The basic principles for the production and dissemination of European official statistics and the institutional environment, under which the members of ESS operate, are included in the European Statistics Code of Practice.

The European Statistics Code of Practice was adopted by the Statistical Programme Committee (SPC) on 24 February 2005 and was reviewed by the European Statistical System Committee (ESSC) in September 2011 and subsequently in November 2017.

The Code sets out 16 key principles which refer to the following: 

A group of indicators of good practice for each of the 16 principles provides reference for the reviewing of the implementation of the Code, which is mandatory for all the members of ESS.

As an auxiliary document for the implementation of the Code, there is the "Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System", which provides a patchwork of methods, tools, and good practices related to the application of the principles of the Code. More information can be found here.

In order to monitor the progress in the implementation of the Code and to strengthen the integrity and independence of the Statistical Authorities belonging to the ESS, peer reviews have been established. More information can be found here.

Relevant files: 

 European Statistics Code of Practice