International

International cooperation

International statistical obligations and increasing international cooperation are inextricably linked with the work at CBS. CBS is the national authority responsible for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics. This task in the field of European statistics is laid down in the Statistics Netherlands Act. Ninety-five percent of the CBS budget is currently spent on producing European mandatory statistics. As such, the European Union (EU) places the greatest burden on the work and work programme of CBS.

CBS is part of the European Statistical System (ESS), a partnership between the European Commission (Eurostat) and the statistical offices of the EU countries of the European Economic Area (EEA) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

In addition, CBS is an active player at various levels in intergovernmental organisations such as the United Nations (UN), the UN Economic Commission for Europe and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). These organisations play an increasingly large and important role in the development and adoption of statistical standards, concepts and methods. CBS joins forces with countries at the forefront to create action plans and work on proposals for new developments and innovations in statistics. National and international challenges and opportunities often go hand in hand.