COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ON "STANDARDIZATION AND THE GLOBAL INFORMATION SOCIETY: THE EUROPEAN APPROACH"
Date: 1996-07-24
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: information science, information technology, standardisation, technical cooperation, trade cooperation

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

? 

I 

Brussels, 24.07.1996 
COM(%)  359  final 

COMMUNICATION  FROM  THE  COMMISSION 
TO THE COUNCIL  AND THE EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT 

ON "STANDARDIZATION AND THE GLOBAL INFORMATION SOCIETY 
THE EUROPEAN APPROACH" 

COMMUNICATION  FROM  THE  COMMISSION 
TO  THE  COUNCIL  AND  THE  EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT 

ON  "STANDARDIZATION  AND THE  GLOBAL  INFORMATION  SOCIETY  : 
THE  EUROPEAN  APPROACH" 

Introduction. 

I. 

T HE  ROLE  OF STANDARDIZATION  IN THE  I CT  M A R K ET 

II. 

STANDARDS  IN  A COMPETITIVE  ENVIRONMENT 
1. 
2. 

The  leading  role of market  players 
A changing  role for  formal  standardization 

III. 

EUROPEAN 

STANDARDIZATION 

POLICY 

FOR  BUILDING 

THE 

G L O B AL 

INFORMATION  SOCIETY 
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 

Improving  global  competitiveness 
Promoting  new  technical  solutions 
Protecting  the  public  interest 
Reinforcing  international  cooperation 

IV. 

T HE  ACCEPTANCE  AND  USE  OF  PUBLICLY  AVAILABLE  SPECIFICATIONS 
COMMUNITY  LAW 
1. 
2. 
3. 

Technical  specifications  and  the  New  Approach 
Enhancing  specification  for  public  procurement 
Interoperability  and  applications  for  use  by  authorities 

IN 

Conclusions 

Annex  A 

Research  and  Technological  Development  and  Demonstration 

Annex  B 

Glossary  of  Abbreviations 

INTRODUCTION 

Standards  are  not  only  a  technical  question.  They  determine  the  technology  that  will 
implement  the  Information  Society,  and  consequently  the  way  in  which  industry,  users, 
consumers  and  administrations  will  benefit  from  it.  They  play  an  important  role  in  co 
operation  and  competition  between  companies, are  a  key  element  for  the  effectiveness  of 
the Single  Market and are essential  for the competitiveness of European  industry. 

It  is  evident  that  the  Information  and  Communications  Technology  (ICT)  market  is 
dominated  by  specifications  from  the  USA.  However,  most  of  these  specifications  are 
open  in  nature,  and  there  is  no  restriction  on  their  use  by  European  enterprises. 
Nonetheless,  proximity  to  those  who  set  standards1  gives  enterprises  a  competitive 
advantage,  since  they  are  able  to  bring  their  products  earlier  to  market.  It  is  therefore 
important  that  European  enterprises  become  world-class,  either  in  order  to  become 
leaders  in the market  and to  set the standards  themselves, or at any  rate to  cooperate  with 
them.  In this sense, standards cannot compensate  for  weaknesses in market positions. 

Nevertheless,  there  are  some  areas  in  which  it  is  observable  that  standards  have 
contributed  to  European  competitiveness  in  the  market  place.  One  example  is  provided 
by  the  World  Wide  Web  (WWW),  which  is  a  European  invention,  originally  by  CERN, 
but  whose  further  development  is  now  market-driven,  and  economically  widely  used  in 
Internet;  and  the  GSM  mobile  telephony  standard  which  has  led  to  European  leadership 
in  many  parts  of  the  world.  One  may  conclude  from  this  that  standards  are  necessary  but 
by  no  means  sufficient  for  competitiveness.  The  development  of  appropriate  world  level 
standards  will  depend  on  the  participation  by  European  industry  in  international 
specification-writing  organisations.  Thus  standards  form  a  vital  part  of  European 
industrial competitiveness policy. 

The  aim  of  this  Communication  is  to  examine  how,  in  the  light  of  the  characteristics  of 
the ICT market and the ICT standards process, the  best  possible conditions can be created 
for  the  drawing  up  of  standards  needed  for  the  implementation  of  the  Information 
Society,  and  to  indicate  by  what  means  the  Community  intends  to  promote  those  aspects 
for  which  it has a particular  responsibility. 

THE  ROLE OF STANDARDIZATION IN THE  ICT  MARKET 

Information  technology  has evolved  from  stand-alone  or  closed  user  systems  to  a 
mass-market  product.  This  has  highlighted  issues  such  as  the  emergence  of 
networks  and  the  need  for  components  to  work  together.  The  ability  of  products 
from  different  manufacturers  to  work  one  with  another  ("interoperability")  is 

In  customary  usage  in  the  information  and  communications  technology  field,  the  term  "standard" 
is used  loosely  to denote  any  technical  specification.  In  the  usage  of  international,  European  and 
national  standards  bodies,  and  also  in  certain  Community  legislative  instruments,  the  term 
"standard"  has, by  contrast,  a specific,  defined  meaning;  it generally  indicates  the  documents 
drawn  up  by  a consensus  process  involving  all  interested  parties,  for  voluntary  application  and 
whose  issue  is by  a recognised  standardization  organisation,  (liven  the  defined  legal  definition  of 
standards  in Community  law  and  the  link  between  Community  law  and  "formal"  standards,  in  this 
document,  the  term  "standard" should  be  understood  as  the  standard  adopted  by  a  formal 
standards  institute  Other  standards  will  lie  referred  to  as  "technical  specifications"  or  "de  facto 
standards". 

