1. Conclusions of the June 2018 DTCG meeting

2. Item Introduction
Eurostat introduced the topic and agenda of the meeting
The agenda was approved without amendment

3. Item 1.2 - Follow-up to the last EVUG meeting
Eurostat presented the follow-up actions taken after the last EVUG meeting. Eurostat also announced that the new mandate of the DTCG was approved by the IT Working Group via written procedure.
The DTCG took note of the follow-up actions undertaken after the last EVUG meeting. The EVUG also asked for more information on:
How security issues with the Mapping Assistant web application will be handled.
When the link to the Statistical Products will be updated
Eurostat also clarified that, in the case of micro-data exchange (MDE), Member States can expect to receive several files from each partner country for each reference period, as the information on trade transactions may be sent in an incremental way.

4. Item 2.1 - EDAMIS 3 current status
Eurostat presented the current status of EDAMIS 3 in production.
The DTCG took note of the current status. The DTCG raised the following issues / questions:
Some TCOs highlighted issues in connecting to the Webex training webinars.
The need for coverage information by sending organisation is needed. It should be possible to obtain this information from the current report.
Some additional information on the use of functional / administrative account for some countries (AT, CH) was requested.
Eurostat also clarified that the link between datasets and statistical products is many-to-many

5. Item 2.2 - EDAMIS 4: status and outlook
Eurostat presented the current status and development timeline for EDAMIS 4.
The DTCG took note of the development status of EDAMIS 4. The DTCG also made the following suggestions:
The DTCG asked Eurostat to properly communicate the dates and content of subsequent EDAMIS 4 releases
The DTCG asked Eurostat to investigate whether the Data File Traffic report should make comments on transmissions visible to everyone.
The DTCG asked Eurostat to clearly communicate when the EDAMIS 4 Web Portal can be opened to users

6. Item 2.2 - EDAMIS 4: status and outlook
Eurostat also provided the following clarifications:
Eurostat explained that, in EDAMIS 4, users of the Portal will be able to know if a feedback file has been set to the EWA. This is not currently the case in EDAMIS 3.
A bulk upload feature is available in EDAMIS 4. However, it should not be taken as an alternative / replacement for automatic transmission.
The size limit for transmissions through the Portal depends on factors such as the reliability of the local connection and the local IT infrastructure. It is not however recommended to use the Portal for large files
It is not necessary (though possible if desired) to set up different sFTP clients for file transmission and reception

7. Item 2.2 - EDAMIS 4: status and outlook
Eurostat also provided the following clarifications:
ONAs will have the same transmission possibilities as NSIs. It is not possible to block certain tramsission methods for ONAs.
EDAMIS 4 will offer more security options via the possibility of using secure networks for transmission. However, expccept for the case of micro-data exchange, there is no mandate on which network (secure or non-secure) should be used. This decision is up to the individual Member States.
During the parallel run, EDAMIS 3 and EDAMIS 4 will be synchronised. The full transmission history will be available in both. In EDAMIS 4, the last 5 years of transmission will be kept.
Eurostat confirmed that the new EDAMIS portal does not rely on Java applets
Eurostat stated that the new „Validation checkbox“ functionality is not yet available

8. Item 2.3 – EDAMIS 4: Communication & Training
Eurostat presented the training and communication actions undertaken since the last EVUG meeting, as well as the future actions foresee.
The DTCG took note of the training and communication actions. The EVUG also suggested to embed information on the new EDAMIS in existing ESTP courses (e.g. Courses on SDMX, Validation, Metadata and Quality reporting etc...)

9. First EDAMIS 4 EWP delivery

10. Item 3.1 – EDAMIS 4 Migration checklist
Eurostat presented a migration checklist that should help TCOs draft their own national migration strategy.
The DTCG took note of the checklist and made the following suggestions:
The communication to ONAs is not addressed in the checklist
To handle the migration, a report on who transmits data via EDAMIS and how would be useful
Eurostat also clarified that in EDAMIS 4 it will still be possible for TCOs to create organisation units.

11. Item 3.1 – EDAMIS 4 Migration checklist
Eurostat also clarified that encryption keys and secure networks such as TESTA or CCN are two independent protection layers. When sending confidential data, the data will need to be encrypted regardless of whether a secure network is used to send the information or not.
Eurostat supports the GPG protocol for file encryption. Standard tools that support this protocol can be used for encryption. The EWP can also perform the encryption for Member States.

12. Item 3.2 – Breakout sessions

13. Phase-out of EWA - Options
The several functionalities of EWA can be migrated in different ways
Use of the EWA Portal, mostly file upload and reports
The replacement by the EDAMIS Web Portal looks like the obvious choice. EWP should provide a replacement with functionality that is very close, migration should not be too difficult.
Automatic sending
sFTP can be convenient for some organisations. The ESDEN Client provides similar functionalities as EWA.
Receiving big files
Many organisations use EWA for receiving large files. sFTP or ESDEN Client should be able to cover these requirements.

14. Phase-out of EWA - Testing
IT teams in organisations need to learn about the new transmissions methods
To use sFTP, small scripts could be needed
The ESDEN Client needs installation, configuration and maintenance
Testing is key to know the possibilities, advantages and disadvantages of each method
The new transmission methods and EWA will co-exist for months, which should give sufficient time for analysis and testing. Organisations are encouraged to test the new transmission methods as soon as they become available.

