No C 159/16 Official Journal of the European Communities 26. 6. 89 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) on the statistics relating to the 
trading of goods between Member States (*) 
(89/C 159/07) 
On 23 January 1989 the Council decided, in accordance with Article 100 A of the EEC 
Treaty, to ask the Economic and Social Committee for an Opinion on the abovementioned 
proposal. 
The Section for Economic, Financial and Monetary Questions, which was responsible for 
the preparatory work on this matter, adopted its Opinion on 11 April 1989. The rapporteur 
was Mr Giacomelli. 
At its 265th plenary session (meeting of 26 April 1989), the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted the following Opinion with no votes against and five abstentions. 
Preliminary remark 
While acknowledging that the present proposal is a first 
step towards a possible solution to the problem of 
statistics concerning intra-Community trade in goods, 
the Committee notes that it cannot be divorced from 
the question of harmonizing indirect taxation, on which 
the ESC expressed its views in several Opinions adopted 
at the plenary session of 7 July 1988 (see point 2.6 
below). The Committee therefore can only endorse this 
proposal subject to a number of remarks on matters of 
substance made at the time and certain fundamental 
and technical reservations expressed in the various 
chapters of the present Opinion. 
1. Introduction 
1.1. At present, and this will doubtless be the case 
until the end of 1992, when the Single European Market 
is due to be completed, statistics on Member States' 
trade in goods with each other and with non-EEC 
countries are based on information provided as part of 
the formalities involved in crossing the Community's 
internal and external frontiers. These data are gathered 
from the statistical pages of the Single Administrative 
Document (SAD), a customs form introduced on 
1 January 1988 which is used for all Member States' 
trade with each other and with non-EEC countries and 
which provides a standard, codified framework for 
acquiring the figures used by statisticians. 
The same date saw the introduction of the combined 
Community nomenclature, which is now the sole instru­
ment used for designating products. If fulfils statistical 
and tariff objectives, translates into reality European 
harmonization and standardizes the processes of gather­
ing statistics and monitoring trade for administrative 
purposes. 
(!) O] No C 84, 5. 4. 1989, p. 4. 1.2. The general aim of the White Paper as embodied 
in the Single European Act includes the elimination of 
physical borders from 1 January 1993 onwards. Frontier 
formalities, checks and the documentation involved 
(the latter being a tool for collecting information for 
statistical purposes) will therefore disappear. 
1.3. While the White Paper recommends the abol­
ition of internal Community frontiers, there are ambi­
guities both in the letter and spirit of the text as regards 
the consequences for Member States' foreign trade stat­
istics. Paragraph 45 states nothing less than that tech­
niques other than the present collection of data by 
means of customs documents will have to be used in 
order to obtain statistics on intra-Community trade. 
1.4. The White Paper says that statistical infor­
mation will have to be obtained from firms, which may 
provoke fears that the administrative burden may be 
maintained or even increased, rather than made easier; 
but the drafters of the present proposal are trying to 
reassure commercial operators by hinting at the setting-
up of a replacement system capable of satisfying exist­
ing needs for information while at the same time limit­
ing the contribution to be made by firms. It is therefore 
proposed that, with a view to compiling statistics relat­
ing to the trading of goods between Member States, a 
permanent data collection system, known as the Intra-
stat system, should be set up (Article 6 of the proposal). 
1.5. So, even if physical frontiers are abolished as 
part of the great single market of tomorrow and this 
manifests itself, in the eyes of the general public, by the 
disappearance of stops at intra-Community frontiers, 
economic operators will still have to comply with cer­
tain formalities so that the Community's and Member 
States' needs for information can be satisfied, on the 
understanding that all those who have to provide the 
information will, under Community law, have to com­
ply with common rules, so that goods may circulate 
freely within the future single market under the same 
conditions in all the Member States. 