I  <v 

important  in  the  use  of  many  ICT  products  and  services.  Standardization  is  a 
voluntary  process  and  retlects  the  dynamics  of  the  market.  For  products  with 
short  life  cycles  and  immediate  economic  profits  the  market  will  tend  to  adopt 
technical  specifications  in the  framework  of consortia or use de facto  standards;  in 
other  cases,  the  market  will  prefer  to  adopt  formal  standards,  for  instance  in  the 
case  of large-scale  investment,  or with  a view  to adopting  international  standards. 

inappropriate  because  of 

Standards  have  to  follow  the  life-cycles  of  products  or  services,  but  since  ICT 
product  cycle  times  are  short  and  becoming  shorter,  standards  adopted  following 
lengthy 
traditional  procedures  often  prove 
procedures  involved  in  their  elaboration.  In  some  areas,  however,  such  as  the 
development  of  basic  telecommunications  infrastructures,  technical  specifications 
need  to  have  long-term  stability  and  will  constitute  a  guarantee  that  will  allow 
users  confidently 
In 
large 
telecommunications,  the  market  tends  to  be  fragmented  because  of  national 
telecommunications  monopolies,  residual  or  continued  national  regulation,  and 
different  national  implementations  of similar  technical  specifications.  For  the  user 
to  benefit  from  this  new  situation,  the  interconnection  of  networks  of  different 
operators  is critical. 

that  are  needed. 

investments 

to  make 

the 

the 

2. 

3. 

in  which  one  or  possibly  two  common 

ICT  markets  are  likely  to  show  a  standardizing  process  in  which  a  minimal 
specification  will  emerge,  followed  by the development  of a number  of  competing 
technical  specifications  as  the  technology  becomes  more  widely  used.  This 
implies  that  several  common  technical  specifications  may  emerge  in  parallel, 
followed  by  a  shakeout 
technical 
specifications  representing  the  technology  that  is  dominant  in  the  market  are  all 
that  survive.  Whilst  the  ideal  standardization  process  consists  of  an  open 
consensus  of  all  those  with  a  market  interest  in  the  product  being  standardized, 
followed  by the  issue of a formal  standard,  in the  ICT area, because  of the  rapidity 
of  technological  advance,  and  the  advantage  to  be  gained  from  the  control  of 
dominant  specifications,  it  is  not  unusual  for  dominant  market  players  to  attempt 
to  reinforce,  by  means  of  technical  specifications,  their  dominant  position  in  the 
market  place. 

specifications.  Both 

The  role of  formal  standardization  has changed.  Because  of  the time  necessary  for 
its  procedures,  and  the  constraints  of  consensus,  formal  standardization  has  not 
always  been  able  to  deliver  standards  in  due  time  for  their  wide  acceptance  in 
innovative  technology  and  in such  a way  as to  prevent  the  emergence  of  dominant 
proprietary 
formal 
standardization  therefore  need  to be considered.  As a reaction  to  the  limitations  of 
formal  standardization,  fora  and  consortia  have  emerged  that  are  drawing  up 
specifications  for  common  use  by  their  participants.  Such  documents  can  rapidly 
achieve  widespread  market  acceptance.  Where  established  in  the  market  place 
they  are  sometimes  known  as  de  facto  standards.  When  made  publicly  available, 
they  are  sometimes  known  as  publicly  available  specifications  (PAS).  Such 
documents  can  make  technical  contributions  that  already  incorporate  a  significant 
level  of consensus  to the  relevant  standards  bodies. 

and  procedures  of 

scope 

the 

Major  questions that  have therefore  to be addressed  are: 
• 

Will  the  necessary  and  sufficient  standards  be  available?  Will  they  cause 
fragmentation  or  help  convergence  in  markets?  Will  they  be  used  to 
confirm  or create dominant  positions, or de facto  monopolies  in  ICT?  Will 
they  enable  users  to  take  full  advantage  of  the 
telecommunications 
liberalization  that will take place  in  1998? 
What  changes  are  necessary  to  the  scope  and  procedures  of  formal 
standardization? 
How  is it possible through  standardization  to enable  European  citizens  and 
enterprises to take  full  advantage  of the possibilities  offered  by  the  Global 
Information  Society? 

• 

• 

II. 

STANDARDS IN A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT. 

1. 

The  leading  role of market  players. 

5. 

6. 

European  industry  and  services providers  need  to seek  proximity  to world  leaders; 
without  participation  in  the  global  strategic  process  they  cannot  achieve  world-
the 
they  should  be  encouraged 
class  status.  Therefore, 
international  fora  that  define  strategies  for  ICT  standardization  at  the  world  level. 
European  companies  should  be at the  forefront  of  the  strategic  process  in  order  to 
reap the  full  benefits  from  the  ICT  market. 

to  participate 

in 

If the  European  economy  as a whole  is to  benefit  from  the elaboration  of  publicly 
available  specifications,  a  high  degree  of  transparency  will  be  needed  and  the 
incoherence  that  might  arise  from  the emergence  of a large  number  of  groups,  not 
to  mention  the waste  of resources  involved  in  duplication,  should  be avoided.  The 
Commission  therefore,  welcomes  the  formation  of  a  High-Level  Strategy  Group, 
representing  various  sectors  of  industry  and  European  industrial  organisations, 
intended  "to  oversee  standardization  at  a  strategic  level  and  to  determine  the  key 
requirements  for  standards  in a business  context"2. 

Standardization  is  a  commercial  activity,  and  must  be  regarded  as  such.  In  the 
ICT  sector,  specifications  are  an  expression  of  market  power,  and  breadth  of 
consensus  is of  less  importance.  With  respect  to  Community  competition  law,  i.e., 
Articles  85  -  86  of  the  Treaty  de  facto  standards  or  PAS  must  be  considered  as 
cooperation  between  companies  and  have  to  be  assessed  for  this  reason.  In  all 
cases competition  must  remain  possible. 

