CELEX: 52004PC0179
Language: en
Date: 2004-03-30
Title: Amended proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty)

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