Eurostat is the statistical arm of the European Union. It produces detailed data on the member states of the EU. Eurostat does not collect data itself (this is done by the statistical authorities of member states), instead its role is to consolidate the data, ensure methodologies are harmonized and provide the European Union with the data required to formulate policies and make comparisons between countries and regions. In particular, Eurostat produces the regional data which guide the EU's structural policies, and the macro-economic data used by the European Central Bank in the development of its monetary policy for the euro.

The main database produced by Eurostat is New Cronos, which contains detailed data on a wide range of social and economic themes at a national and regional level for the EU. Many of its tables also cover candidate member countries, central European countries, and the main economic partners of the European Union. The data may be daily, monthly, quarterly, half-year or yearly depending on the statistical field covered. Eurostat New Cronos is the only major pan-European database containing data at a regional level for the EU. Eurostat New Cronos is now freely available from the Eurostat website and the UK Data Service also hosts Eurostat data with an alternative interface.