Markus Sovala elected chair of the Partnership Group of the European Statistical System

The Partnership Group discusses strategic development projects, legislative drafting, quality work and data security issues within the European Statistical System. The Group consists of Eurostat and Directors General from several national statistical institutes (NSIs) of the ESS countries.

As chair, Sovala is responsible for leading the group's work and for strengthening its strategic role as part of the European Statistical System.

“The election is a vote of confidence for Finland and Statistics Finland. The European Statistical System is at an interesting stage as we are simultaneously responding to growing data needs, digital transformation and data security requirements. By working together, we can develop more efficient, simpler and more cost-effective solutions that reduce duplication of work and free up resources to develop statistics. I look forward to the opportunity to promote cooperation and joint solutions together with my European colleagues,” says Sovala.

The Partnership Group is a preparatory and coordinating group comprising the Director-General of Eurostat and Directors General of the NSIs and supports the work of the European Statistical System Committee (ESSC). The group serves as a form of working committee, preparing strategic issues for discussion by the ESSC and acts as a discussion forum for the development of European statistical cooperation.

The European Statistical System consists of Eurostat and the national statistical institutes of the EU Member States and EFTA countries. The objective of the cooperation is to produce comparable, high-quality and reliable European statistics to support decision-making and public debate.

Contact information

Markus Sovala
⁠Director General
⁠+358 40 664 6091