ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES 
DE LA COMMISSION 
 
 
 
COLLECTION RELIEE DES 
DOCUMENTS "COM" 
 
 
 
 
COM (83) 230 
 
 
 
Vol. 1983/0 098 
  
 
Disclaimer  
Conformém ent au règlement (CEE, Euratom) n° 354/83 du Conseil du 1er février 1983 
concernant l'ouverture au public des archives historiques de la Communauté économique 
européenne et de la Communauté européenne de l'énergie atomique (JO L 43 du 15.2.1983, 
p. 1), tel que modifié par le règlement (CE, Euratom) n° 1700/2003 du 22 septembre 2003 
(JO L 243 du 27.9.2003, p. 1), ce dossier est ouvert au public. Le cas échéant, les documents 
classifiés présents dans ce dossier ont été déclassifiés conformément à l'article 5 dudit 
règlem ent. 
In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983 
concerning the openi ng to the public of the historical archives of the European Econom ic 
Community and the European Atomic Energy Communit y (OJ L 43, 15.2.1983, p. 1), as 
amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1700/2003 of 22 September 2003 (OJ L 243, 
27.9.2003, p. 1), this f ile is open to the public. Where necessary, classified documents in this 
file have been declassified in conformity with Article 5 of the aforementioned regulation.  
In Übereinstimmung mit der Verordnung (EWG, Euratom) Nr. 354/83 des Rates vom  1. 
Februar 198 3 über die Freigabe der historischen Archive der Europäischen  
Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft und der Europäischen Atomgem einschaft (ABI. L 43 vom  15.2.1983,  
S. 1), geändert durch die Verordnung (EG, Euratom) Nr. 1700/2003 vom 22. Septem ber 2003  
(ABI. L 243 vom 27 .9.2003, S. 1), ist diese Datei der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich. Soweit  
erforderlich, wurden die Verschlusssachen in dieser Datei in Übereinstimmung mit Artikel 5  
der genannten Verordnung freigegeben.  
COMMISSION  OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 
GENERAL  BUDGET  FOR  1983 
SECTION  III - COMMISSION  - PART  B COM(83)  230  final. 
Brussels,  20  April  1983. 
TRANSFER  OF  APPROPRIATIONS  No 7/83 
(non-compulsory expenditure) 
(ECU) 
APPROPRIATIONS 
for commitments for payments 
FROM  CHAPTER  73 - RESEARCH  AND  INVESTMENT 
Article 736 - Indirect  and  concerted 
action - Quality of  life 
Item  7367 
Item  7369 - Medical research II and 
III - Concerted action 
- Sectoral programme -
Environment -  Indirect 
and concerted action 
FROM  CHAPTER  101  - CONTINGENCY RESERVE 
TOTAL DEDUCTIONS 
TO CHAPTER  77 
Article  771 
Item  7718 
Article  773 
Item  7730 - INDUSTRY  AND THE 
INTERNAL MARKET 
- Operations in the field  
of new information 
technologies 
- Studies on new 
information technologies 
- Community strategy on  
information technology 
- Preparatory measures 
for the Esprit 
programme 
TOTAL  ADDITIONS 2 200 000 
1 000 000 
2 000 000 1 400 000 
600 000 
2 000 000 
5 200 000 4 000 000 
2 000 000 2 000 000 
3 200 000 2 000 000 
5 200 000 4 000 000 
The Financial Controller approved this proposal on 8 April 1983 in accordance 
with  Article 21(4) of the Financial Regulation and certified  that  the 
appropriations are available. 
COM(83)  23O  final. 

