eEUROPE
— AN INFORMATION SOCIETY FOR ALL
(21095)
6978/00
COM(00) 130
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Commission report: eEurope — an Information Society for All;
progress report for the Special European Council on Employment,
Economic Reforms and Social Cohesion: Towards a Europe based on
Innovation and Knowledge.
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| Legal base:
| — |
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| Document originated:
| 8 March 2000
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| Forwarded to the Council:
| 14 March 2000
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| Deposited in Parliament:
| 29 March 2000
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| Department: |
Trade and Industry
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| Basis of consideration:
| EM of 18 April 2000
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| Previous Committee Report:
| None; but see (20858) 14205/99: HC 23-viii (1999-2000),
paragraph 8 (9 February 2000)
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| To be discussed in Council:
| Feira European Council in June
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| Committee's assessment:
| Politically important
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| Committee's decision:
| Cleared following evidence session with Minister
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Introduction
12.1 eEurope is a political initiative
to which the Portuguese Presidency gave high priority. The Commission
Communication eEurope — an information Society for All[19]
was written at the request of the Cologne European Council and
considered briefly at Helsinki in December. The Helsinki Council
invited the Commission to prepare an Action Plan, which is expected
to be adopted in Feira in June.
The progress report
12.2 The progress report considered here
was discussed in March at the Internal Market Council and at the
Special European Council on Employment, Economic Reform and
Social Cohesion, and again in April at the Special Ministerial
Conference on Information and the Knowledge Society. It
consists of:
- Feedback — a
brief review of the reactions to the initiative from Member States,
the commercial world and other interested parties;
- Further analysis —
a summary of the results of further analysis of available data,
set out at greater length at Annex II;
- The way forward — towards
an eEurope Action Plan; and
- at Annex I, an assessment of progress
to date, under the ten chapter headings of the original Communication.
12.3 In the Introduction, the Commission
stresses that the European response to the opportunities and challenges
of the new e-economy has been rather slow "partly
because the logic of the traditional industrial economy remains
strong in Europe". The Lisbon European Council could change
this. The Commission says:
"By endorsing concrete
policy actions it could give a strong signal that European leaders
are determined to transform Europe into a dynamic and competitive
economy. Much of the impetus for this transformation will come
from the market and from the private sector. But public policy
matters, notably in establishing a clear regulatory framework,
a skilled population and an inclusive information society. No
less significantly, Europe needs strong leadership and firm commitment
from the very top".
12.4 The eEurope initiative seeks
to stimulate such a development.
12.5 The reactions to the initiative in
the Feedback section are grouped. The Member States were
generally supportive. The main points made were:
"— Several
are keen to set priorities and agree some targets already in the
Lisbon European Council (e.g. cheaper Internet access and the
e-commerce framework).
"— There are some differences of opinion
in relation to the order of priorities and suggestions for further
priority actions (e.g. content, skills training).
"— All stress that they do not wish
to see an additional 'process'.
"— All expressed the wish for further
details as to how the objectives of eEurope could be achieved.
"— Most Member States are developing
national initiatives in parallel with eEurope — e.g.
Germ@ny goes online[20],
UK initiative on Information age government[21],
French initiative on co-regulation of the Internet[22]."
12.6 The other interested parties that responded
welcomed the initiative as "a valuable effort to address
what is seen as a key issue for Europe's future success".
Industry stressed the need for a legal framework for e-commerce
while, for example, NGOs representing disabled people proposed
mainstreaming access issues. Some of the suggestions made, such
as the skills shortage and concerns about security, have been
taken into account in developing the relevant action lines, according
to the Commission.
12.7 Summarising its Further Analysis,
the Commission comments on the remarkable level of media attention
which the "new economy" has attracted since the publication
of its Communication in all the Member States. The analysis showed
that:
- the Internet could increase the economic potential
of the EU;
- this potential is not being exploited;
- there are marked differences in uptake between
Member States and this raises problems for social cohesion, as
well as economic growth. In a networked economy it is beneficial
to maximise the number of people connected.
12.8 Annex II, from which these unexceptional
findings are drawn, is more informative. It points to cost savings
in purchasing via the Internet, lower inventory costs, reduced
time to market, lower transaction costs and lower market entry
costs. Because of the strong branding of certain e-commerce services,
the chance to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the
Internet will soon be lost. "This is a critical time",
the Commission warns.
