The European Central Bank published the 12th joint ESS-ESCB quality assessment report on the statistics underlying the European Union’s Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure, concluding that the macroeconomic statistics produced by the European Statistical System and the European System of Central Banks remain sufficiently complete, comparable, accurate and timely to support effective macroeconomic surveillance. The report covers the main statistical domains used in the MIP scoreboard, including gross domestic product, balance of payments and international investment position data, financial accounts, government finance, housing prices and labour market statistics. The main weaknesses identified are concentrated in cross-border and sectoral data. For balance of payments and international investment position statistics, bilateral asymmetries remain a concern, especially in foreign direct investment, and further work is needed on valuation, recording and consistency with rest of the world accounts. In financial accounts, several countries need better coverage and source data for other financial institutions, fewer inconsistencies between annual and quarterly datasets, and smaller vertical discrepancies with non-financial accounts. House price statistics are generally assessed as adequate, but one country still does not provide data as required under European Union rules, so Eurostat continues to use a national central bank index that does not fully meet the harmonised standards. By contrast, GDP, government finance and labour market statistics are generally assessed as high quality, with only limited completeness or timeliness gaps and some cross-country variation in labour force survey response rates. Follow-up will continue through joint European Central Bank and Eurostat consistency work and country visits. Most gross national income reservations placed in December 2024 are due to be addressed by September 2026, and Eurostat expects to publish the fourth housing price compliance monitoring report in 2026.
European Central Bank2026-06-26
European Central Bank publishes joint assessment finding MIP statistics fit for surveillance but flagging external and financial accounts weaknesses
The European Central Bank’s joint ESS-ESCB quality report says the statistics used for the European Union’s Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure remain sufficiently complete, comparable, accurate and timely for effective surveillance. It flags persistent weaknesses in balance of payments and international investment position asymmetries, foreign direct investment measurement, financial accounts coverage of other financial institutions, and one non-compliant national house price series.