On  the  basis  of  the  general  principles  contained  in  the  1968  Communication  on 
agreements,  decisions  and  concerted  practices  concerning  co-operation  between 
enterprises3,  cooperation  between  companies  in  consortia  should  meet  a  number 
of  criteria.  The  parties  concerned  must  respect  the  open  membership/constitution 
character  of  consortia  (fora),  that  is, the  possibility  for  any  interested  company  to 
participate.  This  implies  that  the  existence  of  the  consortia  must  be  made  public. 

towards  the  Global  Information  Society:  new  directions  arising  from 

"Europe 
Workshop",  OPOCE,  Luxembourg,  1995 
OJLC  N° C75  of  29.07.1968,  p.3 

the  Gcnval 

3 

though 

limited  by  practicalities,  must  characterise 

Further,  within  such  entities decision-making  processes  must  be transparent.  Such 
mechanisms  must  be  careful  to  permit  genuine  participation  in  the  work  by  less 
favoured  partners  who  wish  to  take  part:  a  certain  equality  and  balance  between 
the  partners,  even 
the 
functioning  of  these  fora.  The  specifications  issued  by  such  consortia  must  be 
drawn  up  in  such  a  manner  as  to  allow  competition  within  the  framework  of  the 
envisaged  technical  solutions.  This  is  also  desirable  to  reduce  the  possibility  of 
conflict  with 
transparency 
regarding  the existence  of patents  in the chosen  technologies,  or  any  possibility  of 
discriminatory  conduct 
the 
in  the 
existence  of  ulterior  motives 
technical  co-operation 
agreement. 

issuing  of 
incompatible  with  a 

intellectual  property  rights  (IPRs).  Any 

licences,  would  demonstrate 

lack  of 

2. 

A  changing  role for  formal  standardization 

7. 

8. 

It  is  for  commercial  reasons  that  the  role  of  formal  standardization  in  the  ICT 
sector has declined,  at  least  where standards  are  required  in the  short  term.  Formal 
standards  should  be directed  to those  areas  that  need  a broad  consensus,  where  the 
market  sees  it  as  necessary,  for  example,  where  specifications  should  form  a 
lasting  basis, or should  become  established  as international  standards. 

Formal  standards  organisations  in  Europe,  recognised  by  law  at  European  level 
(Directive  83/189/EEC),  are  CEN,  CENELEC  and  ETSI.  These  three  European 
organisations  develop  formal  standards  through  agreed,  open  and  transparent 
procedures,  based  on  a  consensus  of  all  interested  parties.  Even  though  detailed 
procedures  differ  based  on  the  characteristics  of  membership  (in  CEN  and 
CENELEC  the  work  is  organised  largely  around  national  delegations,  whereas  in 
ETSI  economic  players  can  join  directly  as  members)  this  consensus  is  sought 
and  expressed  through  a  public  enquiry  and  a  vote  organized  at  national  level. 
Formal  standards,  therefore,  present  a  particular  legitimacy  which  distinguishes 
them  from  de  facto  standards  and  from  FAS,  and  which  allow  national  and 
Community  law to have  recourse  to  them. 

the  output  and  quality  of 
Although  market  operators  are  responsible  for 
standardization,  the  European  standards  organizations  have  a  role  of  maintaining 
a  "cohesive  system  of  1 European  standards"4.  This  covers  two  different  aspects: 
that  of  conferring  -  if  all  the  necessary  requirements  are  met  -  the  status  of 
standards  on  market  developed  documents,  and,  secondly,  ensuring  greater 
coherence  between  technical  specifications. 

9. 

Technical  specifications  elaborated  by  consortia  may  be  based  on  a  consensus  of 
all  interested  parties,  but  in  the  view  of  those  parties  the  disadvantages  of  the 
standardization  process, 
lengthy  and  costly  procedures  without  direct 
participation,  may  outweigh  the  advantages  granted  by  the  ultimate  status  of  the 
document  as  a  formal  standard.  In  such  cases  standards  bodies  should  examine 
how,  through  specific  procedures  or  arrangements,  such  documents  can  still  be 
brought  within  the  ambit  of  European  standardization  by  conferring  upon  them 

i.e., 

Council  Resolution  of  I <S  o  ! 992  on  the  role  of  standardization  in  the  European  economy  (OJEC 
No.  ('173  of 9.7  1992.  p. I  ) 

4 

the  status  of  standards.  Given  that  the  European  standards  organizations  already 
have  a  number  of  "fast  track"  procedures,  part  of  their  task  may  be  to  provide 
better information  and to promote their services more actively. 

Conferring  the  status  of  standards  upon  publicly  available  specifications  is  not 
appropriate  where  technical  specifications  do  not  have  a  consensus  of  all 
interested  parties; where documents, whether or not yet based  on consensus  of all 
interested  parties,  concern  a  technology  that  is  so  rapidly  evolving  that  existing 
standardization  procedures  are  unable to  follow  its evolution;  where the  status  of 
standard  does not add  value to technical  specifications  used  by  industry  or where 
the position regarding IPRs is not yet settled. 

10. 

It  is  the  view  of  the  European  Commission  that  the  European  standards 
organizations  should  assess  the extent  of their  role. They  should  strengthen  their 
cooperation with other organisations that write specifications  in ICT related areas. 
Close  links  will  enable  organisations  of  users  in  particular  technical  sectors  to 
offer  particular  standardization  requirements,  and  the  technical  infrastructure  of 
the  European  standards  organisations  could  support 
the  work  of  user 
organisations. 