12.9 The Commission identifies the price
of Internet access as "the key determinant of usage"
and quotes an ICT Benchmarking Study by Booz Allen & Hamilton
as concluding that "virtually all countries with high access
costs have low penetration". The telecoms industry in Europe
is dynamic and fast growing, with revenues in 1998 up 13.2% on
1999 to 238 billion euro. Although tariffs are falling, "a
major concern is to increase competition in the local loop, the
last mile of the telephone network that connects users to their
local exchange." It suggests that it is preferable to let
the market work, through more competition, than to adopt a "US
style flat rate subsidised system as such price distortions discourage
investment in alternative forms of Internet access." It notes
that:
"US Internet usage benefits
from their flat rate local telephone pricing system which permits
US users to have access at zero marginal cost. This is only because
of their very high cross-subsidies of local call by long distance
(the Commission estimates this subsidy to be worth $18 billion
annually)."
12.10 Mobile subscriptions in Europe have
now surpassed those of the USA, and Europe has the advantage of
having a digital system which could become a major platform for
Internet access.
12.11 The Commission also identifies the
shortage of venture capital in the EU as the reason for fewer
European start-up companies, services and web sites oriented to
European users.
The Way Forward
12.12 In its section on the way forward,
the report notes that if, as the Helsinki Council concluded, a
full Action Plan needs to be adopted by June, it is necessary
to have a firm commitment from the Member States at the Lisbon
European Council on the objectives of the initiative and the manner
in which these are to be achieved. The priority targets, with
timetables, must be agreed, the Commission says.
Annex I
12.13 In Annex I, the Commission
sets out its proposed targets, with dates, progress made and further
progress needed. It reproduces the targets under each chapter
heading, boxed, as follows:
1. European youth into the digital age
eEurope Targets
By the end of 2001:
—All schools should have access to the Internet and multimedia resources.
—Support services should be made available to all teachers and pupils.
—Access to Internet/multimedia in public centres made available, including in less-favoured areas.
By the end of 2002:
—Teachers should be equipped and skilled in the use of Internet/multimedia.
—Pupils having access to Internet/multimedia resources in their classroom.
By the end of 2003
—All pupils should be "digitally literate" by the time they leave school.
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2. Cheaper Internet Access
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eEurope Targets
By the end of 2000:
—Incumbents should offer unbundled local loops.
—Leased lines tariffs should be significantly reduced.
—Licence requirements should be lightened and replaced by general authorisations.
By the end of 2001:
—Allocation of frequencies for multimedia wireless systems should be established.
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3. Accelerating e-commerce
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eEurope Targets
By the end of 2000:
— Ensure that the remaining e-commerce-related directives are in place.
— Propose changes to the public procurement legislation to enable e-procurement.
— Encourage alternative consumer redress mechanisms and online dispute settlement.
— Launch a campaign to help SMEs "go digital".
— Support the creation of a .eu top-level domain name.
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eEurope Targets
By the end of 2000:
— Ensure that the remaining e-commerce-related directives are in place.
— Propose changes to the public procurement legislation to enable e-procurement.
— Encourage alternative consumer redress mechanisms and online dispute settlement.
— Launch a campaign to help SMEs "go digital".
— Support the creation of a .eu top-level domain name.
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4. Fast Internet for researchers and students
eEurope Targets
By the end of 2000:
— Internet infrastructure for researchers and students should be upgraded.
By the end of 2001:
— At least one university and one scientific research faculty per country should have a network supporting multimedia communications, rapidly to be extended to all others.
— Students should have access to on-line interactive multimedia lectures.
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5. Smart cards for secure electronic access
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eEurope Targets
By the end of 2000:
— Internet infrastructure for researchers and students should be upgraded.
By the end of 2001:
— At least one university and one scientific research faculty per country should have a network supporting multimedia communications, rapidly to be extended to all others.
— Students should have access to on-line interactive multimedia lectures.
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eEurope Targets
By the end of 2000:
— Organise a "Smart Card Summit".
— Agreement on common specifications for a generalised smart card infrastructure.
By the end of 2001:
— Begin implementation of the agreed common specifications.
By the end of 2002:
— Extend use to additional applications also needing security and/or mobile access.
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6. Risk capital for high-tech SMEs
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eEurope Targets
By March 2000:
— Have a policy review of available instruments to stimulate early stage financing.
By the end of 2000:
— Propose innovative forms of capital raising.
By the end of 2003:
— remove remaining obstacles to an integrated pan-European risk capital market.
— Tripling of early stage finance in the European Union.
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7. eParticipation for people with disabilities
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eEurope Targets
By the end of 2000:
— Review Information Society legislation and standards on accessibility.
