Workshop participants: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Colombia, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, EFTA, ESCAP, Eurostat, OECD, UNSD and UNECE.
On 29 and 30 May 2024, EFTA and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) co-organised an important workshop on modernising statistical legislation.
Hosted by the Institute of Statistics of Albania in Tirana, this event was an integral part of the 2024 work programme of the Conference of European Statisticians, and of the 2024 EFTA technical cooperation work programme in the field of statistics.
The workshop served as a dynamic platform to share experiences and discuss the modernisation of legal and institutional frameworks of official statistics. Discussions focused on emerging issues posing legal challenges to national statistical systems. Attendees explored a variety of topics including:
The workshop was organised by the UNECE Steering Group on Statistical Legislation, which brings together a diverse group of countries and organisations. The EFTA Statistical Office played a pivotal role in organising, funding and attending the workshop. This collaboration underlines the global importance of strengthening the legal frameworks for official statistics.
About 70 participants from 30 countries and several international institutions and organisations benefited from simultaneous interpretation into English and Russian, ensuring a comprehensive and inclusive dialogue. This event was crucial for the ongoing collective effort to modernise and strengthen the legal frameworks governing official statistics and the legal aspects of data access, governance and stewardship. In this regard, the workshop highlighted the current challenges of
As an outcome of the workshop, UNECE, EFTA and the UNECE Steering Group will prioritise areas and topics requiring further consideration and prioritisation for a future update of the GLOS. These could include emerging data governance frameworks and the possible roles of national statistical institutes in these, access to privately held data, official statistics in emergency/crisis situations, and safeguards in relation to other legal frameworks. UNECE and EFTA will also consider how to continue to support EFTA partner countries in further work in statistical legislation and a future update of the GLOS.
