[pic] | COMISIA COMUNITĂŢILOR EUROPENE |

Bruxelles, 19.7.2007

COM(2007) 433 final

2007/0156 (COD)

Propunere de

DECIZIE A PARLAMENTULUI EUROPEAN ŞI A CONSILIULUI

privind un program pentru modernizarea statisticilor europene referitoare la întreprinderi şi comerţ (MEETS)

(prezentată de Comisie)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

- Grounds for and objectives of the proposal

Business and trade statistics are faced with major challenges in the coming years: the strong integration of world markets is changing the structure of the economy and also European integration is progressing further. Statistics have to react to these trends and have to describe new phenomena. At the same time, the administrative burden on businesses must be reduced. These two challenges are not contradictory to each other. The need for new types of indicators can go hand in hand with efforts to modernise the production system. New types of indicators providing the needed information could be obtained by using new sources of information and by linking already existing types of business statistics without the necessity to increase the reporting burden on the enterprises. But an investment is needed to exploit the potential synergies efficiently, this is the main reason for this programme.

- General context

The Commission has made a commitment to ensure a better policy on regulation, to cut unnecessary red-tape and over-regulation. As outlined in the Commission Communication on Better Regulation for Growth and Jobs in the European Union (COM (2005) 97 final of 16 March 2005), simplification of existing EU legislation (and hence a reduction in the burden on business) is one of the core issues of this policy initiative. This commitment was more specifically targeted to statistics in the Commission Communication on the Reduction of response burden, simplification and priority setting in the field of Community statistics (COM (2006) 693 final of 14 November 2006).

European companies operate under conditions of globalisation with an important role for multinational companies. Globalised markets lead to increased international competition on markets for goods and services, but also on factor markets, to which the business sector has to react in order to maintain and strengthen its position. The subject of Europe having to move up a gear economically was recently highlighted in the European Commission's 2006 Annual Progress Report on Growth and Jobs.

Globalisation and the reaction of businesses is closely interconnected and next to the internal efforts of companies to increase their performance it can have the form of relocation of industry, outsourcing of activities, foreign direct investment and other forms of foreign operations.

Economic statistics and business statistics in particular should be able to portray these processes appropriately and to provide timely and high quality statistical information on the structural changes in the European economy and its business sector. These statistics should also be appropriate for monitoring the impact of EU policies. On the other hand, any new statistics should not put any additional burden on business. These targets should be achieved with this programme.

- Existing provisions in the area of the proposal

There are three basic legal acts in this area.

Firstly, the main Regulation concerning business statistics: Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 58/97 of 20 December 1996 concerning structural business statistics.

Secondly, the Regulation on business registers: Council Regulation (EEC) No 2186/93 of 22 July 1993 on Community coordination in drawing up business registers for statistical purposes.

Both legislations set out the main principles of business statistics and maybe subject to revision aiming at a more efficient data collection and treatment.

For objective 4, the main reference is the Regulation on Intrastat: European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 638/2004 of 31 March 2004. The MEETS programme may lead to amendments of this Regulation aiming at simplifications to achieve a less burdensome data collection for enterprises.

- Consistency with the other policies and objectives of the Union

The deepening of European integration in a number of areas, including the Monetary Union and the European Customs System, creates new statistical needs related to the role of the euro in international transactions and leads to the necessity of adjusting the statistical system.

The proposal is consistent with the Commission priorities and the initiative focussed on better regulation, and on cutting unnecessary red-tape and over-regulation which were mentioned above.

CONSULTATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT

- Consultation of interested parties

Consultation methods, main sectors targeted and general profile of respondents There have been intensive consultations in the framework of the European Statistical System on a technical level in the relevant working groups and also on the level of the heads of the Statistical Offices. Secondly, there have been consultations within the Commission with the relevant Directorates General. |

Summary of responses and how they have been taken into account Member States face similar problems. First of all, a changing economic environment implies changes of the statistical needs expressed by policy makers. Information on phenomena like globalisation or areas with increased importance like the services sector is highly required by all stakeholders. At the same time Member States face strong restrictions to further increase the burden on business. On the contrary, the burden on business should be lowered. The consequence is that some Member States have already started reforming their business and trade statistics fundamentally. The general response was that synergies should be exploited, coherent approaches should be worked out to avoid inefficient overlapping uncoordinated initiatives on national level which would lead to a differentiation of statistical treatment of the new phenomena rather then to a harmonised approach. |

- Collection and use of expertise

There was no need for external expertise.

- Impact assessment

Option 1 (Baseline option, i.e. no Community involvement). To fully exploit the opportunities of providing the EU with better and relevant business and trade statistics and at the same time ensure a reduced burden on businesses emanating from statistics, an investment is needed before a renewed system would become operational. With no Community involvement, only a limited number of countries would make that investment, the comparability of European statistics would be weakened and the opportunities for burden reduction would not be fully exploited.

Option 2 (Community involvement as proposed). The MEETS programme will avoid duplication of efforts. New and more cost-effective data collection systems can be tested in few Member States and become applicable in all. Therefore, sharing experiences and best practices is the core of this programme. Efforts to harmonise, streamline, and regulate can best be initiated at community level at which such projects can be carried out with optimal efficienc.

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL

- Summary of the proposed action

Firstly, it will be important to identify and agree on the new areas that are to be portrayed. Together with all stakeholders, target sets of indicators need to be defined and underpinned by methodological agreements, so that comparable data can be produced. It goes without saying that a changing environment does not only create new requirements, but also the need for a permanent review of old requirements.

Secondly, all statistics related to business should be streamlined, i.e. efforts are needed to enforce the integration of concepts and methods in business statistics. In addition, the focus might shift from a national perspective to a European perspective. This integration will include: co-ordination of the legal acts, harmonisation of the methodologies, work on the further integration and linking of statistical classifications, work on the further integration and linking of business registers and related sources, the appropriate inclusion of multinational enterprise groups into the business register and the set up of the reporting on multinational enterprise groups.

