statistical output with an improved quality in measuring global activities of European enterprises part of multinational enterprise groups.
The EGR produces data in yearly cycles and covers microdata on the groups and their enterprises and legal units. The EGR aims to register all multinational enterprise groups that have enterprises in EU Member States or EFTA countries, including European and non-European groups.
The Member States, EFTA countries and Eurostat exchange data on multinational enterprise groups and on the units belonging to those groups for the purposes of the European framework for statistical business registers to ensure the quality of the multinational enterprise group’s information in the Union.
The EGR brings together microdata on multinational enterprise groups from the EU and the EFTA countries' national statistical institutes, in line with the requirements of the Regulation (EU) No 2152/2019, and from a commercial data source for data outside the EU and EFTA.
3.2. Classification system
Classification systems and main code lists used in the EGR are as follows:
Statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community (NACE Rev. 2);
The coverage of the data transmitted to the EGR is defined in the Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 on European business statistics.
For the purposes of the European framework for statistical business registers, the following economic activities are considered:
any activity comprising the offer of goods and services on a given market;
non-market services contributing to the GDP;
direct and indirect holdings of active legal units.
Holding assets and/or liabilities are also considered an economic activity.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
Global group head
The global group head (GGH) of an enterprise group is the parent legal unit that is not controlled either directly or indirectly by any other legal unit. The subsidiary legal units of a subsidiary legal unit are considered to be subsidiaries of the parent legal unit.
Global decision centre
The global decision centre (GDC) of an enterprise group is the unit where the enterprise group level’s strategic decisions are taken. A group may have several decision-making centres or several units dedicated to a particular internal function, for example accounting or human resources. However, the decisions about the group are made only in the GDC. The GDC may be the GGH or another legal unit under the GGH.
Ultimate Controlling Institutional unit
The ultimate controlling institutional unit (UCI) of a foreign affiliate means the institutional unit higher up a foreign affiliate’s chain of control that is not controlled by another institutional unit.
Activity of unit
A statistical unit is considered to have been active during the reference period, if in said period it either realized positive net turnover or produced outputs or had employees or performed investments.
A legal unit can be legally or administratively active without any economic activity, when the inactive legal unit is part of an enterprise in combination with economically active legal units. Holding assets and/or liabilities shall also be regarded as an economic activity.
Number of employees
This is derived from monthly PMOD returns supplied by companies to the Revenue authorities. A 12 month average for the period is used.
Number of employees and self -employed persons
The number of employees and self-employed persons is the sum of the Number of employees and Number of self- employed persons. The number of self-employed persons is the average number of persons who were at some time during the reference period the sole owners or joint owners of the statistical unit in which they work. Family workers and outworkers whose income is a function of the value of the outputs of the statistical unit are also included.
Net turnover
Turnover is obtained from the annual Corportation Tax return submitted by companies and received from Revenue. It is based at the legal unit level, and summed to the enterprise.
Total assets
Total assets are obtained from each companies accounts obtained from the Company Registration Office.
Principal activity
The principal (or main) activity is the activity that contributes most to the total value added of a unit under consideration. Ideally, the principal activity of the unit should be determined with reference to the value added to the goods and services produced, by applying the top-down method. The top-down method follows a hierarchical principle: the classification of the unit at the lowest level of the classification must be consistent with the classification of the unit at higher levels. The principal activity so identified does not necessarily account for 50 % or more of the unit’s total value added.
In the European Union the classification of principal activity is determined by reference to NACE Rev. 2, first at the highest level of classification and then at more detailed levels (top-down method).
3.5. Statistical unit
The statistical units maintained in the EGR are defined in accordance with the Regulation (EEC) No 696/93 on the statistical units for the observation and analysis of the production system in the Community.
The EGR frame contains the following units: Legal units, Enterprises and Multinational enterprise groups.
Legal units include:
- legal persons whose existence is recognized by law independently of the individuals or institutions which may own them or are members of them,
- natural persons who are engaged in an economic activity in their own right.
The legal unit always forms, either by itself or sometimes in combination with other legal units, the legal basis for the statistical unit known as the 'enterprise'.