European  standards organizations  have to examine  whether  their  present  range of 
deliverables  still  meets  market  requirements.  In  particular, 
the  European 
organizations  have  the  necessary  infrastructure  and  experience  to  elaborate 
common  technical  specifications  which  do  not  have  the  status  of  standards,  but 
which are still capable of catering  for a large sectoral  consensus  and  geographical 
coverage.  In  appropriate  circumstances,  such  documents  could  also  serve  as  a 
European input to the international standardization  process. In this context, it may 
be  useful  to  mention  that  ETSI,  and  EWOS,  the  European  Workshop  on  Open 
Systems have embarked on this route. 

Where  a technical  sector  stands  in  need  of  common  specifications,  but  does  not 
need  to  confer  the  status  of  standards  upon  them,  the  European  standardization 
organizations should examine the possibility of offering  their infrastructure  for the 
elaboration  of such  common  specifications  on the  basis of open workshops. They 
should  also  examine  the  possibility  of  their  acting  as  an  official  depository  for 
Publicly  Available  Specifications.  They  might  also  offer  technical  assistance, 
contribute to increased  transparency and provide a structure for  distribution. 

11. 

The  issue  of  FAS  raises  the  question  of  the  extent  to  which  the  {European 
standards  organisations  can  promote  "competing"  documents,  even  where  they 
are  presented  with  different  status, such  as a  European  Standard  (EN)  in  parallel 
with  a  FAS.  In  this  respect  it  is  necessary  to  bear  the  voluntary  nature  of 
standardization  in  mind,  and  also  that  standardization  should  never  constitute  a 
formal  impediment  to  the  introduction  to  the  market  of  new  products  or  new 
technologies. Competing  products and  technologies  should  not  be excluded  from 
standardization.  1 lowever,  the  difference  between  competing  standards  and  the 
standardization  oi' competing  technologies  may  in  reality  sometimes  be  difficult 
to discern. The following  points should be noted: 

• 

• 

• 

the  nature  of  standardization,  and  of  the  standstill  obligations  upon  the 
member  bodies  of  the  European  standards  organisations,  make  it  obligatory 
that  no  conflicting  solutions  be  offered  in  standards  for  the  same  product  or 
technology; 
European  standards  organisations  bear  a  significant 
coordinating  and  drafting 
technologies  are not  in practice  excluded  from  the  market; 
the  possibility  open  to  a  European  standards  organization  to  make  available, 
as  PAS,  documents  containing  other  technologies,  should  not  be  considered 
as  an  "appeal"  procedure  if  another  technology  has  been  selected  in  a 
European  standard  by consensus  of all  interested  parties; 

for 
that  competing 

in  such  a  way 

responsibility 

standards 

12. 

13. 

•  where  public  interests  are  at  stake, and  if  the  need  therefore  arises, the  public 
authorities  should,  by  way  of  mandates  adopted  in  conformity  with  Directive 
83/189,  give  the  necessary  guidance  to  European  standards  organizations,  in 
particular  for  conferring  the  status  of standards  upon  PAS. 

In  the  field  of  formal  standardization  there  also  remains  a  need  for  coordination. 
The  Commission,  therefore,  welcomes  the  setting  up  of  the  ICT  Standards  Board 
by  CEN,  CENELEC  and  ETSI  with  the  participation  of  other  specification-
writing  bodies.  Its  task  is  to  coordinate  and  supervise  standardization  activities 
that  fall  within  its  scope,  defined  by  the  governing  bodies  of  CEN,  CENELEC 
and  ETSI,  broadly  covering  the  ICT  field.  The  Commission  however,  invites  the 
standards  bodies  to  implement  a  workshop  structure  in  order  to  achieve  the  best 
possible  level  of  coordination  between  themselves  and  with  the  market  operators, 
who  remain  responsible  for  the establishment  of a coherent  structure. 

In  formal  standardization,  the  search  for  consensus  is  organised  through  national 
representation.  The  Commission  considers,  however,  that  alongside  national 
representation  there  is  an  urgent  need  to  increase  direct  user  participation  in 
strategy  planning  and  standardization  activities.  In  particular,  there  should  be  a 
discussion  of  how  users'  representation  could  be  further 
in  the 
CEN/CENELEC/ETSI  ICT  Standards  Board. 

improved 

III. 

EUROPEAN 

STANDARDIZATION 

POLICY 

FOR 

BUILDING 

THE 

G L O B AL 

INFORMATION  SOCIETY. 

1. 

Improving  global  competitiveness 

14. 

to 

to  openness 

implementation 

If  the  Information  Society  is  to  prove  effective,  a  clear  political  commitment  by 
is  necessary.  The 
its 
the  Member  Stales 
persistence  of  regulatory  barriers  to  trade  will  continue  to  impede  European 
access  to  the  advantages  offered  by  the  Information  Society.  Consequently,  the 
Commission  will  need  to  ensure  that  such  obstacles  are  identified  and  where 
necessary  removed,  further  harmonization  of  national  provisions  concerning 
telecommunications  networks  and  terminal  equipment  will  already  open  the 
market  substantially.  Action  needs  to  be maintained  to ensure  that  no new  barriers 
of  this  type  are  erected.  Statistics  on  telecommunications-related  notifications 
made  under  the  framework  of  Directive  XVIXWEC  suggests  that  Member  States 
still  have  a  high  regulatory  activity:  for  example,  in  the  three  years  from  1992  to 

() 

1994  telecommunications  was  the  largest  sector  in  which  draft  national  measures 
were  notified,  comprising  in  all  nearly  one  third  of  all  notifications.  New 
measures  may  need  to be adopted  to ensure that actions  by  the  Member  States  that 
are  liable  to  create  barriers  to  the  implementation  of  the  Information  Society  can 
be made the subject  of prior  scrutiny. 