Thirdly, on the side of data collection and treatment, integration is needed as well. By either integrating all collected data into a single system, or by techniques of micro-data linking, a much more effective use of already existing information will be possible. The second pillar of the reform of the production system is the support of the use of administrative data. Governments collect quite a number of data for all kinds of purposes, tax reasons, labour market policy etc. It would be highly efficient if statistical offices did not need to collect the same data again. But a considerable effort is needed to guarantee data quality, because very often the administrative data are not available in the form needed. The third issue is to make sure that the data that still needs to be collected can be obtained easily from the company accounts. The harmonisation of the accounting standards will help to achieve this target. Finally, standard estimation techniques have to be developed to lessen the burden on business wherever possible, e.g. these techniques could be applied to estimate the information needed for the SMEs, without burdening them. To provide comparable data, a set of standards and conventions is necessary.

Fourthly, some statistical areas were already identified where simplifications are necessary. An example is Intrastat. Simplifications to the Intrastat system will continue to be carried out along the traditional lines (thresholds, ICT improvements, nomenclatures etc.). Furthermore the potential will be investigated of switching to a single flow system. This could reduce the burden considerably, while at the same time maintaining the most important information. To make sure that such a transition is carried out in the most effective way and that quality of statistical information is ensured, a careful steering of this transition is needed. The effects of such a change and its full implementation in Member States should therefore also be one of the objectives of the new programme.

- Legal basis

Article 285 EC Treaty.

- Subsidiarity principle

The subsidiarity principle applies insofar as the proposal does not fall under the exclusive competence of the Community. |

The objectives of the proposal cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States for the following reason(s). |

Some Member States would have invested in the modernisation of business and trade statistics in an uncoordinated way producing results that are not comparable to other EU Member States and where the aggregation to European aggregates would be problematic. Some Member States would not have taken appropriate actions, lagging behind in modern developments in areas like globalisation, and would therefore be missing in the European picture. Efforts would be duplicated, similar exercises would be carried out in several Member States, mistakes would be repeated. If some Member States had successfully modernised their system of business and trade statistics, the marginal costs to implement the same system in other Member States are much smaller than developing a completely new system, an uncoordinated approach would result in a situation, where potential savings were not realised. |

Community action will better achieve the objectives of the proposal for the following reason(s). |

To fully exploit the opportunities of providing the EU with better and relevant business and trade statistics and at the same time ensure a reduced burden on businesses emanating from statistics, an investment is needed before a renewed system would become operational. The MEETS programme will avoid duplication of efforts. New and more cost-effective data collection systems can be tested in few Member States and become applicable in all. Therefore, sharing experiences and best practices is the core of this programme. Efforts to harmonise, streamline, and regulate can best be initiated at community level at which such projects can be carried out with optimal efficiency. |

The main purpose of this programme is that an investment is needed such that new statistical requirements can be taken on board with less burden on enterprises by a more efficient use of data and processes. The adaptation of the statistical requirements to both new and to outdated needs of EU statistics indicates the achievement of the first aspect. In some areas of trade and business statistics there are already burden measurements available. EU wide indicators would show the decrease of the burden ceteris paribus. |

The proposal is limited to exploiting synergies and avoiding double, and therefore inefficient efforts. The regular statistical data production will be not be supported by this programme, but the "re-engineering" of business and trade statistics will be supported to guarantee a co-ordinated and efficient approach. |

The proposal therefore complies with the subsidiarity principle. |

- Proportinality principle

Proportionality principle The proposal complies with the proportionality principle for the following reason(s). |

The proposed Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council is providing a framework for the main objectives and the actions related to the programme. The concrete annual work programme will be voted upon by Member States via comitology. In many cases the support of the individual actions will be given in form of grants to Member States, therefore Member States have control of the actions. |

There is the financial burden on the Community as indicated in the budget of the programme, there will be administrative burden on Commission services and national statistical offices. There is no additional burden on business foreseen. At the end of the programme statistical data should be collected in an even less burdensome way. |

Choice of instruments |

Proposed instruments: other. |

Other means would not be adequate for the following reason(s). The programme should have as basis a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council, setting the framework. The annual work programme will be adopted by the Commission after being subject to comitology. |

Budgetary implication |

The following amounts will be used during the programme (in million EUR): 2008 (5.00), 2009 (6.50), 2010 (11.50), 2011 (9.00), 2012 (6.50), 2013 (4.00). Over 2008-2013 the programme will have a budget of 42.50 million €. |

Additional information |

European Economic Area The proposed act concerns an EEA matter and should therefore extend to the European Economic Area. |

2007/0156 (COD)

Propunere de

DECIZIE A PARLAMENTULUI EUROPEAN ŞI A CONSILIULUI

privind un program pentru modernizarea statisticilor europene referitoare la întreprinderi şi comerţ (MEETS)

(Text cu relevanţă pentru SEE)

PARLAMENTUL EUROPEAN ŞI CONSILIUL UNIUNII EUROPENE

având în vedere Tratatul de instituire a Comunităţii Europene, în special articolul 285,

având în vedere propunerea Comisiei,

hotărând în conformitate cu procedura prevăzută la articolul 251 din tratat,

întrucât:

1. În comunicarea sa privind o mai bună reglementare pentru creştere economică şi crearea de locuri de muncă în Uniunea Europeană[1], Comisia s-a angajat să elaboreze politici îmbunătăţite legate de reglementări, să reducă birocraţia inutilă şi să combată reglementarea excesivă.

2. În noiembrie 2006 Comisia a publicat o comunicare privind reducerea sarcinii de răspuns, simplificarea şi stabilirea priorităţilor în domeniul statisticilor comunitare[2], care defineşte o abordare strategică pentru continuarea reducerii sarcinii statistice care incumbă întreprinderilor.

3. Statisticile referitoare la întreprinderi şi comerţ se confruntă cu o provocare majoră în anii următori. Pentru a sprijini iniţiativele de politici comunitare, acestea trebuie să poată reflecta fenomenele ce se produc în economia comunitară aflată în schimbare, precum globalizarea, noile tendinţe în materie de spirit antreprenorial, societatea informaţională, inovaţia, modelele de comerţ în evoluţie şi competitivitatea în lumina strategiei reînnoite de la Lisabona.

4. Un element esenţial ce determină nevoia de statistici referitoare la întreprinderi şi comerţ îl reprezintă strategia reînnoită de la Lisabona, al cărei obiectiv este promovarea competitivităţii economiei europene şi realizarea unei creşteri puternice şi durabile.

