No C 103/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 16. 4. 84 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Decision amending Council Decision 79/783/EEC 
in respect of general measures in the field of data processing 
(84/C 103/03) 
The text referred to the Committee has been published in Official Journal of the Euro­
pean Communities No C 334 of 10 December 1983, page 11. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 22 December 1983 the Council referred the abovementioned proposal to the 
Economic and Social Committee in accordance with Article 198 of the Treaty estab­
lishing the European Economic Community. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 
215th plenary session held in Brussels on 29 February and 1 March 1984. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
unanimously: 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the Euro­
pean Economic Community, and in particular 
Article 198 thereof, 
Having regard to the request made by the Council 
of the European Communities on 22 December 
1983 for an opinion on the proposal for a Council 
Decision amending Council Decision 79/783/EEC 
in respect of general measures in the field of data 
processing, 
Having regard to the decision taken by the Com­
mittee's Bureau on 13 December 1983, instructing 
the Section for Industry, Commerce, Crafts and Ser­
vices to draw up an opinion on the proposal, 
Having regard to the opinion adopted by the above-
mentioned Section at its meeting on 8 February 
1984, 
Having regard to the oral report made by the rap­
porteur, Mr Nierhaus, 
Having regard to the discussions on 29 February 
1984 during the 215th plenary session held on 
29 February and 1 March 1984, 1. General comments 
1.1. The Commission has submitted a proposal for 
a further Community programme in the field of 
information technology. The aim of all these pro­
grammes has been to make the Community more 
competitive vis-a-vis the rest of the world. Of parti­
cular importance in this connection are the multian-
nual data-processing programme of 11 September 
1979 and the ESPRIT project (COM(83) 258). 
To start with, the first part of the multiannual pro­
gramme (general activities) was given 10 million 
ECU and the second part (support measures) 
received 15 million ECU. The Commission has pro­
posed that the second part be granted a further 
40 million ECU in 1982 and be extended for a 
further three years to 1986 (Doc. COM(82) 356). 
The Committee endorses the Commission's propo­
sal provided that the work is properly coordinated 
with the other data-processing programmes which 
are also important for many small and medium-
sized enterprises, (especially ESPRIT), and is incor­
porated in the overall strategy for promoting infor­
mation technology. 
16. 4. 84 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 103/5 
2. The individual areas to be supported 
2.1. The rapid developments in information tech­
nology in recent years have flooded the market with 
a wide range of hardware and software — a range so 
wide that it is making their efficient application 
increasingly difficult. The Committee therefore 
thinks that standardization work should be given a 
high priority. It is particularly important, it thinks, 
for national organizations to cooperate at Com­
munity level so that they can take the same line, 
wherever possible, in international committees. 
However, this also means that the Community must 
call for, and attempt to push through, the adoption 
of worldwide standards and their uniform applica­
tion throughout its territory. For this purpose exist­
ing national and Community organizations should 
be resorted to in the main. The Committee considers 
that the work performed by these organizations 
should not be switched to other bodies, including 
those which come under the Commission. 
The Committee draws attention to the fact that to all 
intents and purposes, given the highly sophisticated 
and specialized nature of information technology, 
the Community can only act as a coordinator and 
purveyor of information. However, this is a perma­
nent task, which extends far beyond the confines of 
a programme covering only a few years. 
2.2. The harmonization of public procurement pro­
cedures is closely linked to the enforcement of inter­
national and Community standards in so far as it 
aids their application and dissemination. The key 
factor, however, is that these procedures should be 
applied uniformly throughout the Community. 
Priority should therefore be given to finding out to 
what extent national procedures for the award of 
public contracts must be harmonized. 
The Committee is particularly pleased that the 
studies on the development of data processing and its 
impact on society, and particularly employment, are 
to be continued and are to highlight specific issues. 
In this connection it is especially important that all 
interested bodies (research institutes, national 
authorities, universities, trade associations, firms 
and trade unions) should be systematically supplied 
with the results. The findings already made by these 
bodies should also be incorporated in the studies. 
2.3. The Committee feels that consideration 
should be given to the possibility of the funds for publishing the results being found a place in the 
budget. It expects the European Pool of Studies and 
Analysis (EPOS) to make these results available. 
The studies into the effects of data processing on 
corporate structure or the demand for new products 
are to be focused on 'Gearing the educational sys­
tem to industrial requirements' and 'Computer-
assisted education', but problems could be caused if 
the educational aspects are considered in isolation 
and the practical implications are neglected. 
Whereas data security is a technical problem, data 
confidentiality is mainly a legal issue. 
The Committee endorses very effort to set up a uni­
form legal instrument in the Community on the 
basis of the Treaty. 
Since the amount of software used in computer sys­
tems and software's share of system costs are con­
stantly growing, the problem of legal protection for 
computer programmes is coming more to the fore. 
The growth in the market for software makes it 
necessary to find a viable solution which basically 
does nothing to impede the dissemination of soft­
ware but which does protect the rights of manufac­
turers who in some cases invest very high sums of 
money in the development of their products. The 
Committee therefore welcomes the inclusion of this 
question in the multiannual programme, even 
though only individual aspects are to be studied ini­
tially. Because of its importance this question must 
be dealt with more thoroughly and uniform legisla­
tion must be enacted throughout the Community 
and beyond. 
2.4. The budget earmarked for basic research 
(8 million ECU) is very small by national standards 
and no purpose will be served unless the aim of the 
aid is clearly fixed in each instance and seems to be 
within reach. Such aims include in particular: 
— promoting cross-frontier cooperation within 
Europe between scientific and industrial 
research establishments, 
— ensuring that national research overlaps less, 
— improving the dissemination of findings. 
No C 103/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 16. 4. 84 
In view of these projects' major significance the 
Committee also proposes that the possibility of 
increasing the budget appropriation be considered. 
Done at Brussels, 29 February 1984. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the Euro­
pean Economic Community, and in particular 
Article 75 thereof, 
Having regard to the request made by the Council 
on 4 October 1983 for a Committee opinion on the 
above proposal, 
Having regard to the decision taken by the Com­
mittee's Bureau on 27 September 1983 in anticipa­
tion of the referral, instructing the Section for Trans­
port and Communications to draw up an opinion 
on the matter (Article 22 of the Rules of Procedure), Subject to these comments, the Committee approves 
this part of the multiannual programme. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Francois CEYRAC 
Having regard to the opinion adopted by the Sec­
tion for Transport at its 155th meeting on 15 Febru­
ary 1984, 
Having regard to the oral report submitted by the 
rapporteur, Mr Schneider (Article 29 of the Rules of 
Procedure), 
Having regard to the discussions on 29 February 
during the plenary session of 29 February and 
1 March 1984, 
Whereas international cooperation between railway 
companies is necessary mainly to improve transport 
standards but also to reduce costs, Opinion on the proposal for a Council recommendation to the national railway 
undertakings on technical matters concerning operation and internal carriers to the 
crossing of frontiers affecting the international carriage of goods 
(84/C 103/04) 
The text referred to the Committee has been published in Official Journal of the Euro­
pean Communities No C 254 of 22 September 1983, page 6. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 4 October 1983 the Council referred the abovementioned proposal to the Econo­
mic and Social Committee in accordance with Article 75 of the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 
215th plenary session hedl in Brussels on 29 February and 1 March 1984.