EN    EN  COMMISSION OF THE E UROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 30.03.2004 
COM(2004) 179 final 
2003/0126 (COD) 
Amended proposal for a 
REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
AND OF THE COUNCIL 
on the statistics relati ng to the trading of goods between Member States  
(presented by the Commission 
pursuant to Article 250(2)  of the EC Treaty) 
 
 2    2003/0126(COD) 
Amended proposal for a  
REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 
on the statistics relati ng to the trading of goods between Member States  
1. H ISTORY OF THE PROPOSAL  
20 June 2003: adoption by the Commission and transmission of the proposal to the 
Council and to the European Parliament, 
COM (2003) 364 final – 2003/0126(COD) The Council Working Party on Statistics ex amined the Commission proposal at its 
meetings of 8 September and 8 October 2003. 
16 December 2003: opinion of the European Parliament at first reading. 
2. P
URPOSE OF THE COMMISSION PROPOSAL  
The system of collecting statistics on the trading of goods between Member States of 
the European Union, known as the Intras tat system, was introduced by Council 
Regulation (EEC) No 3330/911 and has been applicable  since 1993, when the single 
market was completed and the physical ba rriers between Memb er States were 
removed. 
Until then, statistical information on th e trading of goods, both with non-member 
countries and between Member States, had been collected on the basis of customs 
declarations. The disappearance of this co mprehensive and very closely controlled 
source of information made it necessary to devise a new system which would 
maintain a satisfactory level of information. The advent of the inte rnal market did not 
diminish the usefulness of sta tistics which help track progress in integrating Europe's 
economies and which help European busine sses conduct market analyses and define 
their commercial strategies, whilst remaini ng an essential source of information for 
balance of payments statistics, national accounts and short-term  economic studies.  
From the beginning, the main characteristics  of the Intrastat system have been: 
– the management of detailed statistical information on trade;  
– direct collection of information from companies, which have to send the 
relevant statistical body a summary st atement for the previous month;  
                                                 
1 OJ L 316 of 16.11.91, p. 1. 
 
 3    – a close link with the VAT system relating to intra-Community trade, so that the 
exhaustiveness and quality of the st atistical data can be checked; 
– a maximum reduction of the workload on businesses by means of a system of 
exemption or simplification thresholds. 
From the very outset, the Member States  have, to varying degrees, experienced 
difficulties in complying with the Community rules. In view of the difficulties faced 
by certain businesses, particularly very sm all enterprises, Intrastat was chosen in 
1996 as a pilot project for the SLIM (Simpl er Legislation for the Internal Market) 
initiative launched by the internal market ministers. The work has shown that the 
interests of data providers, who naturally want formalities to be simplified, are not easily reconciled with those of data users,  who generally want detailed information 
which is available quickly. 
Despite this difficult contex t, the Commission and the Member States nonetheless 
managed to reach a consensus on amending the collection system on two occasions, 
firstly by reducing the number of statisti cal variables, and then by simplifying the 
arrangements for supplying the product nomenclature.  
This new proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council, 
which will replace the existing rules as fr om 2005, should be seen  in the context of 
improving and adapting the stat istical system to take bot h user needs and the burden 
on information providers mo re fully into account.  
3. T
HE COMMISSION ’S OPINION ON THE AMENDMENTS PRESENTED BY PARLIAMENT  
3.1. Amendments accepted by the Commission 
The European Parliament proposes five m odifications, all of which are accepted by 
the Commission. 
Amendment 1, which concerns Article 3(5), st ipulates that the list which is to be 
drawn up by the Commission of goods which sh all be excluded must satisfy certain 
methodological criteria. The Commission w ill indeed have to take account of 
international recommendations designed to en sure that trade statistics are comparable 
at world level.  
Amendment 2 concerns Article 10(3). It lo wers the requirements in terms of trade 
coverage at a detailed level, from 98% to 97%. This amendm ent will lighten the 
administrative burden on a large number of enterprises and will have only a marginal impact on the quality of the statistics. The loss  of information at detailed level will be 
compensated for at aggregated le vel by the new rules on adjustment. 
Amendment 3 concerns Article 10(5). It stip ulates that the conditions to be defined 
by the Commission relating to the simplification of information on small transactions must satisfy the quality requirements. This amendment therefore defines the 
Commission’s scope for action.  
Amendment 4, which concerns Article 11, rela tes to the confidentiality of the data 
and makes it explicit that the ultimate de cision rests with the national authorities, 
 
 4    after they have examined requests from ente rprises. This amendment is important for 
certain Member States where the issue of data confidentiality is highly sensitive.  
Amendment 5, which concerns Article 12(1)(a), supplements a provision which 
makes the Commission competent to define th e content of the aggregated results to 
be transmitted by the Member States. Like othe r, similar provisions, it stipulates that 
the Commission will be assisted in th at task by a Committee set up under the 
Regulation. In this way, it avoids confusion by defining the framework in which the 
Commission is required to  present its draft.  
The Commission accepts the five amendments  proposed by the European Parliament 
and will take them into account in its amended proposal. 
3.2 Amendments not accepted by the Commission 
None. 
4. C ONCLUSION  
Pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Tr eaty, the Commission will amend its proposal 
as described above.