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European Statistical System (ESS)

1/13/2000

The European Statistical System (ESS) is the partnership between the Community statistical authority, which is the Commission (Eurostat), national statistical institutes (NSIs) and other national authorities in each Member State in charge of the development, production and dissemination of the European statistics. The working methods are regulated by the Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and the Council. This partnership also includes the EEA and EFTA countries. The purpose of European statistical Cooperation is to produce high-quality statistics that will be a guarantee that the disseminated data are reliable and comparable and thus appropriate for the coordinated activities of institutions in the EU and at the national level, as well as for the implementation of their policies.

EU statistics are produced within the framework of the five-year statistical program adopted by the European Parliament and the Council. To provide users with a more detailed insight into the ESS, an annual ESS report is published with more in-depth information on the latest initiatives and system developments.

The most important decision-making body in the ESS is European Statistical System Committee (ESSC) that deals with the key strategic issues of the ESS and provides professional guidance to the ESS for developing, producing and disseminating European statistics. The Commission is also authorised to adopt the implementing measures in the field of statistics. The ESSC is chaired by the Commission (Eurostat) and composed of the general directors of Member States' National Statistical Institutions. The ESS also coordinates its work with candidate countries and at the European level with other Commission agencies and services, the European Central Bank and with international organisations such as the OECD, the UN, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. 

The European Statistical System provides the following information on its website pages, such as:

    • The latest news concerning all ESS partners, such as meetings, announcements of upcoming events and conferences, training opportunities, vacancies and publications

    • Corporate information about the ESS partners, such as their organisational structure, information related to the management and useful information.

In the coming years, the European Statistical System will go through the reform arising from the ambitions for collaboration set out in the European Statistical System’s Vision 2020. The reform process focuses on five areas: 1) user needs and cooperation with stakeholders, 2) quality, 3) new data sources, 4) effective quality assurance of statistical production processes, and 5) dissemination and communication.

For more information about the ESS, visit: