Division 2.2 Cooperation with users

A close, continuous dialogue with users of Community statistics about their needs, actual usage and priorities is imperative. Current cooperation with users is beneficial and comprises, inter alia, the activities of the European Advisory Committee on Statistical Information in the Economic and Social Spheres (CEIES)^f1, cooperation with European business federations and the formal discussions of the statistical work programme with Commission services. However, as the number of users of Community statistics increases and users become more diverse in their needs, Eurostat will further strengthen the dialogue between the ESS and its users.

The objectives for the programme period are to:

• reduce the distance between users and producers by improving communication with different groups and networks of users,

• implement pro-active user needs investigation, enabling the ESS to respond more effectively to emerging needs, and

• strengthen CEIES, enabling the development of Community statistics to become more user-oriented.