Enterprise
The enterprise is the smallest combination of legal units that is an organizational unit producing goods or services, which benefits from a certain degree of autonomy in decision-making, especially for the allocation of its current resources. An enterprise carries out one or more activities at one or more locations. An enterprise may be a sole legal unit.
Multinational enterprise group
A multinational enterprise group is an enterprise group that has at least two enterprises or legal units located in different countries. In business statistics also term ‘global enterprise group’ is used.
3.6. Statistical population
The data transmitted to the EGR during the cycle is made of the following datasets.
The data set with information on all incorporated resident legal units for the EGR Identification Service.
ISRLE file includes the full population of resident legal units active during the reference year, or part of the previous years frame being sent to EGR for identification.
The data set with information on foreign legal units for the EGR Identification Service.
ISNORLE file includes the identification where possible of the population of foreign legal units recorded in national statistical business register being sent to the EGR for identification.
The data set with information on legal units.
LEU file including all resident legal units belonging to a global enterprise group is sent to EGR for processing.
The data set with information on relationships of ownership and control.
REL file including where possible the identification of links and relationships between legal units is sent to EGR for processing:
two resident legal units
one resident and one foreign legal unit
two foreign legal units from non EU+EFTA countries.
Relationships in the REL are:
control relationships (>50%)
minority relationships (<50%)
The data set with information on enterprises.
ENT file including all enterprises part of a GEG made of legal units sent in LEU files is sent to EGR for processing.
The Data set with information on links between enterprises and legal units.
LEL file including all the links between enterprise (ENT) and legal units (LEU) is sent to EGR for processing.
The Data set with information on enterprise groups of which country is the GDC country for the EuroGroups Register.
GEG file including group data for the Groups of most significance, based on a combination of the number of Legal Units, the employment of the group, and their importance to the economy is sent to the EGR for processing.
The groups’ variables are updated after receiving the preliminary frame:
accounting for overall group characteristics
using the groups consolidated accounts to get their employment, assets and turnover.
3.7. Reference area
The EGR data's territory is dependent on the cycle. The resident legal units, legal unit, and enterprise submissions are based on the territory of Ireland.
The other cycles including the foreign legal units and REL file are a mixture of Ireland, European and rest of the world depending upon the links within individual groups.
The GEG file provides data for the group, which can exist world wide.
3.8. Coverage - Time
The EGR frames are available from reference year 2008 onwards. NSI transmits data for the EGR production cycle since 2008, however a process review and rebuild took place impacting reference year 2019 on.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable
The economic variables on employment are recorded in absolute figures.
The net turnover for enterprises is recorded in euro currency.
The net turnover and net total asset is recorded in millions in euro currency.
The reference period for data sent to the EGR reflects the picture of 31 December of the given reference year.
Data transmitted to EGR during the EGR 2022 cycle includes data for the 2022 reference year. The identification, economic variables (number of employees, turnover and economic activity) refer to the 2022 reference year.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
The content of the national data sent to EGR is defined according the Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 on European business statistics.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197 of 30 July 2020 is laying down the technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European business statistics.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
The legal framework setting up the procedures for EGR data exchanges and access to confidential data for the purpose of the European framework for statistical business registers are defined in the Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 on European business statistics (Art.10).
EGR data are stored by the Commission (Eurostat) and by the national statistical authorities (NSAs) in the EU Member States and EFTA countries in a secure area with restricted and controlled access.
The transmission of the EGR data is done in an encrypted form and by electronic means via the Commission (Eurostat) single entry point for exchange of confidential data (EDAMIS)
Rules applied for treating the data set to ensure statistical confidentiality and prevent unauthorised disclosure are defined according to the policy rules (see section 7.1).
8.1. Release calendar
Not applicable.
8.2. Release calendar access
Not applicable.
8.3. Release policy - user access
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
Not applicable.
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
Not applicable.
10.3. Dissemination format - online database
Not applicable.
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
The micro-data exchange of confidential data on multinational enterprise groups and on the statistical units belonging to those groups takes place, exclusively for statistical purposes, between EU Member States and EFTA countries and the European Commission (Eurostat).
Where such exchange of confidential data is carried out to ensure the quality of the multinational enterprise groups information in the Union and the exchange is explicitly authorised by the competent NSA which provides the data, national central banks may be party to the exchange of confidential data, exclusively for statistical purposes.
