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1. The Commission shall consult the Committee at an early stage in the preparation of the Community statistical programme. The Committee shall deliver an opinion addressing in particular:

(a) the relevance of the Community statistical programme to the requirements of European integration and development, as expressed by the Community institutions, national and regional authorities, the various economic and social categories and scientific circles;

(b) the relevance of the Community statistical programme in relation to the activities of the Community, taking into account economic, social and technical developments;

(c) the balance as regards priorities and resources between different areas in the Community statistical programme, the annual statistical work programme of the Commission, and possibilities of re-prioritising statistical work;

(d) the adequacy of the resources needed to implement the Community statistical programme, including the costs incurred directly by both the Community and national authorities, and appropriateness to users’ needs of the scope, level of detail, and costs of Community statistics;

(e) the costs related to the provision of statistical information by information providers and possibilities of reducing the response burden, with particular reference to the burden on small and medium-sized enterprises.

2. The Committee shall also draw the Commission’s attention to areas in which it may be necessary to develop new statistical activities and shall advise the Commission how to improve the relevance of the Community statistics to users, taking into account the costs borne by information providers and producers.