Statistics on the trading of goods between Member States: computer networks between administrations, EDICOM 1996-1999

The common position of the Council closely follows the modified proposal. It also incorporates Parliament's sole amendment and endorses the Commission's interpretation that the aim is to emphasize the priority to be given to Edicom activities - which go back to 1993 - and to ensure that they are coordinated with other activities relating to the trans-European networks. In order to ensure that the activities undertaken could be continued rapidly the Council departed from the Commission's modified proposal as regards the following provisions, which formed part of the policy agreement reached by it when adopting Decision 94/445/EC: - the duration of the Decision is set at three years so that the expiry date will still be 1999 as in the annulled Decision; - inclusion of a financial reference amount in accordance with the declaration of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of 6 March 1995; - to ensure consistency with the three-year duration, there is simply provision for the Commission to submit a report on the Decision's implementation when the Decision actually expires. �