GROUNDS 
1. TRANSFER  TO ITEM 7718 
If the Commission's discussions  with  the Member States on the 
Community dimension in information technology are to be  fruitful, 
the available knowledge of relevant conditions, factors, objectives, 
constraints, strategies and instruments will have to be expanded 
considerably.  In 1983, the appropriate departments will have to 
gather data, map out ideas, test instruments, determine the main 
principles of the measures to be taken, evaluate strategies and 
finally draw up a plan of concerted action covering: 
- identification and critical evaluation of the various objectives 
of Community policy on information technology and the strategy for 
attaining them; 
- analysis of the situation and trends both in the European Communities 
and elsewhere; 
- establishment of a frame of reference for a Community strategy, 
and critical evaluation of policy and practical strategy on 
information technology  within  the Community; 
- definition of specific proposals for concerted action when the 
Community's  main political and strategic interests are involved; 
- definition of the roles to be played by the main participants in 
each  of the proposed concerted actions; 
- proposed ways and means of implementing the concerted actions most 
efficiently. 
A large part of this work will have to be carried ou*"  within  the 
Commission  by the Task Force for  Information  Technologies, assisted 
by other departments in the areas for which they are responsible. 
Consultants  will also be required to assist in this work, principally 
by providing the information required to  justify  and monitor the 
Commission's  work on the strategy. 
Item  7718 contains an appropriation of 1.5 million ECU for 1983, which 
has to cover the needs of all Commission departments for studies 
involving among others, the cultural, political,  social,  educational 
and scientific aspects of information techology. 
The appropriation is insufficient to meet this  further  need. 

- 2 -
The Commission considers  that  the paucity of results yielded Dy 
the information technology sector  within  the Community and its 
rapid deterioration make this work extremely urgent. Hence the 
need  for a transfer of 2 million ECU to  Item  7718. 
2. TRANSFER  TO ITEM 7730 
In the 1983 budget  Item  7730 contained 11.5 million ECU in commitment 
appropriations and 7.5 million ECU in payment appropriations. 
The pilot phase of  Espri  consists of multiannual projects,  with  an 
initial commitment for only the  first  year, designed to acquire 
experience  far cooperation in research and industrial development. 
Full-scale  representative projects have been prepared and launched 
for this purpose and will be merged  into  the main programme when 
this has been approved. 
The pilot projects are the following: 
- advanced interconnect for  VLSI; 
- high-level computer-aided design for interactive layout and design; 
- portable common tool environment; 
- formal specification and systematic program development; 
- software production and maintenance management systems  (SPMMS); 
- advanced algorithms and architecture for signal processing; 
- knowledge information:management: system;. • 
- interactive query system; 
- functional analysis of office requirements; 
- multi-media user interface and the office workstation; 
- local wideband communication system; 
- office filing and retrieval of unstructured information; 
- design rules for computer integrated manufacturing systems; 
- integrated microelectronic sub-systems for plant automation; 
- process and production control based on real-time imaging systems; 
- design and implementation of an information exchange system as a tool 
for cooperation in research and development. 

- 3 -
This  item also covers the cost of experts and specialist services, 
the organization of meetings to review objectives and the information 
gained  from the planned projects and the cost of circulating this 
information. 
The request in the 1983 budget was based on initial estimates which, 
when the proposals were being costed in February 1982, proved too 
modest. 
The possibility of abandoning one of the pilot projects or reducing 
finance below the 50% contribution laid down in the Commission 
decision  has been considered, but the  size  and urgency of the 
action as a whole mean  that  this would not be a satisfactory solution. 
The pilot projects are a carefully balanced action in the research 
and development field in preparation for the main programme, and 
they are interdependent. The deletion of any one of the projects 
would reduce the value of the others. Hence a transfer of 
3.2 million ECU to item 7730 is required. 
3. REDUCTION  OF  EXISTING  APPROPRIATIONS 
Not all the funds required can be obtained from Chapter 101 
(Contingency reserve), nor from other items in Chapter 77. However, 
some  could be transferred from Chapter 73, which has a large 
endowment. 
CHAPTER  101 -  CONTINGENCY  RESERVE 
2 million ECU in commitment and payment appropriations. 
Item  7367 -  Research  and development in the field of medical and public  
health research 
This  multiannual programme (1 January 1982 to 31 December 1986) was 
adopted by the Council on 17 August 1982 (0J No L 248, 24.8.1982). 
The first  funds (1.8 million ECU in commitment and payment appropriations) 
were not made available  until  November 1982 (Transfer No 30/1982). 
As a result the programme is eleven months behind schedule and used 
virtually no appropriations in 1982 (100 000 ECU out of 1.8 million ECU). 
It would therefore be possible to transfer 2.2 million ECU in commitment 
appropriations and 1.4 million ECU in payment appropriations in 1983 
without  prejudicing its implementation. 

