The European Central Bank published a blog post arguing that Europe’s current statistical governance provides strong protections for the independence, reliability and usability of official statistics, drawing lessons from past shortcomings highlighted by the 2009 revision of Greece’s government deficit figures. The post recalls that EU legislation in 2010 strengthened Eurostat’s verification powers, including mandatory access to government accounts, on-site inspection rights and reinforced sanctions for misreporting. It also points to the 2015 regulation on the European Statistical System partnership as a further step to reinforce professional independence at national statistical authorities, including safeguards for transparent appointments and dismissals based on professional criteria. The blog contrasts the roles of the European Statistical System and the European System of Central Banks, using the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices as an example of a key monetary policy input compiled outside the Eurosystem, and the euro short-term rate as an example of a benchmark produced by the Eurosystem’s statistical function, published since 2 October 2019 on a transaction basis with annual methodology reviews and a dedicated error-transparency page.
European Central Bank 2025-09-26
European Central Bank blog reviews safeguards underpinning the independence and quality of European statistics
The European Central Bank's blog post affirms Europe's robust statistical governance, citing improvements since the 2009 Greek deficit revision. It highlights strengthened Eurostat verification powers and the 2015 regulation enhancing national statistical authorities' independence. The post contrasts the roles of the European Statistical System and the European System of Central Banks, citing the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices and the euro short-term rate as key examples.