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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Statistics reform to be in line with EU standards

Belgrade, 12 May 2005

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus stated today that Serbia must urgently adopt four of the 14 structural statistical indicators – sustainable development, social inclusion, discrimination levels and poverty monitoring – without which the country’s negotiations on stabilisation and association with the EU cannot begin.

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus addresses the meeting dedicated to the harmonisation of statistics in Serbia with European standards

Author: Beta

At a meeting dedicated to the harmonisation of statistics in Serbia with European standards organised by the Serbian Statistics Office in cooperation with the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and Statistics Sweden (SCB), Labus underlined that Serbian statistics should develop by doing sample surveys because of the enlarged private sector. He explained that this is necessary in order to have a realistic estimate of the GDP.

The Serbian Deputy Prime Minister said that the basic problem in Serbian statistics was not so much outdated methodology, rather it lies in the lack of sufficiently educated human resources.

Labus explained that this is why the Serbian government and international donors must support younger, educated professionals. He emphasised that the reform of statistics according to European standards in the forthcoming period must introduce better monitoring of foreign remittances and direct foreign investments, for a more accurate estimate of the GDP.

The First Secretary of the Swedish Embassy in Serbia-Montenegro Ralph Monö announced that Sweden would continue to help in the building of institutions and development of statistics in Serbia-Montenegro with funds amounting to €18 million annually.

Monö said that the aid of Statistics Sweden and the Swedish government would be aimed at the development of dialogue between the Serbian government and the Serbian Statistics Office regarding the exchange of data for creating a National Development Plan.

National Bank of Serbia Governor Radovan Jelasic underlined that a study was currently being made in cooperation with the World Bank regarding the level of foreign remittances. He assessed that the development of statistics should be above all aimed at improving data quality and implementing European methodology.

According to him, the statistical imperative is to have quality, timely and reliable data, and the role of the National Bank of Serbia is important, both in gathering data and providing information necessary for basic macroeconomic analysis.

Head of Operations of the European Agency for Reconstruction Christos Gofas stated that the realisation of a programme worth €1.7million for establishing an appropriate monitoring of Serbia-Montenegro state accounts is currently underway, of which approximately €1.2 million has been set aside for Serbia.

Gofas announced the implementation of a technical support programme for statistical development in Serbia-Montenegro that envisions regional expansion to commence at the beginning of 2006 and is valued at €1.1 million.