A4-0014/99

Resolution on the communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on The Year 2000 computer problem (COM(98)0102 - C4-0233/98)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission communication COM(98)0102 - C4-0233/98),

- having regard to the communication from the Commission concerning progress in tackling the millennium problem in the EU (COM(98)0593),

- having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mr John Joseph McCartin on the Year 2000 problem for information technology (B4-0693/98),

- having regard to the information material prepared or completed by the Commission on the World Wide Web ((http://www.ispo.cec.be/y2keuro/year2000.htm.)), the OECD study 'The Year 2000 Problem, Impacts and Actions¨ and the Working Paper 'The Year 2000 Computer Problem¨ by the European Parliament Directorate General for Research,

- having regard to the conclusions of the G8 Summit in Birmingham ((Birmingham Summit 15-17 May 1998, Final Communiqué, point 25.)),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy (A4-0014/99),

A. whereas the risks arising from failures due to erroneous processing of dates beyond 2000 cannot be accurately estimated but should not be underestimated,

B. whereas the state of preparation varies greatly among Member States and among sectors,

C. whereas it is recognised that the primary responsibility of finding appropriate solutions lies primarily with enterprises and administrations, as the practice of abbreviating the length of data strings representing the year in date records does not always arise from negligence or lack of foresight by the programmers or from an unpredictable reason but often originates in economic decisions in times of costly memory and storage space, the consequence of which are not to be borne by public funds,

D. whereas, however, SMEs, which typically have closer horizons and lack specialist technical knowledge may need assistance, should be made aware of the ramifications of the problem, and offered advice in tackling it,

E. whereas there is a risk that failures will impact not only on the public but also on the economy, especially where these occur in key elements of the infrastructure; whereas governments should take steps to minimise such risk,

F. whereas the millennium problem in the Eastern European and Russian nuclear sector is hardly being tackled by the authorities there, which could constitute a serious threat to European security and result in enormous international damage,

1. Expresses its general agreement with the content of the Commission's communication;

2. Welcomes the action undertaken by the Commission to sensitise Member States and companies to the necessity of taking the necessary preparatory measures, but remains seriously concerned about the degree of progress made by some Member States in tackling the millennium problem and the lack of cross-border cooperation in vital sectors, particularly energy, telecommunications and transport;

3. Commends the EU institutions for having made headway in repairing their own systems, but would welcome a progress report on the preparedness of the institutions. In line with best practice, this report should include some form of independent assessment, as well as aspects of interinstitutional cooperation, and embedded systems;

4. Recommends that Member States and the Commission ensure the availability of information on known problems and best practices and the knowledge about the existence of such information, especially for SMEs;

5. Regrets that little attention has been given in the Year 2000 awareness campaigns to consumer citizens, who find themselves unprepared for product or service deficiencies due to Year 2000 problems; therefore urges the Commission and Member States to start awareness actions for consumers;

6. Recognises that both the Year 2000 problem and the Euro are pressing problems; points out that these adaptations remain different and therefore require different sets of tests, and that a number of industrial and technical systems require specific intervention;

7. Recommends that particular attention be given to firmware and embedded software, the adaptation of which needs direct intervention on, or the replacement of, existing equipment;

8. Recalls that the interaction between enterprises, their suppliers, customers, financial intermediaries, etc. may lead to faulty or disruptive data being 'imported¨ into otherwise compliant systems, which calls for collaborative cross-company exchange of information and testing;

9. Insists further on the need for all organisations, even those which have carried out a revision of their software and equipment, to have a contingency plan ready to cope with unexpected problems, especially for crucial infrastructure sectors (telecommunications, energy, transport) and financial services; points out that there is not time to fix everything, and expects companies and countries rigorously to prioritise to ensure that key services will be provided over the date change period;

10. Considers that no circumstances may constitute a case of 'force majeure¨ unless such a revision and a contingency plan have been put into force, in particular towards customers;

11. Expresses its concern at the lack of available information in the sector of energy production (in particular nuclear energy), transport and distribution;

12. Stresses the need for increased cross-border testing beyond the borders of the Union and international cooperation in the most sensitive sectors and utilities that could be vulnerable to Year 2000 breakdowns (e.g. air traffic and nuclear power stations) and that could consequently give rise to serious abnormal health risks to citizens of the Union;

13. Asks the Commission to consider risks to the EU from external cross-border dependencies, to consider the risks which could arise from the crossborder impact of disasters in the Eastern European and Russian nuclear sector as a consequence of the millennium problem and to draw up a contingency plan for this, which, in addition to promoting awareness of the seriousness of the situation, should provide for financial aid to the authorities concerned in Eastern Europe and Russia;

14. Is worried at the absence of an emergency mechanism at the Commission or Council for dealing with Year 2000 contingencies in areas of EU jurisdiction, notably those affecting the Single Market and Trans-European Networks;

15. Recommends in general that all proposed EU legislation or involvement in programmes with significant IT implications contain an assessment of its impact from the point of view of the year 2000 compliance and that where there is a high IT impact, postponement should be considered, if at all possible, until after the Year 2000 period;

16. Asks the Commission to clarify to what extent the existing Directives concerning Liability for Defective Services, Product Safety and Liability can be invoked by consumers in the case of Year 2000 problems;

17. Notes the reference in the Communication to the safety aspects of the problem, and that these may affect workers and the public as well as consumers; and calls on the Commission to initiate discussions with the competent authorities of Member States to ensure that these aspects are addressed in terms of the existing requirements of Community law concerning the health and safety of workers and the public;

18. Calls on the Commission, in view of the possible adverse impact of the millennium problem on the public and the economy and because of the intrinsic responsibilities of public authorities in ensuring security of persons and goods and the continuity of public service and basic utilities, to encourage Member States to take measures, and in particular:

- step up preparations and devise contingency plans to ensure the continued functioning of essential government services;

- establish special coordinating bodies and programmes to raise awareness, facilitate information exchange and oversee progress;

- encourage business to partake in international alliances in key sectors where cross-border operations are critical, such as aviation, telecommunications, energy and finance;

- consider practical policy options for helping companies to tackle Year 2000 problems;

- increase information transparency by reporting on their own preparations where this is not already being done, as well as by requesting disclosure by quoted companies of their projected Year 2000 costs and readiness;

- participate in programmes for developing countries, such as those run by the World Bank and the United Nations;

- improve international cooperation and exchanges of information in the nuclear sector, thereby clarifying the situation in that sector, in which connection the WANO, OECD and IAEA, among others, could play an important role;

- use influence to urge Member States which are not doing enough to tackle the problem more seriously. The EU should seek to add value in its Year 2000 efforts, rather than duplicate or replace existing initiatives;

19. Calls on the Commission to inform Parliament every three months until the turn of the century about progress in tackling the millennium problem in the EU;

20. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.