2001D0507 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 1
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►B DECISION No 507/2001/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 12 March 2001
concerning a set of actions relating to the trans-European network for the collection, production
and dissemination of statistics on the trading of goods within the Community and between the
Community and non-member countries (Edicom)
(OJ L 76, 16.3.2001, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1 Decision No 787/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 21 April 2004L 138 12 30.4.2004
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DECISION No 507/2001/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIA-
MENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 12 March 2001
concerning a set of actions relating to the trans-European network
for the collection, production and dissemination of statistics on thetrading of goods within the Community and between the Commu-
nity and non-member countries (Edicom)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and
in particular Article 285 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of
the Treaty (2),
Whereas:
(1) The actions implemented pursuant to Council Decision 96/715/
EC of 9 December 1996 on inter-administration telematicnetworks for statistics relating to the trading of goods betweenMember States (Edicom) (
3) have made it possible to improve
considerably the quality of intra-Community statistics.
(2) Statistics for foreign trade and for trade within the Community
are entering a new phase of development, characterised by
growing and increasingly demanding user need for information.
(3) It is necessary to meet the urgent need of the Economic andMonetary Union by the rapid provision of reliable and accuratemacroeconomic statistics.
(4) The modernisation of the trans-European network for the collec-tion, production and dissemination of statistics on the trading of
goods within the Community and between the Community and
non-member countries should be a driving force in the develop-ment of these statistics.
(5) Council Regulation (EEC) No 3330/91 of 7 November 1991 onthe statistics relating to the trading of goods between MemberStates (
4) (Intrastat) and Council Regulation (EC) No 1172/95 of
22 May 1995 on the statistics relating to the trading of goods by
the Community and its Member States with non-member coun-
tries (5) provide for increased use of automatic processing and
electronic data transmission.
(6) Simplification of the Intrastat system was a pilot project in theSLIM (‘Simpler Legislation for the Internal Market’) initiativelaunched in 1996; the measures for reducing the workload on
statistical information providers, in particular SMEs, which
have been approved by the European Parliament and theCouncil, should be continued.
(7) The objectives of this Decision are adequate and compatiblewith those of Decisions No 1719/1999/EC (
6) and No 1720/
1999/EC (7) of the European Parliament and the Council on
trans-European networks for the electronic interchange of data2001D0507 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ C 337 E, 28.11.2000, p. 246.
(2) Opinion of the European Parliament of 30 November 2000 (not yet
published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 12 February
2001.
(3) OJ L 327, 18.12.1996, p. 34.
(4) OJ L 316, 16.11.1991, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC)
No 1624/2000 (OJ L 187, 26.7.2000, p. 1).
(5) OJ L 118, 25.5.1995, p. 10. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC)
No 374/98 (OJ L 48, 19.2.1998, p. 6).
(6) OJ L 203, 3.8.1999, p. 1.
(7) OJ L 203, 3.8.1999, p. 9.
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between administrations (IDA); account should also be taken of
IDA decisions, in particular Article 11 of Decision No 1719/1999/EC, in implementing this Decision.
(8) An ex-ante evaluation has been performed in accordance withthe financial management rules, in order to focus the programmeon the need for effectiveness in achieving the objectives and toincorporate budgetary constraints from the design phase of theprogramme onwards.
(9) Since the objectives of the proposed action, namely the develop-ment and modernisation of the trans-European network for thecollection, processing and dissemination of intra- and extra-Community trade statistics, cannot be sufficiently achieved bythe Member States and can therefore, by reason of their scale,
be better achieved at Community level, the Community may
adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarityas set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the prin-ciple of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Decisiondoes not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve thoseobjectives.
(10) Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 of 17 February 1997 onCommunity statistics (
1) provides the regulatory framework for
the provisions of this Decision, particularly those relating toaccess to administrative data sources, statistical confidentialityand the principle of cost-effectiveness.
(11) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decisionshould be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for theexercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commis-sion (
2).
(12) This Decision establishes a financial framework for the entireduration of the programme which is to be the principal point ofreference for the budgetary authority, within the meaning ofpoint 33 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commis-sion on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary
procedure (
3),
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Field of application and general objectives
1. The measures provided for by this Decision relate to the trans-
European network for the collection, production and dissemination of
statistics on the trading of goods within the Community and betweenthe Community and non-member countries.
2. The general objectives are as follows:
(a) to encourage the organisation of the network referred to in para-
graph 1 in the most modern, rational and effective manner
possible and to adopt measures necessary for improving andharmonising the methods used, in order to produce statistics which:
— are more reliable and less expensive for the information provi-
ders and administrations, and become available more quickly;
— better satisfy the existing and future expectations of users;
(b) further to develop existing computer tools for the collection,
production, transmission and dissemination of statistical data,taking into account the latest technological advances and seekingto optimise cost-effectiveness.2001D0507 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 3
(1) OJ L 52, 22.2.1997, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.
(3) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1.
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Article 2
Actions
1. To achieve the objectives referred to in Article 1, a set of actions
(known as the ‘Edicom’ programme) shall be implemented for:
(a) the development of the network referred to in Article 1(1) in order
to:
— produce statistical information which is of better quality, less
costly and available more quickly, in order to satisfy the
requirements of Community policies;
— produce statistical information that is relevant and appropriate
to the new needs of users within the framework of Economic
and Monetary Union and the changing international economicenvironment;
— incorporate statistics on the trading of goods more effectively
into the general statistical system at Community and interna-tional level and adapt them to changes in the administrativeenvironment;
— improve the service offered to administrations, suppliers and
users of information, by providing them with all the availablestatistics and metadata relating to the trading of goods;
(b) the development and promotion of tools for collecting information
on the trading of goods, by taking into account the latest technolo-gical advances in order to improve the functions available toinformation providers.