26. 6. 89 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 159/17 
1.6. The drafters of the present proposal anticipate 
a problem in making those with an obligation to submit 
information aware of their duty regarding statistics, 
since the customs formalities to be fulfilled at internal 
frontiers, which are compulsory, will have been abol­
ished. They suggest two solutions: one 'preventive' (i.e. 
through administrative instructions or intermediaries 
such as customs agencies or carriers) and the other 
'critical', involving the use of registers of intra-Com-
munity operators to be drawn up and managed by the 
national authorities in each Member State. 
1.7. It is expressly stated that the proposed collection 
system will continue to allow the globalization of infor­
mation for a given reference period, a facility which is 
currently available to all operators, whatever their size, 
provided that their internal organization permits it. In 
addition, the new system is said to be geared to the 
new options offered by the constant development of 
technology for automatic information processing, and 
the Commission is responsible for adopting measures 
in this area which are best suited to taking advantage 
of post-1992 technological developments. 
1.8. The proposal's explanatory memorandum does 
not hide the risks involved in applying the new system 
for collecting statistics, as it has to record events taking 
place 'in a hitherto unknown economic environment'. 
The drafters therefore think that, before dealing with 
the measures accompanying the new system and the 
implementing measures, it would be preferable to take 
a closer look at some sensitive problems which arise, 
such as: 
— using the remaining formalities for statistical pur­
poses, 
— the advisability of retaining certain national pro­
visions, 
— the limits of collaboration between tax authorities 
and statistical departments, and 
— the regular supplementary surveys which will be 
needed concerning the movement of goods not 
covered by the statistics or persons exempted from 
the obligation to submit statistics. 
It is hoped that any difficulties which arise during the 
first few years can be smoothed over or resolved within 
three or four years. 
1.9. In the Intrastat system, which will also apply to 
transit and warehousing statistics (except for goods still 
subject to customs and tax formalities: goods from non-
EEC countries and which, as part of processing by 
customs, are transported from one Member State to another), statistics on trade between Member States 
will be given priority in the move from the old system 
of collection to the new. 
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1736/75 of 24 June 
1975 (*) laid down, at the same time, definitions and 
standard practices for the Community's external trade 
and for intra-Community trade. Some ten years later 
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2954/85 (2) 'for the pur­
pose of standardization and simplification', defined 'the 
subject of statistics of trade between Member States in 
such a way that it is clearly distinguishable from the 
subject of external trade statistics of the Community' 
(first recital) and noted that for this purpose 'some of 
the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 1736/75 should 
no longer apply for the purposes of statistics of trade 
between Member States'. 
1.10. When the physical and fiscal frontiers between 
the Member States are abolished as scheduled on 
1 January 1993, the statistics on intra-Community trade 
in goods will lose the support provided by the formalit­
ies and checks imposed by the customs authorities on 
consignors and consignees of goods circulating within 
the Community. The present proposal therefore makes 
provision right now for the immediate implementation 
of a new system of collection based on existing adminis­
trative monitoring arrangements, ensuring the conti­
nuity of statistical findings and, by testing them as 
quickly as possible, enabling one to verify the compre­
hensiveness of the new system and its ability to keep 
abreast of events so that any shortcomings or weakness­
es can be detected and, if necessary, the system can be 
immediately improved and simplified in order that trade 
does not suffer. The proposal consequently intends to 
adapt the rules and provisions of intra-Community 
trade statistics as defined in Regulation (EEC) No 2954/ 
85, and the explanatory memorandum states that simi­
lar provisions will be prepared as soon as the collection 
of data on so-called special trade begins, with a view 
to drawing up transit and warehousing statistics. 
1.11. The drafters of the proposal are anxious to 
avoid forcing commercial operators, for statistical 
requirements, to distinguish between intra-Community 
and extra-Community trade when running their busi­
nesses. They therefore wish to prevent the Intrastat 
system from giving rise to a collection process which is 
incompatible with that in force for extra-Community 
trade under Regulation (EEC) No 1736/75. However, 
(') OJ No L 183, 14. 7. 1975, p. 3. 
