OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE on ' Towards the information society - Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on a methodology for the implementation of information society applications - Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision on a series of guidelines for trans-European telecommunications networks'
Date: 1995-11-22
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: communications policy, information policy, telecommunications, trans-European network, transmission network













EUR-Lex - 51995AC1297 - EN






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51995AC1297

OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE on ' Towards the information society - Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on a methodology for the implementation of information society applications - Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision on a series of guidelines for trans-European telecommunications networks'  


Official Journal C 039 , 12/02/1996 P. 0020 





Opinion on 'Towards the information  society - Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic  and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on a methodology for the implementation of  information society applications - Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision on a  series of guidelines for trans-European telecommunications networks'(96/C 39/02)On 14   September 1995 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under the first  paragraph of Article  129d of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the following  document: 'Towards the information society - Communication from the Commission to the Council, the  European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on a  methodology for the implementation of information society applications - Proposal for a European  Parliament and Council Decision on a series of guidelines for trans-European telecommunications  networks'. The Section for Transport and Communications, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's  work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 8  November 1995. The Rapporteur was Mr von Schwerin. At its 330th Plenary Session (meeting of 22  November 1995), the Committee adopted the following  Opinion by a unanimous vote. 1. Introduction1.1. The proposal on guidelines for trans-European telecommunications  networks is based on EC Treaty Article  129b in conjunction with Article  129c, in which the  Community is given the task of promoting, establishing and developing trans-European  telecommunications networks. 1.2. To date the European Union has actively supported the development of a transEuropean  telecommunications network through a whole series of proposals such as ISDN and TEN-IBC. 1.3. The Commission White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment expressly calls for the  establishment of trans-European networks in the telecommunications sector, too, and identifies  projects to interconnect advanced communications networks, generic services and telematic  applications. The term 'telematics' in the European context usually means the transnational digital  exchange or processing of information between disparate and distributed interoperable network  computer systems. Examples include E-mail, file transfer, videoconferencing and distance learning. 1.4. A group of top level industrialists set up at the instigation of Commissioner Bangemann  presented the Corfu Summit on 24/25  June 1994 with a report entitled 'Europe and the global  information society', in which it stated that the liberalization of infrastructure should be  speeded up. In particular, ten applications for launching the information society were listed.  These are: I) Teleworking - More jobs, new jobs, for a mobile society; II) Distance learning - Lifelong learning for a changing society; III) A network for universities and research centres - Networking Europe's brain power; IV) Telematic services for SMEs - Relaunching a main engine for growth and employment in Europe; V) Road-traffic management - Electronic roads for better quality of life; VI) Air-traffic control - An electronic airway for Europe; VII) Healthcare networks - Less costly and more effective healthcare systems for Europe's  citizens; VIII) Electronic tendering - More effective administration at a lower cost; IX) Trans-European public administration network - Better government, cheaper government; X) City information highways - Bringing the information society into the home. 1.5. The Commission Communication entitled 'Europe's Way to the Information Society - An Action  Plan' contains a detailed action plan with guidelines for the launch of the information society in  the Union. 1.6. Part I of a Green Paper on the liberalization of telecommunications infrastructure and cable  television, which basically makes the same demands as the Bangemann Report, was published on 25   October 1994. Council Resolution of 22  December 1994 stipulated that public telecommunications  networks were to be liberalized by 1  January 1998 at the latest, albeit with longer transitional  periods for Spain, Portugal, Greece, Luxembourg and Ireland up to the year 2003. The Committee is  aware, however, that some Member States do not wish to make use of these transitional periods. 1.7. In Part II of the Green Paper on the liberalization of telecommunications infrastructure and  cable television the Commission presents proposals for a competition-oriented regulatory  framework. 2. Commission Communication on a methodology for the implementation of information society  applications2.1. General commentsThe Community and the Member States have an important task to  perform in promoting and developing communications infrastructure. In connection with the promotion  of project initiatives the Union's task is: - to inform and explain; - to find interested partners; - to provide advice about sources of finance. The Commission Communication on a methodology for the implementation of information society  applications broadly covers these points and is welcomed by the Committee. 