Director-General of Statistics Netherlands appointed to Chair of the Partnership Group

Gosse van der Veen, Director-General (DG) of Statistics Netherlands since 1 January 2004, has been elected by his European colleagues to chair the SPC Partnership Group. The appointment is in a personal capacity, and is for the period of two years.

The Statistical Programme Committee (SPC) consists of the 25 DGs of the national statistical institutes in the EU and is chaired by the DG of Eurostat. The Partnership Group functions as an executive council; it develops strategic  ideas and proposals and prepares the related decision-making.

The Partnership Group consists of eight members. In addition to the chair, these are the DGs of Eurostat, Finland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania and Slovenia. The agenda for the coming years includes the Code of Practice – a code that will ensure the independence and quality of statistics - the administrative burden and the intensification of European cooperation in various areas.