Amended proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on inter- administration telematic networks for statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States (Edicom)
Date: 1996-07-08
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU statistics, exchange of information, intra-EU trade, statistical method, telematics

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

Brussels,  08.07.1996 
COM(96) 319  final 

96/0173 (SYN) 

Amended  proposal  for  a 

COUNCIL  DECISION 

on inter-administration  telematic  networks  for statistics  relating  to 
the trading of goods between Member States (Edicom) 

(presented  by the Commission  pursuant to Article  189 a (2) 
of the EC-Treaty) 

EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  3330/91  of  7 November  1991  on  the  statistics 
relating  to  the  trading  of  goods  between  Member  States  defined  a  new system 
(Intrastat) for collecting directly from  the consignors and consignees of goods the 
data necessary  for compiling  these statistics.  It provides  for  the use of methods 
and techniques (e.g. automatic data processing  and electronic data  transmission) 
which  will ensure  that data are exhaustive,  reliable  and  up to date,  . 

It  was  therefore  proposed  to  introduce  a  data  processing  and  telematic 
infrastructure  based on a trans-European  telematic network - to which businesses 
would  also  have  access  -  linking  up  the  national  and  Community  statistical 
systems. 

This  set  of  measures  covers  the  design,  development  and  introduction  of  the 
telematic network and promotion,  support,  monitoring and coordination  relating 
to all  the parties  involved. 

This programme,  which draws on the general and multisectoral work carried out 
under  the  IDA  (Interchange  of  Data  between  Administrations)  multiannual 
programme,  was the subject of Council Decision 94/445/EC of  11 July  1994 on 
inter-administration  telematic  networks  for  statistics  relating  to  the  trading  of 
goods between  Member  States (Edicom). 

Following  the  appeal  lodged  by  the European  Parliament  and  endorsed  by  the 
Commission,  Council  Decision  94/445/EC  was  annulled  solely  on  the  grounds 
that  it had  an  inappropriate  legal basis. 

The interim evaluation reports and the reports by experts drawn up after  the first 
two years of the Edicom programme testify  to its importance and  usefulness  and 
clearly  state that it should be continued. 

The  viability  of  the  investments  already  made  and  the  modernization  of  the 
collection  and  processing  operations  which  are  essential  for  compiling  reliable 
and up-to-date statistics on the trading of goods between  Member  States depend 
on the continuation of the programme and the rapid adoption  of this Decision in 
order  to limit  the effects  of this interruption  in  the progress  of  work. 

a 

Amended  proposal  for  a 

COUNCIL  DECISION 

on  inter-administration  telematic  networks  Tor statistics  relating  to 
the trading  of goods between  Member  States  (Edicom) 

THE  COUNCIL  OF THE  EUROPEAN  UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular 
Article  129d,  third  paragraph,  thereof, 

Having  regard  to the proposal  from  the Commission, 

In cooperation  with  the European  Parliament, 

Having  regard  to the opinion  of the Economic  and Social  Committee, 

Having  regard  to the opinion  of the Committee of the Regions, 

Whereas completing the internal market depends on the elimination of physical  frontiers 
between  Member  States;  whereas  a  satisfactory  level  of  information  on  the trading  of 
goods  between  Member  States  must  therefore  be  ensured  by  means  other  than  those 
involving  checks,  even  indirect ones,  at internal  frontiers; 

Whereas  it is necessary  to collect directly  from  the consignors  and consignees  the data 
necessary  to compile statistics  relating to the trading of goods between Member States, 
using methods and techniques which will ensure that they are exhaustive, reliable and up 
to  date,  without  giving  rise  for  the  parties  concerned,  in  particular  for  small  and 
medium-sized businesses,  to a burden out of proportion to the results which users of the 
said  statistics  can reasonably  expect; 

Whereas  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No 3330/91 of 7 November  1991 on  the  statistics 
relating  to the trading  of goods between  Member  States1 lays down  that  the  conditions 
should  be  created  for  increased  use  of  automatic  data  processing  and  electronic  data 
transmission  for  the  purpose  of  facilitating  the  task  of  the  parties  responsible  for 
providing  information; 

Whereas it is necessary  to ease the burden which statistical returns place on businesses, 
while  at the same  time improving  the circulation  of  statistical  information  with  a view 
to the creation  of the European  information  market; 

Whereas an essential objective of Council Decision 95/468/EC of 6 November  1995 for 
a  Community  contribution  for  telematic  interchange of data between  administrations  in 
the Community  (IDA)2 is to carry  out feasibility  studies,  including validation  schemes; 
whereas  that Decision  should be supplemented  by operational  measures,  particularly  in 
the statistical  sphere; 

OJL316,  16.11.1991, p. 1. 
OJL269,  11.11.1995, p. 23. 

A9-

Whereas  the  compilation  of  harmonized  statistics,  in  particular  with  a  link  between 
statistics on trade and other economic statistics,  should be ensured  in order  to contribute 
to  market  transparency  and  to  the evaluation  of  the competitiveness  of businesses; 

Whereas  the  promotion  of  the  use  of  harmonized  standards  and  concepts  at  European 
level  will  ultimately  lead  to  the elimination  of  duplication  and  to economies  of  scale, 
while  facilitating  the emergence  of new  services  in  the field  of  statistical  telematics; 

Whereas  standardization  carried  out  at  international  level  in  the  sphere  of  electronic 
interchange  (EDI)  contributes  to  facilitating  international  trade  and  to  simplifying 
relations  between  undertakings  and administrative  authorities; 

Whereas  the  establishment  of  common  statistical  standards  for  the  production  of 
harmonized  information  is  an  activity  which  can  be  carried  out  effectively  only  at 
Community level,  in collaboration  with the Member States; whereas such standards will 
be implemented  in each Member  State under the authority  of the bodies and  institutions 
responsible  for  the compilation  and  dissemination  of official  statistics; 

Whereas the Court of Justice has annulled Council Decision 94/445/EC of  11 July  1994 
on  inter-administration  telematic networks for  statistics  relating  to the trading of  goods 
between  Member  States  (Edicom)3 on  the grounds  of  inappropriate  legal  basis  and,  so 
that the programme can be continued,  a new Decision  must therefore  be adopted on  the 
appropriate  legal basis; 

Whereas the interim evaluation reports and the reports by experts drawn up after  the first 
two years  of  the Edicom  programme  testify  to  its importance  and  usefulness  and  state 
that it  should  be continued, 

HAS DECIDED  AS FOLLOWS: 

Article 1 

A set of measures,  hereinafter  referred  to as  "Edicom"  (Electronic  Data Interchange on 
Commerce),  shall be implemented  to facilitate  the conversion  of  regional,  national and 
Community  systems  towards  interoperable  systems  at European  level,  as a  first  stage, 
for  the  collection  of  returns  on  the  trading  of  goods  between  Member  States  from 
businesses,  the validation and pre-processing  of such returns and the dissemination  of the 
statistics  derived  therefrom. 

These systems shall be based on distributed information  systems at regional, national and 
Community levels, the interoperability  of which shall be guaranteed  by the development 
and  use of  harmonized  standards  and communication  procedures. 

These systems shall be based in particular on the use of electronic data interchange (EDI) 
for  the  transmission  of  statistical  returns.  Computerized  procedures  may  be  made 
available  to  the  competent  national  and  Community  authorities  and  to  the  parties 

OJ  L  183,  19.7.1994.  p.  42. 

C 

responsible  for providing statistical  information by agreement with the competent national 
authorities. 

These  systems  shall  be  developed  in  a  way  which  takes  account  of  the  requirements 
associated  with  compiling  statistics  on  internal  trade. 

1. 

2. 

Article  2 

Edicom  shall  run  for  five  years  from  1 September  1996. 

The  Commission  shall,  in the framework  of  the interim  report  referred  to in the 
first  indent  of  Article  8,  and  on  the  basis  of  a  report  by  experts,  evaluate  the 
application of Edicom and,  if appropriate,  propose amendments to this  Decision. 

