The initiative plays a central role in the agenda of economic and social renewal for Europe which the Commission has set out in advance of the special meeting of the European Council in Lisbon in April. The Commission hopes that the Lisbon European Council, by endorsing concrete policy actions, could give a strong signal that European leaders are determined to transform Europe into a dynamic and competitive economy. The Commission invites the Member States to already start to work on their implementation. The objective should be to rapidly create a true Internal Market and a favourable environment for e-commerce in the European Union, especially for SMEs. In practice, this would mean for instance that the e-commerce directive should be transposed to national legislation well before the 18 month implementation period currently foreseen in the Council common position.
Urgent action is needed to encourage appropriate on-line solutions.
Finally, once proposed by the Commission, the legal framework for electronic procurement should be rapidly adopted. Public administrations, including the Commission should introduce e-procurement as a matter of priority. In his speech held in Dibb, Lupton, Alsop Business Seminar on 23 February 2000, Erkki Liikanen, Member of the European Commission responsible for enterprise and the Information Society, characterised Electronic commerce as a revolution that is going to impact all of Europe's economy profoundly. Dealing with the changes requires that we put together all resources and insights from business, politics, research and technology. The Internet and electronic commerce force us to re-think many of our policies and indeed, our own organisation.