(2) OJ No L 285, 25. 10. 1985, p. 1. 
No C 159/18 Official Journal of the European Communities 26. 6. 89 
because of the complexity of the relationships between 
the two types of information, certain rules, in particular 
those concerning the transmission of data, have not yet 
been laid down. 
2. General comments 
2.1. One has to acknowledge that the drafters of the 
proposal have made a meritorious attempt to find a 
solution for a complicated and difficult problem: how 
to meet the Single Market deadline and set up in good 
time a data collection system that does not impede 
intra-Community trade, which will no longer be subject 
to frontier formalities and which therefore will have to 
be measured by statistics largely bereft of administrative 
support, i.e. documents for other purposes connected 
with crossing frontiers and of which the statistics were 
only a by-product. 
2.2. It therefore has to be inferred that the creation 
of a vast internal market without physical, technical or 
fiscal frontiers, in line with the thinking in the White 
Paper, cannot be fully implemented in the field of 
statistical information. It is doubtful that European 
integration will have attained such a stage by 1993 that 
a single economic, monetary, commercial and external 
union can be guided and its results measured by a single 
statistical system spanning the whole of Europe. 
2.3. The completion of the Internal Market does not 
rule out the need for information on a national, or even 
regional scale. The writers themselves recognize this 
need to the extent that such information should enable 
the Member States, as it has during the last thirty years, 
to assess their individual growth and follow, indeed 
guide the movement towards the economic and social 
cohesion of Europe following the gradual completion 
of the Internal Market. What is more, a European 
statistical system cannot be merely a juxtaposition at 
Community level of Member States' statistics, because 
such a solution will give no indication of the inter­
regional flows which will be of vital importance in a 
Europe increasingly centred on its regions; nor can it be 
a copy of the American system, which hardly measures 
trade between the different states at all. In view of the 
Single Market, the Community statistical system will 
have to cover both intra-Community and inter-regional 
trade flows. 
2.4. Experts have felt that in order to fulfil the need 
for detailed information on trade in goods per product 
and per country for each Member State, the SAD should 
continue to be used for gathering statistics. The reasons 
for this are many; the SAD permits detailed knowledge 
to be gained of flows (direction, type of product, value, quantity, partner countries), transport conditions, 
financial terms (trading contacts, invoice values, cur­
rencies used) and foreign trade operators, subject to the 
establishment by the Member States of a register of 
intra-Community operators up to 31 December 1992 
[Article 10(1) of the proposal]. 
2.5. After having examined in detail and duly 
appreciated the technical value of the proposal submit­
ted by the Commission, although this does still leave 
some doubts about the feasibility and reliability of the 
system and about the administrative and monitoring 
constraints which remain, particularly for operators, 
after the abolition of stops at frontiers, which, by the 
way, have more of a symbolic value, the Committee 
has to say that its position on the present proposal is 
conditioned, as regards its content, by the ESC's cau­
tious approach to the harmonization of indirect tax­
ation which, without denying the aim of eliminating 
frontiers, is an embodiment of the eight Opinions (!) 
adopted at the 257th plenary session on 7 July 1988. 
2.6. The present proposal presupposes the 
implementation of initiatives to harmonize indirect tax­
ation and related measures, resulting from the various 
communications and proposed directives from the 
Commission [COM(87) 320-321-322-323-324-325-326-
327-328]. Worth mentioning are the reversal of terri­
torial jurisdiction for the tax treatment of exports, 
which would henceforth be liable for VAT in the coun­
try of origin, rather than being exempt, and the intro­
duction of machinery to offset VAT on intra-Com­
munity sales, a scheme which, because of its complexity 
and the serious doubts felt about its operation, has 
caused controversy and questions to be asked both by 
the ESC and by other bodies and forums. 
