(5)International guidance, such as the Frascati Manual, which concerns R&D statistics, and the Oslo Manual, which concerns innovation data, and international agreements adopted by the United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the International Monetary Fund and other international and supranational organisations, are of relevance for European business statistics. Such guidance should, to the extent possible, be followed in the development, production and dissemination of Union statistics and within the European framework for statistical business registers, in order to ensure that the Union statistics are comparable with those compiled by the Union's main international partners. However, Union standards, agreements and guidelines should be applied consistently when collecting data for European business statistics on the R&D inputs and innovation topics.