Opinion on the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament and to the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Europe's way to the information society: An action plan

(95/C 110/11)

On 29 July 1994 the Commission decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the abovementioned communication.

The Section for Industry, Commerce, Crafts and Services, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 3 February 1995. The Rapporteur was Mr Ramaekers.

At its 323rd Plenary Session held on 22 and 23 February 1995 (meeting of 23 February 1995), the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following Opinion by a majority with two votes against and two abstentions.

1. Introduction

1.1. The Committee welcomes the Commission's desire to present an Action Programme that will enable Europe to take up the challenge of the information society. The present Committee Opinion is a preliminary effort in that the subject matter to be discussed is in a state of flux and the Committee will have to follow up its work. The Committee firmly believes that plans for the information society of the future must also cover requirements regarding job-creation, protection of the environment, accessibility, and other social and societal aspects. It should be emphasized that work in these areas is far from complete.

1.2. The Committee notes the Community's invitation to the private sector to 'play its entrepreneurial role and launch without delay concrete initiatives for the prompt deployment of the information society', whilst itself assuming its responsibilities for 'setting the appropriate regulatory environment'.

1.3. It is very important in this connection for Community legislation to be implemented uniformly and with the same effect. The public sector has an important role to play here and must therefore be involved from the outset in the development of the information society.

1.4. In its communication, the Commission submits an action plan covering four areas:

- the regulatory and legal framework;

- networks, basic services, applications and content;

- social, societal and cultural aspects;

- the promotion of the information society.

1.5. The Committee considers that these are the four vital areas which will need to be addressed if the challenges of the information society are to be met. However, the technical and industrial aspects are also essential if the Community is to master this technological and societal revolution.

2. Background

2.1.

The Bangemann report

2.1.1. The Committee is aware that, because the Commission's work programme covers such a vast area, it will not be possible now to examine all the implications of every single aspect; the Committee therefore intends for the time being to focus on those aspects which it considers at this moment to be vital.

2.1.2. The recommendations presented to the European Council in the report entitled 'Europe and the global information society' stress how important it is to adopt measures urgently.

2.1.3. This report proposes an approach based on the strict application of the rules on competition.

2.1.4. One of the main threads running through the report is the proposal that monopolies should be ended and that infrastructure should be liberalized, with public service obligations shared out among all operators offering services to the public.

This implies the creation of a new clear and stable regulatory framework that will permit the free play of competition and allow the private sector to finance the launch of the information society. (The introduction of the trans-European networks will cost ECU 150 bn over 10 years, an investment to be borne exclusively by the private sector, whilst the EU is planning to pump-prime the operation with a cash injection of ECU 5 bn between now and 1999).

2.1.5. According to the Bangemann report, different types of challenges will be encountered during the launch of the information society:

- technical challenges:

standardization: satellite, frequencies, cable, limited networks;

interconnection and interoperability of networks;

- technological challenges:

development of a broadband communication system and an integrated broadband network centred on EURO-ISDN (integrated service digital network for the transmission of sounds, visuals - particularly images - and data);

mobile communication;

- regulatory challenges:

tariffs;

media concentration;

competition;

convergence of telecommunications and broadcasting;

privacy;

legal protection and security;

intellectual property rights;

publishing.

2.1.6. The success of the information society will however depend on whether the critical mass is attained. The report would accordingly like to see cooperation between competitors and the promotion of existing and future services. The information campaign in each Member State must focus on the opportunities and threats for SMEs. As far as the individual citizen is concerned, the Commission's intention to target young people is to be welcomed; in the Committee's view, however, this group is already reasonably on the ball. The campaign should be directed rather at the public at large - something which can only be achieved if the relevant organizations take an effective part in drawing up and evaluating policies, as well as in determining the real needs to be satisfied.

2.1.7. The report nevertheless takes the line that heightened competition will not be sufficient to attain the critical mass and so proposes that a 'virtuous circle' of supply and demand be created on the basis of a 'demonstration function' in order to fine-tune applications to consumer requirements. The report envisages ten priority applications divided into two main blocks:

- the personal home market (teleshopping, telebanking, entertainment, leisure);

- business applications.

The ten applications are: teleworking, distance learning, inter-varsity networking, telematic services for SMEs, road traffic management, air traffic control, health-care networks, electronic tendering, IDA (trans-European public administration network) and city information highways.

2.2.