NSI exchanges information on multinational enterprise groups with:
Other Member States for statistical purposes.
National Central Bank (NCB) for statistical purposes.
ESS Data Quality Programme for statistical business registers and EGR is available on CIRCABC.
11.1. Quality assurance
Eurostat Data Quality Programme monitors the quality and compliance of the data transmitted by the countries to EGR using the instruments of the EBS quality framework.
At national level, the quality of the data sent to EGR is assured as follows:
Legislation concerning quality assurance, Task Forces, Working Groups, etc. (Eurostat standards and guidelines used);
Methodological standards and guidelines assuring the quality of the production process and the output (Eurostat standards and guidelines used);
Data validation procedures in place (data validation using Eurostat tools).
Quality assessment activities undertaken (Data checked for discrepancies and data cross checked with other sources and prior frames).
11.2. Quality management - assessment
The quality assessment procedure includes:
automatic validation procedures to check coherence between statistical units and their variables,
data format and logical content of data,
crosschecks with other sources and data from previous years,
emphasis on profiling key units and groups,
post evaluation.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
The EGR is important for the compilation of consistent and comparable Global business statistics, establishing the statistical business register of Eurostat and the EU Member States and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries for multinational enterprise groups. This offers statistical users a tool for coordinating frame population, to derive consistent statistical output with an improved quality in measuring global activities of European enterprises part of multinational enterprise groups.
The EGR is the ‘backbone’ in the production of global economic statistics.
Main users, their needs and their importance - needs met;
Users and uses specially considered - needs met;
Information on user needs is collected - user needs analysis.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
Since 2017, Eurostat together with the EU Member States conducts SBR user survey addressing users and potential users of the national statistical business registers (NSBR) and the EuroGroups Register (EGR).
The latest SBR User Survey show that the NSBR are widely used at national level and users consider that its quality had been significantly improved in the recent years.
The results of the SBR User Survey are available on CIRCABC.
The SBR User Survey was most recently ran in 2023.
12.3. Completeness
The completeness of the EGR is annually assessed by Eurostat. The EGR assessment results are provided to EU Member States and EFTA countries and presented at the Statistical Business Registers Working Group (SBR WG).
13.1. Accuracy - overall
The actions taken to monitor and to improve accuracy of the data sent to EGR are the following:
intra and post cycle evaluations,
automated data checks,
comparisons with past frames,
specific profiling on the largest units and groups.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable.
13.3. Non-sampling error
Not applicable.
14.1. Timeliness
The EGR process refers to a reference year T and is run yearly over a period of 11 months, between May T+1 and March T+2.
14.2. Punctuality
The data is delivered based on the timelines set out in legislation.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
The geographical comparability of national statistical business registers and the EGR is ensured by the application of common definitions of the statistical units laid down in the Council Regulation (EEC) No 696/93.
The SBR variables are harmonised and set up in accordance with the Annex VIII to the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197 laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 on European business statistics. Further guidelines on the variables implementation in the national statistical business registers are given in the EBS methodological manual for Statistical Business Registers (2021 edition).
15.2. Comparability - over time
The comparability over time of the frames results from the information provided in concept 3.8.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
Coherence of data sent to Eurostat with other data sources and statistical domains:
SBR, where the data is derived in large part from
OFATS, partially coherent as an input source.
15.4. Coherence - internal
Data sent to EGR should be internally consistent. There is a set of standard quality checks that are routinely perform at national level before transmitting the data to Eurostat.
The EGR data included are internally consistent.
Not available.
17.1. Data revision - policy
Not applicable
17.2. Data revision - practice
Not applicable
18.1. Source data
The EGR is set up in accordance with EBS Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 using any relevant data sources while avoiding excessive burden on respondents and taking due account of the cost effectiveness of the NSAs.
NSI uses the following data sources, including a combination thereof:
NSBR,
Revenue data, including CRO details, PMOD, CT and VAT returns,
Company Registration Office, including Company accounts and other relevant submissions provided by the company,
OFATS, BOP, and other survey areas.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
National data sent to EGR annually.
18.3. Data collection
Data sent to EGR are collected from:
National Statistical business registers
Administrative data sources.
