WRITTEN QUESTION E-2058/98

by Felipe Camisón Asensio (PPE) to the Council

(6 July 1998)

Subject: Computer problems arising in the year 2000

What action is being taken at Community and national level in response to the above matter? Does the Council believe that an appropriate level of interaction will be achieved between the public and private sector, including in terms of an exchange of information between the various Member States?

Reply

(26 November 1998)

1. The Council is fully aware of the problems relating to the inability of many computer systems and programmes to cope with the century date change.

2. The Council would remind the Honourable Member that the European Council meeting on 12 and 13 December 1997 in Luxembourg called on the incoming (United Kingdom) Presidency to accord top priority to this issue and that the Council on several occasions in 1998 discussed this ever more pressing problem.

3. The Council welcomed the Commission Communication on the century date change problem, which was first presented at the Council meeting on telecommunications on 26 February 1998. This communication stated in particular that responsibility for resolving the problem clearly lay with suppliers and users of computer based systems.

As users of those systems, the Institutions and the Member States have the same responsibilities as other users. They must ensure that their information systems will be ready for the year 2000. In view of the integration of the European economy into the global economy, and of international cooperation between national governments, the Member States will continue to collaborate actively within intergovernmental organisations and wherever possible coordinate and support the international activities of private bodies.

In this context the Commission has also an important role to play in facilitating the exchange of best practice among Member States, in raising awareness of the problem amongst industry and users, in particular SMEs, and in encouraging them to take action.

4. The Council has on various occasions debated this important matter, which could have serious consequences for the functioning of the internal market. In order to minimise these potentially adverse consequences all actors concerned must cooperate within their sphere of responsibility and scope for action. Therefore in these meetings a number of Ministers reported on what was being done at national level to address the problem, since they felt that it was useful to learn more about what others had been doing. The Council also noted the Commission's intention to issue periodic reports on progress made in the Member States and therefore urged Member States to cooperate fully in exchanging experience and best practice and in supporting the Commission in its efforts to compile a report on the initiatives which have been taken to improve the state of readiness in each Member State.

5. Furthermore, at the Telecommunications Council meeting on 19 May 1998, the United Kingdom Presidency informed the Council of the results of the high level conference it had organised in London on 8 May 1998, which dealt exclusively with the year 2000 computer problem. These proceedings found that the roles of the Commission and the Council were complementary and that this important issue should continue to be raised regularly at Council level.

6. As regards further action on this problem the Council would also remind the Honourable Member that the European Council meeting on 15 and 16 June 1998 in Cardiff stressed that the year 2000 computer problem should continue to receive top priority and therefore invited the Commission to report before the Vienna meeting of the European Council on the initiatives which have been taken to improve the state of readiness in each Member State.