Branko Josipović, Acting Director of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, attended, on November 6 and 7, 2025, in Brussels, the celebration of 20 years of the European Statistics Code of Practice - a key document that sets the standards of independence, reliability and quality of European statistics.

The event brought together the heads of Eurostat, the Directorate General for Statistics of the European Central Bank, the National Statistical Institutes (NSIs) that make up the European Statistical System (ESS). The presidents and members of the European Statistical Advisory Committee, European Statistical Governance Advisory Board, EU’s Economic and Financial Sub-Committee on Statistics, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), as well as other national statistical institutions.

In numerous panels, the participants discussed the impact of the Code on the work of statistical institutions, with special reference to the importance of professional independence in the modern environment of rapid changes. It was also discussed how new digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, should be integrated into the future revision of the Code.

The event was opened by Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner for Economy and Productivity, Implementation and Simplification, who pointed out that, thanks to the Code and the peer review mechanism, the European Statistical System has become a "European success story" and an international quality standard. Mariana Koceva, General Director of Eurostat, presented the two-decade development of the Code and its role in strengthening the professional independence of statistics and public trust in official statistical data. In her closing remarks, she emphasized that "the changes around us are so fast and profound that the European official statistics’ community must urgently reflect on ongoing trends in preparation for the upcoming revision of the Code.”

The celebration of this jubilee confirmed that the European statistical system jointly and continuously maintains high standards and that the principles of the Code remain a key pillar of quality and trust in European statistics in the future as well.