Company Accounts.
18.4. Data validation
Data validation procedures include:
Format and file structure checks,
Intra-file checks,
Intra-domain, intra-source checks (e.g time series checks),
Plausibility/consistency checks between domains inside the NSI,
Plausibility/consistency checks between domains outside the NSI,
Any other kind of validation,
Manual profiling of key units and groups.
18.5. Data compilation
Data compilation includes the creation of populations from the SBR, and appending other sources from administrative and survey areas in order to fulfil legislative needs.
18.6. Adjustment
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
The EuroGroups register (EGR) is the statistical business register of Eurostat and the EU Member States and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries for multinational enterprise groups. The purpose of the EGR is to offer to statistical users a tool for coordinating frame population, to derive consistent statistical output with an improved quality in measuring global activities of European enterprises part of multinational enterprise groups.
The EGR produces data in yearly cycles and covers microdata on the groups and their enterprises and legal units. The EGR aims to register all multinational enterprise groups that have enterprises in EU Member States or EFTA countries, including European and non-European groups.
The Member States, EFTA countries and Eurostat exchange data on multinational enterprise groups and on the units belonging to those groups for the purposes of the European framework for statistical business registers to ensure the quality of the multinational enterprise group’s information in the Union.
The EGR brings together microdata on multinational enterprise groups from the EU and the EFTA countries' national statistical institutes, in line with the requirements of the Regulation (EU) No 2152/2019, and from a commercial data source for data outside the EU and EFTA.
23 April 2024
Global group head
The global group head (GGH) of an enterprise group is the parent legal unit that is not controlled either directly or indirectly by any other legal unit. The subsidiary legal units of a subsidiary legal unit are considered to be subsidiaries of the parent legal unit.
Global decision centre
The global decision centre (GDC) of an enterprise group is the unit where the enterprise group level’s strategic decisions are taken. A group may have several decision-making centres or several units dedicated to a particular internal function, for example accounting or human resources. However, the decisions about the group are made only in the GDC. The GDC may be the GGH or another legal unit under the GGH.
Ultimate Controlling Institutional unit
The ultimate controlling institutional unit (UCI) of a foreign affiliate means the institutional unit higher up a foreign affiliate’s chain of control that is not controlled by another institutional unit.
Activity of unit
A statistical unit is considered to have been active during the reference period, if in said period it either realized positive net turnover or produced outputs or had employees or performed investments.
A legal unit can be legally or administratively active without any economic activity, when the inactive legal unit is part of an enterprise in combination with economically active legal units. Holding assets and/or liabilities shall also be regarded as an economic activity.
Number of employees
This is derived from monthly PMOD returns supplied by companies to the Revenue authorities. A 12 month average for the period is used.
Number of employees and self -employed persons
The number of employees and self-employed persons is the sum of the Number of employees and Number of self- employed persons. The number of self-employed persons is the average number of persons who were at some time during the reference period the sole owners or joint owners of the statistical unit in which they work. Family workers and outworkers whose income is a function of the value of the outputs of the statistical unit are also included.
Net turnover
Turnover is obtained from the annual Corportation Tax return submitted by companies and received from Revenue. It is based at the legal unit level, and summed to the enterprise.
Total assets
Total assets are obtained from each companies accounts obtained from the Company Registration Office.
Principal activity
The principal (or main) activity is the activity that contributes most to the total value added of a unit under consideration. Ideally, the principal activity of the unit should be determined with reference to the value added to the goods and services produced, by applying the top-down method. The top-down method follows a hierarchical principle: the classification of the unit at the lowest level of the classification must be consistent with the classification of the unit at higher levels. The principal activity so identified does not necessarily account for 50 % or more of the unit’s total value added.
In the European Union the classification of principal activity is determined by reference to NACE Rev. 2, first at the highest level of classification and then at more detailed levels (top-down method).
The statistical units maintained in the EGR are defined in accordance with the Regulation (EEC) No 696/93 on the statistical units for the observation and analysis of the production system in the Community.
The EGR frame contains the following units: Legal units, Enterprises and Multinational enterprise groups.
