Eurostat co-ordination role of statistical activities

Regulation No 223/2009 on European statistics defines Eurostat to be the statistical authority of the Union. Like national statistical institutes at national level, Eurostat co-ordinates statistical activities at Union level and more particularly inside the Commission.

At Union level, Eurostat ensures the production of European statistics according to established rules and statistical principles, notably those laid down in the European statistics Code of Practice. Eurostat coordinates the statistical activities of the institutions and bodies of the Union, in particular with a view to ensuring consistency and quality of the data and minimising reporting burden.

At Commission level, Eurostat has been specifically entrusted with the task to co-ordinate statistical activities across the Commission. The Decision on Eurostat adopted by the Commission on 17 September 2012 states that Eurostat has in particular to ensure effective cooperation and regular constructive dialogue with other services of the Commission and to coordinate statistical activities across the Commission.

Inventory of the statistics produced by Commission services

Commission services inform annually Eurostat of the statistical data collections they maintain with regular periodicity, under their own responsibility, and of the websites where to access data and metadata.

The list is published here in format.

The inventory includes also a list of the main scoreboards and indicator sets disseminated by the Commission services, often based on a mix of indicators derived from Eurostat data, from their own data collections or from third party sources.

Memoranda of Understanding established with services of the Commission

Memoranda of Understanding are key management tools that help both services to manage mutual expectations and prioritise their needs and level of service, while ensuring consistency of statistical activities across the Commission and fulfilment of the coordination role of Eurostat. They also improve transparency as they clarify the commitments and the accountability of each side. Memoranda of Understanding may also contain specific arrangements for pre-release access under strict conditions and in accordance with the Protocol on impartial access to Eurostat data for users.

The strategic discussion at Directors' level that takes place annually offers the opportunity to review the level of cooperation between the two sides and, as a result, the Memorandum of Understanding may be revised.

Established MoUs between Eurostat and the following Directorates-general (DGs):

• Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI)
• Climate Action (CLIMA)
• Communications Networks, Content and Technology (CNECT)
• Education and Culture (EAC)
• Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECFIN)
• Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (EMPL)
• Energy (ENER)
• Environment (ENV)
• Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (FISMA)
• Health and Food Safety (SANTE)
• Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (GROW)
• Joint Research Centre (JRC)
• Justice and Consumers (JUST)
• Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MARE)
• Migration and Home Affairs (HOME)
• Mobility and Transport (MOVE)
• Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (NEAR)
• Regional and urban Policy (REGIO)
• Research and Innovation (RTD)
• Taxation and Customs Union (TAXUD)
• Trade (TRADE)

Memorandum of Understanding established with the European Central Bank

Eurostat has also signed a ​ Memorandum of Understanding with the European Central Bank Directorate General Statistics on the quality assurance of statistics underlying the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure.