The European Commission has taken another step to keep a close eye on national statistics, proposing measures that include potential fines for member states caught meddling with data.
The move comes in the wake of recent sour experiences, particularly from Greece, where, after years of wrong data being sent to Brussels, the government admitted much higher debt and deficit levels than official records were showing.
European Commissioner Algirdas Semeta, responsible for the EU’s statistics office Eurostat, said that what happened in Greece and – to a lesser extent – in some other member states, could not be repeated.
“Our statistics are good but we want to go further. We want to ensure that never again will we have any political influence in our statistics,” Mr Semeta told a press conference in Brussels.
“The economic crisis has shown us the importance of credible statistics... but they must be deemed credible,” he added.
The proposals, which need the consent of the European Parliament and member states, are aimed at strengthening the EU’s remit over national statistics authorities and to ensure more independence.
The principle of professional independence of national statistical...
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