15. Phase-out of EWA - practicalities
To know the current status, Eurostat can provide instructions on how to create a report that lists files transmitted through EWA, maybe in the FAQ of the InfoSpace.
Where to start the migration? Starting with a small dataset in the NSI seems like a good idea. This allows to build the knowledge to tackle bigger datasets, and start helping ONAs.

16. Communication to ONAs - overview
Different TCOs have different levels of responsibility / contact with ONAs, ranging from none at all to a formal coordination role. Most TCOs find themselves in the middle of these two poles.
Need for support depends on transmission mechanism:
EWP: providing the new link with some training material may be sufficient
EWF: Must know when they need to start using the new EDAMIS for which domains (there is no parallel run for EWF)
EWA: Closer support needed. An "How to" would be useful. Among ONAs, mostly Central Banks use EWA.

17. Communication to ONAs – Information needed
Information needed to better understand the situation of various ONAs:
Who are the users in ONAs
Which transmission methods do they use (EWP, EWF, EWA). Over time, it would be useful to know how many ONAs have switched to EDAMIS 4
Deadlines for transmission of ONA data
Information on timeline also needed:
Clear message needed on when EDAMIS 4 Web Portal should be opened to ONAs
Timetable for EWF migration needed. This is often communicated in individual domain-specific Working Groups as well.

18. Communication to ONAs – Modalities
Suggestions on how to communicate
Send to all ONA users with TCO in copy, specifying that TCOs can be used as a first contact point for support
Include NSI DGs in copy?
If there is a specific national policy on the use of certain networks for the transmission of data (e.g. all data should be sent via TESTA), TCOs would be responsible for communicating it to the ONAs.
Link to training material and make sure training material is publicly available

19. TCO requirements – Notification & emails
Information related to file sent late or not sent
Notification in the dashboard
Or TCO will be able to receive a report related to the files not sent or sent late (with the info dataset name, user id, )
The users have the choice to receive or not the s. The users however should not have this possibility for the s concerning important topics (e.g.reminders, acknowledgments, etc.)
Sometimes, the TCO doesn’t know that several users have left the organisation (especially for ONAs). It would be helpful to have notifications / report about the “active users” (problem: how to define them?)

20. TCO requirements - SDMX
When we have to send a SDMX datafile that we want to validate, we have to know the DSD we have to use and in the majority of the cases it is difficult to know which DSD and version we have to use. It will be good to know the DSD that must be used to validate the data.
This information could be available at dataset level. In this case, an automatic update have to be planned when the DSD or version changed.

21. TCO requirements - Reporting
In general it will be helpful to save the definition of the reports. This kind of report exists in EDAMIS3 (named automated reports) and can maybe be implemented in EDAMIS4
A small description of each report should be available at the top of each report (content of the report, how to use it,…).
Other report needs:
The of the sender should be available in the Data File Traffic report
Specific report related to the name of the user that should send specific dataset
Report related to the transmission means (EWA, EWP, EWF) by Organisation/user

22. TCO requirements – Super TCOs
TCOs sometimes manage several or all organisations in their countries. Functionalities used:
Manage the rights at organisation level
Send and receive datafiles for the country
Send and receive feedback from the countries
These are however functionalities that TCOs already have
Possible additional functionality for "Super TCOs": ability to modify the dataset-country link, which sometimes is not created correctly

23. TCO requirements – Miscellaneous
A functionality to see what the user is able to see would be useful (login as)
Currently, EDAMIS4 is being developed in English. It would be useful for the users to have access to different languages. Some TCOs suggested that they would be willing to provide the translations.

24. Communication & Training - practicalities
Some NSI have a problem to connect to Webex. A solution should be found that does not require an installation
How to inform about EDAMIS 4 to ONAs (this was also discussed in a specific discussion group)
Open acceptance environment to the users that are participating in the webinars

25. Communication & Training New formats and topics
Provide some training regarding different transmission methods
Make the How to videos widely available, put it available to all who are interested to know about EDAMIS.
Be careful with the English (language) used in the videos, most of the users know only the Basic English or none.

26. Item 4.1 – Status and future outlook of SDMX and Validation activities
Eurostat presented the latest news on the implementation of the three validation scenarios developed by the ESS Vision 2020 Validation project.
The DTCG took note of the actions foreseen.
Eurostat also clarified that:
Validation against data from previous years would be possible in Scenario 3 and more cumbersome for Member States to implement in Scenarios 1 and 2.
For domains that already exchange rules (e.g. LFS), the introduction of VTL will make it possible to do so in a language that does not dictate technological choices (for example, in the LFS domain the rules are exchanged via SAS scripts)

27. Item 4.2 – ESS-MH news and training
Eurostat presented some news on the future integration between the ESS-MH and EDAMIS 4
The DTCG asked Eurostat to provide information on how the URLs of the published files can be extracted from the ESS-MH.

28. Item 6.1 – Training session on new transmission methods
The DTCG asked Eurostat to reflect on:
Providing the possibility to synchronise user rights with the central EDAMIS repository
The possibility of adding the user name to the DNSC
Eurostat provided the following clarifications:
Datasets can be restricted to use specific networks (secure or non-secure)
It will be possible to have specific outbox folders for each user
Transmission Ids must be unique. Eurostat is still determining how they should be generated. If a transmission with a duplicate ID is received, it will be rejected.
The document on the transmission methods will be updated. A new version will be set to TCOs after the summer. It is expected TCOs will be able to start testing after the summer.
It will be possible to submit the public keys via the EWP
For each dataset, a data retention period will be set

29. Next meeting
The next edition of the DTCG meeting will take place in May-June 2019.