On September 24, 2026, the High-Level Conference titled „Harnessing geospatial information for enhanced statistical production and dissemination to support EU integration” took place in Chisinau. The event was organized by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) with the support of Eurostat. It was attended by representatives of national statistical offices, authorities responsible for geospatial information, Eurostat, and international organizations.

The main objective of the conference was to promote the integration of statistical and geospatial data as a strategic element in the modernisation of official statistics and to provide a platform for the exchange of experience and best practices. 

The conference was opened by Oleg Cara, Director-General of the National Bureau of Statistics, and Cristina Gherasimov, Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration of the Republic of Moldova.

In her keynote speech, Mariana Kotzeva, Director-General of Eurostat, highlighted the growing importance of geospatial data and outlined the new opportunities for integrating them with statistical information offered by recent technological advances.

„For the National Bureau of Statistics, integrating statistical and geospatial data means more detailed, accessible, and useful statistics for decision-making. It is an important step in modernizing the production and dissemination of official statistics, bringing them closer to user demands and European standards” stated Oleg Cara.

In her turn, the Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration highlighted the role of official statistics in the European integration process and in evidence-based public policymaking. “In the process of European integration, the Republic of Moldova needs high-quality, European-comparable, and accessible statistics, and the use of geospatial data opens up new possibilities for a better understanding of the realities in each region and community. Cooperation with Eurostat helps us build a statistical system aligned with European standards and better prepared for the future” mentioned Cristina Gherasimov.

A message on the European perspectives of geospatial statistics was delivered by Mariana Kotzeva, Director-General of Eurostat. “The future relevance of official statistics depends on our ability to integrate data sources. When statistics and geographical data are analysed together, we can produce new and better-tailored statistical insights,” stated Mariana Kotzeva.

In his turn, Oleg Cara, Director General of the NBS, delivered the presentation 'Integrated Geospatial, Administrative, and 2024 Population and Housing Census Data for the Statistical Geospatial Database of Moldova' and announced the launch, in test mode, of the 'GeoStatistica' portal (https://geo.statistica.md/). This is an interactive tool for visualizing and exploring statistical data integrated with spatial data, as well as mapping socio-economic phenomena.

Other topics addressed during the conference referred to:

• Building the fundament to improve statistical production and dissemination;
• Harmonization of geospatial data to align with European and international classifications and standards: Challenges, Opportunities and Priorities;
• Addressing the challenges of Affordable Housing – paving the way to the Population and Housing Censuses (PHC) 2031.

By bringing together the statistical and geospatial communities, the Conference contributed to strengthening cooperation and promoting innovative approaches for the production and dissemination of official statistics based on their integration with geospatial information, in support of evidence-based public policymaking and the European Union accession process.

The event was organized by the National Bureau of Statistics with the support of Eurostat, through the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA).
 

Relevant materials:

• Agenda
• Concept note

Presentations:

• Presentation "The integration of geospatial and statistical information for more relevant and effective European statistics", Eurostat;
• S1.1 Presentation "Building an Integrated Data Framework at the global level UNECE Ingest PROJECT";
• S1.2 Presentation "Successful data integration applications and projects supporting policy making including geo integration and portals: Experience of Serbia";
• S1.3 Presentation "Collaboration between the NSI and National Mapping and Cadastre Agency: Experience of North Macedonia";
• S1.4 Presentation "Using new data sources such as Earth observation data for efficient statistical production: Experience of Poland";
• S1.5 Presentation "From Strong Data Foundations to AI-Enabled Statistics: The Experience of Slovenia";
• S2.1 Presentation "Modernising Official Statistics in Albania: Integrated Data, Geospatial Systems and Interactive Dissemination: Experience of Albania";
• S2.2 Presentation "National Framework for Authoritative and Trusted Spatial Data: Governance, Quality and Priorities: Experience of Moldova";
• S2.3 Presentation "Implementation of international frameworks such as Global Statistical Geospatial Framework: Experience of Montenegro";
• S2.4 Presentation "Functional Urban Areas Using Social Security Data. The Case of Ankara, Türkiye";
• S3.1 Presentation "European statistics on Housing", Eurostat;
• S3.2 Presentation "Integrated geospatial, administrative and 2024 Population and Housing Census data for the statistical geodatabase of Moldova";
• S3.3 Presentation "From Geospatial Data to Geo-Enabled Statistics: Strengthening Statistical Production and Dissemination in Kosovo";
• S3.4 Presentation "Preparing for 2031 PHC: Experience of Bosnia and Herzegovina".