Article  3 

Measures  shall  be undertaken  only  where a clear  need  for  Community  action  has  been 
established,  in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity.  Edicom  may, by agreement 
with the competent authorities  in the Member States and bearing  in mind the preferential 
use  of  existing  technologies  and  products,  comprise  in particular: 

the design,  development and promotion  of software  for the collection,  validation 
and  transmission  of  statistical  information,  and  assistance  to  Member  States  in 
making  that  software  available  to businesses; 

the design, development and promotion of software for the acceptance, validation, 
processing  and dissemination  of  data,  providing  assistance  for,  and  making  that 
software  available  to,  the regional,  national  and  Community  bodies  responsible 
for  collecting  statistical  information,  and  where  necessary  the  upgrading  of 
equipment; 

the  design,  development  and  promotion  of  formats  for  the  exchange  of 
information,  on  the basis  of  European  and  international  standards,  and  making 
them  available; 

the  design,  documentation  and  promotion  of  the  methods,  procedures  and 
agreements  to be  used  in the exchange of  information; 

making software and services  suppliers aware of the requirements of national and 
Community  statistics. 

In  implementing  the  measures,  the  following  general  aims  shall  be  taken  into  account: 

Article  4 

ÇL 

to facilitate the introduction and use of these systems,  by means of promotion and 
awareness  campaigns aimed  mainly at businesses  and  users and conducted  by the 
competent  Community  bodies  by  agreement  with  national  and  regional  bodies, 

to  undertake  special  measures  for  the  benefit  of  less-developed  regional  and 
national  bodies  to enable them  to take part  in  these  systems, 

to  promote  the  use  of  the  most  appropriate  telematic  technologies  and  tools  to 
meet  the needs of  the statistical  system,  and  their  incorporation  into  the  various 
computer environments  of  the authorities  concerned. 

Article  5 

1. 

(a) 

The Commission  shall be responsible  for the implementation of  Edicom.  It shall 
be assisted  by: 

the  Committee  on  the  Statistical  Programme  of  the  European  Communities, 
established  by  Council  Decision  89/382/EEC,  Euratom4, 
in  drawing  up, 
quantifying  and approving  the  annual  work  programme,  in  accordance  with  the 
procedure  laid  down  in  Article  6; 

(b) 

the  Committee  on  statistics  relating  to  the  trading  of  goods  between  Member 
States,  set  up by  Regulation  (EEC)  No  3330/91: 

for  the  approval  of  calls  for  tenders  and  the  evaluation  of  projects  and 
measures of a total value of  more than ECU  200  000,  in accordance with 
the procedure  laid down  in  Article  6, 

for  measures  to implement  Edicom  other  than  those  referred  to in  point 
(a)  above  and  in  the  first  indent  of  this  point,  in  accordance  with  the 
procedure  laid  down  in Article  7. 

2. 

The Commission  shall keep the Committee set up under the Council Decision  for 
a  Community  contribution 
interchange  of  data  between 
telematic 
administrations  in  the  Community  (IDA)  regularly  informed  of  the  progress  of 
the measures. 

for 

Article  6 

The  representative  of  the  Commission  shall  submit  to  the  Committee  a draft  of 
the  measures  to  be  taken.  The  Committee  shall  deliver  its  opinion  on  the  draft 
within  a  time limit  which  the chairman  may  lay  down  according  to  the  urgency 
of 
the  matter.  The  opinion  shall  be  delivered  by  the  majority  laid  down  in 
Article  148(2) of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is required 
to adopt on a proposal  from the Commission.  The votes of the representatives  of 

O IL  181,23.6.1989,  p.  47. 

e 

the Member  States within the Committee shall be weighted  in the manner set out 
in  that  Article.  The  chairman  shall  not  vote. 

(a) 

The  Commission  shall  adopt  the  measures  envisaged  if  they  are  in 
accordance  with  the opinion  of  the  Committee. 

(b) 

If the measures are not in accordance with the opinion  of  the Committee, 
or if no opinion is delivered,  the Commission  shall,  without delay,  submit 
to  the  Council  a  proposal  relating  to  the  measures  to  be  taken.  The 
Council  shall  act by  a qualified  majority. 

If,  on the expiry  of a period of three months from  the date of  referral  to the Council,  the 
Council  has  not acted,  the proposed  measures  shall  be adopted  by  the  Commission. 

Article  1 

The  representative  of  the  Commission  shall  submit  to  the  Committee  a  draft  of  the 
measures  to be taken.  The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft  within  a time 
limit  which  the  chairman  may  lay  down  according  to  the  urgency  of  the  matter,  if 
necessary  by  taking  a vote. 

The  opinion  shall  be  recorded  in  the  minutes;  each  Member  State  shall  have  the  right 
to  ask  to  have  its  position  recorded  in  the minutes. 

The  Commission  shall  take  the  utmost  account  of  the  opinion  delivered  by  the 
Committee.  It shall  inform  the Committee of  the  manner  in which  its opinion  has  been 
taken  into  account. 

Article  8 

The  Commission  shall  submit  to the European  Parliament  and  the  Council: 

by  31  December  1998,  an interim  report  on  the progress  of  Edicom, 

on  the  conclusion  of  Edicom,  a  report  on  its  implementation  together,  where 
appropriate,  with proposals  for  further  measures. 

Article  9 

This  Decision  is  addressed  to  the Member  States. 

Done  at  Brussels, 

For the  Council 
The  President 

? 

Report on EDICOM actions in 1994 and 1995 

by the Experts* Group 

Contents 

Preface 

1. Summary 

2. Background 

3. The aim of the report 

4. About EDICOM 

5. EDICOM actions in 1994 and  1995 

6. Experiences of the 1994 and  1995 actions 

7. Conclusions 

p. 2 

p. 3 

p. 3 

p. 4 

p. 4 

p. 6 

p. 9 

p. 13 

8. Priorities, aims and budgetary needs for  1996 - 1998 

p. 14 

February 1996 

A 

PREFACE 

The formation  of  an Experts' Group was  agreed  at the meeting  of the "Committee  on 
statistics  relating  to  the  trading  of  goods  between  Member  States"  held 
in 
Luxembourg, December  18 and  19,  1995. 

Five Member countries agreed to participate in the Experts' Group: 

Austria, which was represented by Mr. Gerhard ECKER, 
Denmark,  which  was  represented  by  Mr.  Jens  THOMASEN  who  has  also  acted  as 
chairman of the group, 
France, represented by Mr. Antoine EGEA, 
Greece, represented by Mrs. Athanassia XENAKI, and 
the Netherlands, which was represented by Mr. Vick  SMEETS. 

The  group  was  assisted  by  Eurostat,  represented  by  Mr.  Uwe  KUNZLER  and  Mr. 
Bert  RECTOR. 

The  group  has  met  once  in Luxembourg,  February  5  and  6,  1996  and  has  moreover 
exchanged views by phone and fax. 

This report was finished  on February 29,  1996. 

EDICOM Experts' Report 

1.  SUMMARY 

The report by the EDICOM Experts' Group evaluates the application  of EDICOM 
based on the achievements  of  1994 and  1995. 
Chapter  2  provides  background  to  the  conception  of  EDICOM,  focusing  on  the 
introduction of the internal market and the new INTRASTAT  system. 
In Chapter 3, the aims of the report are described. 
In  Chapter  4,  the  Council  Decision  is  analysed,  and  the  objectives  and  aims  are 
outlined in detail. 
In Chapter  5,  an analysis  of the EDICOM  actions  in  1994  and  1995  is presented, 
based on the Interim EDICOM report  1996. 
In  Chapter  6,  the  EDICOM  actions  are  evaluated.  Special  attention  is  given  to 
software  developed  for the enterprises,  national  administrations' and Eurostat,  and 
to standards for the exchange of data. 
In Chapter 7 it is concluded  that considering the conditions,  the length  of time the 
EDICOM project has been implemented,  and the experiences  and results  achieved, 
EDICOM has given value for money. 
Chapter  8  contains  the  Group's  proposals  concerning  priorities,  aims,  and 
budgetary needs for the period  1996-1998. 

2. BACKGROUND 

INTRASTAT  introduced 
Statistics  on  commodity  trade  between  Member  States  of  the  Community  were 
directly  influenced  by  the  introduction  of  the  internal  market  from  January  1, 
1993. Until that time, trade statistics had been based upon information  supplied  on 
the  customs  document  -  the  SAD.  With  the  abolition  of  customs  control  at  the 
internal  borders  a new  system  had  to  be  designed  for  collecting  trade  data.  This 
new  system  is  known  as  the  INTRASTAT  system  and  is  based  upon  Council 
Regulation  3330/91. 

Ease  the burden  on  enterprises 
An  important  aim  of  the  Intrastat  system,  as  described  in  the  above  mentioned 
regulation,  is that the collection  of trade data should be  conducted  in  such  a way 
as to ease the burden of enterprises supplying information. 