5. Aprofundarea integrării europene în numeroase domenii economice, inclusiv Uniunea Monetară Europeană şi Sistemul European Vamal, creează noi nevoi statistice referitoare la rolul monedei euro în tranzacţiile internaţionale, ceea ce implică adaptarea sistemului statistic. Statisticile referitoare la întreprinderi şi comerţ trebuie să poată ilustra aceste procese în mod corespunzător şi să furnizeze informaţii statistice oportune şi de calitate privind modificările structurale ale economiei europene şi întreprinderilor acesteia.

6. Serviciile de statistică referitoare la întreprinderi şi comerţ trebuie să reproiecteze metodele de producere a statisticilor astfel încât sarcinile ce incumbă întreprinderilor să poată fi reduse, iar toate sursele disponibile şi tehnologiile noi să poată fi folosite în mod eficient.

7. Nevoia de noi tipuri de indicatori se poate îmbina cu eforturile de modernizare a sistemului de producere de date statistice. Noi tipuri de indicatori care să furnizeze informaţiile necesare ar putea fi obţinute combinând statisticile existente referitoare la întreprinderi fără necesitatea de a mări sarcina de raportare ce incumbă întreprinderilor. Utilizarea de noi surse şi accesul prin mijloace electronice permite simplificarea procesului de colectare a datelor şi furnizarea mai multor informaţii. Potenţialul statisticilor referitoare la întreprinderi trebuie să fie exploatat într-un mod mai eficient, iar calitatea informaţiilor statistice trebuie să crească.

8. S-a efectuat o evaluare ex-ante, în conformitate cu principiul bunei gestiuni financiare, pentru a axa programul pe imperativul de eficacitate în atingerea obiectivelor şi pentru a integra constrângerile bugetare începând cu etapa de proiect a programului.

9. Prezenta decizie stabileşte un cadru financiar pentru întreaga durată a programului, care va fi punctul principal de referinţă al autorităţii bugetare, în sensul punctului 37 din Acordul interinstituţional din 17 mai 2006 dintre Parlamentul European, Consiliu şi Comisie privind disciplina bugetară şi buna gestiune financiară[3].

10. Deoarece obiectivul prezentei decizii, şi anume stabilirea unui program pentru modernizarea statisticilor europene referitoare la întreprinderi şi comerţ, nu poate fi atins într-o măsură suficientă de statele membre (deoarece modernizarea necoordonată ar duce la dublarea eforturilor, repetarea greşelilor şi creşterea costurilor), acesta ar putea fi atins mai bine la nivel comunitar datorită ţinând cont de amploarea sa. Comunitatea poate adopta măsuri, în conformitate cu principiul subsidiarităţii, astfel cum a fost stabilit în articolul 5 din Tratat. În conformitate cu principiul proporţionalităţii, aşa cum este enunţat la articolul menţionat anterior, prezenta decizie nu depăşeşte ceea ce este necesar în vederea îndeplinirii acestor obiective.

11. Comitetul pentru programul statistic, instituit prin Decizia 89/382/CEE a Consiliului, Euratom[4], a fost consultat în conformitate cu articolul 3 din decizia menţionată.

12. Regulamentul (CE) nr. 322/97 al Consiliului din 17 februarie 1997 privind statisticile comunitare furnizează un cadru de referinţă pentru dispoziţiile prezentei decizii.[5]

13. Măsurile necesare pentru punerea în aplicare a prezentei decizii trebuie să fie adoptate în conformitate cu Decizia nr. 1999/468/CE a Consiliului din 28 iunie 1999 de stabilire a normelor privind exercitarea competenţelor de executare conferite Comisiei.[6]

DECID:

Articolul 1

Instituirea programului

1. Prin prezenta se instituie un program pentru modernizarea statisticilor europene referitoare la întreprinderi şi comerţ (denumit în continuare "Programul MEETS”).

2. Programul MEETS începe la 1 iulie 2008 şi se termină la 31 decembrie 2013.

Articolul 2

Domeniul de aplicare şi obiective generale

1. Măsurile stabilite de Programul MEETS se referă la producerea şi difuzarea de statistici referitoare la întreprinderi şi de comerţ în cadrul Comunităţii Europene.

2. Obiectivele generale sunt:

(a) elaborarea unor seturi ţintă de indicatori şi revizuirea priorităţilor (obiectivul 1)

(b) asigurarea unui cadru simplificat pentru statisticile referitoare la întreprinderi (obiectivul 2)

(c) susţinerea aplicării unei metode mai eficiente de colectare a datelor; (obiectivul 3)

(d) modernizarea şi simplificarea statisticilor referitoare la comerţul cu mărfuri între statele membre (denumite în continuare Intrastat) (obiectivul 4).

Articolul 3

Acţiuni

Pentru a atinge obiectivele menţionate la articolul 2, trebuie pus în aplicare un set de acţiuni pentru:

(a) elaborarea unor seturi ţintă de indicatori şi revizuirea priorităţilor (obiectivul 1)

- Acţiunea 1.1: Elaborarea unor domenii noi;

- Acţiunea 1.2: Identificarea domeniilor cu o importanţă mai redusă;

(b) simplificarea cadrului statisticilor referitoare la întreprinderi (obiectivul 2):

- Acţiunea 2.1: Integrarea conceptelor şi metodelor în cadrul juridic;

- Acţiunea 2.2: Elaborarea statisticilor referitoare la grupurile de întreprinderi;

- Acţiunea 2.3: Realizarea de anchete europene pentru a reduce sarcina asupra întreprinderilor.

(c) susţinerea aplicării unei metode mai eficiente de colectare a datelor (obiectivul 3):

- Acţiunea 3.1: Îmbunătăţirea utilizării datelor deja existente în sistemul statistic şi a posibilităţii de realizare a estimărilor;

- Acţiunea 3.2: Îmbunătăţirea utilizării datelor deja existente în economie;

- Acţiunea 3.3: Elaborarea de instrumente vizând creşterea eficienţei extragerii, transmiterii şi procesare prelucrării datelor.