2.2. Specific comments2.2.1. EU policy with regard to the implementation of information society  applications can have a positive effect on Europe's socio-economic development and on growth and  employment, especially if the Commission acts to boost demand. The Committee would comment as  follows on this objective: - In order to implement information society applications, support should also be given to projects  which stimulate demand and especially projects which serve the public interest but will not  generate a profit initially. In providing this support, the EU should combine financial instruments  and exploit their complementarity in order to guarantee synergies. The detailed Commission  proposals still pending must be precise and clear. - Decision-taking in connection with project support should be unbureaucratic, transparent and  swift. Since it is in the SME sector in particular that new, innovative jobs are being created,  SMEs should be provided with appropriate advice and support. The Committee supports the  Commission's plan to give priority to SMEs and to grant them a minimum participation in consortia  that are to be formed. - The Information Society Project Office (ISPO) has an important function as a one-stop-shop  interface. One question which should be examined is whether in the interests of reducing  bureaucracy the ISPO should in future be given decision-making powers so as to help solve certain  problems. It could, for example, help to coordinate over time the use of the various sources of  finance. - There are problems in connection with the Council Regulation laying down general rules for the  procedure for the granting of Community financial aid in the field of trans-European networks ()  and the specific rules governing the sources of finance. The common project-selection criteria and  the specific requirements should be made compatible. The Commission should take this into account  when drawing up the details of the possibilities for obtaining funds. 3. Proposal on guidelines for trans-European telecommunications networks3.1. General  comments3.1.1. The Committee thinks that the provision of trans-European networks can accelerate  social and economic integration in the EU. It therefore approves the Commission's premise that  efficient means of exchanging information are vital for improving European industry's  competitiveness and thus safeguarding and creating jobs. 3.1.2. The Committee welcomes the priority given by the Commission, within the context of the  Community's objectives, to promoting the development of applications which will allow every user to  access the requisite information. 3.1.3. The Committee agrees with the Commission that priority should be given to basic networks  since they ensure that information can be transmitted cheaply and efficiently, that new  applications and generic services can be introduced rapidly and that the newest and best possible  transmission technologies are available forthwith. 3.1.4. In the Committee's view, the Commission's competition-based regulatory approach and its  concentration on the private sector is bound to lead to the emphasis being placed on services and  projects which are marketable and yield a profit in the market place. The Committee thinks that it  is the Commission's duty to make sure that the information society serves the whole of society. The  prerequisite for this must be that the widest possible range of universally accessible networks and  services is available and that cost-efficient use can be made of them. 3.1.5. The Committee would also refer to its Opinion on the Commission Communication on Europe's  way to the information society: an action plan (). 3.2. Specific comments3.2.1. Objectives of the guidelines3.2.1.1. The Committee expressly welcomes the allowance made for  socio-economic aspects in connection with the guidelines' objectives. The Committee thinks that  trans-European networks, and especially Integrated Broadband Communication (IBC), - contribute towards the creation of a socially-minded information society and the improvement of  the quality of life, - strengthen Community-wide economic and social cohesion, - can promote competitiveness and especially the outlook for employment in an overall context, - can create the basis, in industrial policy terms, for growth area activities. 3.2.1.2. The Committee underlines the need for large-scale investment to attain the objectives set.  Investment in information infrastructure boosts the Community's socio-economic development and has  a positive effect on growth and employment. However, the Committee has doubts about the attainment  of the objectives. Priority must be given to implementing the principle of competition fairly. 3.2.1.3. Regulatory measures must allow for this during the transition from monopoly to  competition. The Committee would refer here to its Opinion on Part II of the Green Paper on the  liberalization of telecommunications infrastructure and cable television networks and especially  the point that liberalized markets must be regulated in social, economic and technical terms in  order to prevent undesirable developments. Such regulation includes a comprehensive universal  service, provided with the requisite funding, which takes account of the development of society in  Europe. In this connection the technical capabilities should be tapped gradually for the benefit of  all people. 3.2.1.4. The trans-European networks will provide the EU with telecommunications infrastructure  which is indispensable from the social, cultural and economic point of view, etc. Consequently,  before the networks are built, the main consideration should not be their short-term profitability,  even if this point cannot be neglected completely. This is especially true at a time when the  importance of information in society is growing. It is therefore increasingly vital for all of  Europe's citizens to have access to information for the sake of social equality and integration.  The Committee would refer in this connection to the possible positive influence on employment  policy in the EU. 3.2.1.5. As regards the priorities set out in Article  3, the Committee would urge the Commission  to put the second priority (applications contributing to economic and social cohesion) first,  thereby making the provisions more acceptable Community-wide. The Committee also thinks that the  fifth priority (identification, confirmation of the feasibility and deployment of trans-European  generic services, especially in rural and peripheral areas) should be merged with the third  priority (stimulation of interregional initiatives) in order to emphasize the importance in  structurally weak areas of the trouble-free access to and use of trans-European generic services.  Allowance should also be made in the list of objectives for the fact that the trans-European  networks - by acting as an active industrial policy - will develop the internal market and speed up  European integration. 3.2.2. Attainment of the objectives3.2.2.1. The Committee supports the introduction of Integrated  Broadband Communication (IBC) and the priority it is to be given. The Committee recognizes the  benefits and assumes that the IBC concept offers more capacity than the ISDN standard. The  possibilities for integration should also be considered. 3.2.2.2. According to the Committee care must be taken to ensure that trans-European networks and  services can be accessed and used throughout Europe at affordable prices. The aim is also to find  appropriate machinery which ensures that the objectives do not focus solely on profitable  commercial activities. Consideration should be given, too, to the changing needs of consumers. The  Commission is urged to take account of consumer associations by holding consultations and  organizing hearings. 3.2.2.3. The Committee thinks that the Commission's regulatory approach conflicts with the  objectives. On the one hand, according to the regulatory model there is to be competition in the  provision of infrastructure, but on the other hand support is to be given to the cost-intensive  broadband networks so sought after throughout Europe. The Commission should remedy this conflict. 3.2.3. Measures for attaining the objectives3.2.3.1. The list of measures should be extended so as to  give consideration to the poorer Member States' technological needs and, above all, the  possibilities available to them in terms of infrastructure. 3.2.3.2. It should be possible to transfer technology to the disadvantaged regions of the  Community, too. 3.2.4. Domains for projects of common interest3.2.4.1. Today's telecommunications networks (telephone,  satellite, cable) are little suited to future applications. The Committee welcomes the three layer  model as a suitable framework for trans-European networks, since the three layers form a  self-contained structure. This structure consists of: - The applications layer, through which users interact with generic services and basic networks for  meeting their professional, educational and social needs. Applications require to be interoperable  between themselves to bring the maximum benefit to users across the Community. - The generic services' layer, made of compatible generic services and their management. Through  support of the applications' common requirements, these services complement the applications whilst  aiding their interoperability. - The basic networks layer that provides the physical access, transport and switching elements of  the networks, including their management and signalling. These elements are providing the  trans-European network interconnectivity. 3.2.4.2. The Committee welcomes the wide array of projects (applications, generic services, basic  networks). It has the following comment to make on the projects under consideration: Cooperation between project organizers and those working with the networks is the key to the  successful introduction of trans-European networks. In other words, it is not only the networks'  technical aspects that matter, but also their integration in complex socio-technical systems in  which consideration is to be given not only to the technical, economic and organizational aspects  but also, and above all, to the social implications. Since socio-technical systems are subject to  constant changes, the projects and project areas should be developed further. The focus should also be on the creation of intelligent infrastructures which integrate broad- and  narrow-band communications. 3.2.4.3. The Committee would also refer to results of the G-7 Ministerial Conference on the  Information Society held on 27  February 1995. The conference selected eleven pilot projects to  demonstrate how the information society can contribute to solving important issues on the road to  the information society, to promoting growth and, above all, to creating jobs, while involving  players at all levels and from all countries who should be actively involved in this process. 4. Conclusions4.1. The Committee basically endorses the Commission proposal for a European  Parliament and Council Decision on a series of guidelines for trans-European telecommunications  networks. However, it would be pleased if the Commission were to take account of the comments made  in this Opinion. 4.2. The Committee thinks that the proposed projects should attach special importance to the  social, cultural, educational and environmental issues raised by the networks' launch. In these  areas in particular a universal network serving as many of Europe's citizens as possible is  important and would, in the Committee's view, be a step in the right direction. Emphasis should be  placed in this connection on the creation of intelligent infrastructure but also on the full  protection of the data transferred. 4.3. With special regard to the liberalization of the telecommunications sector and the associated  commercialization of R& D programmes, too, the Committee thinks that the projects should be  continuously vetted by the Commission to see whether overall European-wide economic considerations  are brought to bear within the framework of a modern, active and forward-looking industrial policy.  The Committee thinks that an annual report would be desirable. 4.4. The trans-European networks mark a further step towards the social and economic modernization  of Europe. They are of particular importance for the further improvement of living and working  conditions, the satisfaction of consumer interests, future developments with regard to production  and jobs and the further safeguarding and strengthening of European firms' capacity to innovate. In  the Committee's view, it will not be possible to find the requisite funds for investment unless: - European firms form strong alliances which can operate on the world market as global players  and- the principle of reciprocity is applied in world trade. Done at Brussels, 22  November 1995. The Presidentof the Economic and Social CommitteeCarlos FERRER() OJ No L  228, 18. 9. 1995.  () OJ No C 110, 2 .5. 1995, p. 37.