As part of the cooperation between the Research Service of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Estonian Centre for International Development (Tallinn, Estonia), an educational webinar was held on the topic “Specifics of the Functioning of Statistical Authorities/Services in EU Member States and the Adherence of These States to the Principle of Institutional Independence of the Mentioned Authorities”.

The speaker of the event was Mr. Kaido Paabusk, Deputy Director General of Statistics Estonia. Mr Paabusk shared European experience in safeguarding the professional independence of national statistical institutes within the framework of the European Statistical System (ESS).

During the presentation, the following issues were addressed:

- the legal framework for the functioning of statistical authorities under EU legislation (particularly Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 and the European Statistics Code of Practice);

- legislative and institutional safeguards ensuring the independence of Statistics Estonia;

- the role of the Statistical Council as a supervisory and advisory body;

- the results of the peer review conducted by Eurostat on Estonia’s compliance with ESS standards;

- practical challenges related to budgetary support, maintaining methodological autonomy, and the influence of the political environment.

Particular attention was paid to real-world challenges in ensuring the independence of statistical authorities, including the impact of fiscal policy, the high expectations of stakeholders, and the need for timely publication of statistical data.

The Research Service expresses its sincere gratitude to the Estonian Centre for International Development and Mr. Paabusk for their fruitful cooperation and valuable expert contribution.

Simultaneous interpretation for the webinar was provided thanks to “Ukraine2EU – EU Integration Support Programme for Ukraine”, which made the event accessible to a wider audience.