(d) modernizarea şi simplificarea sistemului de colectare a datelor pentru Intrastat (obiectivul 4):

- Acţiunea 4.1: Armonizarea metodelor de îmbunătăţire a calităţii în cadrul unui sistem Intrastat simplificat;

- Acţiunea 4.2: Îmbunătăţirea utilizării datelor administrative;

- Acţiunea 4.3: Îmbunătăţirea şi facilitarea schimbului de date pentru Intrastat.

Aceste acţiuni sunt menţionate în anexă şi vor face obiectul unei descrieri detaliate în cadrul programului de lucru anual menţionate la articolul 4.

Articolul 4

Programul de lucru anual

Un program anual de lucru ce cuprinde priorităţile acţiunilor aferente fiecărui obiectiv precum şi alocaţiile bugetare acordate în temeiul prezentei decizii este adoptat în conformitate cu procedura menţionată la articolul 5 alineatul (2).

Articolul 5

Comitetul

1. Comisia este asistată de către Comitetul pentru programul statistic, instituit prin Decizia 89/382/CEE, Euratom.

2. Atunci când se face trimitere la prezentul alineat, se aplică articolele 4 şi 7 din Decizia 1999/468/CE, avându-se în vedere dispoziţiile articolului 8. Perioada stabilită la articolul 4 alineatul (3) din Decizia 1999/468/CE este de trei luni.

Articolul 6

Evaluarea

1. Comisia, în cooperare cu statele membre, evaluează în mod regulat activităţile efectuate în cadrul programului MEETS, pentru a constata dacă au fost atinse obiectivele menţionate şi a oferi instrucţiuni pentru îmbunătăţirea eficacităţii acţiunilor viitoare.

2. Până cel târziu la 31 decembrie 2001, Comisia înaintează Parlamentului European şi Consiliului un raport intermediar privind punerea în aplicare a programului MEETS.

Până cel târziu la 31 iulie 2014, Comisia înaintează Parlamentului European şi Consiliului un raport final privind punerea în aplicare a programului MEETS. În Raportul în cauză vizează evaluarea, ţinând cont de cheltuielile suportate de Comunitate, a avantajelor obţinute de Comunitate, statele membre şi furnizorii şi utilizatorii de date statistice prin acţiunile efectuate, în vederea identificării sectoarelor ce pot fi îmbunătăţite.

Articolul 7

Finanţarea

1. Pachetul financiar pentru executarea acestui program pentru perioada 2008-2013 se stabileşte la 42,50 milioane EUR.

2. Creditele anuale trebuie sunt aprobate de autoritatea bugetară în limitele pachetului financiar.

Articolul 8

Intrarea în vigoare

Prezenta decizie intră în vigoare în a douăzecea zi de la data publicării în Jurnalul Oficial al Uniunii Europene .

Adoptată la Bruxelles, la […].

Pentru Parlamentul European Pentru Consiliu

Preşedintele Preşedintele […] […]

ANEXĂ

Detalierea acţiunilor enumerate la articolul 3

Obiectivul 1: Elaborarea unor seturi ţintă de indicatori şi revizuirea priorităţilor

Acţiunea 1.1: Elaborarea unor domenii noi

- Într-un mediu economic aflat în schimbare este important să se definească domeniile prioritare pentru statistică, precum globalizarea şi antreprenoriatul şi să se convină la nivel comunitar asupra unui set ţintă de indicatori pentru fiecare domeniu prioritar. În măsura în care este posibil, aceşti indicatori trebuie armonizaţi cu statisticile internaţionale.

- Statisticile trebuie elaborate în mod eficient şi să fie comparabile. Prin urmare, trebuie întreprinse acţiuni în cadrul sistemului statistic european pentru a obţine definiţii armonizate ale caracteristicilor şi indicatorilor recent identificaţi/identificate.

- După ce au convenit asupra seturilor ţintă de indicatori şi definiţiilor armonizate ale acestora, statele membre trebuie să elaboreze şi să testeze metode de colectare a datelor armonizate pe care le vor aplica în domeniile prioritare.

- Noile domenii vor fi elaborate prin intermediul unor studii, organizând seminarii şi susţinând financiar proiecte de elaborare a unor metode de colectare a noilor date statistice.

Acţiunea 1.2: Identificarea domeniilor cu o importanţă mai redusă

- Într-o lume aflată în schimbare, pe măsură ce apar noi nevoi statistice, altele devin depăşite. Prin urmare, se vor efectua revizuiri periodice ale priorităţilor pentru a identifica domeniile şi caracteristicile devenite mai puţin importante şi care pot astfel să fie eliminate din cerinţele juridice. Aceste revizuiri necesită lansarea unor studii externe de către Comisie.

- Trebuie să se garanteze asigură colectarea de indicatori statistici privind politicile în curs.

Obiectivul 2: Simplificarea cadrului statisticilor referitoare la întreprinderi

Acţiunea 2.1: Integrarea conceptelor şi metodelor în cadrul juridic

- Statisticile europene sunt elaborate în conformitate cu legislaţia europeană, creată pe parcursul nai multor ani. Pentru a garanta coerenţa actelor juridice între ele, este necesară o remaniere a acestora. Prin urmare, se planifică revizuirea actelor juridice existente pentru a pune furniza un cadru juridic armonizat pentru diferitele domenii ale statisticilor referitoare la întreprinderi şi comerţ. Acest lucru vor necesita lansarea unor studii externe de către Comisie.

- Statisticile implică o serie de probleme transversale, de exemplu există mai multe domenii statistice privind ocuparea forţei de muncă, ori în unele cazuri acelaşi fenomen este descris din unghiuri diferite. Pentru a asigura o armonizare mai bună, trebuie lansate studii vizând armonizarea metodologilor între domeniile statistice relevante. Acest lucru va necesita sprijin financiar pentru statele membre.

- Este important să se garanteze coerenţa între diferitele domenii ale statisticilor referitoare la întreprinderi şi comerţ. În acest scop, vor fi lansate studii privind coerenţa. Această coerenţă se poate referi la statisticile privind comerţul cu mărfuri şi la cele privind balanţa plăţilor, dar şi la statisticile structurale referitoare la întreprinderi şi cele referitoare la comerţ. Acest lucru va necesita lansarea unor studii externe de către Comisie şi un sprijin financiar pentru proiectele statelor membre în acest sector.

