1. Annex 0 – the “read-me-first” document
Jorge Rodriguez Romero - DG ENVIRONMENT
WG DIS meeting October 2015

2. How to square the circle
Some key principles for 2016 reporting:
Strong QA/QC
As much as possible automated process
Short time between uploading data and use
Annex 0
Some Member States are not able to report some required information in 2016
Automated QA/QC will fail…
…but still dataset should be processed and used
Member States to provide justification/information in the form of a "read-me-first" document
Manual intervention is required

4. What does "complete" mean?
The manual check will be based on:
The outcome of the QA/QC including the statistics generated
The Annex 0 "read-me-first" document
The assessment will be looking at whether
All essential information is reported
There is an explanation for the missing elements
The outcome will be either
The dataset is accepted and further processed for assessment
The dataset is rejected and a resubmission is requested

5. Format of the Annex 0 document
As the document will not be subject to machine QA/QC, only manual check, we propose to use a word document, including a table similar to what was included in the guidance agreed by Water Directors

6. To discuss and agree (if possible!)
Do you agree with the Annex 0 being a word document (1 document per Member State or per RBD)?
We would like to avoid as many "resubmission requests" as possible
Is it possible for MS to indicate in advance what will be included in the Annex 0? (Only 2 substantial replies received in the request before summer from FR and PL)
We would like to proceed with the manual check as quickly and efficiently as possible
Is it possible for MS to report Annex 0 in English (or report in national language but include a translation into English)?