The President of the NSI took part in the annual DGINS conference, dedicated to Artificial Intelligence and Official European Statistics

The President of the NSI, Assoc. Prof. Atanas Atanasov and Maria Gochova, Head of the International Relations and Projects Department, took part in the 111^th annual DGINS conference, which was held on 28-29 October 2026 in Bern, Switzerland. The event was organized by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office in close cooperation with Eurostat. The theme of this year’s conference is “AI-readiness and Responsible Redistribution of European Data and Official Statistics”.

The participants in the conference discussed issues related to the future development of the European Statistical System (ESS), with a particular focus on integrating artificial intelligence in the process of the production and dissemination of official European statistics. Discussions addressed concepts for enhancing the readiness of the National Statistical Institutes (NSIs) of ESS Member States to use AI, as well as identifying solutions to the challenges arising from this process, particularly with regard to ensuring the quality of statistical information and maintaining public trust. The responsible use and dissemination of data in the era of digital transformation were also discussed.

The DGINS conference is the most important forum in the European Union for discussing new opportunities and challenges in the production of official statistics, sharing good practices and knowledge within the framework of the European Statistical System. The event is held annually in one of the EU Member States.

Immediately after the Conference, the 63^rd meeting of the European Statistical System Committee (ESSC) was also held. During the meeting, forthcoming amendments to European legislative acts in the areas of the European system of national regional accounts (ESA), European balance of payments statistics, international trade in services and foreign direct investment, as well as integrated farm statistics were presented and discussed at a high level. Discussions also focussed on the implementation of the revised Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics: re-use of privately held data for the compilation of European statistics.