15.  While  in  principle  standards  or  PAS  promote  market-based  competition,  the 
drawing  up of technical  specifications  can  sometimes  have  discriminatory  effects. 
For  example:  companies  proposing  a  certain  specification  could 
in  certain 
circumstances  gain  an  unjustified  headway  or  know-how  advantage  compared  to 
their  competitors;  and  the  process  of  choosing  between  competing  specifications 
could  in  certain  cases  be  unduly  influenced  by  particular  private  interests. 
Therefore,  public  authorities  have  a  role  in  ensuring  that  standardization  respects 
competition  rules.  In  this  context,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  standardization 
bodies  are also  subject  to Articles  85 and  86 of the  EU  Treaty. 

16. 

17. 

As  users  of  information  technology,  within  a  relatively  homogenous  application 
area,  public  authorities  are  an  important  market  player.  Furthermore,  public 
procurement  is  a  large  factor  in  the  European  economy  and  public  authorities  are 
significant  purchasers  of  ICT  technology5.  The  market's  perception  of  its  interest 
will  be  influenced  by  the  fact  that  governments  and  other  public  procurement 
entities  are  themselves  major  economic  players.  The  use  of  specifications  by 
public  procurement  entities  will  establish  them  to  a  great  extent  in  the  market. 
Public  Procurement  Directives,  whilst  establishing  a hierarchy  in  specifications  to 
be  referred  to  in  calls  for  tender,  allow  a  derogation  for  projects  of  a  genuinely 
innovative  nature  for  which  the  use  of  existing  formal  European  specifications  is 
obsolete.  This  possibility  is  a major  tool  for  the  introduction  of  new  technologies 
in  the  Public  Procurement  market.  It  allows  public  authorities  to  promote  the  use 
of pre-standardized  technologies  and  products  resulting  from  RTD. 

standards. 

in  the  global  context 

is  conditioned  by 
The  development  and  uptake  of  electronic  commerce 
standardization  and  de 
Interoperability  extending  across 
facto 
organisations  and  enterprises  has  an  impact  on  enterprises  and  on  complete 
industries  or  service  sectors  and  their  global  competitiveness.  Achieving  this 
implies  addressing  standardization 
in  coherence  with 
technological  developments.  The  current  speed  o(  technological  developments, 
the  high  stakes  in  the  uptake  of  electronic  commerce,  and  the  efforts  of  Europe's 
competitors  to  try  lo  establish  market  dominance  make  a  more  coordinated  and 
targeted  approach  to  standardization  in  electronic  commerce  a  matter  of  urgency. 
The  Commission  is  therefore  currently  analysing  the  position  of  standards  and 
specifications 
in 
collaboration  with  all  relevant  market  operators,  for  the  development,  application 
and  promotion  of  specifications  and  standards  for  electronic  commerce  in  Europe 
and  world-wide. 

in  electronic  commerce,  and 

is  preparing 

initiatives, 

Various  initiatives  have been  developed  in this context,  (examples are  the  European  Procurement 
Handbook  tor Open  Systems-(EPHOS) project,  the  Interchange  of  Data  between  Administrations 
(IDA)  programme,  and  the  "STEPS"  (solutions  for  telematics  in  European  public  services) 
Handbook  developed  by  the  Telematics  tor  Administrations  sector  within  the  Telematics 
Applications  Programme  A  review  process  for  the  EPHOS  and  IDA  programmes  has  been 
launched. 

7 

18. 

19. 

20. 

The  transmission  of  sound  and  pictures  by  cable  and/or  satellite  is  moving 
towards  full  digitization  with  significant  quality 
improvements  and  added 
flexibility,  but  the  techniques  which  are  needed  to  multiplex,  compress  and 
encrypt  the  signals  require  the  reverse  process  to  be  embodied  in  decoders  (often 
referred  to  as  set  top  boxes).  Without  agreement  on  such  systems  and  their 
common  implementation,  the  compatibility  may  be  jeopardized  and  markets 
segmented.  On  the  other  side  the  market  could  determine  the  best  solution 
amongst  competing  specifications.  The  work  done  by  ETSI  and  CENELEC, 
following  detailed  input  from  the  European  Digital  Video  Broadcasting  Group 
(DVB)  and  with  the  cooperation  of  an  industrial  consortium  known  as  DAVIC, 
has  led  to  the  preparation  of  standards  which  are  expected  to  provide  a  suitable 
technical  base  to  support  the  digital  distribution  of  audiovisual  programmes  all 
over  Europe,  with  a  reasonable  hope  for  world-wide  compatibility.  It  remains  to 
be  seen  if  the  common  implementation  of  such  standards  in  set  top  boxes  can  be 
quickly  achieved  with  the  help  of  all  economic  actors.  The  importance  of  the 
stake  explains  the  interest  of  the  Community  to  ensure  equality  of  access  and 
interoperation  of  systems. 

The  role  of demonstration  and  trial  projects,  which  are  significant  in areas  outside 
Community  funded  RED,  or  which  are  a  more  market-oriented  complement  to  it, 
is  to  verify  that  new  specifications  lead  to  working  equipment,  to  minimise  risks 
by  sharing  the  experience  to  be  gained  by  testing  prototypes,  and  to  help  remove 
barriers  to the acceptance  of  information  technology  products  in business.  It  is not 
the  aim  of  demonstration  projects  to  replace  market  dynamics  or  to  favour 
specific  solutions.  Without  creating  unjustified  expectations,  they  nonetheless 
have  a  role  in  promoting  standardization  and  the  use  of  new  products  in  certain 
niche  markets,  in  sectors  reflecting  social  needs  and  in  areas  where  there  may  be 
lack  of economic  interest. 