Acţiunea 2.2: Elaborarea statisticilor referitoare la grupurile de întreprinderi

- Comisia a lansat o iniţiativă de stabilire a unui registru comunitar al grupurilor de întreprinderi multinaţionale. Acest registru reprezintă o bază esenţială pentru producerea de statistici armonizate privind globalizarea economiei. Activităţile din cadrul acestei acţiuni vor avea ca scop finalizarea acestui registru prin intermediul unor studii externe care urmează să fie lansate de către Comisie.

- Crearea unui astfel de registru nu este suficientă, însă acţiunile efectuate de statele membre vor fi sprijinite financiar pentru a elabora metode mai eficiente de colectare a datelor pentru grupuri de întreprinderi şi a ilustra importanţa acestora pentru comerţul internaţional.

- Când va sosi timpul să fie exploatat registrul comunitar al grupurilor de întreprinderi multinaţionale, statisticile europene va trebui să adopte o nouă abordare, astfel încât va deveni important să se instituie anchete comunitare specifice privind grupurile de întreprinderi Acest lucru va necesita lansarea de studii externe de către Comisie şi sprijin financiar pentru proiectele statelor membre în acest sector.

Acţiunea 2.3: Realizarea de anchete europene pentru a reduce sarcina asupra întreprinderilor

- Pentru a evidenţia noile nevoile sau cele care apar în materie de statistici comunitare, se vor efectua anchete comunitare specifice ad-hoc. Aceste anchete vor fi instituite prin studii externe care urmează să fie lansate de către Comisie sau prin sprijin financiar faţă de statele membre.

- Pentru a valorifica economiile posibile legate de introducerea planurilor de eşantionare comunitare în statistici regulate, se vor efectua studii pentru a identifica domeniile în care agregatele comunitare ar fi suficiente şi pentru a elabora metode noi de colectare a datelor în aceste domenii. Statelor membre vor primi de asemenea sprijin financiar pentru a-şi ajusta sistemele de colectare a datelor. Nu există un tip standard de planuri comunitare de eşantionare; acestea depind de împrejurări.

- În domeniile statistice vor fi păstrate anchete naţionale care servească la exerciţiile de evaluare.

Obiectivul 3: Susţinerea aplicării unei metode mai eficiente de colectare a datelor

Acţiunea 3.1: Îmbunătăţirea utilizării datelor deja existente în sistemul statistic şi a posibilităţii de realizare a estimărilor

- Scopul final al acestei acţiuni este crearea unor seturi de date complet integrate pentru statistici referitoare la întreprinderi şi comerţ la nivel de microdate – o abordare statistică de tip "depozit de date". Pentru a obţine acest lucru, statele membre vor fi sprijinite financiar pentru a pune în legătură seturile de date sau de microdate din diferite domenii ale statisticilor referitoare la întreprinderi şi comerţ, precum registrele întreprinderilor şi registrele de comerţ; corelând statisticile structurale ale întreprinderilor cu statisticile referitoare la cercetare şi dezvoltare şi statisticile privind societatea informaţională.

- Se vor efectua studii metodologice privind procese noi de lucru pentru a îmbunătăţi utilizarea culegerilor de date în curs, de exemplu, în vederea evaluării impactului tehnologiei informaţiei şi comunicării asupra rezultatelor întreprinderilor corelând date din diferite surse.

- Îmbunătăţirea metodei de colectare a datelor are drept scop reducerea sarcinii asupra întreprinderilor. Trebuie să se asigure faptul că institutele de statistică folosesc cât mai eficient informaţiile culese. Prin urmare, va fi acordat un sprijin financiar pentru studii metodologice vizând optimizarea dimensiunii eşantioanelor şi combinarea utilizării acestora cu alte surse şi metode de estimare conexe. Acest lucru se poate referi de asemenea la studiile de calitate în cazurile în care unele întreprinderi (de exemplu, IMM-uri) sunt excluse din anchetele statistice şi la elaborarea unor metode adecvate şi armonizate de evaluare.

- Nevoia de reducere a sarcinii asupra întreprinderilor şi în special asupra IMM-urilor nu ar trebui să pună în pericol colectarea de informaţii relevante pentru monitorizarea politicilor comunitare.

Acţiunea 3.2: Îmbunătăţirea utilizării datelor deja existente în economie

- Câteodată, informaţiile statistice sunt colectate de două ori. O dată în scop administrativ, precum impozitarea, iar apoi în scop statistic în cadrul anchetelor. Această dublă sarcină trebuie evitată pe cât posibil. Prin urmare, prezentul program va sprijini financiar proiectele privind utilizarea datelor administrative în scop statistic, inclusiv conturile întreprinderilor, ajutând ţările să treacă de la anchete statistice la utilizarea datelor administrative, asigurând în acelaşi timp date de înaltă calitate.

- În cadrul întreprinderilor, este justificat să se promoveze integrarea sistemelor contabile şi a raportării statistice, simplificând astfel furnizarea datelor în scop statistic. Acest lucru necesită lansarea unor studii externe de către Comisie şi sprijin financiar pentru proiectele statelor membre în acest domeniu.

Acţiunea 3.3: Elaborarea de instrumente vizând creşterea eficienţei extragerii, transmiterii şi prelucrării datelor

- Noua tehnologie a informaţiei (IT) oferă posibilităţi de raportare simplificată. Se vor lua măsuri pentru a sprijini financiar acţiunile care facilitează transferul de date între întreprinderi şi autorităţile naţionale de statistică. Acest lucru poate fi efectuat prin folosirea conturilor întreprinderilor şi a altor rapoarte financiare întocmite în conformitate cu standardele internaţionale de contabilitate, şi a unor standarde tehnice adecvate pentru astfel de rapoarte, inclusiv eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL).

- Ar trebui să se susţină o utilizare mai eficientă a instrumentelor IT pentru a facilita schimbul de informaţii între Comisie şi autorităţile naţionale. Mai mult, este necesară să se continue elaborarea de instrumente de validare, de detectare a erorilor, de corectare, de analizare şi de editare. Acest lucru va necesita sprijin financiar pentru proiectele din acest domeniu.