This has been achieved  in three ways: 

•  by introducing  statistical  thresholds  in the  Member  States  which  exempt  most 
small  companies  from  supplying  information  at  all  (Intrastat  Regulation  Art. 
28), 

•  by reducing the number of data elements collected compared to the SAD, 

•  by obliging the Commission to provide an environment  conducive to the use of 
automatic  data  processing  and  electronic  data  transmission  (  Intrastat 
Regulation Art. 34). 

EDICOM and IDA 

This obligation gave rise to the idea of the EDICOM project. 
The  framework  for  this  project,  which  was  initially  scheduled  for  five  years 
beginning  in  1994,  was  laid  down  in  the  Council  Decision  of  July  11,  1994. 
However  EDICOM,  created  to  encourage  the  use  of  telematic  technologies  in 
transmitting  data,  is  closely  linked  to  another  project  run  by  the  Commission, 
namely  the  IDA  project.  This  project  concerns  feasibility  studies  on  the 
implementation  of  trans-European  information  networks  for  the  interchange  of 
data between administrations. 

In  Article  2,  Paragraph  2,  of  the  Council  Decision  it  is  stated  that  "  The 
Commission  shall  ...  and  on  the  basis  of  a  report  by  experts  evaluate  the 
application of Edicom and, if appropriate, propose amendments to this Decision". 

3.  THE AIM OF THE REPORT 

The aim of the Experts' report, which must be regarded  as complementary  to  the 
Interim  EDICOM  Report  1996,  is  to  provide  information  and  facts  to  the 
Commission  for  the  evaluation  of EDICOM  and  if  appropriate,  the  proposal  of 
amendments,  and  for  the  estimation  of the  necessary  funds  for  1996,  1997  and 
1998. 
Explanations  of  acronyms  and  abbreviations  used  in this  report  can  be  found  in 
Chapter 6 of the Interim Report (Annexe 6.2). 

4.  ABOUT  EDICOM 

In Article  1  of the Edicom Decision it is stated that : 

Objectives and aims 
"A  set  of  measures,  hereinafter  referred 
to  as  'Edicom'  (Electronic  Data 
Interchange  on  Commerce),  shall be implemented  to  facilitate  the  conversion  of 
regional,  national  and  Community  systems  towards  interoperable  systems  at 
European  level,  as  a  first  stage,  for  the  collection  of  returns  on  the  trading  of 
goods between Member States from businesses, the validation  and  pre-processing 
of such returns and the dissemination of the statistics derived  therefrom". 

EDICOM measures may include: 

Main  measures 
®  the  design,  development,  and  promotion  of  software  for  the  collection, 
validation,  and  transmission  of  statistical  information,  and  assistance  to 
Member States in making that software  available to businesses, 

•  the  design,  development,  and  promotion  of  software  for  the  acceptance, 
validation,  processing,  and dissemination  of data.  Providing  assistance  for,  and 
making that software  available to, the regional,  national  and Community  bodies 
responsible  for  collecting  statistical  information,  and  where  necessary  the 
upgrading of equipment, 

•  the  design,  development,  and  promotion  of  formats  for  the  exchange  of 
information,  on the basis  of European  and  international  standards,  and  making 
them available, 

®  the  design,  documentation,  and  promotion  of  the  methods,  procedures,  and 

agreements to be used in the exchange of information, 

•  making  software  and  service  suppliers  aware  of  the  requirements  of  national 

and Community statistics. 

In implementing these measures some general  aims had to be taken  into account: 

General  aims 
•  to  facilitate  the introduction  and  use  of these  systems,  by  means  of  promotion 
and  awareness  campaigns  aimed  mainly  at businesses  and  users,  conducted  by 
the  competent  Community  bodies  by  agreement  with  national  and  regional 
bodies, 

•  to  undertake  special  measures  for  the  benefit  of  less-developed  regional  and 

national bodies to enable them to take part in these systems, 

•  to promote the use  of the most  appropriate telematic technologies  and tools  to 
meet the needs of the statistical  system,  and their incorporation  into the various 
computer environments of the authorities concerned. 

Value for  money  criteria 
Generally the measures implemented  must guarantee value  for  money  by  ensuring 
that the benefits  are in keeping with the allocation of resources. 

Financial  aspects 
The initial budget  for  the first  two  years was  20  million ECUs  which was  divided 
evenly  over  the  two  years.  When  the  three  new  Member  States  joined  the 
Community  in  1995  the  EDICOM  budget  was  extended  by  2  million  ECUs  to  a 
total of  12 million ECUs for  1995. 

and  Responsibilities 
Eurostat  is  responsible  for  the  implementation  of  EDICOM.  It  is  assisted  by  the 
'Committee  on the  Statistical  Programme  of the  European  Communities'  and  the 
'Committee on Statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States'. 

Many  EDICOM  activities  for  1994  and  1995  were  conducted  by,  and  under  the 
direct  responsibility  of,  the  national  administrations  in the  Member  States.  Other 
actions were conducted  centrally by Eurostat. 

5.  EDICOM ACTIONS IN 1994 AND 1995 

The  implementation  of  the  EDICOM  decision  has  resulted  in  a  large  variety  of 
projects  and  initiatives  to  facilitate  the  collection  and  dissemination  of  data  by 
electronic means. 

In  order  to  ensure  proper  planning  and  implementation  of  EDICOM,  a  set  of 
Action Plans were specified  by the Member States and Eurostat. 

Although there are national differences  in organization, needs, and priorities, a set 
of common features appear after  studying the Interim report. 

The initiatives contained in the Action Plans have been grouped  under headings in 
order to simplify  and structure their presentation. 

Five  headings  have  been  chosen  to  present  an  overview  of  the  1994  and  1995 
EDICOM Actions. 

A.  Actions aimed at the providers of data 
B.  Actions within the national administrations and Eurostat 
C.  Actions aimed at the users of trade statistics 
D.  Actions concerning analysis and methodological studies 
E.  Actions concerning administration and management 

A.  Actions aimed  at providers of data 

Developmen t of electronic forms 
Special  software  packages  have  been  developed 
INTRASTAT declaration process and make use of EDI-based declarations. 

facilitate 

to 

the 

the  Combined  Nomenclature  containing  codes 

Software packages 
These systems offer  the functionality  of data entry, including validity checks 
of  the  data  entered.  The  packages  can  also  be  used  to  import  data  from 
existing  administrative  sources  within  the  companies  e.g.  accounting 
systems.  Various  help  facilities  are  available  i.e.  code  lists  including 
consultation  of 
for 
approximately  10.000  commodity  items,  default  values  and  calculation 
facilities. 
The  software  packages  have  been  developed  to  also  make  use  of 
telecommunications  in the  transmission  of  data  from  the  companies  to  the 
national administrations. 
At  the  central  level, Eurostat  in  cooperation  with  a  private  company,  has 
developed  the IDEP/CN8  package which is used in the majority  of Member 
States and normally supplied free of charge to the enterprises 
Two Member  States  have  developed  their  own  software  -  the  Netherlands 
developed  CBS-IRIS,  which  is  also  used  in  Germany,  and  Portugal 
developed IDEP-INE. 

Promotion and distribution 
In the preparation phase of INTRASTAT, and in conjunction  with Eurostat, 
a  survey  of  trading  firms  was  conducted  in  most  Member  States.  These 
surveys were designed to obtain an overview of the level of automation used 
to process logistical  information. 
Afterwards  initiatives  followed,  the  main  objectives  being  to  raise  future 
data  providers'  awareness  of the  statistical  returns  in  INTRASTAT  and  to 
provide  information  on  the  data  requirements  of  the  INTRASTAT 
Regulation  at  company  level.  Logos,  brochures  and  technical  documents 
were presented for use at national as well as European level. 

Nomenclature 
Eurostat  prepares  and  maintains the  commodity  nomenclature  - the  CN8  -
used to classify the goods traded. The nomenclature is kept in a text module 
from which all Member States' versions are extracted. 
The  printing  and  distribution  of  the  nomenclature  is generally  done by  the 
Member States. 

B.  Actions within national administrations and Eurostat 

Integration of information systems 
The change towards  electronic data interchange between  the  data  suppliers 
and  the  national  competent  administrations  urged  the  need  for  message 
standards. Priority has been given to develop a message for the transmission 
of  INTRASTAT  returns  by companies.  The UN /  Edifact  was  adopted  as 
the standard as there is a growing practice in the field  of commerce to apply 
Edifact  for internal and external communication. 