So  far,  pilot  projects  have  been  launched  aimed  at  identifying  user  and  supplier 
needs  for  standardization.  Feedback  from  these  projects  has  already  provided 
valuable  pointers  for  future  lines  of  action  in  ICT  standardization6.  In  view  of  the 
encouraging  results,  it  is  planned  to  continue  and  extend  this  activity.  An  open 
call  for  proposals  is  planned  for  publication  in  the  third  quarter  of  1996  for  a 
follow-up  phase  of  initiatives.  This  will  address  the  domains  of  multimedia 
systems, electronic  commerce,  teleworking,  and  health-care  networks. 

The  public  authorities  in  Europe  can  act  to  improve  the  situation  by  promoting 
activities  to  develop  awareness  of  standardized  ICT  products  and  services. 
Suitable  means  are  communication  and  demonstration  actions  such  as  workshops. 
Action  should  be directed  towards  other  (that  is, non-ICT)  sectors  of  industry  and 
to  associations  of  individual  users,  consumers,  workers  and  those  with  special 
needs.  Experience  shows  that  action  is  necessary  to  bring  to  the  attention  of 
industrial  management  -  preferably  at  board  level  -  the  role  and  importance  of 
ICT 
the 
improvement  of competitiveness.  Of  particular  importance  are  measures  in  favour 
of small  and  medium  sized  enterprises. 

specifications 

specifications 

instruments 

technical 

and 

for 

as 

Examples  of  projects  are  given  in  Annex  A,  part  3. 

8 

2. 

Promoting  new  technical  solutions. 

21. 

Standardization  needs  to  be  based  on  sound  applied  science  and  research  results 
can  find  a practical  implementation  in the  market  by technical  specifications.  This 
is  in  particular  true  for  ICT.  Policy  should  therefore  be  directed  towards  more 
closely  associating  standardization  with  the  process  of  research  and  development 
and  vice  versa.  To  wait  until  research  programmes  have  reached  their  conclusion 
technical 
before  considering 
specifications  may  result  in  long  delays  and  additional  costs.  Experience  shows 
that  standards  emerging  from  co-operative  research  have  a  higher  rate  of  success 
in  international  consensus  building.  Furthermore,  RTD  projects  can  help  to 
overcome  a  possible  barrier  to  proper  standardization.  The  potential  commercial 
gains  for  a  limited  number  of  companies  to  undertake  standardization  are  often 
not  large  enough  to  be justifiable  from  their  own  individual  perspective,  even  if 
for  the  market  as a whole  such  a development  would  be  beneficial. 

standardization  or  examination  of  existing 

In  addition,  RTD  projects  in  ICT  can  contribute  to  the  competitiveness  of 
Fluropean  industries  on  a global  scale  if the  need  for  standardization  is  recognised 
at  an  early  stage.  This  contributes  to  the  likelihood  that  the  defined  technical 
specifications  will  be  developed  faster  and  will  get  leverage  on  the  global  market 
and  in  world-wide  fora.  However,  it  is  essential  that  the  technical  specifications 
can  be  shown  to  work  and  are  acceptable  to  the  market,  and  that  European 
industry  is well  represented  in the  international  fora7. 

3. 

Protecting  the public  interest 

22.  Market  instruments  are  not  always  sufficient  on  their  own  to  extend  the  benefits 
of  the  Information  Society  to  all  the  elements  that  make  up  society.  Many  groups 
of  citizens  or  companies  are  likely  to  benefit  from  participation  in  it,  but  their 
specific  interests,  e.g.  privacy,  or  special  needs  of  groups  of  citizens  like  the 
disabled  and  elderly,  may  not  be  sufficiently  taken  into  consideration  in  a  process 
based  exclusively  on commercial  considerations. 
In  order  to  safeguard  the  public  interest,  such  as  the  interoperability  of  decoders, 
or  to  meet  their  own  requirements,  such  as  the  exchange  of  information  and  the 
security  of  messages, 
in 
standardization  and  to  encourage  research  projects  to  include  standardization 
development  wherever  appropriate.  If there  is  a  need,  they  can  use  their  influence 
as  customers  or  promote  standardization  by  organising  trial  or  demonstration 
projects,  or  by  drawing  up  mandates  addressed 
to  the  European  standards 
organisations.  Where  public  interests  are  at  stake,  the  ultimate  solution,  in  cases 
where  no  satisfactory  consensus  exists,  consists  of  regulatory  measures,  adopted 
in conformity  with  the common  regulatory  principles  promoted  under  the  WTO. 

to  monitor  developments 

the  Community  has 

23. 

The  Commission  has  the  possibility  of  promoting  standards  in  areas  where  the 
European  Union  wishes  to  see  their  development,  by  the  medium  of  mandates 
addressed  to  the  European  standards  organizations.  Mandates  are  an  instrument 

Examples of Community  funded  R I'D projects (Fourth  Framework  Programme) related  to ICT 
are given  in Annex  A, part  1. Examples ol demonstration  projects are given  in Annex A, part 2. 

9 

24. 

25. 

26. 

27. 

that  should  be  handled  with  care  as  a  means  of  promoting  the  public  interest. 
Provided  that  they  identify  the  incentives  for  the  market  to  deal  with  the  request 
they  constitute  a  valuable  tool  for 
the 
Information  Society  and  formal  indication  to  the  standards  organizations  of  the 
Community's  and  Member  States'  standardization  priorities.  Mandates  may  also 
be  given  as  an  instrument  to  call  for  the  involvement  of  appropriate  groups,  such 
as consortia  and  professional  and  end-user  groups,  in the  standardizing  process. 

the  development  of  standards  for 

4. 

Reinforcing  international  cooperation. 

The  information  and  communications  technologies  market  is  a  global  one,  and 
international  cooperation  will  serve  to  assist  a  co-operative  development  of  an 
integrated  world  market  which  will  be  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  the 
WTO.  European  suppliers  and  manufacturers  must  have  an  opportunity 
to 
participate  fully 
in  the  commercial  opportunities  offered  by  the  Information 
Society  at  the  world  level.  Implementation  of  a  policy  based  on  the  principles 
adopted  by  the  G7  meeting  in  Brussels  in  1995  on  this  subject  is  important  to 
establish  the  global  dimension  of  the  Information  Society,  and  to  keep  Europe 
integrated  into the  rest  of the  world. 

