Peer Reviews

With the adoption of the Code of Practice, the European Statistical System has committed to adhering to the principles of the Code and to ensuring its implementation. All national statistical institutes and Eurostat underwent an initial assessment by peers between 2006 and 2008. A second round of assessments was carried out between 2013 and 2015. The third is underway and will continue until 2023. The purpose of these assessments was to establish compliance with the principles of the Code. The results of the peer assessments are publicly available and published on the Eurostat website.

The focus of the first review was the institutional environment and the dissemination of statistics and only concerned National Statistical Institutes (NSI). The aim of the peer assessment was to gauge the level of compliance of the NSIs with principles 1 to 6 and 15 of the European Statistics Code of Practice. The team of reviewers visited INSEE in January 2007. Interviews were held with the senior management and personnel of INSEE and its Regional Offices, the Directors of the Ministerial Statistical Offices, members of the CNIS (National Council for Statistical Information) and its committees (user representatives, producers and data providers), strategic partners and journalists.

The second review focused on all the principles of the Code and covered the Official Statistical Service as a whole. In the case of France, the assessment was conducted within the Ministerial Statistical Offices responsible for sustainable development on the one hand and for agriculture on the other, both of which producing large quantities of European statistical information. The review was conducted on an audit basis. A self-assessment questionnaire was completed by Member States in advance, providing members of the review with a basis for their work. The team of reviewers subsequently met INSEE and the two SSM involved to discuss in greater detail the areas identified as the greatest weaknesses.

The third peer review took place in 2021 for France. All the information about it is available on the dedicated pages of the website: the 3rd European Peer Review.

The reviews are the subject of a report in which an overall assessment and recommendations are set out. These recommendations feed into the action plan of the Official Statistical Service.