Division 2.4 Cooperation with international organisations

Statistics must not only be comparable among Member States but also at the wider international level, and many domains of the ESS are based on internationally agreed methodology. In many cases the ESS takes a lead and develops standards in advance of global standards. In such cases it is essential that the global methodologies take account of European developments. International cooperation also includes joint management of major projects and coordination of work programmes and data collection activities in order to avoid duplication of efforts.

Experience has shown that a coordinated, common position is important to enable EU priorities to impact on the agenda and the development and harmonisation of the international statistical systems. For that reason, intensified preparation and coordination of EU positions prior to high level international meetings have been initiated.

The objectives for the programme period are to:

• ensure that the EU is consistently represented and, where appropriate, coordinate its positions in the most important international statistical fora and in matters of priority for EU policies, and

• promote the international cooperation and coordination of work programmes in order to avoid duplication of work and improve the comparability of international statistics.