Publication policy

Statistics Netherlands (CBS) publishes statistics through news releases and other media productions, in addition to tables in the StatLine databank. The publication planning gives an overview of the times at which the main news articles are being released. At such times, CBS makes news releases accessible to the public via the website. All other statistics are published at midnight (00:00 hours) in the StatLine databank, also available through the website.

CBS’ publication policy is based on the European Statistics Code of Practice. Of particular relevance in this respect are Principle 6 concerning impartiality and objectivity and Principle 15 on accessibility and clarity.

CBS reserves the right to grant pre-release access under embargo. No party shall be entitled to access under embargo; CBS shall determine whether and to whom information is to be transmitted under embargo on a case-by-case basis. Under no circumstances can transmission under embargo lead to (attempted) influencing of CBS as regards the content and/or time of publication of the release. Violation of the embargo shall lead to revocation of pre-release access entitlement.

Various situations may apply:

• Pre-release access under embargo may be granted to the media with the aim of enabling them to present information clearly and accurately and to prevent errors. News items which are available for pre-release access are marked by an (E) in the publication planning. A request to obtain access under embargo can be sent to persdienst@cbs.nl.
• Pre-release access under embargo may be granted to ministries to allow the responsible minister or state secretary the opportunity to prepare for questions.
• In the case of customised research, the customer may be granted pre-release access to review whether the results meet his requirements. Separate arrangements shall be made in each case. In the case of affiliation with other institutes, e.g. for joint publications, information may be exchanged during the various stages of the process.

Individual cases may merit deviations from the policy depending on the situation. These shall be considered by and decided upon by the Director General of CBS.

In a number of cases, CBS provides standard pre-release access under embargo to Dutch ministries, the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) and the Dutch central bank (DNB).

If required, additional access under embargo may be granted to ministries incidentally.