Opinion on 'Towards the information society - Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on a methodology for the implementation of information society applications - Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision on a series of guidelines for trans-European telecommunications networks'

(96/C 39/02)

On 14 September 1995 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under the first paragraph of Article 129d of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the following document: 'Towards the information society - Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on a methodology for the implementation of information society applications - Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision on a series of guidelines for trans-European telecommunications networks'.

The Section for Transport and Communications, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 8 November 1995. The Rapporteur was Mr von Schwerin.

At its 330th Plenary Session (meeting of 22 November 1995), the Committee adopted the following Opinion by a unanimous vote.

1. Introduction

1.1. The proposal on guidelines for trans-European telecommunications networks is based on EC Treaty Article 129b in conjunction with Article 129c, in which the Community is given the task of promoting, establishing and developing trans-European telecommunications networks.

1.2. To date the European Union has actively supported the development of a transEuropean telecommunications network through a whole series of proposals such as ISDN and TEN-IBC.

1.3. The Commission White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment expressly calls for the establishment of trans-European networks in the telecommunications sector, too, and identifies projects to interconnect advanced communications networks, generic services and telematic applications. The term 'telematics' in the European context usually means the transnational digital exchange or processing of information between disparate and distributed interoperable network computer systems. Examples include E-mail, file transfer, videoconferencing and distance learning.

1.4. A group of top level industrialists set up at the instigation of Commissioner Bangemann presented the Corfu Summit on 24/25 June 1994 with a report entitled 'Europe and the global information society', in which it stated that the liberalization of infrastructure should be speeded up. In particular, ten applications for launching the information society were listed. These are:

I) Teleworking - More jobs, new jobs, for a mobile society;

II) Distance learning - Lifelong learning for a changing society;

III) A network for universities and research centres - Networking Europe's brain power;

IV) Telematic services for SMEs - Relaunching a main engine for growth and employment in Europe;

V) Road-traffic management - Electronic roads for better quality of life;

VI) Air-traffic control - An electronic airway for Europe;

VII) Healthcare networks - Less costly and more effective healthcare systems for Europe's citizens;

VIII) Electronic tendering - More effective administration at a lower cost;

IX) Trans-European public administration network - Better government, cheaper government;

X) City information highways - Bringing the information society into the home.

1.5. The Commission Communication entitled 'Europe's Way to the Information Society - An Action Plan' contains a detailed action plan with guidelines for the launch of the information society in the Union.

1.6. Part I of a Green Paper on the liberalization of telecommunications infrastructure and cable television, which basically makes the same demands as the Bangemann Report, was published on 25 October 1994. Council Resolution of 22 December 1994 stipulated that public telecommunications networks were to be liberalized by 1 January 1998 at the latest, albeit with longer transitional periods for Spain, Portugal, Greece, Luxembourg and Ireland up to the year 2003. The Committee is aware, however, that some Member States do not wish to make use of these transitional periods.

1.7. In Part II of the Green Paper on the liberalization of telecommunications infrastructure and cable television the Commission presents proposals for a competition-oriented regulatory framework.

2. Commission Communication on a methodology for the implementation of information society applications

2.1. General comments

The Community and the Member States have an important task to perform in promoting and developing communications infrastructure. In connection with the promotion of project initiatives the Union's task is:

- to inform and explain;

- to find interested partners;

- to provide advice about sources of finance.

The Commission Communication on a methodology for the implementation of information society applications broadly covers these points and is welcomed by the Committee.

2.2. Specific comments

2.2.1. EU policy with regard to the implementation of information society applications can have a positive effect on Europe's socio-economic development and on growth and employment, especially if the Commission acts to boost demand. The Committee would comment as follows on this objective:

- In order to implement information society applications, support should also be given to projects which stimulate demand and especially projects which serve the public interest but will not generate a profit initially. In providing this support, the EU should combine financial instruments and exploit their complementarity in order to guarantee synergies. The detailed Commission proposals still pending must be precise and clear.

- Decision-taking in connection with project support should be unbureaucratic, transparent and swift. Since it is in the SME sector in particular that new, innovative jobs are being created, SMEs should be provided with appropriate advice and support. The Committee supports the Commission's plan to give priority to SMEs and to grant them a minimum participation in consortia that are to be formed.

