Statistical Capacity Master Plan for the Slovak Republic

1
Statistical Capacity Master Plan for the Slovak
Republic

• Comments by Klaus Reeh
• Adviser to the Director-GeneralEurostat,
  Luxembourg

2
Who are the European stakeholders?

• the European Union institutions
• in particular the European Commission
• Eurostat (within the framework set by the1997
  Commission Decision)
  
• all the other members of the European Statistical
  System (and their masters)
  
• but also
• media, organised interest, scientific community

3
The European Context of the Statistical Capacity
Master Plan

• Community legislation and codification (acquis
  communautaire)
  
• ESS wide co-operation among NSIs
• Co-ordination through Eurostat, a DG of the
  European Commission
  
• Policy use of official Community statistics

4
EU political and institutional needs

• compliance with law and code
• competence and authority
• adequate resources
• robust processes for collecting data, compiling
  statistics, transmitting and disseminating results

5
particular ESS needs

• active participation in networking
• capacity for co-operating ESS-wide
• readiness to strive for best practices
• readiness to defend EU positions
• Capacity to communicate forcefully
• internal as well as external
• connectivity and transparency

6
European Union a biased perception

• a constraint, a burden, an obligation
• a user and thus a source of finance
• but not as
• a stabiliser, a partner, a supporter

7
ESS an underestimated aspect

• a source for methodological innovation
• An opportunity for simplification and burden
  reduction
  
• An additional source of information
• an opportunity for economies of scale
• joint infrastructure maintenance
• (partial) specialisation

8
Conclusions

• Very little can/should be done autonomously
• Importance and relevance of national statistics
  in decline, of contributions to (and comparisons
  with) Community statistics on the rise
  
• EU with its ESS not only a constraint, but also
  an opportunity