Legal units include:
- legal persons whose existence is recognized by law independently of the individuals or institutions which may own them or are members of them,
- natural persons who are engaged in an economic activity in their own right.
The legal unit always forms, either by itself or sometimes in combination with other legal units, the legal basis for the statistical unit known as the 'enterprise'.
Enterprise
The enterprise is the smallest combination of legal units that is an organizational unit producing goods or services, which benefits from a certain degree of autonomy in decision-making, especially for the allocation of its current resources. An enterprise carries out one or more activities at one or more locations. An enterprise may be a sole legal unit.
Multinational enterprise group
A multinational enterprise group is an enterprise group that has at least two enterprises or legal units located in different countries. In business statistics also term ‘global enterprise group’ is used.
The data transmitted to the EGR during the cycle is made of the following datasets.
The data set with information on all incorporated resident legal units for the EGR Identification Service.
ISRLE file includes the full population of resident legal units active during the reference year, or part of the previous years frame being sent to EGR for identification.
The data set with information on foreign legal units for the EGR Identification Service.
ISNORLE file includes the identification where possible of the population of foreign legal units recorded in national statistical business register being sent to the EGR for identification.
The data set with information on legal units.
LEU file including all resident legal units belonging to a global enterprise group is sent to EGR for processing.
The data set with information on relationships of ownership and control.
REL file including where possible the identification of links and relationships between legal units is sent to EGR for processing:
two resident legal units
one resident and one foreign legal unit
two foreign legal units from non EU+EFTA countries.
Relationships in the REL are:
control relationships (>50%)
minority relationships (<50%)
The data set with information on enterprises.
ENT file including all enterprises part of a GEG made of legal units sent in LEU files is sent to EGR for processing.
The Data set with information on links between enterprises and legal units.
LEL file including all the links between enterprise (ENT) and legal units (LEU) is sent to EGR for processing.
The Data set with information on enterprise groups of which country is the GDC country for the EuroGroups Register.
GEG file including group data for the Groups of most significance, based on a combination of the number of Legal Units, the employment of the group, and their importance to the economy is sent to the EGR for processing.
The groups’ variables are updated after receiving the preliminary frame:
accounting for overall group characteristics
using the groups consolidated accounts to get their employment, assets and turnover.
The EGR data's territory is dependent on the cycle. The resident legal units, legal unit, and enterprise submissions are based on the territory of Ireland.
The other cycles including the foreign legal units and REL file are a mixture of Ireland, European and rest of the world depending upon the links within individual groups.
The GEG file provides data for the group, which can exist world wide.
The reference period for data sent to the EGR reflects the picture of 31 December of the given reference year.
Data transmitted to EGR during the EGR 2022 cycle includes data for the 2022 reference year. The identification, economic variables (number of employees, turnover and economic activity) refer to the 2022 reference year.
The actions taken to monitor and to improve accuracy of the data sent to EGR are the following:
intra and post cycle evaluations,
automated data checks,
comparisons with past frames,
specific profiling on the largest units and groups.
The economic variables on employment are recorded in absolute figures.
The net turnover for enterprises is recorded in euro currency.
The net turnover and net total asset is recorded in millions in euro currency.
Data compilation includes the creation of populations from the SBR, and appending other sources from administrative and survey areas in order to fulfil legislative needs.
The EGR is set up in accordance with EBS Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 using any relevant data sources while avoiding excessive burden on respondents and taking due account of the cost effectiveness of the NSAs.
NSI uses the following data sources, including a combination thereof:
NSBR,
Revenue data, including CRO details, PMOD, CT and VAT returns,
Company Registration Office, including Company accounts and other relevant submissions provided by the company,
OFATS, BOP, and other survey areas.
Not applicable.
The EGR process refers to a reference year T and is run yearly over a period of 11 months, between May T+1 and March T+2.
The geographical comparability of national statistical business registers and the EGR is ensured by the application of common definitions of the statistical units laid down in the Council Regulation (EEC) No 696/93.
The SBR variables are harmonised and set up in accordance with the Annex VIII to the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197 laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 on European business statistics. Further guidelines on the variables implementation in the national statistical business registers are given in the EBS methodological manual for Statistical Business Registers (2021 edition).
The comparability over time of the frames results from the information provided in concept 3.8.
