A4-0148/98

Resolution on the communication from the Commission on the competitiveness of the European Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Industries (COM(97)0152 - C4-0386/97)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission communication (COM(97)0152 - C4-0386/97),

- having delegated the power of decision, pursuant to Rule 52 ot its Rules of Procedure, to the Committe on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy and the opinions of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and of the Committee on Research, Technological Development and Energy (A4-0148/98),

1. Welcomes the Commission communication in the knowledge that the competitiveness of European ICT industries will be crucial to the ability of the European economy generally to maintain future momentum, and calls on the Commission further to promote this crucial sector by drawing up an action plan and related measures;

2. Considers that the public sector is playing an important role in strengthening the competitiveness of ICT industries; considers that, in view of the authorities' legal powers in the education sector and the pioneering role they can play both in setting up their own administrative apparatus and stimulating the use of ICT products in society, it is important that government services should be made electronically available, enabling the authorities to influence key areas of society and promote the necessary modernization of public administration;

3. Reminds that administrative simplification is a crucial element for the competitiveness of the industry in general and the creation of new enterprises and the competitiveness of the economy as a whole;

4. Recommends that the Commission in conjunction with the Member States and the social partners, should draw up and publish European guidelines for skills vital to competitiveness corresponding to the industry's needs and encourage continuous training according to these guidelines in order both to guarantee the availability of sufficient number of specialists who will be in a position to bring about the rapid conversion of innovative technologies and ideas into economic applications and to align education and training with the necessities of occupational life;

5. Is in particular concerned that cost-free access for European industry to information, in particular to databases, is available only to a very limited extent, and that the costs incurred in securing such access in the preparation of new services and products that depend on information as 'raw material' can act as a deterrent;

6. Draws attention to the need for Europe to play a leading role in the formulation of principles and standards to be applicable at international level, to prevent fragmentation across national borders, and to develop activities that will encourage undertakings to supply cross-border services;

7. Recalls that Europe's linguistic diversity constitutes an opportunity for the development of multilingual software packages and can lead to the creation of innovative products and therefore research in this field should be encouraged; linguistic diversity can also lead to the creation of new enterprises to satisfy specific and local needs;

8. Considers it especially important not only to insist on cooperation in this connection with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, but for specific initiatives to be launched by the Commission, using the European Training Foundation, and draws attention to the fact that this represents primarily an opportunity for technical cooperation for the purpose of creating better conditions for a strong ICT industry in the future Member States and not simply a chance to gain access to new markets;

9. Considers the insufficient availability of venture capital as a major problem that in principle cannot be solved by political players, including even the EIB or European Parliament initiatives in the run up to the employment summit, but is a problem that ultimately can be solved only by economic operators; regrets also in that connection that current forms of assistance to SMEs fail adequately to reflect the importance of investment in ICTs;

10. Suggests stimulating cooperation between business and higher education with the aim of promoting innovation in and use of ICT;

11. Calls on the European Union and the Member States to pursue a European ICT policy geared not only to large firms, but also to cooperation between firms of different sizes, and to SMEs which should receive more technical assistance through the various programmes and the structural funds; SMEs need also to have greater input into shaping and implementing RTD policy;

12. Considers it essential to increase the funds adopted for the 1998 budget on the Technology facility for SMEs, in particular, the financing of payment of fees for guarantees extended by the EIF;

13. Takes the view that because of convergence it is very important to ensure that a coherent policy is pursued in the various sectors of the information society;

14. Considers that liberalization of the telecommunications market by 1 January 1998 is of crucial importance to the competitiveness of the European ICT industry, while recognizing that the media sector specifically requires separate consideration, since it involves other than purely economic interests, and believes that, in view of the convergence of telecommunications, audiovisual and information technology, the Commission and Member States should review the existing legislation as soon as possible in order to facilitate the necessary adjustments, considers that liberalization of the telecommunications market by 1 January 1998 is a step in the right direction that must be consistently pursued to its conclusion, but once again strongly emphasizes the fact that information and the media are products which have a twofold nature in that they are economic commodities and services but also, most importantly, elements of culture, a fact of which particular account must always be taken when adopting measures;

15. Draws attention to the need for the defence industry complex (ICT components), which is not a specific subject of the communication, also to be included in discussions on strengthening competitiveness in this sector;

16. Is of the opinion that, in the Fifth Framework Programme, even greater priority must be given to ICT-related R& D, the application of which is an increasingly critical factor in competitiveness, both in industry and in the public sector and calls on the Member States to have their public sectors make maximum use of ICT and ICT capabilities when performing their services and communicating with the public and to create conditions to improve the return on R& D efforts, local, regional, national and European authorities need to act as 'leading consumers¨ or 'launching customers¨ for products and services derived from R& D efforts; such authorities can bring their considerable influence to bear on market segments such as healthcare, policy on the elderly, traffic, transport and education in order to encourage the use of ICT;

17. Stresses the importance of participation by businesses which are ICT users in the evaluation of projects in this area that form part of the Fifth EU Framework Programme;

18. Stresses the important role of the ICT sector to promote working prospective for the rural areas aimed to the specific need to preserve and improve the quality of life and work of the rural environment as decided by the Cork Declaration (6/7 November 1996);

19. Urges the Commission to provide a detailed assessment of the number of people engaged in teleworking, with a breakdown according to sectors, level of educational attainment, age group and gender and to consider the practical implications for social legislation, health and safety and training requirements;

20. Stresses the important role of the Social Partners in this sector and invites them to negotiate agreements at the appropriate level, in particular at sectoral and enterprise levels, to modernize and adapt the organization of work so as to make EU enterprises more competitive and achieve the required balance between flexibility and security. There is currently no social dialogue in the ICT sector. The Commission should therefore support such a dialogue and, in particular, urge social partners to engage in dialogue at sector level;

21. Stresses the important role of labour and management in organizing teleworking and calls on them to negotiate agreements at the appropriate level to protect the workers concerned;

22. Is concerned at the lateness with which Europe has become aware of the millennium bug, at both business and government level, since the European Member States could suffer harm in their interrelations if the millennium bug is not dealt with effectively in trading chains and in supplying and contracting relations, and points out, moreover, that the euro will have to be incorporated in administrative systems at the same time; calls in consequence on the Commission and the Member States to draw up an action programme with all speed and to consult with businesses on this matter;

23. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.