European statistics: professional independence of national statistical authorities

PURPOSE: to strengthen governance of the European Statistical System (ESS).

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) 2015/759 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics.

CONTENT: the Regulation revises the current basic legal framework for European statistics, adapting it to meet the policy needs and challenges created for European statistics by recent developments in the global economy.

The specific objectives of the Regulation are as follows:

(1) Strengthen professional independence of statistical authorities and guarantee minimum standards, applicable across the Union. The heads of national statistical institutes (NSIs) shall:

• have the sole responsibility for deciding on processes, statistical methods, standards and procedures, and on the content and timing of statistical releases and publications for European statistics developed, produced and disseminated by the NSI;
• neither seek nor take instructions from any government or other institution, body, office or entity;
• be empowered to decide on all matters regarding the internal management of the NSI;
• be responsible for the statistical activities and budget execution of the NSI;
• publish an annual report and may express comments on budget allocation issues related to the statistical activities of the NSI;
• be recruited respecting transparent procedures and based only on professional criteria and ensuring that the principle of equal opportunities is respected, in particular with regard to gender.

(2) Consolidate the independence of the statistical authority of the Union (Eurostat) to be consolidated and guaranteed by means of effective parliamentary scrutiny. It is recalled that Eurostat is the statistical authority of the Union and a Directorate-General of the Commission. It shall be headed by a Director-General who shall be responsible for the statistical activities of Eurostat.

(3) Clarify the scope of the coordinating role already attributed to the NSIs in order to achieve more efficient coordination of statistical activities at national level, including quality management, while duly taking into account the statistical tasks performed by the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).

(4) Define the commitment on confidence in statistics: this commitment should include specific undertakings by the government of that Member State to improve or maintain the conditions for the implementation of the Code of Practice. The Commitment, which should be updated as necessary, could include national high quality assurance frameworks, including self-assessments, improvement actions and monitoring mechanisms.

(5) Improve access, use and integration of administrative records: in order to reduce the burden on statistical authorities and respondents, the NSIs and other national authorities should be able to access and use administrative records promptly and free-of-charge, including those filed electronically, and to integrate those records with statistics.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 8.6.2015.