Development of computer systems 
A  number  of  Member  States  have  been  forced  to  modify  or  change  their 
computer  systems  in  order  to  comply  with  the  rules  and  conditions  laid 
down in the INTRASTAT Regulations. The changes concern all parts of the 
statistical system, i.e. collecting, checking and dissemination routines. 

Disk /fax  system 
Several  Member  States  have  installed  hardware  and  software  to  handle 
INTRASTAT  returns  on  diskettes  or  tapes.  The  installations  provided  by 
Eurostat  to  the  Member  States  can  process  various  formats,  convert  the 
information  -  mostly  EDIFACT  messages  -  to  the  appropriate  internal 
standards,  handle the  returns,  and  send  messages  to  companies  when  their 
declarations cannot be processed properly. 

OCR system 
Hardware  to  read  the  large  number  of  standard  INTRASTAT  paper 
declarations  was  installed  in  only  a  few  Member  States,  i.e.  Germany, 
Austria  and France.  An efficient  use  of the  OCR technique  requires  firstly, 
that paper declarations are the dominant way of reporting  and secondly, that 
a  centralized  processing  solution  is chosen  as  economies  of  scale  are  only 
possible in this instance. 

Equipment upgrading 
For  a number  of Member  States the  INTRASTAT  system  meant  that  new 
technical  requirements  and  demands  had  to  be  met.  This  phase  of 
modernizing equipment has been possible by the support of EDICOM funds. 

Personnel and training 
Both  Eurostat  and  the  Member  States  have  been  forced  to  employ  more 
people  in  order  to  cope  with  the  numerous  and  complex  problems 
encountered  during  the  first  three  years  of  INTRASTAT.  Along  with  the 
implementation of new information  systems, intensive training of employees 
has been necessary. 

C.  Actions aimed at users of trade statistics 

Data distribution 
The dissemination  of statistics compiled  in INTRASTAT  is done at national 
as well  as European  level. Eurostat  provides  the  monthly  EU  results  based 
on data from  the Member  States. The figures  on trade between  the Member 
States  are  available  in  the  COMEXT  database.  This  uniform  client-server 
system was  developed  to handle the large datasets involved  and  to  provide 
users with facilities  to  specify files or tables to be extracted  and  to  retrieve 
the  data.  COMEXT  also  contains  statistics  for  the  trade  between  Member 
States and non-Member States. 
A  monthly  abstract  of  the  database  is  transferred  to  the  COMEXT  CD-
ROM which is distributed  to  the Member  States  and  other  subscribers and 
contains user-friendly  software. 

D.  Analysis and  methodological  studies 

Analysis and methodological studies 
The  introduction  of  INTRASTAT,  entailing  changes  to  the  collection  of 
trade data from a customs-based  system to a new, business-oriented  system, 
has caused  many  problems  at  company  level  and  at  national  administrative 
level,  consequently  effecting  Eurostat  as well.  In  other  words  statistics  on 
trade  between  Member  States  have,  for  the  last  three  years,  been  facing 
problems of quality and timeliness. 

The Intrastat difficul-ties are here to stay? 
The  problems  encountered  were  expected  to  be  of  an  incidental  nature. 
However,  it  turned  out  that  the  problems  were  of  a  profound  and 
complicated nature and that there are no quick solutions to the problems. 

A lot  of effort  has been  made to  clarify  the  problems  and  also  to  propose 
solutions with the objective  of improving  the  quality  and  exhaustiveness  of 
statistics on the commodity trade between the Member States. 

Quality  studies  undertaken 
Based  on  the  proposals  and  recommendations  of  a  group  of  experts,  who 
analysed  several  of  the  quality  problems,  the  Member  States  committed 
themselves  to  implementing  appropriate  methods  for  improving  the  quality 
of the INTRASTAT statistics. 

A  comprehensive  study  of  the  INTRASTAT  systems  implemented  in  all 
Member  States - including the new three - was carried out in the last part  of 
1995  with the purpose  of  comparing  the  application  of the Regulations,  the 
data  collection  and  processing  systems,  adjustment  and  control  procedures 
and the reliability  of the results.  Interview  teams  consisting  of two  Eurostat 
representatives  and two Member  State  representatives  have  reported  on the 
systems in each country based on a common list of questions. 

The opinion  of companies  and  users 
In  order  to  collect  impressions  of  the  present  system,  an  opinion  poll  was 
launched.  One  part  of  the  poll  was  aimed  at  the  reporting  companies, 
another  was  directed  towards  the  users  of  trade  statistics.  The  aims  of  the 
opinion  poll,  which  was  based  on  two  questionnaires  (one  form  for 
reporters,  and  another  for  users),  were  to  obtain  a  clearer  view  of  the 
reporting  companies' perception  of the  system,  including  their  proposals  for 
changes,  and  to  ascertain  the  users  perception  of  the  quality  of  trade 
statistics and the level of detail they require. 

Seminar  organized 
The results of the opinion poll are therefore  not only relevant for the present 
system but certainly  also for the future  system and framework.  The changes, 
and especially the future framework,  will be discussed in March  1996,  where 
these 
issues  are  on  the  agenda  during  a  two  day  seminar  entitled 
INTRASTAT. 

E.  Administration  and  management 

During  the planning  and implementation  phase  of  most  of  the  tasks  carried 
out  under  the EDICOM  project,  Eurostat  and  Member  States  were  forced 
to  set  up  steering  committees  to  ensure  the  large  number  of  tasks  were 
constantly moving in the right direction. 
Furthermore,  regular  meetings  of  the  EDICOM  task  force  have  required 
preparation of documents, translations and special consultative missions. 

6.  EXPERIENCES  OF THE  1994 AND  1995  ACTIONS 

From reading the Interim report it appears that the ideal, basic  conditions were not 
present for EDICOM when this project started. 
The national administrations were far from being at the same technical  level. 
The  enterprises'  readiness  to  use  PC's  and  modems  differed  between  Member 
States. 
The  technical  infrastructure  for  data  communication  was  not  available  in  all 
Member States. 

In  other  words  the  EDICOM  project  had  to  focus  heavily  on  development  and 
improvement in these areas. 

To  summarize the accomplishments, i.e. the results achieved  and the  experiences 
gained, and to evaluate the  1994 and  1995 Action Plans, the Experts'  Group  has 
chosen to examine three major areas of EDICOM. 

1.  Software for the enterprises and other actions to reduce their reporting burden 
2.  National administrations' and Eurostat actions 
3.  Standards for exchange of data 

1. 

Software for the enterprises etc. 
Within  the  framework  of  EDICOM, 
three  software  products  were 
developed  for  the  enterprises.  The  CBS-developed  package,  CBS-IRIS, 
which is used in Holland  and Germany, the Portuguese IDEP-INE, which is 
used in Portugal,  and the Eurostat  developed  IDEP/CN8  package, which is 
used in all other Member  States except the UK., where the private  software 
houses are the sole suppliers of these or similar products. 

Stability reached 
The  programs  have  now  been  stabilized  after  a  number  of  "children's 
diseases", and  are accepted  by the enterprises. Most  countries  have  chosen 
to  provide  the  software  free  of  charge  or  at  a  symbolic  price  in  order  to 
make  these  data  entry  solutions  attractive.  The  distribution  of  the 
programmes is either handled  by the national  administrations  themselves  or 
in co-operation with software companies. 
Especially for IDEP there was a serious problem of delay when Intrastat was 
first introduced.  Furthermore,  the  above  mentioned  programmes  contained 
too many bugs. However, these conditions have improved  satisfactorily,  and 
the organisational framework  within Eurostat has been  strengthened. 

Software companies 
The  national  administrations  have  established  close  co-operation  with 
software  companies to set up standards on conformity,  i.e. a guarantee now 
exists that  for  certain  software  products  the Intrastat  declaration  generated 
conforms  with  the  standards  in  the  relevant  country.  In  a  number  of 
countries  IDEP  and  CBS-IRIS  have  become  the  de-facto  standard  for 
electronic forms and output  formats. 

Telecommunication 
The  software  provided  by  the  national  administrations  usually  produces  a 
diskette as output to be sent and later processed by a national  administration 
unit.  Some  countries,  however,  have  introduced 
telecommunications. 
Successful  results  have  been  reported  in  Holland,  and  in  Belgium  and 
Austria using CBS-IRIS  and IDEP  respectively.  In the UK the  experiences 
with EDI  are  also  positive.  Telecommunications  by  networks  or  telephone 
lines are generally seen as growing in the Member States. 

