Brussels, 14/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - Safe and reliable European statistics will become increasingly important with the application of the Growth and Stability Pact (revised by the legislative packages “6 Pack” and “2 Pack”). They require the Statistical Office of the EU (Eurostat) and the national offices of statistics to be independent and sheltered from political influence. In order to do this, there must, if required, be immediate reforms to the legislative framework and the internal organisation of these bodies. This is the message sent out by the Commissioner responsible for the anti-fraud and statistics dossiers, Algirdas Semeta, to the ECOFIN Council meeting on 13 November (see EUROPE 10729), having addressed the European Parliament on the same subject on Monday.
He seems to have made himself heard. In the conclusions it adopted, the ECOFIN Council favourably welcomed the specific reform the European Commission has committed to. They welcome: - the proposal amending the statistical regulation of the EU (223/2009) to reinforce the professional independence of the national institutes; - increased coordination of these institutes; - the Commission's decision to increase the independence of Eurostat and including statistical reliability commitments. This example must also be followed by the national institutes, the Council states.
The ministers also welcomed progress in the implementation of a preventative approach to improve the quality of the statistical indicators used as a basis for the procedures laid down by the Pact (macroeconomic deficit and imbalance). In this area, the Commission will have increased powers of investigation and sanctions as regards the manipulation of statistics and is preparing, in the short term, a legal framework laying down statistical procedures and quality control mechanisms for these indicators. The Council also welcomes progress made in the drafting of legislative proposals making it possible to set in place an operational framework in the medium term for new methods for gathering, compiling, conserving and distributing European statistics. (FG/transl.fl)