The use of artificial intelligence and privately held data was the focus of the 61st meeting of the European Statistical System Committee

The President of the NSI, Assoc. Prof. Atanas Atanasov, PhD and the Head of the International Relations and Projects Department, Maria Gochova, participated in the 61st meeting of the European Statistical System Committee (ESSC), which took place on 5-6 February in Luxembourg.

On the first day of the event, the heads of the ESS statistical institutions held a high-level workshop on "Artificial Intelligence in Official Statistics." They discussed the potential benefits and drawbacks of using artificial intelligence in the production of official statistics and how new technologies can contribute to the modernization of public services while ensuring data confidentiality.

The 61st meeting of the ESSC addressed topics of strategic priority for the European Statistical System (ESS). Special emphasis was placed on the implementation of the revised Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 with regard to access to privately held data, the proposed ESS framework for statistics under development (experimental statistics), and improving the ESS's capacity to develop and transmit data under crises.

Discussions focused on improving the relevance and timeliness of European International Protection Statistics, the common positions of the ESSC on key items on the agenda of the upcoming 57th session of the UN Statistical Commission, the progress made on the revision of the European System of Accounts, the microdata linking in the field of business and trade statistics, and others. Participants were briefed on the progress made on legislative dossiers in the field of statistics under the current Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The ESSC provides professional guidance to the European Statistical System in the development, production, and dissemination of European statistics in accordance with statistical principles. The Committee plays an important role in improving the quality of statistical data in the EU and in providing the information necessary for informed decision-making at European and national level.