1. Country Experience with the 2008 Assessment Round Turkey Meeting of the Policy Group on Statistical Cooperation 16-17 October 2008 Metin EROL Foreign Relations Department Head of EU Coordination Group

2. Background information with respect to compliance monitoring tool; CDB at TurkStat CDB application with a view to data availability: SMIS Follow-up studies on compliance monitoring at TurkStat New features of 2008 assessment round Turkey’s experience on SMIS+ Conclusion Point 5. of the Agenda PGSC 2008, İstanbul Content of Presentation

3.  First round of self-assessment; 2002,  New elements in 2003 round of self-assessment; the structure of CDB, a list of Eurostat questions, an element of annual planning on the level of themes and chapters,  Proposal to improve CDB with a view to data availability: SMIS,  New tool; “Statistical Management Information System (SMIS )”. Background PGSC 2008, İstanbulPoint 5. of the Agenda

4. CDB application with a view to data availability  The Program Secretariat organised on behalf of Eurostat a study on the data availability (DA) in the CCs in 2002.  The overall objective of the exercise was to get an exhaustive picture of the data production in CCs and to identify remaining deficits.  It provided a quick picture of the situation in DA and data already sent to Eurostat by the CCs.  It constituted a starting point for further analysis and action. DA report had the facility to identify problematic areas in each country and launch a follow-up activity to bridge the remaining gaps. PGSC 2008, İstanbul Point 5. of the Agenda

5.  Thus, in the 2004 round of compliance monitoring, CDB was completed by the dimension of the DA under one new instrument; SMIS “Briefly, previous version of the CDB was referring to the legal compliance of the CCs national statistical systems with the acquis, while the DA study concentrated on the material compliance, i.e. the actual availability of statistical data resulting from the acquis.” CDB application with a view to data availability PGSC 2008, İstanbul Point 5. of the Agenda

6. Follow-up studies  Continous meetings at the Presidency level to analyse the situation and to set an action plan  “Assessment Committee on the Results of Data Availability”  A comprehensive timetable to classify all data production  Weak points, threats were determined and future studies to increase data availability were planned  Interim reporting every six months PGSC 2008, İstanbul Point 5. of the Agenda

7. 2008 Assessment round with SMIS+ New features: Changes in the structure of themes and modules Web-based application Help function on the interface of the SMIS+Off-line version of the assessment İnternet links to various online repositories A feature to produce analysis of compliance levels for each theme or module PGSC 2008, İstanbul Point 5. of the Agenda

8. Experience on SMIS+  Technical departments in close coordination with Foreign Relations Department  May 15, letter launching 2008 compliance monitoring round  May 21, conversion tables  May 22, launching application inside the institution  May 27, documentation support instead of in-service training  June 16, date of completion PGSC 2008, İstanbul Point 5. of the Agenda

9. Conclusions General  Provides a photograph of the compliance situation as well as some plans of the country to cover gaps vis-a-vis the Acquis Communautaire in statistics,  Main, indispensable and a valuable up-to-date source of information on the progress of work on harmonising the system with respect to Acquis,  A very useful tool in the orientation of internal activities towards harmonisation with the acquis and helps to develop a systematic approach to compliance monitoring process inside the office, PGSC 2008, İstanbul Point 5. of the Agenda

10.  Ensures proper follow-up of the compliance with the Acquis in statistics during the negotiation process and beyond,  Constitutes a starting point for NSIs for further anlaysis of their statistical system and action,  Helps to identify gaps and problems of the national statistical system,  Provides excellent input for identifying needs for cooperation,  Provides a reliable justification for assisstance in specific areas. Conclusions General PGSC 2008, İstanbul Point 5. of the Agenda

11. Conclusions  The progressive improvement of the application each year facilitates the work of users, exclusively regarding this years’ application: A better adjustment of the content to the users’ need has been achieved by a self-explanatory interface, A better access to Acquis Communautaire by internet links to various on-line repositories has been realised, The creation of a web-based application prevented possible problems that can be encountered during filling and transmission of the assessment information PGSC 2008, İstanbul Point 5. of the Agenda

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