In  view  of  this  global  dimension,  the  Commission  has  proposed  the  organisation 
of a world-wide  Conference  that  will  follow  up the  conclusions  of the  G7  meeting 
in  Brussels  in  February  1995 on  the  Global  Information  Society.  This  conference, 
to  be  held  in  1997, will  bring  together  users,  standardizes  and  public  authorities. 
It  will  review  progress  made  so  far,  identify  needs  for  further  work  and  build 
consensus  on  future  actions.  Together  with  the  G7  partners,  the  Commission  will 
take  steps  to  stimulate  world-wide  cooperation  to  develop  a  global  architecture, 
global  interoperability  rules  and  compatibility  properties  for  the  different  parts  of 
themes8 
the  Global 
established  in February  1995 are an  important  tool. 

this,  the  G7  pilot  project 

Interface.  For 

Information 

is  endeavouring 

As regards  international  openness,  the Community  is fully  committed  to the  WTO 
agreements.  It 
the  overall  basic 
telecommunications  service  sector  to  a  successful  conclusion.  These  conclusions 
provide  a  unique  opportunity  to  obtain  a  progressive  liberalisation  of  worldwide 
telecommunications  markets  with  a  correlative  improvement  of  access  to  third 
countries. 

to  bring  negotiations  on 

In  relation  to  the  Central  and  Eastern  European  countries  (CEEC),  the  European 
Commission  will  continue  to  provide  advice  in  relation 
to  regulatory  and 
standardization  aspects  of telecommunications,  in order  to  facilitate  the  process  of 
liberalisation  and  harmonization  in  the  sector.  Through  the  steering  committee  of 
the  PHARE,  multi-country  telecommunications  programmes,  it  will  urge  all 
CEECs  to  participate  in  the  relevant  PHARE  projects  planned,  such  as  the  ones 
on  cost  based  tariff  tools,  on  regulatory  authorities,  type  approval  and  licensings. 

Theme  I:  (ilobal  Inventory;  II:  Global  Interoperability  for  Broad-Band  Networks;  ill:  Cross 
cultural  education  and  training;  IV:  Electronic  Libraries  (Bibliotheca  Universalis);  V:  Electronic 
Museums  and  Galleries;  V!:  Environment  and  Natural  Resources  Management;  VII:  Global 
Emergency  Management;  VIII.  Global  Healthcare  Applications;  IX.  Government  Online;  X: 
(ilobal  Marketplace  forSMEs;  XI:  Maritime  information  Systems. 

10 

At  the  same  time,  CEEC  governments  will  need  to  take,  as  soon  as  practicable, 
the  measures  necessary  for  the  adaptation  of  telecommunications  regulations  in 
particular  in  the  field  of  conformity  assessment  procedures  for  equipment  and 
mutual  recognition  of their  conformity,  as well  as  licensing  regimes.  Furthermore, 
in  view  of  their  pre-accession  strategies,  the  CEEC  will  need  to  establish  the 
their 
their  standardization  organisations  and 
independence  of 
integration  into the  European  standardization  system. 

to  support 

28. 

European  industry  and  standards  organisations  have  a good  record  in  participating 
in the ICT work  of the  international  standards  organisations  and  in transposing  the 
results. The Commission  encourages  a stronger  participation  of European  industry 
in  global  consortia  developing  standards  and  expects  that  Europe's 
trading 
partners  will  also  match  its  commitment  to  international  work  and  in  particular 
will  contribute  to and  adopt  international  standards  in  ICT. 

IV. 

THE  POSITION  OF  PUBLIC :LY  AVAILABLE  SPECIFICATIONS  IN  COMMUNITY  LAW 

29. 

30. 

1. 

Technical  specifications  and  the New  Approach 

Technical  specifications  elaborated  by  consortia  do  not  have  the  status  of 
standards,  as  defined  by  Community  law,  and  in  particular  Directive  83/189.  The 
question  has,  however,  been  raised  of  whether  technical  specifications  which  can 
be  qualified  as  publicly  available,  can  be  assimilated  to  standards,  and  whether 
they  can therefore  fulfill  a role  in Community  policies, where  reference  is made  to 
standards.  At  the  same  time,  the  question  arises  of  the  position  that  should  be 
adopted  if  the  formal  standardization  mechanisms  cannot  present  the  appropriate 
technical  specifications  at  the  right  time.  Finally,  there  is  the  problem  of  whether 
notifications  of  new  draft  technical  regulations  under  the  terms  of  Directive 
83/189/EEC  can  be  challenged  on  the  basis  of  the  existence  of  a  PAS  .  Since 
different  legal  and  policy  instruments  issued  by  the  European  Union  refer  to 
standards  in  different  ways  and  with  different  implications,  it  is  appropriate  to 
deal  with  them  case  by case. 

The  New  Approach  Directives  concern  requirements  of  public  interest,  such  as 
health  and  safety  or  other  public  interests  such  as  interoperability.  Harmonized 
legally  binding  presumption  of  conformity  with 
standards  provide  a 
the 
relevant  Directives.  Other  means  of  demonstrating 
the 
requirements  of 
compliance  with  the  requirements  are  available  to  economic  operators  on  their 
own  initiative.  Therefore,  the  Commission  considers  that  the  consensus  basis 
presented  by  European  standardization,  expressed  through  votes  organized  by  the 
national  standards  institutes,  is  indispensable.  Given  the  advantages  conferred 
upon  the  use of standards, the  New  Approach  contains  an  incentive  for  the  market 
to  elaborate  and  use  formal  European  standards.  For  these  reasons,  in  the  New 
Approach,  it is not  appropriate  to  foresee  a specific  role  for  PAS  similar  to that  of 

<>  All  of  what  follows  is  intended,  in  the  present  Communication,  to  refer  exclusively  to  policies  for 
the  development  of  the  Information  Society.  However,  much  of  its  conclusions  can  to  a  certain 
extent  be  extended  to  cover  the  general  case,  and  it  is expected  that  the  question  of  the  acceptance 
of  publicly  available  specifications  in Community  policy  will  be  raised  in  a  broader  context. 