- 4 -
The revised schedule  of budget forecasts  for this  programme  is as  follows: 
1982 1983 J  1984 1985 1986 1987 TOTAL  > 
J 
Commitment 
Commitment  appropriations 
Appropriations remaining 
at 31  December  1982 
TOTAL 0.010 
1 .300  5.000 
I 
I 
1.790 4.050 1.150 0.010  J 
11.500 
1.790 Commitment 
Commitment  appropriations 
Appropriations remaining 
at 31  December  1982 
TOTAL 0.010 3.090  | 5.000 
i 4.050 1.150 - 13.300 
Payment 
Payment  appropriations 
Appropriations remaining 
at 31  December  1982 
TOTAL 0.008 
0.963 
1.792 1.900 4.510 2.985 1.142 0.008 
11.500 
1.792 Payment 
Payment  appropriations 
Appropriations remaining 
at 31  December  1982 
TOTAL 0.008 2.755  J 1.900 
.. i— . . 4.510 2.985  I 1.142 13.300 (million  ECU) 
Item  7369  - Sectoral research  and  development  in the  field  of the  environment 
This  five-year programme  (1 January  1981  to 31  December  1985)  was  adopted 
by the  Council  on 3 March  1981  (0J No L  101,  11.4.1981). 
The appropriations  (5.8  million  ECU in  commitment appropriations  and 
1.7 million  ECU in  payment appropriations) were  not  available  until 
1 October  1981  (supplementary  and  amending budget  No  1/1981)  and so the 
programme began  ten  months behind schedule. Unfortunately,  it was not 
possible  to make  up all  this delay  in 1982 (3.6  million  ECU in 
appropriations remaining  and  1.1  million  ECU in  carryovers). 
In consequence, •1 million  ECU in  commitment appropriations  and  600 000  ECU 
in payment appropriations  may be  transferred  in 1983  without  causing 
further  delays. 
However,  the  call  for  tenders  for the  second stage  of the  programme  closes 
on 31 May and the  proposals will  be  considered  by November  so that  contracts 
can be  drawn  up  before  the end of  1983;  the  Commission considers  that, 
despite  the  initial delay,  total  requirements  in commitment appropriations 
for 1983  and  1984  should  not,  therefore,  be  reduced below  the  level  of the 
original schedule  (10  million  ECU in  1983  and  8.7  million  ECU in  1984). 
Requests  for  commitment appropriations  in 1984  will accordingly  be 
increased  by 1 million  ECU to  9.7  million  ECU. 

- 5 -
The financial situation  at 30  March 1983  is as  follows: 
ECU 
Chapter/Item Budget Uti I i zation Transfer 
requested New 
balance 
commitment 
i Sot payment 3 500 000 
3 000 000 (-) 
(-) 191 
39 026 
548 (-) 
(-) 2 
1 200 
400 000 
000 1 
1 108 974 
560 452 
y-^o  commitment 
payment 10 000 000 
10 000 000 (-) 
(-) 474 
424 409 
766 (-) 
(-) 1 000 
600 000 
000 8 
8 525 591 
975 234 
7718  non-differ­
entiated 1 500 000 0 ( + ) 2 000 000 3 500 000 
approp. 
7730  comm''tment 
payment 11 500 000 
7 500 000 (-) 
(-) 311 
18 687 
429 ( + ) 
( + ) 3 
2 200 
000 000 
000 14 
9 388 313 
481 571 
101 non-differ­
entiated 
approp. 4 333 000 (-) 667 000 (*) (-) 2 000 000 2 333 000 
i fetus  fer  No  5/1983  (in  pioyiesa)