10 

The CN-8 
As  a  service  to  the  enterprises,  an  electronic  list  of  commodities  has been 
developed  containing  the  official  Combined  Nomenclature  (CN8)  which 
must be used when the goods traded  are declared  for  statistics. The CN8 is 
also available in paper format  and distributed in the Member  States. As with 
the  software  some Member  States  provide  the  CN8  free  of  charge,  others 
make a small charge. 

Helps-desks 
In most countries help-desks have been set up to support the software  users 
when  they  make  their  electronic  INTRASTAT  declaration  and  face 
problems.  These  help-desks  are  very  successful  and  highly  appreciated  by 
the declarants. 
In  some  countries  the  software  help-desks  are  integrated,  or  at  least 
cooperate, with the Intrastat help-desks. 
Eurostat  has  also  established  a  help-desk  with  the  aim  of  supporting  the 
national  administrations  when  serious  problems  arise.  This  service  has 
proved  to  be very valuable  and  is  an  efficient  way  of  collecting,  recording 
and solving software problems. 

Promotion 
Promotion  campaigns  for  the  software  have  been  conducted  at  a  national 
level.  The  rate  of  success  differs  from  country  to  country.  Most  countries 
have  been  reluctant  to  promote  IDEP  on  a  large  scale  because,  until 
recently,  the  product  hasn't  been  stable  enough  and/or  the  Member  States 
have  not  been  ready  to  launch  the  package.  Some  countries  have  also 
offered  training courses for new users of the electronic forms. 

Communication 
Regular  communication  in the  form  of,  for  instance,  a  newsletter,  has  not 
been  widely  used  due  to  high  postal  costs  except  in  countries  with  a 
relatively low number of users. 

2.  National administrations'  and Eurostat  actions 

These  actions have primarily  focused  on  software  development,  the  setting 
up of statistical processing systems and the upgrade of equipment. 

Registers 
A  great  deal  of  effort  has  been  devoted  to  establishing  comprehensive 
INTRASTAT registers in the Member  States, i.e. records of the  enterprises 
performing  EU  trade.  The  register  plays  an  important  role,  facilitating  the 
communication flow with the enterprises, and indicating, for instance, IDEP, 
CBS-IRIS, IDEP-INE users.  The general  experience  is that  maintenance  is 
difficult,  in the  sense that  the  completeness  and  correctness  of  the  register 
can be somewhat uncertain. In addition, maintenance is a heavy workload. 

Processing systems 
The  national  administrations  have  developed  their  own  INTRASTAT 
including 
for  validation  and  processing  of  declarations 
routines 

11 

telecommunications.  Individual  solutions  are,  for  example,  also  seen  for 
reminders.  Some  Member  States  have  installed  network  systems  facilitating 
the communication between the administrations. 
However,  uniform  functionality  cannot  be  used  due  to  national  variations, 
thereby limiting harmonisation. 

Disk/fax 
The  experience  with  disk/fax  systems,  which are installed  in the  majority  of 
Member  States,  has  generally  been  good.  These  systems  have  been 
developed  as  standard,  stand-alone  systems,  i.e.  they  are not  at the  moment 
integrated  with  the  register  of  enterprises.  Fax  returns  to  the  enterprises 
therefore  concern  only  diskette  reading  problems  at  the  moment,  not 
acknowledgments or reminders. 

OCR 
Other  systems  for  data  capture  have  been  installed,  providing  valuable 
experience. For instance, diskette copy boxes, OCR and scanner systems. 

IDEP,  CN8,  COMEXT 
At Eurostat  level,  major progress has been made. The development  of IDEP 
has already been mentioned. 
The  maintenance  of  CN8  now  takes  place  in  a  new  text  handling  system 
thereby  improving  the  chances  of  timely  deliveries  to  the  Member  States. 
Prior  delays  have  now  been  reduced.  However,  at Member  State  level,  the 
printing of the CN8 is a considerable task as is the following  distribution. 
COMEXT  can  now  be  accessed 
complementary to this, extracts are available on the COMEXT  CD-ROM. 

in  an  open  database  system  and 

Other  actions 
In a few Member  States the idea of sending trade statistics to the enterprises 
in return for their INTRASTAT  declarations  is being  examined.  Behind  this 
initiative lies the hope of improved motivation by the companies in supplying 
timely, exhaustive  and correct monthly declarations. 

The  recruitment  of  staff  in  the  Member  States  for  INTRASTAT  and 
EDICOM has not been an easy task.  Special  attention  has also been  given  to 
the training and education of the personnel. 
Furthermore,  a  necessary  upgrade  of  equipment  has  taken  place  in  several 
Member States. 

Quality  improvement  a  must 
Many  efforts  have  been  devoted  to  examining  the  quality  problems  in 
INTRASTAT,  which  are  also  reflected  in  EDICOM  (garbage  in  =  garbage 
out).  Individual  studies  have  been  made  as  well  as  common  actions.  There 
are  no  immediate  signs  that  the  problems  will  disappear  quickly,  although 
substantial improvements  have already been Made. 
The genera! quality  of trade  &t;4ii »(.«<•'* i* still  *>*  '  satisfactory,  influenced  by  a 
large  proportion  of  non-response,  pertir!  dect'rations,  errors  in  commodity 
codes  etc. 

12 

3. 

To improve the situation the national administrations have put a lot of  effort 
into  making  INTRASTAT  statistics  reliable,  timely  and  accurate.  In  the 
coming years these efforts will continue and may even have to be intensified. 

to 

that 

also 

shows 

attempts 

Standards for exchange of data 
The  Experts'  Group  finds  that  there  is  widespread  use  of  EDIFACT 
messages, e.g. CUSDEC/INSTAT and CUSRES/INSRES. 
Other EDI standards are also used ,e.g. X.400 lines. 
It  seems that  teleprocessing  is in an elementary  phase,  however  expanding. 
Experience 
advanced 
telecommunication  solutions  have  not  been  successful  partly  because  few 
enterprises  are  linked  to  VANs  and  possess  the  know-how.  Another 
restriction is the relatively high costs of VAN connections, which  are rarely 
used,  or established  solely for  statistical  declarations.  Simple solutions  have 
proved to be the right choice to start with ("crawl then walk" solutions). 
The  national  administrations  have,  from  the  start,  announced  certain 
standard file formats  for INTRASTAT EDI-declarations,  and  a Community 
paper  standard  format  has  been  introduced,  which  was  even  prepared  for 
OCR. 
The national  administrations have made agreements with  software  suppliers 
and network owners to ensure implementation of uniform  standards. 

introduce 

7.  CONCLUSIONS 

Since  the  introduction  of  the  INTRASTAT  system,  there  have  been  many 
achievements in the field of EDICOM developments. 
Considering  the  conditions  and  the  length  of  time  that  the  project  has  been 
running,  the  Experts'  Group  finds  that  the  EDICOM  project  has  been 
implemented,  and  that  the  experiences  and  results  achieved  have  given  value  for 
money. 

Valuable projects  have been  started,  some have been finished and  others  still  run 
and have to be continued. 
It has been demonstrated that: 

• 

the IDEP,  CBS-IRIS, IDEP-INE  software  is now  stabilized  and  ready  for  full 
scale promotion and wider use, 
• 
telecom solutions are expanding, but must not be forced, 
•  a satisfactory  number of enterprises use EDI declarations, 
®  the  opportunity  to  modernize  equipment  at  national  and  Eurostat  level  brings 

the administrations more in-line technically, 

©  the  Intrastat  problems  known  are  handled  but  far  from  solved,  and  new 

problems are expected to arise 

The value for money argument can also be put this way: if the EDICOM initiatives 
were  to  be  stopped  now  and  no  new  versions  of  IDEP,  CBS-IRIS,  IDEP-INE 
were developed,  no new CN8 available, no help-desk  assistance  was to  be given 
etc., the Intrastat system would meet even more serious problems. 

13 

8.  PRIORITIES, AIMS  AND  BUDGETTARY  NEEDS  FOR  1996-1998. 

The Experts' Group  recommend  the  continuation  of EDICOM  with  the  following 
priorities  and  aims  for  1996,  1997  and  1998.  An  indication  of  the  annual 
budgetary needs is also given. 

