Page 320 - Special Topic Session (STS) - Volume 2

STS496 Pilar M.

Safeguards for the professional independence of
Statisticians in Europe
Pilar Martin-Guzman
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid (Spain)

Abstract
The professional independence of statisticians is an essential component for
the healthy functioning of a democratic system. Political interferences in the
production of official statistics will undermine its credibility, so making them
useless for the main purpose for which they are produced: providing impartial
information for policy decision making. The European Statistical System, ESS,
(consisting on EUROSTAT and the National Statistical Offices of the Member
States) is aware of the risks inherent to political interferences. For that reason,
a number of instruments have been devised for the preservation of
independence in the statistical production. Legislation is a fundamental
instrument. The ESS presents to the European Parliament and the Council
regulations that, when approved, are of compulsory application in all Member
States. The Amendment of Regulation 223 dealing, among other issues, with
the appointment and removal of the Chief Statistician, is an example to be
mentioned. Another useful instrument is the European Statistics Code of
Practice, based on the UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, and in
which the professional independence plays a prominent role. This Code has
been the precedent and inspiration for several Statistics Codes of Practice
adopted in other regions, such as ECLAC and the South Mediterranean
countries. In order to check the correct implementation of this Code a system
of peer reviews, compulsory for all Member States, and also adopted by EFTA
countries, is being organized roughly every five years. Then, there is a
European Statistical Governance Advisory Board, ESGAB, in charge of
providing an independent overview of the ESS as regards the implementation
of the Code of Practice, and enhancing the professional independence,
integrity and accountability of the ESS. The effectiveness of these instruments
will be discussed. Still, the EU is a very complex supranational organization,
embodying countries with very different traditions and administration
systems, and working on the principle of subsidiarity. That explains that, in
spite of all these safeguards, problems eventually arise. Finally, there are a
number of countries geographically located in Europe that are neither
members of the E.U, nor of EFTA, For several of these countries, Georgia,
Armenia, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Ukraine, Global Assessments are
conducted with the financial and technical support of EUROSTAT.

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