Globalisation: a challenge for official statistics in Europe Heli Jeskanen-Sundström and Marie Bohatá

Context and Plan Official statistics in Europe: from europeanisation to globalisation Official statistics in the age of globalisation: current status and main challenges the way forward from a national and a European perspective

From europeanisation to globalisation We have met the europeanisation challenge sufficient harmonisation and comparability able to cope with the loss of the significance of internal borders The general EU policy framework was very useful Special arrangements in official statistics helped as well

From europeanisation to globalisation The globalisation challenge is more difficult Our global environment is legally less structured and politically less shaped Globalisation is more spontaneous and driven by economic interests and technology but our EU-wide co-operation and co-ordination based on a common understanding should enable us to reach out pro-actively promote our methods and concepts

Globalisation: current status Co-operation on classifications, methods and definitions well established Some elements for an adequate statistical description of the phenomenon are available However, with accelerating change, it is always difficult to remain up-to-date, thus the need for a pro-active response

Four specific challenges Establishing an adequate territorial delimitation Taking into account new types of transactions and new organisational structures Difficulties in the valuation not just of stocks, but also of flows Consistency and comprehension of basic data

The way forward: national perspective We have to bring our experience to bear and reach out We have to be more co-operative Support global institutions Promote the good practices and “acquis communautaire” Find partners among users Network for exchange of data Pay attention to MNE data collection and reporting We should be more focused through a specific Globalisation Action Plan

The way forward: European perspective The national perspective is already very European and even global We should establish a firm European framework for exchanging (individual and aggregate) data coping with asymmetries We should strengthen the European Approach to official statistics