- Luând în considerare tendinţa actuală de simplificare a formalităţilor vamale pentru export şi import, măsurile vor sprijini financiar acţiunile menite să faciliteze schimbul, prelucrarea şi difuzarea de statistici detaliate şi de calitate referitoare la comerţ.

Obiectivul 4: Modernizarea şi simplificarea Intrastat

Acţiunea 4.1: Armonizarea metodelor de îmbunătăţire a calităţii în cadrul unui sistem Intrastat simplificat

- Măsurile vor sprijini financiar acţiunile efectuate în statele membre menite să elaboreze instrumente şi metode vizând menţinerea şi îmbunătăţirea calităţii datelor în cadrul unui sistem de colectare simplificat.

- Se va sprijini financiar acţiunile efectuate în statele membre menite să reducă asimetriile prin evitarea clasificărilor eronate, prin armonizarea estimărilor, a sistemelor de colectare şi de prelucrare, a regulilor de manipulare a datelor confidenţiale, a pragurilor şi a metodelor de adaptare.

Acţiunea 4.2: Îmbunătăţirea utilizării datelor administrative

- Trebuie să se încurajeze reutilizarea datelor administrative raportate de către întreprinderi în alte scopuri (în special declaraţii de TVA şi contabilitate). Se vor lua măsuri pentru sprijinirea financiară a acestor acţiuni, inclusiv elaborarea de instrumente şi proceduri informatice.

Acţiunea 4.3: Îmbunătăţirea şi facilitarea schimbului de date pentru Intrastat

- Este vital să se continue elaborarea de instrumente şi metode destinate schimbului de date în cadrul unui sistem centralizat. Este necesar să se elaboreze instrumente de validare, de detectare a erorilor, de corectare, de analizare şi de editare în domeniul statisticilor privind comerţul intracomunitar. În plus, se va sprijini financiar acţiunile care se concentrează asupra aspectelor juridice şi tehnice ale schimbului de date între statele membre.

LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT

1. NAME OF THE PROPOSAL:

Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision establishing a Programme for the Modernisation of European Enterprise and Trade Statistics (MEETS)

2. ABM / ABB FRAMEWORK

Policy Area(s) concerned and associated Activity/Activities: Statistics (Production of Statistical Information; Policy Strategy and Coordination; Administrative Support)

3. BUDGET LINES

3.1. Budget lines (operational lines and related technical and administrative assistance lines (ex- B.A. lines) including headings:

29.02.04 - Modernisation of European Enterprise and Trade Statistics (MEETS)

29.0104.04 - Modernisation of European Enterprise and Trade Statistics (MEETS) - expenditure on administrative management

3.2. Duration of the action and of the financial impact:

Six years; 2008-2013

3.3. Budgetary characteristics:

Budget line | Type of expenditure | New | EFTA contribution | Contributions from applicant countries | Heading in financial perspective |

29.02.04 | DNO | DA[7] | NO | YES | NO | Heading 1A |

29.0104.04 | DNO | NDA[8] | NO | YES | NO | Heading 1A |

4. SUMMARY OF RESOURCES

4.1. Financial Resources

4.1.1. Summary of commitment appropriations (CA) and payment appropriations (PA)

EUR million (to 4 decimal places)

Expenditure type | Section no. | Year 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 and later | Total |

Operational expenditure[9] |

Commitment Appropriations (CA) | 8.1. | a | 4,650 | 6,045 | 10,695 | 8,370 | 6,045 | 3,720 | 39,525 |

Payment Appropriations (PA) | b | 0,558 | 7,1145 | 8,370 | 9,5325 | 7,2075 | 6,7425 | 39,525 |

Administrative expenditure within reference amount[10] |

Technical & administrative assistance (NDA) | 8.2.4. | c | 0,350 | 0,455 | 0,805 | 0,630 | 0,455 | 0,280 | 2,975 |

TOTAL REFERENCE AMOUNT |

Commitment Appropriations | a+c | 5,000 | 6,500 | 11,500 | 9,000 | 6,500 | 4,000 | 42,500 |

Payment Appropriations | b+c | 0,908 | 7,5695 | 9,175 | 10,1625 | 7,6625 | 7.0225 | 42,500 |

Administrative expenditure not included in reference amount[11] |

Human resources and associated expenditure (NDA) | 8.2.5. | d | 0,224 | 0,341 | 0,341 | 0,341 | 0,341 | 0,341 | 1,929 |

Administrative costs, other than human resources and associated costs, not included in reference amount (NDA) | 8.2.6. | e | 0,006 | 0,006 | 0,006 | 0,006 | 0,006 | 0,006 | 0,036 |

Total indicative financial cost of intervention |

TOTAL CA including cost of Human Resources | a+c+d+e | 5,230 | 6,847 | 11,847 | 9,347 | 6,847 | 4,347 | 44,465 |

TOTAL PA including cost of Human Resources | b+c+d+e | 1,138 | 7,9165 | 9,522 | 10,5095 | 8,0095 | 7,3695 | 44,465 |

Co-financing details

The proposal involves, as far as the grants are concerned, co-financing by Member States according to the prevailing rules. The grant amounts foreseen are in EUR million (to 3 decimal places): 3.900 in 2008 - 4.795 in 2009 - 9.545 in 2010 - 7,770 in 2011 – 4.745 in 2012 and 3.070 in 2013.

EUR million (to 3 decimal places)

Co-financing body | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 and later | Total |

Member States | f | 1,671 | 2,055 | 4,090 | 3,330 | 2,033 | 1,315 | 14,494 |

Other bodies (EFTA, Switzerland: to be added) | f |

TOTAL CA including co-financing | a+c+d+e+f |

4.1.2. Compatibility with Financial Programming

X Proposal is compatible with existing financial programming.

( Proposal will entail reprogramming of the relevant heading in the financial perspective.

( Proposal may require application of the provisions of the Interinstitutional Agreement[12] (i.e. flexibility instrument or revision of the financial perspective).