Action plan

2.2.1. The information society will differ radically from present society in its use of networks and provision of services. The application of new technologies will make it possible to transmit any audiovisual, information processing or telephone service via any medium, be it cable, Hertzian waves or satellite.

These new possibilities pose a great number of challenges, most of them unforeseeable at the present time.

2.2.2. The convergence of telecommunications, broadcasting and publishing constitutes one of the crucial elements of the information society. The technical possibility of being able to transmit any type of service via any medium will make it possible to circumvent unbalanced regulations and is already rendering existing rules obsolete.

2.3.

General comments

2.3.1. The Committee welcomes the Commission's desire to set up a clear and stable regulatory framework. It nevertheless considers it necessary to ensure that the transition to the information society is accompanied by other policy measures, particularly in the technological, social and employment fields.

2.3.2. The Committee considers however that the Action Plan submitted for discussion does not cover all of the four areas in the same detail.

2.3.3. By way of illustration, Annex I (pending measures), Annex 2 (new measures under consideration), and Annex 3 (possible partnerships) embody different orders of priorities.

2.3.4. The Committee regrets in particular that social, societal and cultural aspects are included only among the 'new measures under consideration', and are not to be found among the 'measures pending', particularly in the important areas of health, education, the environment, training, the disabled and the cinematographic industry.

3. Comments area-by-area

3.1.

Regulatory and legal framework

3.1.1.

General considerations

3.1.1.1. The Committee welcomes the Commission's proposal to create a vast regulatory framework that preserves public interest objectives and accords with the principles of universality, equality and continuity in order to obviate the polarization of society. It also notes that 'more specific Communications will follow, covering different areas outlined below'.

3.1.1.2. The Committee understands the need to propose rapid action but hopes that this action will cover as broad a front as possible without underestimating those vital areas that require constant attention. It would help in this respect to identify users' needs so that service providers can adjust the services they offer. These topics are discussed more fully later on in the Opinion.

3.1.1.3. Standardization, privacy and intellectual property rights are important considerations of the information society debate. However, EU objectives must be to steer rather than direct development, taking into consideration market demand and technical and economic realities.

3.1.1.4. The Committee nevertheless finds it hard to examine the areas in question when it does not have the relevant and necessary information at its finger tips. It would however recall past Opinions covering the same areas and notes that some of the areas currently under examination are or will be the subject of Commission referrals to the Committee. One such referral is the 'Follow-up to the consultation process relating to the Green Paper on pluralism and media concentration in the internal market - An assessment of the need for Community action' (COM(94) 353 final).

3.1.1.5. The Committee will therefore only be able to deliver detailed Opinions as and when future communications are published.

3.1.1.6. The Committee is nevertheless unhappy about the order of priorities in which the Commission has placed the different areas covered by the regulatory framework.

3.1.2.

The Green Paper on the liberalization of infrastructure (COM(94) 440 final)

3.1.2.1. In its desire to create a regulatory framework that permits a competitive environment in accordance with the recommendations of the Bangemann Group report, the Commission is seeking to obtain agreement on the principle of totally liberalizing telecommunications infrastructure. With this in mind it has brought out a Green Paper on the liberalization of infrastructures which will be the subject of wide-ranging consultations. The Green Paper has however been split into two parts, the second part only having been presented at the beginning of 1995.

3.1.2.2. The first part of the Green Paper sets out a number of principles and a timetable.

The general principle is stated as follows: 'Provided that the necessary safeguards are in place, the providers of telecommunications services which are open to competition should have a free choice of the underlying infrastructure for the delivery of such services'.

According to the Green Paper 'the best environment ... is an open and competitive one ... A liberalized market ... will help unlock revenues vital to support the huge private investments necessary ... It can thus free governments of enormous political and economic constraints, generating new revenues, which can be used to invest in health, education and culture'.

3.1.2.3. The Green Paper therefore proposes that restrictions on the use of own or third party infrastructure be removed immediately in the following areas:

- the delivery of satellite communications services;

- the provision of all terrestrial telecommunications services already liberalized (including the use of cable television infrastructure for this purpose);

- the establishment of links, including microwave links, within the mobile network, for the provision of mobile communications services.

3.1.2.4. The second part of the Green Paper will cover:

- criteria for the granting of licences;

- universal service and public service tasks;

- the interconnection regime;

- restrictions on operators;

- ensurance of access;

- the social and employment dimension;

- convergence between telecommunications, broadcasting and publishing.

