The proposal for the next European Statistical Programme 2013-17 presented by the European Commission intends to get quality, timely and efficient statistics. In order to achieve this goal, the Commission proposes a budget of €299.4 million and the implementation by the European Statistical System (Eurostat and national statistical institutes) of the multiannual programme.

The European Commission adopted a proposal for the next European Statistical Programme 2013-17 which counts with a budget of €299.4 million and it is aimed at getting quality, timely and efficient statistics. A large proportion of the budget will be allocated to the Member States in order to support the implementation of the Programme at national level and the European Statistics Code of Practice and respecting the principles of independence, integrity and accountability. In addition the European Statistical System (Eurostat and national statistical institutes) will implement the multiannual programme.

The three overriding objectives for 2013-17 which seeks the European Statistical Programme are to provide high quality statistics to better design, monitor and evaluate EU policies, to implement more efficient methods of producing European statistics, and to strengthen the leading role of the European Statistical System in official statistics worldwide. On the other hand, an annual work programme will be drawn up each year with concrete actions to meet these objectives.

The current European Statistical Programme will operate by the end of 2012, when the new programme will start. According to the Commission, the need for information must be weighed against the resources available and the burden placed on businesses and citizens in responding to the necessary questionnaires and surveys to compile statistics. These follow the EU's broader priorities, such as Europe 2020, strengthened economic governance, climate change, growth and social cohesion, people's Europe and globalisation.