1. Statistical Capacity Master Plan for the Slovak Republic
Comments by Klaus Reeh
Adviser to the Director-General Eurostat, Luxembourg

2. Who are the European stakeholders?
the European Union institutions
in particular the European Commission
Eurostat (within the framework set by the1997 Commission Decision)
all the other members of the European Statistical System (and their masters)
but also
media, organised interest, scientific community

3. The European Context of the Statistical Capacity Master Plan
Community legislation and codification (acquis communautaire)
ESS –wide co-operation among NSIs
Co-ordination through Eurostat, a DG of the European Commission
Policy use of official Community statistics
The EU context sets a couple of parameters
Legislation = inflexibility; co-operation = interdependence/contamination; co-ordination = limited initiative; policy use = risk of biased discussion
Attention:
policy use of official statistics in national and EU environment quite different
Statistics provide as much facts as perception frameworks

4. EU political and institutional needs
compliance with law and code
competence and authority
adequate resources
robust processes for collecting data, compiling statistics, transmitting and disseminating results

5. particular ESS needs active participation in networking
capacity for co-operating ESS-wide
readiness to strive for best practices
readiness to defend EU positions
Capacity to communicate forcefully
internal as well as external
connectivity and transparency

6. European Union: a biased perception
a constraint, a burden, an obligation
a user and thus a source of finance
but not as
a stabiliser, a partner, a supporter

7. ESS: an underestimated aspect
a source for methodological innovation
An opportunity for simplification and burden reduction
An additional source of information
an opportunity for economies of scale
joint infrastructure maintenance
(partial) specialisation

8. Conclusions Very little can/should be done autonomously
Importance and relevance of national statistics in decline, of contributions to (and comparisons with) Community statistics on the rise
EU with its ESS not only a constraint, but also an opportunity