1. Tasks of an International Cooperation Department
14th Meeting of the Management Group on Statistical Cooperation
22-23 March 2012, Luxembourg
Agenda item 3

2. Why do we need to discuss the organisation of international cooperation inside NSI?
It is about us - the majority of participants in the MGSC work in the area of international cooperation
We have different experience – international organisations, MS with vast cooperation experience, new MS with the recent accession experience, enlargement countries with specific objectives towards the EU
It is useful to exchange ideas and to share good practices –the tasks and scope of activities of are similar, but approaches may be different and may be inspiring to others

3. What are the main tasks?
Coordination of the international cooperation related activities (events, meetings, strategies, translations, contacts, new initiatives, etc.)
Tasks related to the EU acquis – handling the acquis in statistics, either as a member state or a country working on the implementation of the acquis in their practice
Grants and assistance coordination – as the providers or the recipients of assistance in statistics
Coordination of the provision of statistical data to international organisations including the EU
Miscellaneous tasks – from the coordination of the Peer Review or Adapted Global Assessment to the training of staff in the international issues

4. Questions about the international cooperation (IC)
What should be the core business of the international cooperation in the NSI? What are the priorities?
What advice the experienced countries could provide to those which are just establishing their IC units?
What should be the mandate of the IC unit? How to share responsibilities between the production units and the IC?
What are the key factors of a successful IC unit?