16.3.2001 Official Journal of the European Communities L76/1 (Acts whose publication is obligatory) DECISION No 507/2001/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 12 March 2001 concerning a set of actions relating to the trans-European network for the collection, production and dissemination of statistics on the trading of goods within the Community and between the Community and non-member countries (Edicom) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 285 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ('), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (%), Whereas: (1) The actions implemented pursuant to Council Decision 96/715/EC of 9 December 1996 on inter-administration telematic networks for statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States (Edicom) (}) have made it possible to improve considerably the quality of intra- Community statistics. (2)  Statistics for foreign trade and for trade within the Community are entering a new phase of development, characterised by growing and increasingly demanding user need for information. (3) It is necessary to meet the urgent need of the Economic and Monetary Union by the rapid provision of reliable and accurate macroeconomic statistics. (4)  The modernisation of the trans-European network for the collection, production and dissemination of statistics on the trading of goods within the Community and between the Community and non-member countries should be a driving force in the development of these statistics. (5)  Council Regulation (EEC) No 3330/91 of 7 November 1991 on the statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States (%) (Intrastat) and Council Regu- lation (EC) No 117295 of 22 May 1995 on the statis- tics relating to the trading of goods by the Community () O] C 337 E, 28.11.2000, p. 246. (3 Opinion of the European Parliament of 30 November 2000 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 12 February 2001. () O] L 327, 18.12.1996, p. 34. () OJ L 316, 16.11.1991, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regula- tion (EC) No 16242000 (O] L 187, 26.7.2000, p. 1). and its Member States with non-member countries (°) provide for increased use of automatic processing and electronic data transmission. (6)  Simplification of the Intrastat system was a pilot project in the SLIM (‘Simpler Legislation for the Internal Market’) initiative launched in 1996; the measures for reducing the workload on statistical information providers, in particular SMEs, which have been approved by the Euro- pean Parliament and the Council, should be continued. (7)  The objectives of this Decision are adequate and compatible with those of Decisions No 1719/ 1999/EC (%) and No 1720/1999/EC () of the European Parliament and the Council on trans-European networks for the electronic interchange of data between adminis- trations (IDA); account should also be taken of IDA decisions, in particular Article 11 of Decision No 1719/ 1999/EC, in implementing this Decision. (8)  An ex-ante evaluation has been performed in accordance with the financial management rules, in order to focus the programme on the need for effectiveness in achieving the objectives and to incorporate budgetary constraints from the design phase of the programme onwards. (9)  Since the objectives of the proposed action, namely the development and modernisation of the trans-European network for the collection, processing and dissemination of intra- and extra-Community trade statistics, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of their scale, be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Decision does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives. () OJ L 118, 25.5.1995, p. 10. Regulation as last amended by Regula- tion (EC) No 37498 (O] L 48, 19.2.1998, p. 6). (9 OJ L 203, 3.8.1999, p. 1. () O] L 203, 3.8.1999, p. 9.