In a letter from the Director General of Eurostat, Mrs. Mariana Kotzeva, sent to the Acting Chief Executive of the Kosovo Agency of Statistics (KAS), Mr. Ilir T. Berisha, the Approval for the Classification of Statistical Regions in Kosovo has been announced.

The classification of statistical regions is of great importance for Kosovo and the Statistical System of Kosovo, as it is defined in the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, on the one hand, and Kosovo, on the other.

The SAA (Article 75) provides for the transmission of GDP per capita data from Kosovo to Eurostat at the NUTS II level. The Kosovo Agency of Statistics (KAS) is already providing Eurostat with GDP data and other statistical indicators at the national level. Moreover, in the framework of the European Union (EU) membership process, the Government of Kosovo is committed to providing official statistical data in the lowest territorial units, comparable to the regional data of the EU member states, EFTA and other candidate countries.

According to the letter sent by Mrs. Kotzeva, Classification of Statistical Regions can and should be used to supply regional statistical information from Kosovo. This Classification of Statistical Regions will be officially included as a NUTS classification for Kosovo for a possible membership in the European Union (EU).

The Classification of Statistical Regions (NUTS) is effective immediately.