3.1.2.5. However, the Green Paper's proposed timetable (first part, page 39) envisages the liberalization of alternative infrastructure from 1995 when the proposed consultations will not even have started. It seems rather paradoxical to first lay down a timetable and only afterwards address fundamental questions. In the period up to 1 January 1998 attention should be focused on resolving questions of principle, so that when the free market actually starts up in 1998 it will be possible to keep one's finger on the pulse in order to be able to tackle any possible social consequences.

Before the Committee can endorse the Commission's approach, an analysis needs to be made of the socio-economic impact of such a measure, and particularly the mechanisms for safeguarding and developing the universal service. Such mechanisms are rooted in a process of levelling out which is needed to avoid the polarization of society. Conditions of access to the universal service are of fundamental importance and must be laid down throughout the whole of the European Union. The Committee would also draw attention to the fact that the universal service might turn out to be a huge market with benefits for industry and the telecommunications sector in general. The Committee notes that the Council of Ministers' meeting of 17 November 1994 did not call for a liberalization of alternative infrastructure before 1 January 1998. In this connection it is to be regretted that on 21 December 1994 the Commission adopted a draft Directive on the liberalization of cable distribution infrastructure from 1 January 1996. The Commission's initiative in applying Article 90 of the Treaty sets a dangerous precedent that may well call into question Europe's decision-making procedures. This initiative changes the rules of the game regarding timetables, and consequently industrial strategy.

3.1.2.6. With regard to the subjects dealt with by the Green Paper on the liberalization of infrastructure, the Committee would recall the point made in its Opinion () on the 'Draft Commission Directive amending Directives 88/301/EEC and 90/388/EEC with regard to satellite communications' (SEC(93) 1891 final), namely that 'before liberalization of the entire voice telephony service it is necessary to define the scope, organization and financing of the universal service'. This reiterated what had been said in an earlier Opinion () on 'The situation in the telecommunications services sector' (COM(93) 159 final).

3.1.2.7. The Committee notes that whilst the first part of the Commission's Green Paper proposes the liberalization of services in general in 1995, with the exception of public voice telephony, there is at the same time a desire to liberalize voice telephony (including alternative infrastructure) for corporate communications and closed user groups.

3.1.2.8. The Committee considers that the Commission's proposed timetable for the liberalization of infrastructure cannot reasonably be introduced without having first clearly defined the concept of universal service - including the reasons for it, the stakes involved, the safeguard mechanisms that go with it, its development, and the financial arrangements.

3.1.2.9. The Committee supports the Commission's proposals on the introduction of a clear and stable regulatory framework, but urges that measures designed to open up the field to competition be adopted only after approval has been given to this framework and especially the rules governing competition, media concentration, privacy, intellectual property rights, electronic protection and the financing of a universal service that has been clearly defined beforehand and includes the widest possible range of advanced telecommunication services. The Committee would draw attention to the fundamental importance of the universal service concept - the key to European citizens' access to new information and communication services. The wealth of information and communication services on offer will depend on the definition of the universal service concept, which will decide whether social exclusion can be avoided.

3.1.3.

Convergence of telecommunications, broadcasting and publishing

3.1.3.1. The Committee is aware that the new technologies will bring about upheavals, particularly in the audiovisual sector, and supports the Commission in its desire to revise the 1989 Directive on Television without Frontiers.

The Committee reaffirms the need to consider the cultural dimension of certain audiovisual products, bearing in mind the convergence between telecommunications, broadcasting and publishing.

3.1.3.2. The Committee would underline the need to preserve and define public interest services within the framework of an open and converging market.

3.1.3.3. The fact that television, and particularly PC-linked interactive television, would be the ordinary citizen's main means of access to the information society has certainly not been proven and needs further study.

3.1.3.4. Steps must therefore be taken to ensure that there is a regulatory framework within which the new proposed services can be regulated and basic services, along with public-interest services, defined.

3.1.3.5. In particular, mechanisms will have to be introduced to ensure compliance with fundamental ethical principles such as:

- protection of children and adolescents;

- dignity of the individual;

- privacy;

- pluralism.

3.1.3.6. Media ownership is a key area in the audiovisual sector and needs to be regulated. The Committee would recall here that in Opinion CES 1000/94 of 14 September 1994, it drafted replies to, and made comments on, the Green Paper entitled 'Strategy options to strengthen the European programme industry in the context of the audiovisual policy of the European Union' (COM(94) 96 final).

