B4-0582, 0586, 0590, 0591, 0592 and 0593/98

Resolution on the information society, the management of the Internet and democracy

The European Parliament,

A. having regard to the immense opportunities for the exchange of data and knowledge offered by information and public service networks, as well as the economic opportunities in terms of jobs, exports and combating regional isolation,

B. whereas the European Union must help to strengthen a framework within which political, legal, social, economic and cultural measures must be implemented that will ensure that the development of the information society benefits all members of society,

C. whereas freedom of expression is one of the foundations of democratic societies; whereas interactive use of the new facilities made available by the information society, in particular the Internet, could open the way to strengthening democracy by increasing transparency,

D. whereas public access to the activities and acts of the bodies of the European Union, States and territorial public entities is a constituent element of democracy,

E. whereas globalization of the Internet requires an international regulatory framework based on fair competition and favouring both the rapid expansion of private investment and safeguards for public and individual interests, including the protection of cultural and linguistic diversity and the protection of human dignity and minors,

F. pointing out that access for all citizens to these new technologies will be essential in order to prevent socio-economic exclusion,

G. whereas it is important that these developments do not further isolate the developing world,

H. whereas it is essential to ensure that these new communication and information services benefit all the countries of Europe and all their citizens,

I. whereas certain US universities with the support of the US government and business sectors have taken the initiative to develop a new, faster and more powerful network called Internet 2,

J. having regard to the need to avoid uniform content, with the aim of respecting and promoting the cultural and linguistic diversity of the peoples of Europe,

The European Parliament,

1. Calls on the Union and the Member States to make a political commitment to building an information society, encouraging the development of the new technologies and the new communication and information services, for the benefit of both the private and the business market;

2. Calls on Member States and governments to include a civic studies component in the syllabuses of their education and training systems to enable the general public to develop skills of critical analysis in confronting the super-abundance of information delivered by the mechanisms of the information society;

3. Calls on Member States and the Commission to realize the potential for using the new technologies for educational purposes, in particular for developing continuing and distance education, language-learning, the networking of educational and training establishments, so as to promote virtual mobility and exchanges of information and experience in this area;

4. Considers that the EU should aim to lead the field in certain key areas; in particular, EU policy in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT) should devote more attention to voice and language technology in order to turn existing know-how and experience of multilingualism into a global competitive advantage;

5. Invites the Commission to carry out a study on the impact and potential of the new technologies which are in the process of being introduced into European society and also of those which have yet to be implemented, such as Internet 2;

6. Calls on the Commission to draw up a draft recommendation aimed at ensuring public access to these new services that takes into account in particular access and financing arrangements (free-of-charge Internet access points for access to institutional or public-service information), together with efforts to educate users in compliance with democratic values and raise public awareness of them;

7. Calls on all political and legislative bodies to use the Internet as a means of making the public aware of decisions being taken, thus strengthening public awareness of the political process;

8. Calls on Member States to ensure that the new facilities are used to promote freedom of speech and information, exchanges between cultures, education and civic participation in public life, in particular in relation to EU enlargement or international contacts with countries whose peoples live under authoritarian and repressive regimes;

9. Stresses once again the need to open, as soon as possible, free-of-charge Internet access points to familiarize the public with this new tool and give people the skills required to have access to institutional or public service information (in schools, libraries and neighbourhood centres);

10. Calls on the Council and the Member States to reassert the need for an international approach to ensure the development of new technologies and new information services;

11. Calls on the Commission to keep Parliament regularly informed of the progress of discussions in international organizations and of the evolution of any proposals by the US in the field; calls on the Member States to coordinate their positions on the subjects to be discussed at the conference on electronic commerce to be held in Ottawa in October 1998, namely data protection, the management and implementation of fiscal regulations, consumers' rights and electronic signatures;

12. Calls for promotion of the audiovisual networking of all the acts of European Union bodies and national and territorial bodies in their entirety, and in particular for on-line audiovisual transmission of sittings of the European Parliament and of the public sittings of the other institutions;

13. States its firm intention to make all its legislative documents and ongoing work and petitions accessible through the Internet;

14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and of states applying for accession, the Committee of the Regions and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.