Statistics Finland and several other Finnish government agencies produce statistics for the policy needs of the European Union in accordance with the requirements of the European Union’s Statistical Programme and the European Statistical System (ESS).
Why is a common statistical system needed?
Reliable and comparable statistical data are an important basis for the European Union’s policy. Reliable, comparable statistics on Member States are particularly important for EU decision-making, monitoring and evaluation. The statistics are used
- in economic and monetary policy
- in agricultural policy
- in the allocation of Structural Funds assistance
- in the EU's enlargement process
- when determining membership contributions.
In order to achieve optimal results, the European Statistical System (ESS) was developed.
Actors of the European Statistical System
The European Statistical System consists of
- Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union
- the national statistical authorities of EU Member States
- the statistical authorities of the European Economic Area EEA
- the statistical authorities of the European Free Trade Area EFTA.
The European Statistical System cooperates with the statistical institutes of the EU's candidate Member States, other bodies of the European Commission and the European Central Bank. Other cooperation partners include international organisations like the OECD, UN, IMF and World Bank.
The Member States are responsible for data collection and compiling statistics for both national and EU needs. Eurostat is in charge of the international comparability of statistics in close cooperation with the national statistical institutes.
The points of emphasis of the activities of the European Statistical System are linked to the EU's central policy objectives. Because the activity in the European Union has constantly expanded, the cooperation now covers nearly all statistical areas.