Eva-Maria Liimets: Bilateral cooperation critical to aligning Ukrainian statistics with EU requirements

The two-year project aims to align the State Statistics Service’s methodology and work organisation with Eurostat standards. As the EU’s statistical office, Eurostat is responsible for compiling high-quality European statistics and ensuring consistency across all member states.

Eva-Maria Liimets, ESTDEV’s programme manager for Democracy and the Rule of Law, noted that accurate data collection will increase transparency in Ukraine’s public sector and improve its ability to compare data with other EU member states. According to Liimets, this project is critical because the reliability of statistics plays a crucial role in advancing Ukraine’s accession negotiations with the EU.

“The faster Ukraine can provide Eurostat with reliable data, the better they can present the progress of their negotiations. Since Estonia has this transition experience, we can help them accelerate the implementation of reforms in the field of statistics,” said Liimets.

Jaana Tael, head of Partnership Relations at Statistics Estonia, said the project is part of Estonia’s activities to support Ukraine’s State Statistics Service as it prepares to join the European Statistical System (ESS). “As part of the in-service training programme, Statistics Estonia will host Ukrainian colleagues in Tallinn to introduce our statistical system and the needs arising from the production of European Union statistics,” said Tael.

In addition to study visits to Estonia, Statistics Estonia will organise virtual workshops and opportunities for Ukrainian experts to work with their Estonian counterparts. Because of Estonia’s relatively recent experience with joining the EU, the programme can also provide guidance on ways Ukraine can protect its interests, outline EU expectations, and define Ukraine’s legal obligations for aligning statistics with EU standards.

Representatives of the State Statistics Service of Ukraine met with the European Commission last fall, where they received recommendations for implementing the required methodology for cooperating with Eurostat. The in-service training programme was designed according to these recommendations to meet the specific needs of the State Statistics Service and be compatible with similar training programmes by the Delegation of the European Union to the Council of Europe (EUDEL) and other member states.

ESDTEV has provided 120,000 euros to fund the project.