Eurostat has launched a new data access application procedure for micro data. From January 2017, EUI members should use the new Microdata Access Worlkflow Tool – which requires Principal Investigators to register via the EU Login authentication service.

The EUI Researcher – or Principal Investigator in a research team – should create an EU Login for the project application. (It is not necessary for all members of a research team to have a login.)

On 21 January, the GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences launched a new variable-time-matrix (Excel format) for identifying EU-Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) variables by type of data, reference period, unit of observation and mode of collection. EU-SILC is a cross-sectional and longitudinal sample survey, coordinated by Eurostat, based on data from the EU member states. EUI members should read the ‘How to Access’ section of this Library page which gives details of access application procedures. The GESIS site also provides transfer routines for converting EU-SILC data from .csv to Stata and SPSS. Full details.

The European Union’s official statistics agency, Eurostat, launched a consultation on the production method of EU statistics A Vision for the Next Decade on 23 July. The consultation – which focuses on pan-European social surveys – remains open until 15 November 2015. Eurostat informs that new data collection methodologies would emphasise “the increasing use of multiple data sources and innovative data collection methods as well as the growing importance of cross-domain integration and concepts. The Vision aims at overcoming the business model where the statistical production processes are organised in numerous parallel processes, country by country and domain by domain.” The consultation questionnaire is at this link. The EUI Directory of EU, Eurozone and European Statistical Data is on this Library page.

Eurostat, the official statistics agency of the European Union, has launched an upgraded web site. Users of the bulk data download service, please note that it is necessary to re-register at the upper right of the Eurostat homepage. An overview of changes, and a bulk download webinar, are on this page. Eurostat provides statistical data on the EU, the member states, and sub-state regions in nine primary categories. Statistics Explained gives an introduction to official EU statistical data. The EUI Library maintains a directory of European official and non-official data resources and a guide to resources on the Eurozone.

A new system of national and regional accounts has been launched by Eurostat and the EU Member States. An overview has been published by Eurostat. The revised system reflects the European economy’s evolution from manufacturing and agricultural activities over past decades, to a knowledge-based economy in the 21st Century. The new system – known as ESA2010 – also reflects greater interaction between globalisation and regionalisation processes. Eurostat and EU national statistical agencies have also improved data gathering, access, collation and analysis techniques. One of the most important changes is the recalibration of R&D-related data. “Research and development expenditure is recorded as gross fixed capital formation and no longer as current expenditure.” French and German guides have also been published. Technical documentation has been linked from the EUI Library’s Eurostat data resource page.

On 23 April the European Commission issued an online guide explaining the procedure for assessing whether Eurozone member states’ deficits comply with European Union legislation. The guide, available on the Eurozone Portal, explains the excessive deficit procedure, the calendar for publication of data and the validation of data from the member states. Related resources are accessible via the Library’s Eurozone Data Directory and the Euro information page.