As the present proposal is mainly of a technical nature, 
it can only be seen with regard to solutions that will 
be finally adopted in the field of harmonizing indirect 
taxation, or even in terms of the time when this will be 
finally achieved. The Committee would refer here to 
paragraph 6.6 of Opinion CES 739/88 on the Commis-
sions's global communication concerning the approxi­
mation of rates and the harmonization of structures of 
indirect taxation [COM(87) 320 final 2], a paragraph 
of a general nature which states that 'tax convergence 
... cannot be considered as an absolute prerequisite for 
the establishment of the single market'. Moreover, and 
quite apart from the doubts about how the compen­
sation machinery will operate, it remains to be seen 
(') OJ No C 237, 12. 9. 1988, p. 14, 19, 21, 24, 27, 29, 34 
and 36. 
26. 6. 89 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 159/19 
whether the Commission will maintain its proposals 
for abolishing tax exemption on exports or whether it 
will opt for a scheme for holding over internal pay­
ments, which would enable the present system for col­
lecting statistics on intra-Community trade to be retai­
ned and the introduction of the compensation machin­
ery to be abandoned, machinery which, from the tax­
ation point of view, underpins the present proposal. 
3. Specific comments 
3.1. Articles 6 and 7 
Article 6 sets up the INTRASTAT system as a perma­
nent system for collecting statistics on the trading of 
goods between Member States. 
Article 7(5) states that, barring a decision to the con­
trary by the Council taken no later than 31 December 
1991, national provisions on the intra-Community trade 
statistics referred to in Article 4 shall cease to apply 
after 31 December 1992. 
As a result, the maximum harmonization of procedures 
sought by the proposal may lose ground in relation to 
the current situation in certain Member States. In some 
small countries or geographical areas, such as the Bene­
lux, data are collected by a 'flash' system, i.e. through 
a single declaration upon exportation, with firms being 
exempted from making a declaration upon importation 
under the Benelux form 50 scheme. Consideration 
should therefore be given to the possibility of providing 
for exemption so as to avoid the splitting-up of such 
an entity within the Community and of maintaining 
the single declaration for intra-Benelux trade within the 
new system, subject to some adjustment being made. 
3.2. Articles 21, 22 and 23 
In the list of data to be given on the statistical data 
medium, mention is made only of the Member State of 
consignment within the meaning of Article 24(1); there 
is no provision for information on the country of origin. 
Now, for the very large majority of Member States, 
this information is very important, both for analyzing 
specific intra-Community flows and for making com­
parisons with trade with non-EEC countries. It is there­
fore essential that the heading 'country of origin' be 
included in Article 23(1). 
Moreover, objections, even disapproval, have emerged 
in the meantime in the steel industry, which feels that, 
because of its own particular statistical needs, the INTRASTAT system as proposed by the Commission 
will not measure up to its requirements as regards ease 
of application, reliability and comprehensiveness of 
nomenclature and statistical support. The steel industry 
also points out that it is subject to the Treaty of the 
European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) of Paris, 
not the Treaty of Rome, and that as a sensitive sector 
it has its own statistical obligations. Other sensitive 
sectors, such as textiles and agriculture, might also 
feel that the INTRASTAT system is inadequate and 
insufficient. The question therefore arises of how to 
incorporate the waivers which provide for separate 
statistical treatment for those sectors that have a legit­
imate need for it. 
3.3. Articles 28 and 29 
A substantial reservation needs to be expressed regard­
ing Articles 28 and 29. Although Article 28 sets up a 
'committee on the statistics relating to the trading of 
goods between Member States' and lays down how this 
committee is to be made up and operate, Article 29 
only gives an advisory role to it, even though the 
provisions necessary to the implementation of the draft 
regulation which may be enacted in pursuance of this 
same Article 29 may be the source of decisions involving 
financial investments by companies and administrative 
authorities in the different Member States. It therefore 
seems inadmissible to exclude the committee from the 
decision-making process, especially as Article 29 gives 
a maximum of powers to the Commission; the only 
restriction is that in Article 27(b), which states that 
measures adopted by the Commission concerning the 
simplification of statistical information cannot apply 
before 1 January 1999. 