This Opinion stated that 'by concentrating on the unimpeded operation of the internal market and by endorsing the trend in the service sector towards worldwide liberalization and deregulation, the Green Paper deliberately steers clear of the possible social consequences of unbridled competition in the audiovisual field'.

'Unrestricted competition would undoubtedly lead to the European market being dominated by a small number of media groups.'

'The diversity of services can be fostered as much by restricting concentrations at both national and European level, as by introducing specific measures to promote diversity.'

3.1.3.7. The Committee recalls that in the same Opinion it underlined the dangers of the Green Paper's proposal that financial incentives be provided for creation, production, distribution or exploitation. 'The claim that providing incentives to companies, taking the whole range of their activities into account, sparks growth could be a dangerously incorrect conclusion ... giving everyone a slice of the incentive cake is not nearly as effective as providing specific financial incentives for individual projects.'

3.1.3.8. The Committee hopes that, when revising the regulatory framework, the Commission will pay particular attention to the new services, as well as to existing services destined for large-scale expansion in the wake of the new technologies. In this respect priority will have to be given to examining the rules which should be applied in particular to teleshopping so as to protect consumers' rights whilst at the same time ensuring that competition can thrive.

3.1.3.9. The Committee considers that all necessary attention should be paid to questions regarding intellectual property rights, the right to privacy, electronic protection, legal protection and security. It would like to be consulted on these matters as soon as progress on the dossiers permits.

3.2.

Networks, basic services, applications and content

3.2.1. The Commission affirms that the leading role in the launch of the information society will be taken by the private sector. It also makes the point that trans-European network and audiovisual applications will play a major role in the development and implementation of the information society.

3.2.1.1. The Committee considers that it is necessary to be vigilant and make sure that not only the private sector but also other operators play a role in the development of the information society. The public sector should certainly be in a position to contribute to culture and education since it would be inappropriate to leave developments in these areas solely in the hands of the private sector.

3.2.2.

Networks

3.2.2.1.

EURO-ISDN

3.2.2.1.1. The Committee would refer here to its Opinion on ISDN () and in particular its view that:

- the Commission should define the scopes of norms and licences;

- the concept of basic services should be spelt out more clearly;

- agreement should be sought between Member States on a more precise definition of the terms single network, basic service and multimedia terminal.

3.2.2.1.2. The Action Plan however sheds no light on these questions. What the Commission does do is undertake to 'initiate a European Forum for basic services, aiming at closer cooperation on common services and functional specifications and on the timing of their introduction'.

3.2.2.1.3. In the abovementioned Opinion the ESC had already voiced its concern 'about the slippage vis-à-vis the original schedule for the introduction of the aligned ISDN services'.

3.2.2.2.

Mobile communications

The Committee notes that the Commission is to present a report on the consultations relating to the Green Paper - which proposes further liberalization of the mobile communications sector - and would refer to Opinion CES 1007/94 of 14/15 September 1994 pending the publication of the Commission report.

3.2.2.2.1. In this Opinion the Committee 'welcomed the Green Paper and congratulated the Commission on having produced clear suggestions for the way ahead in this sector'. The Committee nevertheless felt that the Commission needed to give further consideration to the following points:

- licensing procedures;

- service provision;

- interconnection;

- infrastructure;

- radio frequencies;

- numbering;

- fair competition;

- data protection;

- health, physical safety and the environment;

- economic and social issues.

3.2.2.3.

Satellite communications

The Committee is awaiting the outcome of the different phases indicated by the Commission in its action plan, and the presentation of an overall conceptual framework. In this connection the Committee would recall its Opinion on the draft Commission Directive regarding satellite communications (), and its Opinion on satellite licences ().

3.2.3.

Basic services, applications and content

3.2.3.1. Whilst the universal service concept needs to be defined, the Committee considers that it is also necessary to establish links between the ideas of 'basic service' and 'universal service'. This means that the latter will have to evolve and keep pace with technological developments.

3.2.3.2. The Bangemann report's view that the whole of society will be subject to upheavals means that it will be necessary to consider all the applications proposed in that report, including their future trends.

3.2.3.3. The policy adopted by the Commission and proposed in the Action Plan, as well as the varying degrees of progress made in individual areas, raise a number of questions regarding the imminent arrival of the information society.

3.2.3.4. The delays and difficulties encountered in developing the EURO-ISDN network and IDA () programme give cause for concern about possible future applications.

