EU–Switzerland agreement on statistics

SUMMARY OF:

Agreement between the EU and Switzerland on cooperation in the field of statistics

Decision 2006/233/EC adopting the agreement on EU–Swiss cooperation in the field of statistics

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE AGREEMENT AND THE DECISION?

The agreement seeks to:

intensify an already fruitful working relationship between the European Commission (Eurostat) and the Swiss Federal Statistical Office;
ensure that the contracting parties produce and disseminate coherent and comparable statistics for the policy areas covered by the agreement.

The decision adopts an agreement on behalf of the European Community (the EU today) to cooperate with Switzerland in the field of statistics.

KEY POINTS

The parties agree to:

develop and use harmonised statistical methods, definitions and classifications;
ensure that their statistics comply with the principles of impartiality, reliability, objectivity, scientific independence, cost-effectiveness and confidentiality, as defined in the European Statistical Law (Regulation (EC) No 223/2009) and the European Statistics Code of Practice;
avoid placing excessive burdens on businesses and organisations responding to surveys.

Switzerland has to comply with the European legislation on statistics as described in Annex A of the agreement, as amended by Decision No 2/2019 of the European Union/Switzerland Statistical Committee. This includes the respect of statistical principles and confidentiality and the application of statistical nomenclatures. Moreover, Annex A contains legal acts relating to statistics on:

business
transport and tourism
foreign trade
demography and social aspects
the economy
agriculture
the environment.

Like the European Economic Area countries, which also submit data to Eurostat, the statistics submitted by Switzerland are governed by the rules governing the EU statistical programme. All of the statistical themes and fields covered by the statistical programme are also relevant to Switzerland.

Each year, an EU/Switzerland annual statistical programme is drawn up in parallel with the overall EU statistical programme.

A joint committee comprising the representatives of the contracting parties manages and implements the agreement. The committee can:

revise the annexes to the agreement;
decide on other measures to ensure the proper operation of the agreement.

Swiss entities can participate in EU statistical programmes with the same rights and obligations as EU entities, but they are not entitled to any financial contribution from Eurostat. To cover the cost of its participation, Switzerland contributes financially to the statistical programme each year. The rules regarding this contribution are set out in Annex B to the agreement, as amended by Decision No 3/2010 of the European Union/Switzerland Statistical Committee.

DATE OF ENTRY INTO FORCE

The agreement entered into force on 1 January 2007.

MAIN DOCUMENTS

Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on cooperation in the field of statistics (OJ L 90, 28.3.2006, pp. 2–20).

Successive amendments to the agreement have been incorporated in the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

Council Decision 2006/233/EC of 27 February 2006 on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on cooperation in the field of statistics (OJ L 90, 28.3.2006, p. 1).