4.1.3. Financial impact on Revenue

X Proposal has no financial implications on revenue

( Proposal has financial impact – the effect on revenue is as follows:

4.2. Human Resources FTE (including officials, temporary and external staff) – see detail under point 8.2.1.

Annual requirements | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |

Total number of human resources | 2,5 | 3,5 | 3,5 | 3,5 | 3,5 | 3,5 |

5. CHARACTERISTICS AND OBJECTIVES

5.1. Need to be met in the short or long term

Business and trade statistics are faced with major challenges in the coming years: the strong integration of world markets is changing the structure of the economy and also European integration is progressing further. Statistics have to react to these trends and have to describe new phenomena. At the same time, the administrative burden on business must be reduced. These two challenges should not be contradictory. The need for new types of indicators can go hand in hand with efforts to modernise the production system. In fact, new types of indicators providing the needed information could be obtained by using new sources of information and by linking already existing types of business statistics without the necessity to increase the reporting burden on the enterprises. But an investment is needed to exploit the potential synergies efficiently; this is the main reason for this programme.

5.2. Value-added of Community involvement and coherence of the proposal with other financial instruments and possible synergy

The objectives of the proposal cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States for the following reason(s). |

Some Member States would have invested in the modernisation of business and trade statistics in an uncoordinated way producing results that are not comparable to other EU Member States and where the aggregation to European aggregates would be problematic. Some Member States would not have taken appropriate actions, lagging behind in modern developments in areas like globalisation, and would therefore be missing in the European picture. Efforts would be duplicated, similar exercises would be carried out in several Member States and mistakes would be repeated. If some Member States had successfully modernised their system of business and trade statistics, the marginal costs to implement the same system in other Member States are much smaller than developing a completely new system, an uncoordinated approach would result in a situation, where potential savings were not realised. |

Community action will better achieve the objectives of the proposal for the following reason(s). |

To fully exploit the opportunities of providing the EU with better and relevant business and trade statistics and at the same time ensure a reduced burden on businesses generated by statistics, an investment is needed before a renewed system would become operational. The MEETS programme will avoid duplication of efforts. New and more cost-effective data collection systems can be tested in a number of Member States and become applicable in all. Therefore, sharing experiences and best practices is the core of this programme. Efforts to harmonise, streamline, and regulate can best be initiated at Community level at which such projects can be carried out with optimal efficiency. |

The main purpose of this programme is that an investment is needed such that new statistical requirements can be taken on board, with less burden on enterprises by a more efficient use of data and processes. The adaptation of the statistical requirements to both new and to outdated needs of EU statistics indicates the achievement of the first aspect. In some areas of trade and business statistics there are already burden measurements available. EU wide indicators would show the decrease of the burden ceteris paribus. |

The proposal is limited to exploiting synergies and avoiding double and therefore inefficient efforts. The regular statistical data production will not be supported by this programme, but the "re-engineering" of business and trade statistics will be supported to guarantee a co-ordinated and efficient approach. |

5.3. Objectives, expected results and related indicators of the proposal in the context of the ABM framework

The general objectives and related actions of the programme are the following:

Objective 1: The development of target sets of indicators and a review of priorities

Action 1.1: Define priority areas and define target set of indicators;

Action 1.2: Identification of areas that are of lesser importance;

Objective 2: Streamline the framework of business related statistics

Action 2.1: Integration of concepts and methods within the legal framework;

Action 2.2: Development of statistics on enterprise groups;

Action 2.3: European surveys to minimise the burden on business.

Objective 3: Implementation of a more efficient way of collecting data

Action 3.1: Make better use of data that already exist in the statistical system including the possibility of estimations;

Action 3.2: Make better use of data that already exist in the economy;

Action 3.3: Develop tools for a more efficient extraction, transmission and treatment of data.

Objective 4: Modernise and simplify Intrastat

Action 4.1: Harmonisation of methods to improve quality under a simplified Intrastat system;

Action 4.2: Make better use of administrative data;

Action 4.3: Improve and facilitate the data exchange for Intrastat.

5.4. Method of Implementation (indicative)

X Centralised Management

X directly by the Commission

( indirectly by delegation to:

( executive Agencies

( bodies set up by the Communities as referred to in art. 185 of the Financial Regulation

( national public-sector bodies/bodies with public-service mission

( Shared or decentralised management

( with Member states

( with Third countries

( Joint management with international organisations (please specify)

6. MONITORING AND EVALUATION

6.1. Monitoring system

Article 3 of the proposed Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council specifies that the Commission shall adopt an annual work programme, including the priorities for action under each objective and the budgetary allocations under this Decision. These programmes, together with their corresponding financing, will be the matter of Commission Decisions detailing the outputs and the results (objectives and indicators) to be achieved during the reference period. The monitoring will be ensured through regular reports on the consumption of resources and on the progress made on the achievement of objectives.

6.2. Evaluation

6.2.1. Ex-ante evaluation

The proposed Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council has been the subject of an ex-ante evaluation carried out according to the procedure laid out by DG Budget. This ex-ante evaluation is attached to this document.

6.2.2. Measures taken following an intermediate/ex-post evaluation (lessons learned from similar experiences in the past)

The MEETS programme is the logical successor to the Edicom I (1996-2000) and Edicom II (2001-2005) programmes.

The first Edicom programme focused on the Intrastat (statistics on intra-EU trade) reporting obligations and more particularly on the development of the operational framework, i.e. electronic data collection and dissemination. The programme achieved its objectives by assisting the Member States in developing and implementing this framework for the transmission, compilation and re-dissemination of data.

The Edicom II programme had a broader focus, which included the stabilisation of the statistical system for external trade statistics (intra and extra EU), the further development of IT tools, modernisation and simplification. The programme has been particularly successful in improving the quality and timeliness of external trade statistics, in further developing web-based transmission and dissemination tools, and in integrating the trade statistics of the 10 Member States which acceded to the European Union in 2004.

The main lesson to be learned from the past concerns the internal organisation of the programme. The two Edicom programmes were structured according to separate objectives, and within each objective a number of actions was defined. Each action was carried out by means of a number of projects. A project leader was assigned to each project, while at the same time the overall organisation and financial management was centralised. This combination of centralisation and decentralisation of different aspects of the programme proved to be very effective in enabling the programme to focus in appropriate detail on particular issues, while at the same time maintaining overall internal coherence. The experience from past programmes also illustrates the need to be careful, particularly in the case of grants, to avoid overlapping or parallel implementation of similar activities and to achieve complementarities.

6.2.3. Terms and frequency of future evaluation

Article 6 of the proposed Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council specifies that the Commission shall, in cooperation with the Member States, regularly evaluate 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.