- The Information Society Project Office (ISPO) has an important function as a one-stop-shop interface. One question which should be examined is whether in the interests of reducing bureaucracy the ISPO should in future be given decision-making powers so as to help solve certain problems. It could, for example, help to coordinate over time the use of the various sources of finance.

- There are problems in connection with the Council Regulation laying down general rules for the procedure for the granting of Community financial aid in the field of trans-European networks () and the specific rules governing the sources of finance. The common project-selection criteria and the specific requirements should be made compatible. The Commission should take this into account when drawing up the details of the possibilities for obtaining funds.

3. Proposal on guidelines for trans-European telecommunications networks

3.1. General comments

3.1.1. The Committee thinks that the provision of trans-European networks can accelerate social and economic integration in the EU. It therefore approves the Commission's premise that efficient means of exchanging information are vital for improving European industry's competitiveness and thus safeguarding and creating jobs.

3.1.2. The Committee welcomes the priority given by the Commission, within the context of the Community's objectives, to promoting the development of applications which will allow every user to access the requisite information.

3.1.3. The Committee agrees with the Commission that priority should be given to basic networks since they ensure that information can be transmitted cheaply and efficiently, that new applications and generic services can be introduced rapidly and that the newest and best possible transmission technologies are available forthwith.

3.1.4. In the Committee's view, the Commission's competition-based regulatory approach and its concentration on the private sector is bound to lead to the emphasis being placed on services and projects which are marketable and yield a profit in the market place. The Committee thinks that it is the Commission's duty to make sure that the information society serves the whole of society. The prerequisite for this must be that the widest possible range of universally accessible networks and services is available and that cost-efficient use can be made of them.

3.1.5. The Committee would also refer to its Opinion on the Commission Communication on Europe's way to the information society: an action plan ().

3.2. Specific comments

3.2.1.

Objectives of the guidelines

3.2.1.1. The Committee expressly welcomes the allowance made for socio-economic aspects in connection with the guidelines' objectives. The Committee thinks that trans-European networks, and especially Integrated Broadband Communication (IBC),

- contribute towards the creation of a socially-minded information society and the improvement of the quality of life,

- strengthen Community-wide economic and social cohesion,

- can promote competitiveness and especially the outlook for employment in an overall context,

- can create the basis, in industrial policy terms, for growth area activities.

3.2.1.2. The Committee underlines the need for large-scale investment to attain the objectives set. Investment in information infrastructure boosts the Community's socio-economic development and has a positive effect on growth and employment. However, the Committee has doubts about the attainment of the objectives. Priority must be given to implementing the principle of competition fairly.

3.2.1.3. Regulatory measures must allow for this during the transition from monopoly to competition. The Committee would refer here to its Opinion on Part II of the Green Paper on the liberalization of telecommunications infrastructure and cable television networks and especially the point that liberalized markets must be regulated in social, economic and technical terms in order to prevent undesirable developments. Such regulation includes a comprehensive universal service, provided with the requisite funding, which takes account of the development of society in Europe. In this connection the technical capabilities should be tapped gradually for the benefit of all people.

3.2.1.4. The trans-European networks will provide the EU with telecommunications infrastructure which is indispensable from the social, cultural and economic point of view, etc. Consequently, before the networks are built, the main consideration should not be their short-term profitability, even if this point cannot be neglected completely. This is especially true at a time when the importance of information in society is growing. It is therefore increasingly vital for all of Europe's citizens to have access to information for the sake of social equality and integration. The Committee would refer in this connection to the possible positive influence on employment policy in the EU.

3.2.1.5. As regards the priorities set out in Article 3, the Committee would urge the Commission to put the second priority (applications contributing to economic and social cohesion) first, thereby making the provisions more acceptable Community-wide. The Committee also thinks that the fifth priority (identification, confirmation of the feasibility and deployment of trans-European generic services, especially in rural and peripheral areas) should be merged with the third priority (stimulation of interregional initiatives) in order to emphasize the importance in structurally weak areas of the trouble-free access to and use of trans-European generic services. Allowance should also be made in the list of objectives for the fact that the trans-European networks - by acting as an active industrial policy - will develop the internal market and speed up European integration.

3.2.2.

