Question
How do I retrieve series related to the European Union, under its most recent or prior memberships? How do I know which membership definition is in effect?
Answer
Because EU membership changes over time, you must identify how a time series which bridges an accession is defined. Is the changing composition used, or a retroactive definition for consistency?
As EU agencies, Eurostat and the European Central Bank in particular report data for the entire EU, with attention to its "changing composition." Data Buffet uses the geo code IEURP to denote the EU as a whole, with numbered geo codes from IEU12 to IEU28 to denote its successive incarnations through 2015, as listed below.
Geo codes for progressive membership of the EU
- 1951 to 1994 = IEU12
- Belgium
- Denmark
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Ireland
- Italy
- Luxembourg
- Netherlands
- Portugal
- Spain
- U.K.
- 1995 = IEU15
- 2004 = IEU25
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Estonia
- Hungary
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Malta
- Poland
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- 2007 = IEU27
- 2013 = IEU28
Geo lists
Data Buffet geo lists are a convenience feature to simplify baskets. If you know a particular concept is available for multiple areas, a single basket entry using a geo list will retrieve multiple series. For example, expression EUEAGQLUHL0006UA.EU27.LST will retrieve the Eurostat-published land use data for wooded areas for the first 27 EU countries, where available. Geo lists are more targeted than geo wild cards. You can use prefab geo lists provided by Data Buffet, or define and save your own.
- GB_EU15_CTY.LST
- GB_EU25_CTY.LST
- EU27.LST
Basket formulas
Geo lists return multiple series, but do not aggregate their values. Instead, you can use a basket formula to combine individual time series. For example, the aggregate GDP (quarterly, not seasonally adjusted) of the three countries that joined in 1995 would be:
(NACEGEDPUQ.IAUT+NACEGEDPUQ.IFIN+NACEGEDPUQ.ISWE)
When constructing a formula, first verify that the individual series exist, and what their date ranges are.
See also