Moreover, by the end of December 2011, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the activities financed in the first three years under the new programme so as to enable, if appropriate, a review of the actions implemented under this Decision to be carried out.

Finally, six months after the end of the programme 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 Community, the Member States and providers and users of statistical information, to identify areas for potential improvement and to verify synergy with other Community activities

7. Anti-fraud measures

Annual monitoring of progress with implementation and effectiveness of the Commission's Internal Control Standards is designed to give assurance on the existence and functioning of procedures for prevention and detection of fraud and irregularities.

Rules and procedures are in place for the principal budgetary processes: calls for tender, grants, commitments, contracts, payments. The manuals of procedures are made available to all those intervening in financial acts with a view to clarifying responsibilities, simplifying workflows, indicating key control points. Training is provided on their use. The manuals are subject to regular review and updating.

The Commission may have an audit of the use made of the grant carried out either directly by its own staff or by any other qualified outside body of its choice. These audits may be carried out throughout the lifetime of the contract and for a period of five years from the date of payment of the balance of the grant. Where appropriate, the audit findings may lead the Commission to seek recovery of sums paid.

Commission staff and outside persons authorised by the Commission must be granted appropriate access to the offices of the beneficiary and to all the information, including information in electronic format, needed in order to conduct such audits.

The Court of Auditors and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) must enjoy the same rights, especially of access, as the Commission. The Commission may also undertake in situ inspections pursuant to Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 of 11 November 1996 concerning on-the-spot checks and inspections carried out by the Commission in order to protect the European Communities' financial interests against fraud and other irregularities.

8. DETAILS OF RESOURCES

8.1. Objectives of the proposal in terms of their financial cost

Commitment appropriations in EUR million (to 3 decimal places)

2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |

Officials or temporary staff[13] (XX 01 01) | A*/AD | 0,5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

B*, C*/AST | 1 | 1,5 | 1,5 | 1,5 | 1,5 | 1,5 |

Staff financed[14] by art. XX 01 02 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

Other staff[15] financed by art. XX 01 04/05 |

TOTAL | 2,5 | 3,5 | 3,5 | 3,5 | 3,5 | 3,5 |

8.2.2. Description of tasks deriving from the action

AD and END: general management of programme, coordination with Member States, other Commission DGs, coordination of calls for tender and calls for proposals.

AST administrative support and financial follow-up, payments.

8.2.3. Sources of human resources (statutory)

X Posts currently allocated to the management of the programme to be replaced or extended (1,5 FTE officials in 2008 and 2,5 FTE officials in the remaining years)

( Posts pre-allocated within the APS/PDB exercise for year n

( Posts to be requested in the next APS/PDB procedure

X Posts to be redeployed using existing resources within the managing service (internal redeployment) 1 END post

( Posts required for year n although not foreseen in the APS/PDB exercise of the year in question

8.2.4. Other Administrative expenditure included in reference amount (29.0104.04– Expenditure on administrative management)

EUR million (to 3 decimal places)

Budget line(number and heading) | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | TOTAL |

Meetings & Conferences | 0,100 | 0,100 | 0,100 | 0,100 | 0,100 | 0,100 | 0,600 |

Other technical and administrative assistance |

- intra muros * | 0,250 | 0,355 | 0,705 | 0,530 | 0,355 | 0,180 | 2,375 |

- extra muros |

Total Technical and administrative assistance | 0,350 | 0,455 | 0,805 | 0,630 | 0,455 | 0,280 | 2,975 |

*: intra-muros technical and administrative assistance to be commissioned via calls for tender.

8.2.5. Financial cost of human resources and associated costs not included in the reference amount

EUR million (to 3 decimal places)

Type of human resources | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |

Officials and temporary staff (XX 01 01) | 0,175 | 0,292 | 0,292 | 0,292 | 0,292 | 0,292 |

Staff financed by Art XX 01 02 (auxiliary, END, contract staff, etc.) (specify budget line) | 0,049 | 0,049 | 0,049 | 0,049 | 0,049 | 0,049 |

Total cost of Human Resources and associated costs (NOT in reference amount) | 0,224 | 0,341 | 0,341 | 0,341 | 0,341 | 0,341 |

Calculation– Officials and Temporary agents Officials EUR 117.000 per year

Calculation – Staff financed under art. XX 01 02 END EUR 48.678 per year

8.2.6. Other administrative expenditure not included in reference amount EUR million (to 3 decimal places) |

2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | TOTAL |

XX 01 02 11.01 – Missions | 0,006 | 0,006 | 0,006 | 0,006 | 0,006 | 0,006 | 0,036 |

XX 01 02 11 02 – Meetings & Conferences |

XX 01 02 11 03 – Committees[17] |

XX 01 02 11 04 – Studies & consultations |

XX 01 02 11 05 - Information systems |

2 Total Other Management Expenditure (XX 01 02 11) |

3 Other expenditure of an administrative nature (specify including reference to budget line) |

Total Administrative expenditure, other than human resources and associated costs (NOT included in reference amount) | 0,006 | 0,006 | 0,006 | 0,006 | 0,006 | 0,006 | 0,036 |

[1] COM(2005) 97

[2] COM(2006)693

[3] JO C 139, 14.6.2006, p. 1.

[4] JO L 181, 28.6.1989, p. 47

[5] JO L 52, 22.2.1997, p.1.

[6] JO L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. Decizie, astfel cum a fot amendată prin Decizia 2006/512/CE (JO L 200, 22.7.2006, p. 11)

[7] Differentiated appropriations

[8] Non-differentiated appropriations hereafter referred to as NDA

[9] Expenditure that does not fall under Chapter xx 01 of the Title xx concerned.

[10] Expenditure within article xx 01 04 of Title xx.

[11] Expenditure within chapter xx 01 other than articles xx 01 04 or xx 01 05.

[12] See points 19 and 24 of the Interinstitutional agreement.

[13] Cost of which is NOT covered by the reference amount

[14] Cost of which is NOT covered by the reference amount

[15] Cost of which is included within the reference amount

[16] Reference should be made to the specific legislative financial statement for the Executive Agency(ies) concerned.

[17] Specify the type of committee and the group to which it belongs.