3.2.3.5. The Corfu Summit approved the areas of application proposed by the Bangemann Group: teleworking, distance learning, networking between research centres, telematic services for SMEs, road traffic management, air traffic control, health care networks, trans-European public administration networks, electronic tendering, city information highways.

The Commission therefore proposes that research projects and experimental work be applied in the field in order to create new markets and new job opportunities.

3.2.3.6. The Committee notes that teleworking, distance learning, research networks and health care will form the subject of discussions aimed at identifying needs and evaluating costs before 'field trials' are launched.

Areas such as telematic services for SMEs, transport, IDA and electronic tendering are already well under way.

The Committee points out the dangers inherent in such an approach since it is primarily service providers who should propose services to users after having identified needs. Only then should field trials for users be held in order to avoid the risk of creating artificial needs when there is no user demand.

The Committee would draw attention to market uncertainties, the problem of being able to identify real demands, and the need to develop networks that can meet such demands. It is consequently only after holding consultations with industries, service providers and users that it will be possible to develop services meeting public interest needs.

3.2.3.7. The Committee endorses the Commission's initiatives but fears that there is hardly any chance of the areas mentioned above making rapid advances, given the delays in developing the EURO-ISDN network.

3.2.3.8. The Committee accordingly has doubts about the urgency of some of the measures proposed by the Commission and draws its attention to the dangers of speeding up some processes when others are only developing slowly.

3.2.3.9. The testing of applications with high growth potential has in fact involved the amalgamation of audiovisual and telecommunications technology.

Teleshopping and pay-TV services are especially likely to develop rapidly. (Pay-TV will enable the TV viewer to pay for programmes selected à la carte.) The Committee would nevertheless ask the Commission to carry out detailed studies of this topic since this type of service was initially quite successful when launched in the USA but is currently facing enormous difficulties.

3.2.3.10. The Committee would draw the Commission's attention to the need for a policy of infrastructure liberalization in line with actual needs and developments, but without endangering basic services and the universal service.

3.2.3.11. Whilst aware of the need to achieve the critical mass needed for the development of the information society, the Committee believes that this objective should not be pursued to the detriment of the public interest services approved at the Corfu Summit. What is needed are mechanisms which ensure that private-sector funding is not directed solely at commercial applications that offer immediate financial returns.

3.3.

Social, societal and cultural aspects

3.3.1. The Commission is aware that the advent of the information society involves certain risks, such as the creation of a two-tier society. This was pointed out in the Bangemann report.

3.3.2. The Commission proposes that appropriate measures be taken to deal with the changes inherent in the launch of the information society so that essential social concepts such as universal service can be preserved.

3.3.3. The Committee emphasizes this fundamental point and would point out once more that it is absolutely essential to define the concept of universal service, and put in place the mechanisms to safeguard and develop this concept throughout Europe.

3.3.4. The Commission intends to set up a high-level group of experts to advise it on areas of priority.

Priority will be given to:

- employment and the working environment;

- societal aspects;

- cultural aspects;

- linguistic issues.

3.3.5. The Committee welcomes the Commission's plan to study basic problems created by the social changes which the information society will bring about. It regrets however that these studies have not received the same priority as other aspects such as infrastructure liberalization. The Committee calls upon the Commission to pay more attention to social and employment problems and to reflect this important priority by carrying out special studies. The findings of such studies should be taken into account in the social dialogue on the future blueprint for the launch of the information society.

3.4.

Employment and the working environment

3.4.1. The Committee would refer back to Opinion CES 1007/94 of 14/15 September 1994 on the Green Paper on Mobile Communications in which it is stated that 'initiatives by the Council and the Commission aimed, not only at harmonizing and liberalizing services, but also at studying the economic impact and consequences of these decisions, would be greatly welcomed... A necessary pre-requisite for these initiatives is an in-depth study of the economic and social consequences for the telecommunications sector as a whole'.

3.4.2. The Committee looks forward to the report which the Commission intends to prepare in the near future on the employment and wider social consequences of the development of the 'flexible firm'. However, it is essential to study the impact on employment in business as a whole, and not just concentrate on firms which opt for teleworking. Equally, it is important to assess the impact of liberalization on both job gains and job losses in firms in general. It is also necessary to take into consideration the impact of new technologies on sectors outside telecommunications, e.g. the retail trade, and look at the influence teleshopping will have on employment in this sector.

