the European statistics agency Eurostat. However the European Commission published a report in November 2018 with an assessment of whether or not to take into account the cost of owner-occupied housing (OOH) in the HICP. The report concludes against immediate inclusion in 2018, because a monthly OOH price index is not yet available in all EU countries, and because it would deviate from the current definition of the HICP. The Commission's report also indicates that contrary to what Draghi told MEPs, the ECB had opposed the proposal when consulted by Eurostat. Early 2019, the ECB's chief economist Peter Praet nonetheless announced that work was being underway to include real estate prices into HICP: "In line with the division of responsibilities at the European level, this work is being led by the ECB in the field of financial variables and by Eurostat for the physical market variables. The two institutions are cooperating closely on the topic and we are confident that they will make good progress." Early 2020, ECB president Christine Lagarde hinted the cost of housing may finally be included in the HICP by the end of the ECB's strategic review. See also Consumer price index Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices HICP database Eurostat Notes External links Harmonized Indexes of Consumer Prices: Their Conceptual Foundations ECB working paper no. 130 (PDF 856 KB) Compendium of HICP reference documents Eurostat HICP section on Eurostat's website Eurostat International comparisons of HICP by the Division of International Labor Comparisons Economy of the European Union Price indices Inflation