•  Continue  and  intensify  promotion  of  the  use  of  electronic  forms  (software 
packages)  developed  by  the  national  administrations  or  Eurostat.  2Vi  million 
ECU, 

•  follow  developments  of  hardware  and  software  to  recognize  the  need  for 
amendments  or  renewal  of  equipment  or  programmes,  e.g.  EDIFACT 
translators, disk/fax systems, Windows 95. 2Vz million ECU, 

•  follow  developments  on  telematic  networks  and  tele-transmission  and  adapt 
systems  to  these,  e.g.  use  of  Internet  to  send  CN8,  thresholds,  and  other 
messages to the enterprises. 2 million ECU, 

•  continue  and  strengthen  the  existing  data-communication  initiatives.  1  million 

ECU, 

•  examine  the  dissemination  of  statistics  as  a  means  of  motivation  for  the 

enterprises providing Intrastat declarations.  1 million ECU, 

•  continue  and  improve  the  quality  and  availability  of  trade  statistics.  2  million 

ECU. 

For organisation,  follow-up,  meetings  and other overheads  an annual  amount of 1 
million ECU is reserved. 

However,  the amounts may vary for the priorities in the course of the 3 years. 

According  to  this  an  annual  total  amount  of  12  million  ECU  is  needed, 
accumulating to a total of 36 million ECU for the 3 year period. 

The  experts'  group  also  finds  that  the  conclusions  from  the  seminar  about 
INTRASTAT  in  March  1996,  may  influence  the  priorities  and  aims  listed  and 
make a revision necessary.  This may even influence the budgetary needs. 

14 

Financial statement 

1. 

TITLE OF OPERATION 

Proposal  for  a Council  Decision  on  inter-administration  telematic  networks 
for  statistics  relating  to  the  trading  of  goods  between  Member  States 
(Edicom). 

2. 

BUDGET HEADINGS INVOLVED 

1996 budget  -  Article  B5-721  IDA  (networks  for  the  interchange  of  data 
between administrations). 
1997  preliminary  draft  budget  -  Heading  B5-7211  -  Networks  for 
intra-Community statistics (Edicom). 

3. 

LEGAL BASIS 

Article 129 D, third paragraph, of the Treaty. 

4. 

DESCRIPTION OF OPERATION 

4.1.  General objective of operation 

The aim of this operation is to introduce a computerized and telematic  infrastructure 
based  on  a  trans-European  network  interconnecting  the  national  and  Community 
statistical systems and to which businesses also have access. 

The telematic network will not only perform  the standard functions  of  transporting 
information  but  will  also  offer  general  telematic  services such  as  service  bureau, 
information  dissemination hosts, messaging services, etc. 

The  Community  and  National  Statistical  Systems  cover  the  data  processing 
infrastructures,  in terms of both software  and hardware,  required  by the collection 
centres,  the national  authorities  responsible and  Eurostat  for  the processing  of  the 
statistical  information  collected  and  disseminated.  All  these  Community  and 
national  systems will  have to  be  harmonized  and  interconnected  in  order  to cope 
its  requirements  of 
with 
interoperability. 

the  internal  market  and  in  particular 

to  meet 

Access to the telematic network will be available to businesses via telematic  forms 
and publications. In addition, the data processing systems of businesses will be able 
to connect directly  to the network on condition that they comply  with  its standards 
of  information  structure  (Edifact,  etc.)  and  communication  protocols  and  provide 
prior evidence that they do so. 

4.2 

Period covered and arrangements for renewal or extension 

45 

Multiannuai  operation  (1996-2000),  as  there  is  an  ongoing  demand  for 
statistical information  (continuation of an operation which began in 1994). 

5. 

CLASSIFICATION OF THE EXPENDITURE OR REVENUE 

5.1.  Non-compulsory expenditure 

5.2.  Differentiated/non-differentiated appropriations 

5.3.  Type of revenue involved: 

Sale of statistics, partly covering the production of publications. 

6.  TYPE OF EXPENDITURE OR REVENUE 

The  Community  budget contribution  accounts  for  only  a  small  percentage 
(in  the  region  of  5%)  of  die actual  cost  of  collecting  the  data,  since  the 
Community's  statistical  activities  are  largely  carried  out  by  the  Member 
States.  However,  some  expenditure  is  essential 
to  encourage  the 
standardization of data collection, processing and transmission to Eurostat. 

Subsidy  for joint  financing  with  other  sources  in  the  public  and/or 
private sector 

NO 

Interest subsidies 

NO 

Other 

NONE 

Should the initiative prove a financial  success, is there provision  for all 
or part of the community contribution to be reimbursed? 

NO 

Will the proposed operation cause any change in the level of revenue? 

Indirectiy.  The results of the statistical work on indicators of own resources 
(GNP, VAT, customs duties) may be used to re-assess the general  level of 
the budget. 

4 

Re-use 

This expenditure  may generate  income which  may  be  re-used.  The  income 
which  may be re-used  is estimated at ECU  100 000 per  year. 

7. 

FINANCIAL  IMPACT 

7.1.  Method of calculating the total cost of the operation 

Point 9.2  gives a  breakdown  of the operation.  The  attached  experts'  report 
provides a breakdown of the costs. 

These  costs  have  been  based  on  the  implementation  of  the  programme  in 
1994  and  1995,  the  prospects  for  further  development  (in  particular  the 
number of  users of electronic  forms  and  the  number  of  Intrastat  returns  via 
telecommunications)  and  the  processing  costs  incurred  by  the  competent 
national  authorities. 

In  the  amounts  shown  for  the  period  in  question,  the  part  devoted  to 
development  decreases  while  the  costs  of  training,  back-up,  assistance  and 
maintenance increase in proportion  to the extension  of the system. 

The total cost of the programme is broken down as  follows: 

OPERATING  APPROPRIATIONS: 
B5/7 

of which:  contribution  to the  official 

public Statistical Institutes of 
the Member  States 

1996 

1997 

3 years 
1998-2000 

6 

3 

10 

5 

30 

15 

Provision of  services to 
research  institutes and private 
firms 

3 

5 

15 

4? 

7.2.  Breakdown by programme component (ECU million) 

BREAKDOWN  BY ACTIVITY 

I. 

Systems for  reporting data and returning data 
to businesses 
Electronic  forms 

97 

98 

99 

2000 

2001 

3.5 

4.0 

4.0 

4.5 

17.5 

II.  National and Community Statistical Systems 

4.5 

4.0 

4.0 

4.0 

18.5 

Introduction of telematic services 

HI. 

International  standardisation 

IV.  Promotion/Training/Back-up/ 

Supervision/Coordination 

1.0 

1.0 

1.0 

1.0 

1.0 

1.0 

1.0 

1.0 

5.0 

5.0 

TOTAL 

10.0 

10.0 

10.0 

10.5 

46.0 

7.3. 

Schedule  to  be  completed  for  multiannual  operations  accompanied  by 
amount  deemed necessary 

Commitment appropriations in ECU million 

1996 

1997 

1998 

1999 

2000 

6.0 

10.0 

10.0 

10.0 

10.0 

Later 
years 
-

Total 

46.0 

3.6 

2.4 
6.0 

4.0 
6.0 

4.0 
6.0 

4.0 
6.0 

3.6 

8.4 

10.0 

10.0 

10.0 

6.0 
10.0 
10.0 
10.0 
10.0 

46.0 

4.0 

4.0 

Commitment 
appropriations 
Payment 
appropriations 
1996 
1997 
1998 
1999 
2000 
Later years 
Total 

8. FRAUD-PREVENTION MEASURES; RESULTS OF MEASURES TAKEN 

Statistical  information  is considered  an  objective  means  of  assessing  Community  action 

programmes and thus helps to consolidate anti-fraud measures. 

4 

9.  COST-BENEFIT  ANALYSIS 

9.1  Specific  and quantified objectives; target  population 

The objectives are linked to the provisions of the Treaty on European  Union  relating 
to the completion of the internal market and to trans-European telematic networks. 

This beneficiaries of this operation are: the Community institutions,  the governments 
of  the  Member  States,  businesses,  economic  and  social  decision-makers  in  the 
Member States,  research institutes, universities and the media. 

The activities planned for  1996-2000 have four main objectives: 

-  to  increase  the effectiveness  of  data collection  and  dissemination  by  national  and 
Community  statistical  organisations  through  the establishment  of  a  European 
infrastructure  to  even  out  the  structural  differences  between  the  Member 
States  in  the  level  of  development  of  their  data  processing  and  statistical 
systems; 

-  to  lighten  the  burden  on  businesses  in  making  statistical  returns  and  achieving 
harmonisation at European level,  while improving the circulation of  statistical 
information  and  thereby  creating  a  genuine  European  information  market 
based on the devolution of appropriate activities to the Member States; 

-  to  obtain  the  comparable,  harmonized  and  up-to-date  statistical  data  required  to 
supervise  and  monitor  the  policies  associated  with  the  internal  market, 
particularly within the context of trade policy,  obtain new statistics by product 
(Prodcom)  at  lower  cost,  and  link  up  with  intra-Community  trade  statistics 
(Intrastat),  leading to a better assessment of  the competitiveness  of  businesses 
and improved market transparency; 

-  to  promote  the  use  of  harmonized  standards  and  concepts  at  European  level, 
eventually  putting  an  end  to  the  duplication  of  similar  activities  and 
introducing  economies  of  scale,  while  at  the  same  time  promoting  the 
emergence of new markets in the field of statistical telematics. 

