The Communication 'Towards robust quality management for European Statistics' adopted by the European Commission proposes to reinforce the quality of European statistics by moving from correction to prevention. This objective is of a crucial importance in strengthening economic governance for the euro area and the EU as a whole.

This Communication aims to further improve the way in which European statistics are governed through a revision of the framework Regulation on European Statistics and the update of the European Statistics Code of Practice. Among the initiatives, the Commission proposes to further standardise public accounts, to review regularly the quality of data supplied by government bodies to National Statistical Institutes and to assess the risk of revisions at an earlier stage. Member States will be invited then to sign up to 'Commitments on Confidence in Statistics' in which they will formally commit themselves to taking all necessary measures to maintain confidence in their statistics and to monitoring the implementation of the Code.

All statistical domains will benefit from this enhanced quality management, which is a key factor in the success of major policy initiatives such as the Europe 2020 strategy for growth and jobs and the coordination of economic policies in the European Union. Regarding more specifically the quality of government finance statistics, it is proposed to progressively move from a corrective approach to a more preventive approach. Preventive measures, such as promoting further standardisation in public accounts and a wider use of risk assessment, will help to better identify, assess and monitor significant risks at an early stage.

Recently, governance of the European Statistical System has been improved, in particular with the adoption of the European Statistics Code of Practice as mentioned previously. The European Statistical Governance Advisory Board was set up in 2009 to provide an independent overview of the implementation of the Code of Practice. The system was further boosted by the entry into force of Regulation on European statistics, and by the enhanced powers given in 2010 to Eurostat to better control government finance statistics used in the Excessive Deficit Procedure.