Priority setting, simplification and reduction
of response burden in the ESS
Walter Radermacher, DG Eurostat
Chief Statistician of the EU
Conference on Administrative Simplification in Official Statistics
SIMPLY 2010
Ghent, 2 December 2010
Context
Response burden
Budget cuts
ESS
Limited HR
Legal obligations
Walter Radermacher 02.12.2010
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Our objective: high-quality statistical
information
Constraints:
 Response burden on
citizens and enterprises
(obstacle for economy)
 Production costs of
producers of statistics
(limited resources for
new, development work)
Walter Radermacher 02.12.2010
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Efficiency approach
(new production
method of EU statistics)
Effectiveness approach
(priority setting)
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Principles
1. Strategy-driven
approach
2. Minimizing
unhappiness of users
3. Good communication
4. Cooperation in the ESS
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Elements
1. Joint ESS strategy/new production
method of EU statistics
2. Sunset clauses
3. Annual review:
- Legal acts to be repealed
- Gentlemen’s agreements to be
stopped
- Simplification
Implementation
- As far as possible for 2011
- Fully for 2012 and later
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Win-win solution
1. Lighten burden on:
- NSIs and other producers
AND respondents: citizens and
enterprises
2. Have spare resources for development
work and new user needs
3. Improve strategic planning process in
the ESS
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Commission-wide initiatives
 Shift from burden reduction to
simplification of legal requirements
 Relation between EU policy and
statistics:
Some examples from the past:
1) Free movement of goods introduction of Intrastat
2) Simplification of accounting statistical data needed
instead
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Forward-looking initiatives and trends
 Growing understanding of linkage
between various requirements, e.g:
 Consistency between public
accounting system and the ESA;
 ERP systems
 ICT developments (scanner data for
price statistics, etc.)
 Increasing use of existing data
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Thank you for your attention!
Walter Radermacher 02.12.2010
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