1. Item 8: Background of previous STESWP seasonal adjustment work

2. STESWP Agenda Items
Seasonal adjustment has been on the agenda since the inception of the STESWP group in 2002.
A seasonal adjustment task force was created, , to provide input for inclusion in the Data and Metadata Presentation Handbook on harmonisation in presenting seasonally adjusted data (and metadata).

3. Initiatives Eurostat Hungarian Handbook Member countries
Quarterly national accounts guidelines
Current steering group (Euro-Indicators guidelines)
Hungarian Handbook
Revised draft version released April 2007
Member countries
Countries constantly revising compilation methods for seasonal adjustment e.g. Finland, Canada.

4. Country Comments
Two types of comments: General comments around the concept of having guidelines; and, detail seasonal adjustment issues on the guidelines.
The detailed seasonal adjustment comments will be forwarded to the Steering Group directly.
Some general comments:
General guidelines are best (due to country differences)
Need to ensure that the quality of the raw data is not forgotten
Address future seasonal issues (e.g. climate change)
A need to include non-EU countries
Some discussion of resource issues and constraints