— Recommendation to take account of people with disabilities in the public procurement of information and communications products and services.
By the end of 2001:
— Commitment to make all public Web sites and their content accessible to people with disabilities.
By the end of 2002:
— Create centres of excellence in each Member State to develop an EU curriculum in Design-for-All.
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8. Health online
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eEurope Targets
By the end of 2000:
— Convincing cases and best practices of healthcare regional networks should be identified and priorities for medical libraries-on-line set.
— Health care informatics standardisation priorities to be implemented by end 2000.
By the end of 2003:
— Implementation of informatics tools (health cards, health information and education networks) to facilitate citizens' active involvement in prevention and treatment of diseases.
By the end of 2004:
— Health professionals and managers to be linked to a telematic health infrastructure.
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9. Intelligent transport
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eEurope Targets
By the end of 2001:
— Full access to and support for localised emergency 112 number calls.
By the end of 2002:
— New cars sold in Europe to be equipped with active safety-enhancing systems.
— Traffic and travel planning information services to cover 50% of larger cities.
— Main European networks to have congestion information and management systems.
By the end of 2004:
— Air routes to have infrastructure capable of reducing congestion.
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10. Government online
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eEurope Targets
By the end of 2000:
— Ensure easy access to at least four essential types of public data in Europe.
— Ensure consultation and feedback via the Internet on major political initiatives.
— Ensure that citizens have electronic access to basic interactions.
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The Government's view
12.14 The Minister for Small Business and
E-Commerce (Ms Patricia Hewitt) says in her EM of 18 April:
"As indicated in the
Explanatory Memorandum on the original Communication, the UK welcomes
the general thrust of the initiative, but would prefer it to be
more clearly focussed, so as to give particular attention to those
areas which act as the foundations on which other initiatives
can be built. In particular, we would prefer it to include stronger
general language on the importance of competitive communications
markets, removing all barriers to e-commerce, access to the internet
as fast and cheap as anywhere in the world, and ICT[23]
skills and lifelong learning. The progress report maintains its
coverage of all areas. It recognises that several Member States
are keen to set priorities and, in accord with UK thinking, identifies
cheaper Internet access and the e-commerce framework as typical
examples."
12.15 The Minister adds that it will be
important to ensure that the targets agreed are compatible with
the UK's main strategy document, e-commerce@its.best.uk. At this
stage they appear to be complementary. The UK's aims are in many
cases more stringent, reflecting, in part, its decision to concentrate
on general rather than Department-specific aims.
12.16 The progress report retains the aim
of unbundling the local loop by the end of 2000. BT and OFTEL
have agreed to July 2001 at the latest, a timetable which "reflects
the need to ensure sufficient time to resolve the operational
and technological issues" involved. Nonetheless, the Minister
says that the Government hopes that actual implementation will
be more rapid. The Special European Council, meeting at Lisbon
after this document was adopted by the Commission, agreed, she
says, that "the Member States, together with the Commission,
[should] work towards introducing greater competition in local
access networks before the end of 2000 and unbundling the local
loop in order to help bring about a substantial reduction in the
costs of using the Internet" — a conclusion which is
acceptable to the UK.
12.17 Further progress on the initiative
recorded by the Minister is that:
"The Lisbon Summit in
March reached agreement on a number of conclusions relating to
the Information Society, which accord with our general approach
of prioritising such areas of policy as the legal framework, liberalisation
of communications markets and skills and training — over
others. The UK will be working to ensure that these are consolidated
in the final action plan, which we expect the Commission to adopt
on 23 May.
"The Ministerial Conference in Lisbon on 10-11
April made further progress on this initiative. The main outcomes
were: increased recognition of the rôle and importance of
digital user content as a subject area in its own right and, to
a lesser extent, the rôle of security and confidence; conclusions
in the e-commerce session which were strongly supportive of a
co-regulatory approach; and an industry charter on smart cards."
Conclusion
12.18 The Minister gave evidence to us
on the eEurope initiative on 10 May. This gave us an opportunity
to raise with her the issues dealt with in the Communication and
this progress report and we now clear both documents.
19 (20858) 14205/99. Back
20 A
private initiative of Deutsche Telecom in co-operation with the
German Government. See press release 11.02.00. Back
21 Http://www.iagchampions.gov.uk/Strategy.htm. Back
22 Http://www.internet.gouv.fr/francais/textesref/pagsi2/lsi/coregulation.htm. Back
23 Information
and Communication Technologies. Back
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