Quality Declaration of the European Statistical System

The European Statistical System (ESS) is a partnership in which Eurostat and the national statistical authorities of each EU Member State and EFTA country cooperate. Together, our mission is to provide independent high quality statistical information at European, national and regional levels and to make this information available to everyone for decision-making, research and debate.

The programme and priorities of European statistics are discussed and agreed by ESS members with the final decisions taken in a democratic manner according to European legislative procedures.

We operate under a strict legal regime supplemented by a robust, world-class and self-regulatory quality framework, the backbone of which is the European Statistics Code of Practice. Our compliance with the Code of Practice is periodically assessed by means of review mechanisms and strict follow-up of the improvement actions identified.

We see quality as the basis of our competitive advantage in a world experiencing a growing trend of instant information which often lacks the necessary proof of quality. Our work is governed by professional independence, impartial treatment of all our users, objectivity, reliability, statistical confidentiality and cost-effectiveness. The development, production and dissemination of our statistics are based on sound methodologies, the best international standards and appropriate procedures that are well documented in a transparent manner. Our principles of quality are: relevance, accuracy, timeliness and punctuality, accessibility and clarity, as well as comparability and coherence.

We consistently strive to minimise the burden on our respondents, cultivate good cooperation with data providers and cooperate closely with stakeholder groups including the scientific communities. We are committed to statistical excellence by systematically identifying our strengthens and weaknesses, as well as related risks which we duly take into account by the continuous development of our common quality framework. By continuously modernising, innovating and compiling new indicators, we not only improve the quality of our products and services, but also attempt to anticipate emerging phenomena and needs with our users.

Heads of the National Statistical Institutes and Director-General of Eurostat