Attainment of the objectives

3.2.2.1. The Committee supports the introduction of Integrated Broadband Communication (IBC) and the priority it is to be given. The Committee recognizes the benefits and assumes that the IBC concept offers more capacity than the ISDN standard. The possibilities for integration should also be considered.

3.2.2.2. According to the Committee care must be taken to ensure that trans-European networks and services can be accessed and used throughout Europe at affordable prices. The aim is also to find appropriate machinery which ensures that the objectives do not focus solely on profitable commercial activities. Consideration should be given, too, to the changing needs of consumers. The Commission is urged to take account of consumer associations by holding consultations and organizing hearings.

3.2.2.3. The Committee thinks that the Commission's regulatory approach conflicts with the objectives. On the one hand, according to the regulatory model there is to be competition in the provision of infrastructure, but on the other hand support is to be given to the cost-intensive broadband networks so sought after throughout Europe. The Commission should remedy this conflict.

3.2.3.

Measures for attaining the objectives

3.2.3.1. The list of measures should be extended so as to give consideration to the poorer Member States' technological needs and, above all, the possibilities available to them in terms of infrastructure.

3.2.3.2. It should be possible to transfer technology to the disadvantaged regions of the Community, too.

3.2.4.

Domains for projects of common interest

3.2.4.1. Today's telecommunications networks (telephone, satellite, cable) are little suited to future applications. The Committee welcomes the three layer model as a suitable framework for trans-European networks, since the three layers form a self-contained structure. This structure consists of:

- The applications layer, through which users interact with generic services and basic networks for meeting their professional, educational and social needs. Applications require to be interoperable between themselves to bring the maximum benefit to users across the Community.

- The generic services' layer, made of compatible generic services and their management. Through support of the applications' common requirements, these services complement the applications whilst aiding their interoperability.

- The basic networks layer that provides the physical access, transport and switching elements of the networks, including their management and signalling. These elements are providing the trans-European network interconnectivity.

3.2.4.2. The Committee welcomes the wide array of projects (applications, generic services, basic networks). It has the following comment to make on the projects under consideration:

Cooperation between project organizers and those working with the networks is the key to the successful introduction of trans-European networks. In other words, it is not only the networks' technical aspects that matter, but also their integration in complex socio-technical systems in which consideration is to be given not only to the technical, economic and organizational aspects but also, and above all, to the social implications. Since socio-technical systems are subject to constant changes, the projects and project areas should be developed further.

The focus should also be on the creation of intelligent infrastructures which integrate broad- and narrow-band communications.

3.2.4.3. The Committee would also refer to results of the G-7 Ministerial Conference on the Information Society held on 27 February 1995. The conference selected eleven pilot projects to demonstrate how the information society can contribute to solving important issues on the road to the information society, to promoting growth and, above all, to creating jobs, while involving players at all levels and from all countries who should be actively involved in this process.

4. Conclusions

4.1. The Committee basically endorses the Commission proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision on a series of guidelines for trans-European telecommunications networks. However, it would be pleased if the Commission were to take account of the comments made in this Opinion.

4.2. The Committee thinks that the proposed projects should attach special importance to the social, cultural, educational and environmental issues raised by the networks' launch. In these areas in particular a universal network serving as many of Europe's citizens as possible is important and would, in the Committee's view, be a step in the right direction. Emphasis should be placed in this connection on the creation of intelligent infrastructure but also on the full protection of the data transferred.

4.3. With special regard to the liberalization of the telecommunications sector and the associated commercialization of R& D programmes, too, the Committee thinks that the projects should be continuously vetted by the Commission to see whether overall European-wide economic considerations are brought to bear within the framework of a modern, active and forward-looking industrial policy. The Committee thinks that an annual report would be desirable.

4.4. The trans-European networks mark a further step towards the social and economic modernization of Europe. They are of particular importance for the further improvement of living and working conditions, the satisfaction of consumer interests, future developments with regard to production and jobs and the further safeguarding and strengthening of European firms' capacity to innovate. In the Committee's view, it will not be possible to find the requisite funds for investment unless:

- European firms form strong alliances which can operate on the world market as global players and

- the principle of reciprocity is applied in world trade.

Done at Brussels, 22 November 1995.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Carlos FERRER

() OJ No L 228, 18. 9. 1995.

() OJ No C 110, 2 .5. 1995, p. 37.