3.5.

Societal aspects

3.5.1. The Commission points out that the information society will 'profoundly change everyday life and leisure time, promote new forms of urban and rural development and improve the quality of the education and health systems. However, the accelerated diffusion of new technologies may also give rise to rejection and isolation'.

3.5.2. The Committee notes that the Commission emphasizes everyday life and leisure activities. This approach confirms the analyses which claim that the information society will come about in several stages. The first stage would be the attainment of a critical mass in the consumption of private services. Only after this stage could more ambitious public interest goals be envisaged (e.g. telemedicine, traffic control, etc...).

3.5.3. The Committee is concerned about this line of approach and fears that it might lead to the creation of a multi-speed society. The Commission remarks that the 'accelerated diffusion of new technologies may also give rise to rejection and isolation'. This risk is only real if priority is given to the introduction of private services and leisure activities. The accelerated introduction of new technologies in services of public interest would scarcely lead to rejection.

In this particular case the concept of universal service (and its future development) assumes absolute priority.

3.6.

Cultural aspects

3.6.1. Measures to be proposed by the Commission 'will aim at making audiovisual policy a key element in the content strategy' for developing the information society.

The promotion of European cultural products should be supported with due regard to their distinctive features.

3.6.2. To ensure this, the Committee stresses the need to set up a regulatory framework which will take account of the convergence of broadcasting and telecommunications. It is particularly vital to introduce rules covering ethical standards in the handling of information.

3.6.3. The possibility of being able to transmit information via any medium, along with the proliferation of user information sources, point to the need to develop and introduce mechanisms for applying ethical standards in order to avert any risk of manipulation or disinformation. Care should be taken to promote the greater freedom of expression made possible by the new technologies, whilst making sure at the same time that the various actors involved bear their responsibilities.

3.6.4. The ease with which European cultural values can be disseminated in the information society means that there should also be a programme for a) improving access to cultural products and b) defining basic audiovisual services.

3.6.5. Hence the need to propose, inter alia, education and training services, whilst also guaranteeing a full range of services for all users. An evolutive approach to universal service would make it possible to incorporate basic audiovisual services.

3.6.6. The Committee would refer here to Opinion CES 1000/94 of 14 September 1994 on the Green Paper on audiovisual policy in which it regrets that 'numerous comments and suggestions it has submitted in recent years concerning the future prospects for a democratic, European media culture have yet again been ignored'.

Just as the Committee's fears regarding media concentration have failed to be dispelled, so too have its fears that the policy of providing incentives for audiovisual productions might be geared solely to supporting producers who are successful and distributors who can offer guarantees.

3.7.

Linguistic aspects

3.7.1. The Commission will be publishing a communication identifying ways of meeting the European linguistic challenge and stimulating the emerging language-based industry.

3.7.2. Pending publication of this communication the Committee would emphasize that the subject needs to be studied carefully. The Committee considers that it is perhaps time to promote the dissemination of European-wide information in the Union.

3.8.

Promotion activities

3.8.1. The Committee endorses the information dissemination programme proposed by the Commission.

It nevertheless hopes that, in the interest of users, the programme will be implemented in a clear, transparent manner, will provide information on the risks and opportunities involved in the transition to the information society and will highlight the importance of the new information and communication services for overcoming economic, social and ecological problems.

3.8.2. This implies the existence of a clear and reliable regulatory framework, recognized standards, and public-interest services.

Promotion activities, which are a fundamental aspect of the information society's launch, will need to be coordinated with public and private service providers. In carrying out this work, it would be well-advised to involve those associations whose job it is to educate and inform the public so that the whole of society can learn of the new possibilities.

Only if there is wide-ranging consultation of, and cooperation with, all social and economic interests will the information society be able to avoid the pitfalls of a two-tier society.

4. Conclusions on priority issues of central importance

4.1. Given the convergence of the telecommunications, audiovisual and publishing sectors, the question of media concentration should be regulated before there is any further move in the direction of liberalization.

4.2. Adoption of the Commission's proposal for a programme to liberalize services and infrastructure must depend on certain pre-conditions first being fulfilled in such fields as:

- The establishment of a stable and legal regulatory framework, particularly with regard to:

- media concentration and ownership;

- the definition and preservation of the concept of universal service;

- privacy;

- intellectual property rights;

- legal protection and security;

- the audiovisual sector:

ethical considerations;

information;

culture;

- standardization, interoperability;

- tariffs (equalization, cross-subsidization).

