With the adoption of the European Statistics Code of Practice, Eurostat and the statistical institutes of the EU Member States, including NSO, have committed themselves to an encompassing approach towards high-quality statistics. The Code builds on a common definition of quality in statistics  across the European Statistical System (ESS). It takes a holistic approach, ranging from governance and institutional matters to production processes and dissemination of statistics.

The European Statistics Code of Practice​ was first adopted by the Statistical Programme Committee (SPC) in 2005. The Code was revised by the European Statistical System Committee (ESSC) in 2011 and 2017; the ESSC endorsed the latter revision on 16 November 2017.

The revised Code has 15 principles concerning the institutional environment, statistical processes and statistical outputs. The Code aims to ensure that statistics produced within the ESS are relevant, timely and accurate, and that they comply with the principles of professional independence, impartiality and objectivity. A set of indicators of best practices and standards for each principle provides guidance and a reference for reviewing the implementation of the Code.​

Peer reviews are an integral component of the European Statistical System (ESS) strategy, designed to oversee the implementation of the European Statistics Code of Practice (CoP). These reviews aim to assess the extent to which the ESS adheres to the CoP and contribute to the enhancement and advancement of national statistical systems under the guidance of statistical authorities.