9.2. 

GROUNDS FOR THE  OPERATION 

This  operation  covers  all  the  tasks  of  design,  development  and  implementation  of  the 
telematic  network  or  promotion,  training,  back-up,  supervision  and  coordination  in 
relation  to all  the parties  involved.  It will  benefit  from  the  general  and multi  sectoral 
work  undertaken  under  the  IDA  programme  and  will  concentrate  on  developing  the 
statistical component of these projects. 

/« 

1. 

System  for  declaring  information  and  returning  it  to  businesses:  electronic 

forms and dissemination 

The  main  aim  is  to  collect  statistical  information  directly  from  those  with  an 
obligation to provide it, and to return it to them as soon as possible. 

Four activities are planned: 

1. 
a) 
b) 

providing electronic forms: 
development 
dissemination. 

2. 

incorporation  of  derived  statistical  declaration  modules  into  commercial 

management software packages. 

3. 

a) 
b) 

dissemination of electronic publications: 
development 
dissemination 

4. 

making  the  telematic  services  available  to  those  with  an  obligation  to 

provide statistical information for their declarations by EDI. 

EL  Community  and  national  statistical  systems:  Adaptation  to  the  rules  of  the 
internal market and to its requirements for interoperability. 

The  telematic  service,  accompanied  by  all  its  advantages  for,  in  particular,  those 
responsible  for  providing  statistical  information,  cannot  be  introduced  without 
adapting  and  harmonizing  the  Community  and  national  statistical  systems  to  cope 
with the requirements of the internal market. 

There are basically two such requirements: a) new regulations or amendments must 
be  incorporated  into  the  Community  and  national  statistical  systems;  b)  the 
Community and national statistical services must be interoperable. 

The  purpose  of  all  developments  is  to  harmonize  the  Community  and  national 
statistical systems and to create synergies. 

The following operations are planned: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Incorporation of amendments to regulations in the systems. 

Creating an interface between the systems and the collection points. 

Adding telematic dissemination hosts to the databases. 

O2Q 

4. 

Interconnection of the systems to the telematic service. 

III.  European and international standards:  international standardization. 

The  interoperability  of  the computer  applications of  the  various  parties  concerned 
(those  with  an  obligation  to  provide  statistical  information,  national  authorities, 
Eurostat  and  users of  statistics)  is  based  mainly  on  the  application  of  a  corpus  of 
standards some of which are still  far  from  fully  defined,  particularly  with  regard  to 
the structure of the interchanged  data, protocols  for electronic data  interchange, and 
security and confidentiality procedures. 

All  this  standardization  work  will  have a  European  application  while  at  the  same 
time fitting into international standardization processes. 

This  standardization  is  essential  at  all  levels  of  development  for  introducing  the 
telematic network  and,  as such,  is an associated  horizontal  activity.  It  involves  the 
standardization of the following: 

1. 
2. 
3. 

flows of statistical data (Edifact); 
the EDI transmission system for statistical flows; 
procedures  for  computer  and  telematic  security,  electronic  signature  and 

protection of confidential  data. 

IV.  Promotion, training, back-up, quality control and coordination 

These  activities  are  horizontal  in  relation  to all  those described  above.  They  are 
vitally important for the success of the project and its operational continuation: 

1. 

2. 
3. 

4. 
5. 

6. 

the regulations:  awareness/training of the parties responsible for  providing 

information; 

checking the returns; 
telematic  services:  awareness,  training  and  back-up  for  the  parties 

responsible for providing information; 

the products: awareness/training/backrup for economic operators; 
products  and  services:  quality  control  and  monitoring  their  compliance 

with the standards; 

coordinating the activities of all those involved. 

9.2.1 Cost: 

-The  Member  States  are  mainly  responsible  for  financing  this  operation  (point 
6.1.),  since they have well-established collection and processing facilities.  If 
the  Commission  were  to finance this programme  in  its  entirety,  the  costs 
would be extremely high and the results less reliable. 

*i 

-  Given  die very  large number of  units concerned,  the development  of  new  statistics 
and the introduction of a European network of data on businesses in particular 
will  mean  that  for  the  Intrastat  project  alone  about  500  000  businesses  will 
have  to  thoroughly  revise  their  traditional  collection  channels  so  as  to 
guarantee the interoperability of the structures selected. 

- The bulk of  the costs are operating costs (equipment,  staff,  etc.),  in proportion  to 
the number of components at the various levels - businesses,  regional  centres, 
national  institutes  and  Eurostat.  They  are  met  primarily  by  the  Member 
States. 

9.2.2  Spin-off  effects: 

-  The  improvement  of  statistical  information  and  its  dissemination  facilitates  the 
work necessary  for implementing Community policies (on  trade, competition, 
own resources, tariff statistics, agricultural  levies, etc.). 

-  The  responsibility  and  concerted  mobilisation  of  the  various  participants  in  this 
highly devolved European structure will  help to create the European statistical 
area. 

- The  operation  encourages  rather  than  competes  against  the  private  sector.  The 
principle  is  to  provide  a  set  of  products  to  be  incorporated  into  the  range 
offered  by  private  businesses,  which  will  thereby  be  required  to  meet 
minimum quality standards. 

9.2.3  Multiplier  effects: 

- The  planned  programme  is  an  encouragement  to  mobilize  the  budgets  of  the 
national statistical systems and to emulate and transfer experience and systems 
between Member States. 

- Trade associations and other bodies representing businesses,  research institutes and 
universities  will  have  easier access  to  the  data  necessary  for  socio-economic 
studies and analyses. 

9.2.4  Need for the operation: 

- The  data  collection,  processing  and  dissemination  systems  at  European  level  for 
statistics  on  trade,  industry  and  the  regions  are  designed  as  distributed 
database architectures.  This approach provides a greater wealth  of  databases 
at  national  or  even  regional  level,  helps  avoid  the  duplication  of  data  and 
systems  and,  thanks  to  the  interoperability  of  these  databases,  presents  new 
possibilities for compiling statistics and disseminating them to a wider public. 

3JL 

- The  activities  carried  out  at  Community  level  aim  to  ensure  that  tiiese  networks 
run  smoothly  by  minimising  the  effects  of  die  differences  in  die  level  of 
development  of  the  national  systems,  promoting  synergies  and  exchanges 
between  national  authorities,  developing  modules  which  are  common  to  the 
different  national  systems  (economies  of  scale)  along  with  the  interfaces 
required to ensure  interoperability  between  the  national  systems,  and,  lastly, 
by coordinating all the work. 

-  As  with  the  collection  of  basic  data  from  businesses,  once  the  regulatory 
framework  for  these  systems  has  been  adopted,  the  aim  of  the  Community 
activities  will  be either  to encourage  the wider use of  national  software  or  to 
develop  software  promoting  the  use  of  telematics  in  order  to  reduce  the 
burden on businesses in making statistical returns. 

9.3.  MONITORING  AND EVALUATION  OF THE OPERATION 

Performance  indicators: 

The performance indicators adopted to assess the progress of work are: 

For type I operations (see 9.2) 

Number  of  Member  States using  Intrastat  electronic  forms  and/or 

electronic dissemination. 

Number  of  businesses  per  Member  State  using  Intrastat  electronic 

forms and/or electronic dissemination. 

Percentage  of  Intrastat  returns  on  magnetic  and/or  telematic 

medium in relation to the total number of returns. 

For type II operations 

-  Time taken to transmit data from the competent national  authorities 

to Eurostat. 

-  Number of errors detected in the data. 

For type HI operations 

-  Number of Edifact messages (CUSDEC/INSTAT  etc.) 

23 

For type IV operations 

-  Number  of  training  seminars  held  for  businesses  and  number  of 

persons concerned. 

-  Number  and  frequency  of  assistance  and  back-up  measures  at 

national level. 

