European Statistics Code of Practice: anniversary event

On 6 and 7 November, Eurostat and its partners – the national statistical authorities of the EU member states and EFTA countries – marked the 20th anniversary of the European Statistics Code of Practice with a dedicated event at the European Commission’s Berlaymont building in Brussels. The participants reflected on 2 decades of achievements and explored how the Code will continue to guide European official statistics in a rapidly evolving data landscape. They included the heads of Eurostat, the European Central Bank’s Directorate-General for Statistics, and the national statistical institutes (NSIs) that compose the European Statistical System (ESS), as well as the NSIs of the enlargement countries. Chairs and members of the European Statistical Advisory Committee, European Statistical Governance Advisory Board, EU’s Economic and Financial Sub-Committee on Statistics, European Broadcasting Union, and other national statistical authorities also took part.

Adopted by the European Statistical System Committee in 2005, the Code sets out 16 principles covering the institutional environment, statistical processes, and statistical output of data production. These principles ensure that European official statistics are professionally independent, objective, reliable, comparable, and accessible to all users.

The anniversary event opened on 6 November with a keynote address by Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner for Economy and Productivity, Implementation and Simplification, who is also responsible for Eurostat and European official statistics. He emphasised that, “over the last 20 years, thanks to the Code of Practice and the ESS peer review mechanism, the European Statistical System has become a European success story, respected and admired worldwide”. His address was followed by an introductory presentation from Eurostat’s Director-General Mariana Kotzeva, who traced the evolution of the Code – from its creation to its current role as a cornerstone of the European official statistics’ quality framework and an inspirational model for statistical standards worldwide.

The event’s first panel, “Celebrating the memories”, reflected on how the Code has reshaped the ESS, enhancing quality and strengthening public confidence in European official statistics by reinforcing the professional independence, integrity and accountability of NSIs. The 2 subsequent sessions focused on the principle of professional independence and its vital role in maintaining trust among stakeholders. Participants examined how professional independence is effectively respected in practice and how national statistical authorities uphold it in their daily operations. In the final session, “The European Statistics Code of Practice in the future”, the panel discussed how digital technologies – including artificial intelligence – and the fast-changing data landscape could be reflected in the Code to keep it up to date and relevant in the modern data environment.

In her closing remarks, Director-General Kotzeva thanked all colleagues involved in the creation and implementation of the Code over the years. She emphasised that the “changes around us are so fast and profound that the European official statistics’ community needs to urgently reflect on ongoing trends in preparation for the upcoming revision of the Code”.

As the ESS looks to the future, the milestone event underscored a shared commitment to maintaining high standards and ensuring that the Code’s principles continue to underpin quality, professional independence and trust in official statistics across Europe.