- The harmonization and development of EURO-ISDN, an integrated broadband network, and IDA so as not to compromise the development of public-interest and other applications.

4.3. The Committee believes that an immediate start must be made on analyses of the social and economic risks and challenges involved in the transition to the information society (analyses which are considered by the Commission to be necessary) and on measures to obviate and limit such risks. In particular, it calls for:

- the immediate establishment of a Group of Experts, which will include all social and economic interests;

- studies to evaluate the investment needed to set up and operate information highways and new services, and to assess the effect on employment;

- studies of the structural impact and effect on employment of new information and communication services, with particular regard to possible new applications in banks, commercial enterprises, mail-order firms, travel agents, transport firms and enterprises in the media industry;

- the development and testing of rules governing layout and security in connection with the regional pilot projects.

4.4. The findings of the studies, and the lessons learnt from the projects, must be made public and applied when further measures are drawn up to ease the transition to the information society. The findings and experiences must also be submitted to the European institutions and to all social and economic interests, for their opinions, before final decisions are taken on appropriate measures.

4.5. At the same time as getting to grips with the social consequences of the new technologies, there is also a case for studying needs so that the information society can satisfy the real demands of European society and not merely supply services that offer immediate financial gain.

4.6. A detailed timetable should be fixed for debating these crucial questions in advance of the proposed deadlines for the liberalization of all services whilst the deadlines in question should be adjusted in the light of the studies that need to be carried out into the social implications.

4.7. In view of the uncertainties surrounding current changes, governments and civil society should be allowed a reasonable length of time for reflection and the possible endorsement of a democratic regulatory body at Community level. The Committee would emphasize that it might itself have a democratic role to play in such a body.

4.8. The Committee would emphasize that it is necessary for Member States to ensure that legislative provisions (such as directives or regulations) adopted by collective agreement within the Council are implemented at national level within the deadlines set and are then applied effectively.

4.9. The way in which the transition to the information society is organized is of great importance to the further economic and social modernization of Europe and will play a decisive role in helping to a) safeguard and strengthen European firms' ability to innovate, b) determine future production and employment, and c) further develop working and living conditions. In the view of the Committee it is necessary:

1) To use industrial, research, technological, and training policy measures to further corporate restructuring and satisfy new skill requirements. Measures adopted under the current Fourth Framework Programme, as well as Structural Fund support programmes (particularly Objective 4), must be problem-oriented.

2) To make sure that, when setting up and operating new communication and information networks (information highways), attention is focused not only on technical and economic aspects but also on:

- ensuring that the public has access to basic information services and that there is no discrimination regarding access to new systems and services,

- ensuring a sufficient diversity of information,

- making allowance for the special protection which cultural and democratic values should enjoy,

- guaranteeing the confidentiality of personal data and information security and preventing the misuse of economic power for political ends.

For these reasons there is a case for adopting 'traffic rules' for information 'highways'. The prerequisite for this is the existence of a basic information and communications service to which all citizens have access.

3) To ease the transition to the information society of the future by creating new areas of potential demand. This will involve the development and operation of new information and communication systems and services that tap the interests of society at large and serve labour-, employment-, social- and environment-policy objectives.

4) To use the development of communication and information infrastructure within the framework of local pilot projects as an opportunity to initiate responsible economic and social developments. By means of social dialogue, social and economic interests must also be involved in shaping the future information society with a view to a) drawing up and testing the social acceptability of traffic rules for new networks and services, and b) promoting basic and advanced vocational training related to the application of new information and communication equipment, systems and services.

5) To take account of the globalization of information. This is why the Committee emphasizes the need to draw up clear, stable rules that will pave the way for the worldwide exchange of information with due regard to the requirements governing fair competition, the protection of privacy, security, and intellectual property.

4.10. The Committee would urge that the studies and consultations called for in its present Opinion be carried out speedily and resolutely - taking due account of the priorities mentioned earlier - so that the Union can share in the on-going real-time development of the information society in an appropriate manner.

Done at Brussels, 23 February 1995.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Carlos FERRER

() OJ No C 127, 7. 5. 1994.

() OJ No C 34, 2. 2. 1994.

() OJ No C 52, 19. 2. 1994.

() OJ No C 127, 7. 5. 1994.

() OJ No C 295, 22. 10. 1994.

() IDA = Trans-European data communication networks between administrations.