As regards the function of the Committee, it is worth 
noting that the present Committee on external trade 
statistics is a management committee. In view of the 
implications of Article 29 therefore, among other things, 
it is requested that the committee on the statistics 
relating to the trading of goods between Member States 
also be made a management committee where the Mem­
ber States can be involved more effectively in the taking 
of decisions concerning the measures provided for 
within the framework of the present draft regulation. 
Article 29 will therefore have to be amended, which 
will avoid divergences arising between the structures 
of the committees dealing with intra-Community and 
extra-Community trade statistics. 
3.4. Articles 29 and 30 
Although one must recognize the obvious efforts made 
by the authors of the proposal to devise a sufficiently 
flexible system and avoid the risks of incompatibili­
ty—and hence duplication—between the intra-Com-
No C 159/20 Official Journal of the European Communities 26. 6. 89 
munity and extra-Community trade statistics of the 
Community, one can only deplore the uncertainty 
which arises as soon as an Opinion has to be issued on 
a new INTRASTAT system and its suitability for the 
future single market, and which concerns too many of 
the essential measures which still have to be taken under 
Articles 29 and 30, Article 29 in particular being a real 
catch-all provision. Reference is made in no less than 
24 different places in the draft regulation to the imple­
menting measures that the Commission is empowered 
to adopt under Article 29, which shows both a certain 
hastiness in preparing a text that has far too many 
shortcomings and an ill-concealed wish by the Com­
mission to keep the Council out of decisions which 
have to be taken if the proposal is to be inacted, as is 
borne out by the purely advisory role given to the 
statistics committee. 
The Committee therefore recommends that the authors 
of the draft go over the text again so as to reduce 
references to Article 29 to a minimum, after having 
finalized as many implementing provisions as possible 
and either incorporated them in the draft regulation or 
in an appendix to it. 
4. Conclusions 
4.1. The present proposal can only be assessed sub­
ject to the previous Opinions of the Economic and 
Social Committee on the harmonization of indirect 
taxation (see point 2.5 above) and the solutions finally 
found to the problems raised in this context with regard 
to the proposals and communications submitted by the 
Commission (see point 2.6 above). 
So, while congratulating the writers of the present 
proposal on the work done in submitting right now a 
possible solution to the statistics problem after fiscal 
barriers are abolished, the Committee believes that it 
does not have to spell out what seems obvious, namely 
that, before any decision on statistics is taken, one 
should wait and see what form the abolition of frontiers 
as regards indirect taxation will finally take. It seems a 
good idea here to refer to the thinking which has 
occurred in certain Member States in the meantime and 
which involves proposals which are different from those 
of the Commission. 
4.2. Although the technical aspects of the proposed 
new system may not give rise to any fundamental 
objections beforehand, as they are geared to the aim of 
eliminating frontiers within the Single Market, the fact 
still remains that it is difficult to give an overall judge­
ment on the present draft regulation in view of its shortcomings, the lack of measures concerning transit 
and warehousing statistics and the lack of knowledge 
about too many implementing measures or procedures, 
which, in any case, are left to the Commission's discre­
tion. 
4.3. Until the new system has been tested, one must 
remain cautious about whether the system is applicable 
and whether it will be effective after the abolition 
of border checks, in view of its need for statistical 
information. It would be useful to schedule a trial 
period while the present system is still in operation, with 
the voluntary collaboration of selected major taxpayers. 
Such a trial itself requires that the essential implement­
ing provisions be known rapidly. 
