5.2.2004 Official Journal of the European Union L 33/1 | (Acts whose publication is obligatory) REGULATION (EC) No 138/2004 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 5 December 2003 on the economic accounts for agriculture in the Community (Text with EEA relevance) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 285(1) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (), Whereas: () The monitoring and evaluation of the common agricultural policy requires comparable, up-to-date and reliable information on the economic situation of agriculture, and more specifically on changes in agricultural income. (2)  Agricultural accounts are a basic tool for analysing the economic situation of a country’s agriculture, provided that they are drawn up on the basis of a single set of principles. Agricultural accounts also make a valuable contribution to the calculation of the national accounts. (3)  The economic accounts for agriculture are compiled in accordance with the basic concepts and rules of Council Regulation (EC) No 222396 of 25 June 1996 on the European system of national and regional accounts in the Community (3. (4)  Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 of 17 February 1997 on Community statistics (°) provides a reference framework for this Regulation. (5)  Since the objective of the proposed action, namely the creation of common statistical standards which will allow the production of harmonised data, cannot be (") Opinion of the European Parliament of 3 September 2003 (not yet published in the Official Journal), and Council Decision of 17 November 2003. () O] L 310, 30.11.1996, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1267/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (O] L 180, 18.7.2003, p. 1). () OJ L 52, 22.2.1997, p. 1. sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the scale of the action, be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective. (6)  The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (). (7)  The Standing Committee on Agricultural Statistics and the Statistical Programme Committee have been informed, HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 Subject matter 1. This Regulation sets up the economic accounts for agriculture in the Community (hereinafter referred to as ‘EAA), by providing for: (@ an EAA methodology (common standards, definitions, classifications and accounting rules), intended to be used for compiling accounts on comparable bases for the purposes of the Community, and for the transmission of data in accordance with Article 3; (b) time limits for the transmission of the agricultural accounts compiled in accordance with the EAA methodology. () OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.