THE COUNCIL,

HAVING REGARD to article 5(b) of the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development of 14th December 1960;

HAVING REGARD to the resolution of the Council of 21st January 1975 Establishing the Committee on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises, and, in particular, paragraph 4 thereof [Doc. No. C (74)247 (Final) ];

HAVING REGARD to the instruction of the Council to the Industry Committee to continue its work on the improvement of information and improved exchange of information on the activities of multinational enterprises as a matter of urgency in close co-operation with the Committee on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises;

HAVING REGARD to the report of the Industry Committee on the Improvement of Information on the Activities of Multinational Enterprises [Doc. No. IND(75)2];

CONSIDERING that to enable the Organisation to reflect on the policy issues raised by the existence of multinational enterprises in Member countries, it is necessary to be informed of the magnitude and scope of the activities of multinational enterprises in Member countries;

CONSIDERING that statistics relating to the activities of multinational enterprises have been developed independently in Member countries and do not always readily lend themselves to international comparisons;

CONSIDERING that certain Member countries intend to introduce or develop statistics relating to the activities of multinational enterprises;

CONSIDERING the need for broadly comparable statistics relating to the activities of multinational enterprises as collected by competent authorities of Member countries including the application, as far as possible, of internationally agreed and working definitions for the various statistical concepts;

I.           NOTES the Report of the Industry Committee on the Improvement of Information on the Activities of Multinational Enterprises (herein after called the Report) [Doc. No. IND(75)2].

II.          RECOMMENDS that the Governments of Member countries in developing national statistics, should take into account the Industry Committee proposal that they:

(a)       develop statistics which should include the 14 items set out in paragraph 9 of the Report;

(b)       adopt the sub-division of enterprise groups and enterprises according to the degree of foreign participation set out in paragraph 10 of the Report;

(c)       apply the internationally agreed and working definitions for the 14 items contained in the Annex to the Report on the understanding that countries which already have statistics relating to the activities of multinational enterprises based on other definitions would indicate any substantial deviations until such time as they could, wherever practicable, apply these definitions.

In adopting the above Recommendation, the Council:

1.           NOTED the report of the Chairman of the Executive Committee;

2.           NOTED the comments made by the Committee for International Investment and Multinational Enterprises in transmitting to it the Report of the Industry Committee on the Improvement of Information on the Activities of Multinational Enterprises [Doc. No. IND(75)2];

3.           AGREED to the changes in the Report by the Secretary-General of 5th March 1976, set out in Annex II to Doc. No. CES/76. 18;

4.           AGREED that the competent bodies of the Organisation should report to the Council before 31st December 1978, and thereafter at appropriate intervals, on action taken by Governments in compliance with the Recommendation;

5.           AGREED to the derestriction of the Recommendation together with the Report of the Industry Committee duly amended to which it refers.