The specific conditions in which these actions are implemented are set
out in Annex I. The indicative breakdown for the entire period is setout in percentages in Annex II.
2. The procedures for implementing the actions referred to in para-
graph 1 shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure provided for
in Article 4(2).
Article 3
Annual work programme and management of expenditure
1. In accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 4(2), the
Commission shall approve the annual work programme, including theallocation of annual budget expenditure under this Decision.
2. The Commission shall inform the Statistical Programme
Committee of the European Communities, set up by Decision 89/382/
EEC, Euratom (
1), of the annual work programme.
Article 4
Procedure
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee on statistics
relating to the trading of goods between Member States, set up by
Regulation (EEC) No 3330/91, and the Committee on statistics relating
to the trading of goods with non-member countries, set up by Regula-tion (EC) No 1172/95, for matters coming under their respectiveresponsibility.
2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 4 and 7 of
Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions ofArticle 8 thereof.
The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be
set at three months.
3. The Committees shall adopt their rules of procedure.2001D0507 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 4
(1) OJ L 181, 28.6.1989, p. 47.
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Article 5
Evaluation
1. The Commission shall, in cooperation with the Member States,
regularly review the actions financed under this Decision, in order to
ascertain whether the stated objectives have been attained and to
provide guidelines for improving the effectiveness of future actions.The Commission shall submit to the Committees referred to in Article4(1) a summary of the evaluations made, which may if necessary beexamined by the latter. The evaluation reports shall be available onrequest to the Member States.
2. By the end of December 2003, the Commission shall submit to
the European Parliament and the Council a mid-term report of the
activities financed under the new programme so as to enable, if appro-priate, a review of the actions implemented under this Decision to becarried out.
At the end of the period of five years referred to in the second subpar-
agraph of Article 7, the Commission shall submit to the European
Parliament and the Council a report on the implementation of this
Decision, accompanied, if appropriate, by proposals for new actions.
This report shall seek to assess, in the light of the expenditure incurred
by the Community, the benefits of the actions accruing to the Commu-nity, the Member States and providers and users of statisticalinformation, to identify areas for potential improvement and to verifysynergy with other Community activities, particularly in the field of
trans-European telecommunications networks and technological devel-
opment programmes.
3. The Commission shall take any other measure necessary to verify
that the financed actions are carried out properly and in compliancewith the provisions of this Decision.
Article 6
Financial aspects
The financial framework for implementation of the Community action
described in this Decision for the period 2001 to 2005 is fixed at EUR
53,6 million. An indicative breakdown, by category of actions referred
to in Article 2, is shown in Annex II.
The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the budgetary
authority, within the limits of the financial perspective.
The financial resources provided for under this Decision shall not be
allocated to actions which benefit from other sources of Community
funding.
Article 7
Entry into force and validity
This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the
Official Journal of the European Communities .
This Decision shall be valid for a period of five years as from its entry
into force.
Article 8
Addressees
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.2001D0507 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 5
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ANNEX I
Specific conditions for implementation of the actions referred to in Article 2
1. Implementation of the actions referred to in Article 2 shall:
(a) take into account the need for continuity of existing computer tools, the
usefulness of which is acknowledged with respect to the objectives
referred to in Article 1, without jeopardising competition with the private
sector in the field of business services;
(b) take into account the satisfactory results of other relevant activities of the
Community, particularly in the field of trans-European telecommunica-
tion networks and Community research and technological development
programmes; account will also be taken of the obligations arising under
Article 11 of Decision No 1719/1999/EC;
(c) refer to existing European standards and the specifications accessible to
the public, such as the Internet open standards, so as to guarantee a high
degree of interoperability of national and Community systems within and
between the administrative sectors and with the private sector.
2. The actions provided for in Article 2 shall first be the subject, in the context
of the annual work programme, of:
(a) a description of their objectives, scope, justification and the likely costs
and benefits;
(b) a description of the functions and technical approach;
(c) a detailed implementation plan which describes in particular each task
and the order in which the tasks are to be performed.
3. Implementation of the annual work programme will require technical and
administrative assistance and support measures; appropriations allocated for
this purpose will not exceed 7 % of total appropriations.2001D0507 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 6
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ANNEX II
INDICATIVE BREAKDOWN BY CATEGORY OF EDICOM ACTION,
IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 2, FOR 2001 TO 2005
Breakdown 2001 to 2005 Total
An information network of better quality, which is less
costly and available more quickly, in accordance with the
requirements of Community policies22 %
A relevant information network adapted to the changing
needs of users within the framework of Economic and
Monetary Union and the international economic environ-
ment14 %
A network of information which is better integrated into
the general statistical environment and adapted to the
development of the administrative environment25 %
A network improving the statistical service offered to
administrations, users and providers of data12 %
A network based on tools for the collection of information
in the light of the latest technological advances in order to
improve functions available to information providers9%
Integrated and interoperable network 11 %
Technical and administrative assistance; support measures 7 %
Total (EUR million) 53,62001D0507 — EN — 20.05.2004 — 001.001 — 7