UK and EU Stats Bodies Resume Collaboration

The UK's Office for National Statistics is to shake hands on a new co-operation deal with its EU counterpart next week, at a meeting in Poland.

National Statistician Sir Ian Diamond and Eurostat Director General Mariana Kotzeva (pictured) will sign the arrangement on October 9th, when the Conference of European Statisticians (CES) meet in Warsaw. Eurostat is the EU statistical authority.

The deal was foreshadowed in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement which accompanied the UK's exit from the EU, and initially covers the transfer of GDP data, while promising further co-operation in other relevant areas: these include national accounts, trade, and foreign investment.

The bodies say GDP data is necessary for UK participation in EU programmes including the Horizon Europe and Copernicus scientific and space programmes. Co-operation between the two 'stopped almost entirely' in 2020 when the ONS ceased to be a member of the European Statistical System (ESS).

Welcoming the new agreement, Diamond comments: 'We at the ONS have excellent relationships with key statistical institutions around the world... This arrangement with Eurostat signals the start of a collaboration that will help to ensure the production of robust and world class official statistics'. According to Kotzeva, the deal is 'an important landmark towards a new working relationship'. She continues: 'I look forward to a fruitful relationship with the ONS and I am confident that it will be mutually beneficial in the years to come'.

The effectiveness of the arrangement will be monitored in the UK by the country's Statistics Authority, the UKSA, which will meet with Eurostat regularly to identify possible enhancements.

Web sites: www.ons.gov.uk and https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat .