Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics

Reliable statistics are becoming increasingly necessary if policymakers, businesses and citizens are to take adequate evidence-based decisions. Therefore, the main concern for all statistical authorities is to ensure that the data produced is of high quality.

A European Statistics Code of Practice was agreed in 2005 and the basic legal framework governing the development, production and dissemination of European statistics by the European Statistical System (ESS) was modernised in 2009 through the adoption of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics.

Recent economic developments have again demonstrated the need to further strengthen the credibility of statistics. Economic-policy instruments and results have been affected — more than ever before — by the mood of global financial markets and the strategies pursued by those involved in them. Statistics have become as credible as the public, notably the financial markets, believes they are.

Reliability of statistical data in terms of technical quality-assessment criteria is a pre-requisite in order to ensure the trust of users. But equally important is the credibility of the institutions producing statistics. In this context, the professional independence of statistical authorities must receive particular attention and be guaranteed by law.

The Commission recognised these facts and in its Communication ‘Towards robust quality management for European Statistics’ it indicated the need to strengthen the governance of the ESS by securing unconditional application of the principle of professional independence of National Statistical Institutes (NSIs), by clarifying their coordinating role in the national statistical systems and by enhancing the use of administrative data for statistical purposes.

Furthermore, it was proposed that ‘Commitments on Confidence in Statistics’ be established in order to make national governments aware of their role in, and co-responsibility for, ensuring the credibility of official statistics by respecting the independence of NSIs. According to the Communication, all these measures should be introduced by an amendment of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009. Moreover, the European Statistics Code of Practice should be revised accordingly.

EUR-Lex: COM(2012)167: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2012:167:FIN

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