Quality commitment and citizens’ participation
Official European statistics must follow the principles laid out in the so-called European Statistics Code of Practice (CP), which was first adopted in 2005 and subsequently amended in 2011 and 2017. The Code aims to ensure the quality and credibility of the European data. These principles refer, among other things, to professional independence, the protection of confidentiality, the reliability of the results, their precision, timeliness, punctuality, accessibility, clarity, comparability and coherence.
In order to ensure this commitment to quality, the ESS has two advisory bodies, oversee compliance with the quality principles and the other to represent the voice of users and respondents. These are:
The European Statistical Governance Advisory Board (ESGAB)
ESGAB is composed of 7 independent members who are experts with excellent statistical knowledge. The Commission (Eurostat) is represented as an observer. The main task of this independent advisory board is to assess compliance with the Code within the ESS. It also advises the Commission (Eurostat) on appropriate measures for the application of the Code, on the appropriate way to disseminate it to users and respondents and, finally, assists the Commission in updating it. ESGAB can also advise on issues of user confidence in European statistics.
The European Statistical Advisory Committee (ESAC)
ESAC is made up of 24 members. This Committee represents users, informants, academic and social institutions and the community administration, and one of its main functions is to ensure that the needs of users are taken into account in the compilation of the European Statistical Programme, as well as cost efficiency and the burden on respondents of completing questionnaires for European Surveys.
