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• Each EDAMIS production dataset has a corresponding EDAMIS V-flow Dataset (e.g. for pre-validating an IFS_ADM_3 Dataset, choose the corresponding VIFS_ADM_3 Dataset in EDAMIS)
• This is not an official transmission: the V-flows data are not processed, further uploaded to the database or used for publications
• Their purpose is to offer a convenient validation service for reporting countries; a report equivalent to the one produced in the normal production flow is created (see 7.2 for further details)
• No local installation or similar is required to pre-validate a dataset

Encoding type

Every data file Eurostat receives is characterized by a certain encoding standard (i.e. the use of a certain “map” between bits and characters). The overwhelming majority of the files Eurostat receives use UTF-8 encoding, and Eurostat’s data validation and production systems expect this encoding to be used. 

As of 11th September only files using the UTF-8 encoding standard will be accepted by the validation systems of Eurostat. Files with any other encoding will be rejected by our structural validation service and we will return an error report. Please note that this rule for encoding is already in place in our Acceptance environment.

The change may result in the rejection of files which were hitherto accepted, in particular in the case of CSV files. Once the encoding is changed, such files will be processed as usual. Changing the encoding of your file to UTF-8 is a simple operation which poses no risk to the data nor has an otherwise negative impact on data submissions.

Should you or any of your data providers encounter a rejection due to encoding and need assistance in changing it, you may consult our quick guide. The national transmission coordinators have been informed of this upcoming change as well.

For any questions or comments related to the correct encoding of files, please contact the support at:ESTAT-SUPPORT-SDMX@ec.europa.eu