Proposal for a Council Decision adopting a multiannual Community programme to stimulate the establishment of the information society in Europe (information society) (97/C 51/08) (Text with EEA relevance) COM(96) 592 final - 96/0283(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 12 December 1996)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 235 thereof,

Having regard to the Commission proposal,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Whereas the establishment of the information society can, by introducing new forms of economic, political and social relations, help the Community to cope with the challenges of the next century, in particular the creation of new jobs, as indicated in the White Paper entitled 'Growth, competitiveness and employment - the challenges and ways forward into the 21st century`;

Whereas the European Council in Corfu on 24 and 25 June 1994 took note of the recommendations of the High-level Group on the information society as presented in the report 'Europe and the global information society` and the Commission established an action plan consisting of concrete measures at both Community and Member State level;

Whereas the European Council in Florence on 21 and 22 June 1996 underlined the potential of the information society for education and training, for the organization of work and for employment creation;

Whereas the pace of progress in the development of the information society depends to a large extent on the awareness, understanding and support by citizens and public and private organizations, of the possibilities of applications of new information and communication technologies to service individual and business needs;

Whereas the establishment of the information society will require availability, for each citizen, company or public organization, in every part of the Community, of information of any nature they need;

Whereas the establishment of the information society will gradually reorganize the nature and content of human activity in all areas, and have important cross-sectoral effects in areas of activity hitherto independent;

Whereas the measures necessary for the implementation of the information society have to take into account the economic and social cohesion of the Community as well as the continuity in the functioning of the internal market;

Whereas the definition of these measures requires preparatory analyses, aimed at improving understanding of the various fields which may be affected by Community actions related to the information society;

Whereas the first interim report of the High-level Expert Group on the social and societal aspects of the information society of January 1996 contained a set of first reflections in view of the preparation of a final report;

Whereas the first annual report of the Information Society Forum to the European Commission of June 1996 recommended that the Commission should launch Community-wide awareness raising initiatives, promote actions best suited for the promotion of best practices, promote the use of new technologies, give extra attention to explore the economic and social implications of the information society, and to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to the information society;

Whereas on 24 July 1996, the European Commission adopted a Green Paper entitled 'Living and working in the information society: People first`, which is intended to deepen the political, social and civil dialogue on the most important social and societal aspects of the information society; in the light of the reactions received, the Commission will present action proposals in 1997;

Whereas the measures necessary for the implementation of the information society have to take into account the global dimension of the information society;

Whereas the G7 Ministerial Conference on information society and development in Midrand, South Africa from 13 to 15 May 1996 recognized that the 'information society model` should be pursued for the benefit of the developing countries, to solve their unique needs and challenges, to support their sustainable growth and to ensure their effective participation in the emerging global 'wired` economy;

Whereas the Rome Conference on 30 and 31 May 1996 recognized that one of the elements of the political dialogue between the European Community and the 12 countries involved in the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, started in November 1995 with the Barcelona Conference, is indeed the construction of a truly open information society in the Mediterranean region which will benefit in terms of growth, competitiveness and employment, users, industries and service-providers of information and communication technologies;

Whereas the second European Union/Central and East European Countries Forum on the Information Society in Prague on 12 and 13 September 1996 confirmed that the issues involved in the development of the information society are particularly important to European countries which are reforming their economy and underlined the need to provide platforms for information exchange and discussion;

Whereas existing possibilities for actions, for example in the fields of research and development, trans-European networks, information content, social policy, and standardization, shall not be duplicated;

Whereas progress of this programme should be continuously and systematically monitored; whereas at the end of this programme there should be a final assessment of results obtained, compared with the objectives set out in this Decision;

Whereas it is necessary to fix the duration of the programme;

Whereas, for the adoption of this Decision, the Treaty does not provide for other powers than those defined in Article 235,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

1. A programme (information society) is hereby adopted with the following objectives:

- increasing public awareness and understanding of the potential impact of the information society and its new applications,

- helping to establish the information society in Europe, by promoting widespread access to and familiarity in the use of new information services and applications,

- giving consideration to and making use of the worldwide dimension of the information society.

2. The programme shall cover a period from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2001.

3. The annual appropriations shall be authorized by the Budgetary Authority within the limits of the financial perspective.

