15. 6. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No L.151/1 (Acts whose publication is obligatory) COUNCIL REGULATION (EURATOM, EEC) No 1588/90 of 11 June 1990 on the transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality to the Statistical Office of the European Communities THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 213 thereof, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 187 thereof, Having regard to the draft Regulation submitted by the Commission ('), Having regard t6 the -opinion of the European Parli- ament (3, Whereas, to enable it to carry out the duties entrusted to it by the Treaties, and especially in the light of the internal market as provided for in Article 8a of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, here- inafter. referred to as the ‘EEC Treaty’, the Commission must have full and reliable information ; whereas, with a view to efficient management, the Statistical Office of the European Communities; hereinafter referred to as the ‘SOEC’, must be able to obtain all the national statistical information necessary in order to prepare Community statistics and carry out the necessary analyses; Whereas-Article 5 of the EEC Treaty and Article 192 of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, hereinafter referred to as the ‘Euratom Treaty’, require Member States to facilitate the achieve- - ment of the Community’s tasks ; whereas this obligation- extends” to providing all the requisite information ; whereas the absence of confidential statistical data consti- tutes-for the SOEC a considerable loss of information at Community level and makes. it difficult to prepare statis- tics and carry out analyses on the Community ; Whereas Member States will have no further cause to invoke provisions on statistical confidentiality once it is established that the SOEC offers the same data confiden- tiality guarantees as the national statistical institutes ; (") OJ No C 86, 7. 4. 1989, p. 12. () OJ No C 291, 20. 11. 1989, p. 27. whereas these guarantees are already to some extent ensh- rined in the Community Treaties, notably in Article 214 of -the EEC Treaty and Article 194 (1) of the Euratom Treaty, and in the- Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities and can be backed up by appro- priate measures under this Regulation ; Whereas, in accordance with Article 214 of the EEC Treaty and Article 194 (1) of the Euratom Treaty, officials and other servants of the Community are required, even after their duties have ceased, not to disclose information of the kind covered by the obligation of professional secrecy ; Whereas Article 17 of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities requires officials to respect the confidentiality of all facts and information coming to their knowledge in the course of, or in connection with, the performance of their duties; whereas they remain bound. by this obligation after leaving the service ; Whereas any - violation of statistical . confidentiality protected by this Regulation must be dealt with effecti- vely, whoever .the offender may be; Whereas any infringement of the rules binding officials and other servants working  for the SOEC, whether committed wilfully or through negligence, renders them - liable to disciplinary sanctions and, if appropriate, legal penalties for violation of professional secrecy, pursuant to the combined provisions of Articles 12 and 18 of the Protocol on.the Privileges and Immunities of the Euro- pean Communities ; Whereas, in -accordance with Article 215 of- the EEC Treaty- and Article 188:of the Euratom. Treaty, the Community shall make good any damage caused by its institutions or by its servants in the. performance of their duties ; Whereas this Regulation applies only to the transmission to the SOEC of statistical data which, in the national statistical institutes’ field of competence, are covered by statistical confidentiality, and whereas it does not affect special national or Community provisions relating to the transmission of other types of information to the Commission ;