4.4. One last caveat is necessary regarding the reac­
tion of some of those obliged to submit information, 
and hence the reliability of the statistics provided by 
the new system. The tax motive will be lacking, as will 
the constraints involved in complying with the present 
formalities and checks at frontiers, which ensure that 
statistical data on the trade in goods is collected by 
means of customs documents. The authors of the pro­
posal recognize the difficulty of making those with an 
obligation to submit information aware of their 'duty 
regarding statistics' (point 5 in the explanatory memor­
andum). It is doubtful whether the means they propose 
for resolving this problem will be effective, owing to 
the lack of motivations and constraints. 
4.5. Whatever solutions may be adopted as regards 
fiscal and statistical matters, it will be necessary, in 
order to fulfil the need for information after the com­
pletion of the Single Market, either to retain the existing 
data collection system where appropriate, or, depending 
on the stage reached in harmonizing indirect taxation, 
to introduce a new system which, after the completion 
and amendment of the INTRASTAT draft under dis­
cussion, is most suitable for providing reliable statistics 
on intra-Community trade. One may therefore reason­
ably question the degree to which the abolition of 
frontier checks will lighten the administrative burden 
on commercial operators, which is the main argument 
used in favour of the proposal to harmonize indirect 
taxation. 
At any rate, as the present proposal is closely linked to 
the harmonization of indirect taxation and is largely 
dependent on the prior enactment of the measures 
proposed by the Commission, it is obvious that if these 
controversial proposals undergo major modifications, 
the proposal on statistics relating to intra-Community 
trade will have to be reviewed and modified in its turn, 
in which case the ESC will expect to be asked for an 
Opinion on the new version of the text. 
26. 6. 89 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 159/21 
4.6. Moreover, in view of the complexity of the new 
system proposed, the reliability of statistical infor­
mation may suffer, especially in the outlying countries, 
from the lack of technical facilities and training for the 
staff responsible for collecting and processing statistics. 
Another technical problem will affect Luxembourg, 
which will need to strengthen its administrative services 
Done at Brussels, 26 April 1989. 
1. Introduction 
1.1. Directive 80/1263/EEC of 4 December 1980 (2) 
provides as follows: 
a) when the holder of a driving licence moves to 
another Member State his/her original licence 
remains valid for one year but must be exchanged 
for a licence issued by the other Member State 
before the end of that period; 
b) a Community model driving licence is to be intro­
duced with effect from 1 January 1986. 
1.2. There are difficulties in comparing driving 
licences issued by different Member States. There are 
disparities as regards: 
a) categories of vehicle; 
b) period of validity; 
c) driving test requirements. 
t1) OJNoC48, 27. 2. 1989, p. 1. 
(2) OJ No L 375, 31. 12. 1980, p. 1. which currently benefit from collaboration with the 
Belgian authorities under the Belgo-Luxembourg Econ­
omic Union (BLEU). It would be a good idea if, in 
addition to any introduction of a new system, the 
Commission provides at the same time adequate assist­
ance with technical, training and financial facilities. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alberto MASPRONE 
1.3. The Commission work programme for 1985 
states that the Commission is to submit a proposal for 
making driving licences valid throughout the Com­
munity, regardless of the Member State in which the 
holder is resident. 
There are also to be more favourable arrangements for 
the disabled and invalids. 
1.4. In order to fulfil these commitments the Com­
mission is proposing that Directive 80/1263/EEC be 
replaced by a new Directive. 
2. General comments 
2.1. The Committee believes that driving licences 
should be harmonized in the EC, for technical and also 
psychological reasons. 
2.1.1. It is of course desirable from the technical 
point of view that the same rules should apply in all 
Member States so that all driving licences have the same 
value. Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive on the driving licence (*) 
(89/C 159/08) 
On 21 December 1988 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, 
under Article 75 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the 
abovementioned proposal. 
The Section for Transport and Communications, which was responsible for preparing the 
Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 12 April 1989. The rapporteur 
was Mr Tukker. 
At its 265th plenary session (meeting of 26 April) the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted the following Opinion by a large majority with 4 abstentions.