4. The activities foreseen are actions of a cross-sectoral nature, complementing Community actions in other fields. None of these shall duplicate the work being carried out in these fields under other Community programmes.

Article 2

In order to attain the objectives referred to in Article 1, the following actions shall be undertaken:

(a) measures to raise awareness:

- the dissemination of information and promotion of actions aimed at a better understanding of the opportunities, benefits and possible risks of the information society,

- the gathering and identification of citizens' and users' needs, and the stimulation of the interest of industry, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in providing services and applications to meet these needs,

- the demonstration of potential impacts of the information society at regional level, the promotion of exchange of relevant information between cities and regions, and giving visibility to the general public on concrete projects being implemented to service their needs,

- the organization and follow-up of forums on the development of the information society, advising the Commission on the challenges to overcome;

(b) measures to help establish the information society in Europe:

- the analysis of the technical, economic, social and regulatory aspects, the appraisal of the challenges raised by the transition to the information society, as well as the identification of actions necessary for the optimization of the socioeconomic benefits,

- the assessment of the opportunities and barriers which disadvantaged social groups and peripheral and less-favoured regions may face in accessing and using information society products and services; the identification of appropriate measures to overcome these obstacles and to grasp the related benefits,

- the analysis of current initiatives at European and national level regarding the provision of applications, based in particular on a permanent inventory of projects which facilitate the deployment of the information society,

- the provision of transparency, based in particular on a permanent inventory, concerning ongoing policies and programmes at European and national level,

- the contribution, on the basis of identified best programmes and practices, to the Europewide take-up of successful examples in information society policies, projects and services,

- the promotion of synergy and cooperation between ongoing studies and activities at European and national level,

- the identification and evaluation of the financing mechanisms needed to develop the information society, in particular those able to help stimulate public/private partnerships for the deployment of applications of public interest,

- the identification of obstacles to the functioning of the internal market in the area of the information society and the consideration of measures to guarantee the full benefit of the area without frontiers for its development,

- the launching of actions to ascertain the priorities of SMEs and regarding the obstacles hampering the use by SMEs of information technologies, in close coordination with Commission efforts to mobilize different groups of ICT users;

(c) measures to take into consideration and make use of the global dimension of the information society:

- the enhancement of visibility of the global dimension of the information society, in particular through an inventory of initiatives taken worldwide, the exchange of information with third countries, and notably with developing countries, and through the collaboration in the preparation of demonstration actions, either bilaterally or in collaboration with international organizations.

Article 3

In carrying out the objectives outlined in Article 1 and the actions defined in Article 2, the Commission can use any relevant means, and in particular:

- the award of contracts for the execution of tasks relating to analyses, exploratory studies, detailed studies of specific fields, realization of demonstration actions, as well as the coordination, evaluation and co-financing of actions,

- the organization, the participation in and the granting of support for meetings of experts, conferences, consultations of persons or groups having common interests, seminars, and the publication and the dissemination of information,

- the contribution to the activities of international organizations in relation to the information society, and in particular those aiming to encourage the access of the developing countries to the potential of the information society.

Article 4

1. The Commission shall be responsible for the implementation of the programme.

2. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee of an advisory nature composed of representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission.

The representative of the Commission shall submit to the committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a vote.

The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in addition, each Member State shall have the right to request that its position be recorded in the minutes.

The Commission shall take the utmost account of the opinion delivered by the committee. It shall inform the committee of the manner in which its opinion has been taken into account.

Article 5

The procedure laid down in Article 4 (2) shall apply to:

- the adoption of the work programme,

- breakdown of the budgetary expenditure,

- the criteria and content of calls for proposals,

- the assessment of the projects proposed pursuant to calls for proposals for Community funding and the estimated amount of the Community contribution for each project where this is equal to or more than ECU 200 000,

- the measures for programme evaluation,

- participation in any project by legal entities from third countries and international organizations.

Article 6

A mid-term evaluation report on the activities launched and results obtained will be presented by the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council after the first two years of the programme. On completion of the programme, the Commission shall present to the European Parliament and the Council an evaluation report on the results obtained through implementing the actions referred to in Article 2.

Article 7

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.