Germany, Portugal and Slovenia form the Presidency Trio covering the period from 1 July 2020 to 31 December 2021. Portugal takes over the Presidency from Germany on the 1st of January 2021 and will be followed by Slovenia in the 2nd half of 2021.

The Trio Presidency Programme builds upon the work done by the previous presidencies, aiming at the provision of high quality and relevant European statistics in accordance with Regulation (EC) 223/2009 on European statistics and guided by the European Statistics Code of Practice.

Based on a transparent and close cooperation with all our partners, the Trio Presidency Programme further aims at promoting the value of official statistics and fostering the modernisation of the European Statistical System (ESS), in order to respond adequately to new users needs shaped by the challenges of globalisation and digitalisation.

The Trio Programme also intends to strengthen the capacity of the ESS to take advantage of new data sources and technologies and to develop innovative methods and tools, while ensuring secured, transparent and reliable data, and statistical confidentiality as a precondition for maintaining the trust of respondents.

The Portuguese Presidency in the field of statistics will build on the achievements under the preceding Presidencies and will be guided by the main lines set out in the Trio Presidency Programme.

The Portuguese Presidency will continue the work carried out by the German Presidency to strengthen the agility and relevance of the European Statistical System in meeting new user needs, in the context of globalisation, digital transformation and sustainability of the EU.

The ESS joint response to the COVID-19 crisis remains a priority for the Portuguese Presidency. We will strive to pursue a fast and flexible response from the ESS to the new data needs to support decision-making for the EU’s social and economic recovery.

Continuing to provide innovative statistical products and services, based on an increased access to new data sources, is therefore of the utmost importance. In this way, we will pay close attention to the opportunities arising from the implementation of the European Data Strategy, namely in relation to the sustainable access to privately-held data for official statistical purposes, while safeguarding confidentiality of the data.

During the Portuguese Presidency we are planning the organisation, together with Eurostat, of a High-Level Meeting/Seminar with the proposed title “Data from and for Society”, to be held at the premises of Statistics Portugal, if the sanitary conditions allow, tentatively at the end of April or in early June. The Meeting/Seminar should focus on the relevance and benefits of using public and privately-held data in the production of statistics as a contribution for society (both on statistics under development and official statistics) and to enhance the value of Statistics as a public good. The High-Level Meeting/Seminar will be open to external speakers, to enrich the discussions with their views and experiences on the theme, and aims to be an opportunity to increase the awareness and to strengthen the advocacy of accessing and using privately-held data at national and European level.

Regarding legislative activities, the Portuguese Presidency is expecting the following new files to be dealt with by the Council Working Party on Statistics:

• Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Statistics on Agricultural Input and Output;
• Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and European Council amending Regulation (EC) No. 138/2004 on the economic accounts for agriculture in the Community;
• Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1091 on integrated farm statistics as regards the financial framework for the period 2021-2027.

The first two proposals mentioned above are due to be adopted by the Commission in mid-January 2021.

The Portuguese Presidency intends to follow with attention the proceedings in other Council Working Parties dealing with non-statistical files with possible implications for statistics.

We will work closely and transparently with the Member States, the Trio Partners, the European Parliament and the Commission.