Details and frequency  of planned  evaluations 

The  implementation  of  the  programme  will  be  monitored  by  the  Task 
Force made up of representatives of the Member States and Eurostat,  to 
be set up by the Committee on statistics relating to the trading  of  goods 
between  Member States  with  responsibility  for  supervising  the  Edicom 
programme and assisting the Commission  in managing it. 

Lastly,  the  implementation  of  the  programme  will  be  monitored  by 
committees: 

a)  Statistical  Programme  Committee  (Council  Decision  89/382/EEC 
of  19 June  1989),  made  up  of  the  Presidents  and  Directors-
General of the National Statistical Institutes; 

b)  Committee  on  statistics  relating to  the  trading  of  goods  between 
Member  States  (Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  3330/91  of  7 
November  1991),  made  UP  of  representatives  of  the  national 
authorities responsible for trade statistics. 

For each performance  indicator,  the figures for the objectives  have been 
calculated  on  an  annual  basis  and  are  being  monitored  as  part  of  the 
corporate  planning  exercise  being  carried  out  in  Eurostat.  The 
evaluation  will  be carried out by the Edicom Task  Force and  presented 
to the Intrastat Committee. 

The  evaluation  reports  on  the  national  measures  will  be  drawn  up  in 
accordance with the contracts concluded  with other  national  authorities, 
in  which,  inter  alia,  the  timetable  and  practical  arrangements  for  the 
work are laid down. 

ss 

At Community level, interim and final evaluations reports will be drawn 
up  by  Eurostat  and  submitted  to  the  Intrastat  Committee  for  approval 
and will give a comparative cost-benefit analysis for each measure. 

9.4. Consistency with the financial  programming 

Is the operation included in the DG's financial  programming  for 
the years in question? 

YES:  This operation, which was initially the subject of a Council 
Decision,  was  extended  in  1994,  1995  and  19%  with 
appropriations under Chapter B5 72. 

To  which  broader  objective  defined  in  the  DG's  financial 
programming  does  the  objective  of  the  proposed  operation 
correspond? 

Single general  objective  represented  by  the  implementation  of  the 
1993-1997 Statistical Programme of the European Community. 

10. 

ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENDITURE (PART A OF THE BUDGET) 

The  effective  mobilisation  of  the necessary  administrative  resources  will  result  from  the 
Commission's  annual  decision  on  the  allocation  of  resources,  taking 
particular  account  of  any  additional  staff  and  amounts  granted  by  the 
budgetary authority. 

10.1 

Impact on the number of jobs 

Type of job 

Staff  to be engaged in 
managing the operation 
Temporary 
jobs 

Permanent 
jobs 

Officials  or 
temporary  staff 

Other  staff 

A 
B 
C 

Total 

2 
1 
1 

4 

1FND 

1 

of which 

period 

taking 

by 
additional  staff 

on 

by using existing 
staff  in the DG or 
department 
concerned 
2 
1 
1 
1FND 

5 

1996 - 2000 

1996-2000 

For additional staff, state when they will be required. 

<fe 

10.2  Overall  financial  impact of  additional  staff 

Amounts 

Calculation method 

(ECU) 

Officials 
Temporary staff 
Other staff 

Total 

1 

I 

The amounts express the total cost of additional staff for the entire duration of the operation if the period is fixed 
and for 12 months if it is not. 

Costs of staff  for  managing the operation  to be covered  by existing  resources are estimated  at: 

- officials  (headings Al,  A2, A4 and A5): 

ECU  4 0 0 0 0 0 x 5= 

2000000 

seconded national officials  (A-1520): 

ECU  4 6 0 0 0 x5  = 

230000 

Total: 

2 230 000 

10.3 

Increase in other operating expenditure incurred in the  operation 

Budget heading 
(N° and title) 

Amounts 

Calculation method 

(ECU) 

Total 

1 

1 

The amounts correspond to the total expenditure of the operation if its duration is fixed and for 
12 months if it is not. 
The  cost  of  the  meetings  of  the  two  committees  provided  for  in  Article  5  of  the 
draft  Council  Decision,  to be charged  to heading  A-2510  "Expenditure  on  meetings 
of  committees  whose  consultation  is  compulsory  in  the  procedure  for  drafting 
Community  legislation",  is estimated at: 
3 meetings per year x  ECU  15 000  =  ECU 45 0 0 0 x5  =  ECU  225 000 

The necessary  resources will be mobilized by redirecting existing resources. 

x 

IMPACT  ASSESSMENT  FORM 

THE  IMPACT  OF THE  PROPOSAL  ON  BUSINESS,  WITH  SPECIAL 
REFERENCE  TO  SMALL  AND  MEDIUM-SIZED  ENTERPRISES  (SMEs) 

Title of  proposal: 

Council  Decision  on  inter-administration  telematic  networks  for 
statistics  relating  to  the  trading  of  goods  between  Member  States 
(Edicom) 

The  proposal 

1. 

This proposal  follows the decision by the Court of Justice to annul  Council  Decision 
94/445/EC on Edicom solely on the grounds that it had an inappropriate legal basis. 
In terms of  its content,  tliis proposal  is identical  to the above  Decision  and does not 
place any new obligations on businesses. 

For  the  record,  the  purpose  of  this  measure  is  to  support  the  application  of  the 
Intrastat  Regulation  as  regards  the  collection,  processing  and  dissemination  of 
statistics on the trading of  goods between  Member States by means of  increased use 
of  telematic  networks  and  by  promoting  the  exchange  of  data  between  businesses 
and national and Community administrations. 

On  the  basis  of  this  Europe-wide  measure,  it  is  possible  to  increase  the  level  of 
harmonization of data and procedures by using standardized electronic  forms and to 
reduce the volume of statistical  returns which businesses are required to make.  The 
economies of scale achieved by these operations justify  Community  legislation. 

The  impact on business 

2. 

This  proposal  will  affect  all  businesses  responsible  for  providing  statistical 
information  on  the trading  of  goods  between  Member  States  (Intrastat),  i.e.  those 
which  engage  in  intra-Community  trade  and  generate  turnover  in  excess  of 
thresholds  set  for  each  Member  State  (currently  a  total  of  450 000  European 
businesses). 

3. 

By  using  the telematic  networks and tools  made available  to  them,  businesses  will 
not have to use the forms provided for in the Intrastat regulations. 

By  means  of  a  system  of  thresholds,  these  Intrastat  regulations  already  exempt 
two-thirds of businesses from  the obligation to make returns, and  furthermore  these 
returns  are  far  simpler  than  those  which  applied  before  the  introduction  of  the 
internal  market. 

The  national  authorities  make  telematic  tools available  free  of  charge  and  provide 
training,  back-up  and  assistance  for  businesses,  which  are  thus  able  to  use  these 
facilities without taking any special measures. 

& 

The  proposal  encourages  the  emergence  of  new  products  for  incorporating  or 
deriving  statistical  messages  into commercial  software  packages  and  thus  promotes 
the development of this commercial  sector. 

Making  the  operations  involved  in  statistical  returns  easier  and  reducing  the 
resulting  workload  will  have  a  positive  effect  on  industrial  competitiveness  and, 
indirectly,  on employment  since more resources can  then  be devoted  to production 
proper. 

As  mentioned  above,  the  Intrastat  regulations  have  already  established  a  threshold 
system  whereby  either  small  firms  will  not  have  to  make  any  returns  at  all  or 
simplified  returns can  be  made via electronic  forms  specially  designed  to  be easier 
for small  and medium-sized enterprises to use. 

Consultation 

A  Europe-wide  survey,  carried  out  at  the  end  of  1995,  of  a  sample  of  5 000 
businesses  reflecting  the  industrial  structure  of  each  country  and  including  a  large 
proportion of  SMEs responsible  for providing  information  and 2 000  users  was the 
occasion  for consulting a wide range of businesses and all trade federations. 

An  Intrastat  seminar  attended  by  over  400  people  from  various  backgrounds 
(administrations,  federations, SMEs, etc.) was held on  13 and  14 March  1996.  The 
point  of  view  of  businesses  was  put  forward  during  the  proceedings  -  a  record  of 
which  will  appear  as  an  official  publication  -  by  speakers  from  various  bodies 
(UNICE,  UEAPME,  federations, etc.). 

The  results  of  this survey  and  the conclusions  of  the  seminar  show  that there  is a 
consensus  regarding the extension  of  the Edicom  programme  and  the  development 
of all measures to promote the use of telematic tools. 

« 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(96) 319  final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

17  15 

Catalogue number  :  CB-CO-96-326-EN-C 

ISBN  92-78-05963-3 

Office for Official  Publications of the European Communities 

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