European statistics – Potential to further improve quality

Summary:

European statistics are a public good, and are essential to help policy-makers, businesses, and citizens reach evidence-based decisions. In 2012, we published a special report on the quality of European statistics, but in 2016 we found that some improvement actions had not been fully implemented. In this audit, we examined whether the Commission provides high-quality European statistics, and we conclude that their overall quality is sufficient for stakeholders. However, we have identified a number of weaknesses that still need to be addressed.

We make several recommendations to improve the quality of European statistics. These include better meeting user needs, prioritising EU funding for innovative projects, improving the quality assessment of European statistics, and reconsidering the current practice of pre-releasing statistics.

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