V\ 

31. 

32. 

33. 

standards  with  the  same  conditions  of  application.  Among  the  New  Approach 
Directives,  only  the  Telecommunications  Terminal  Equipment  Directive  has 
major  significance  for  the  Information  Society.  In  its  present  version,  this 
Directive  refers  to common  technical  regulations  (CTRs), providing  the  necessary 
harmonization  of  a  binding  nature.  In  the  near  future,  a  new  proposal  to  amend 
this  Directive  will  foresee  a  wider  role  for  formal  European  standards  and 
envisages  the  selection  of technologies  - perhaps  specified  in  PAS  - by  the  public 
authorities. 

2. 

Enhancing  technical  specifications  for  public  procurement. 

In  Public  Procurement,  Community  directives  aim  in  the  first  place  at  achieving 
transparency  in  calls  for  tender  on  technical  specifications  and  at  avoiding  the 
discrimination  that  might  occur  if  only  national  or  custom  specifications  were 
used. They  introduce  a hierarchy  of documents  to  which  authorities  are  obliged  to 
refer  in  calls  for  tender,  i.e.,  European  standards,  then  international  standards, 
then  national  standards.  Unlike  the  New  Approach,  the  legal  framework  does  not 
contain  an  incentive  to  elaborate  standards.  Only  where  the  market 
itself 
perceives  an interest  in opening-up  markets  will  real  progress be  made. 

Provided  that  some  form  of  recognition  by  the  public  authorities  can  be  defined, 
of normative  resources  or simply  of documents,  in particular  by  declaring  - for  the 
purposes  of  public  procurement  -  specific  documents 
to 
standards,  the  scope  of technical  specifications  to  which  reference  has  to  be  made 
by  procurement  entities  could  be  enlarged.  A  procedure  to  this  end  might  be 
embedded  in  Directive  83/189,  involving  the  Commission  and  the  Member 
the 
States.  In  such  conditions,  publicly  available  specifications  may  be 
appropriate  instrument,  provided  that  their  originators  meet  as  a  minimum  the 
conditions  outlined  in point 4. 

to  be  equivalent 

3. 

Interoperability  and  applications  for  use  by  authorities 

In  most  cases,  the  market  and  its  standardizing  mechanisms  for  information  and 
communication  technology,  products  and  services  function  well.  In  some  cases, 
however,  one can  observe  failures  of the  standardization  process,  such  as  inability 
to  deliver  the  appropriate  standards  in  due  lime,  or  market  failures,  in  which  the 
appropriate  products  are  not  available  to  the  customer  or  where  customers  are 
locked  into  proprietary  specifications. 
The  public  authorities  have  a  responsibility  with  respect  to  public  interests,  such 
as  ensuring  sufficient  interoperability  between  systems;  in  other  cases  they  need 
common  specifications  in  order  to  meet  their  own  specific  requirements,  e.g.,  for 
cooperation  between  administrations.  If  formal  standardization  is  not  capable  of 
providing  the  appropriate  solutions  to  meet  such  needs,  even  with  the  support  of 
the  measures  outlined  above,  then  the  European  Union  will  be  obliged  to  take 
administrative  action.  To  this  end,  a  procedure  should  be  created  which  allows  a 
call  for  technology,  contained  in  documents  other  than  standards.  This  procedure 
might  be  based  on  a new  instrument  to  be  created  within  the  context  of  Directive 
83/189,  or  within  the  context  of  specific  Directives,  in  the  latter  case  limited  to 
their  respective  fields  of  application.  This  procedure  would  involve  the  Member 
States. 

12 

SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS 

Standards  determine  the  technology  that  will  implement  the  Information  Society,  and 
consequently  the way  economic  players,  users and  administrations  will  benefit  from  it. 

This  Communication  examines  how,  in  the  light  of  the  characteristics  of  the  Information 
and  Communications  Technology  (ICT)  market  and  of  standardization  in  ICT,  the  best 
possible  conditions  can  be  created  for  the  drawing  up  of  standards  needed  for  the 
implementation  of  the  Global  Information  Society,  and  to  indicate  by  what  means  the 
Community  intends to promote  those  aspects  for  which  it has a particular  responsibility. 

Standardization  in  ICT  shows  particular  features  that  arise  from  the  nature  of  the  ICT 
market.  Standards  have  to  follow  the  life-cycles  of  products  or  services,  but  since  ICT 
following 
product  cycle  times  are  short  and  becoming  shorter,  standards  adopted 
traditional  procedures  often  prove  inappropriate  because  of  the  lengthy  procedures 
involved  in  their  elaboration.  Therefore,  there  has  been  a  tendency  to  develop  de  facto 
standards  as  a  complement  to  formal  standards,  formal  standards  should  be  directed  to 
those  areas  that  need  a  broad  consensus,  where  the  market  sees  it  as  necessary,  for 
example,  where  specifications  should  form  a  lasting  basis,  or  should  become  established 
as international  standards. 

European  policy  for  the  Global  Information  Society  is  aimed  at  improving  global 
competitiveness,  through  the  identification  and  the  removal  of  regulatory  obstacles, 
through  their  own  intervention 
in  the  market,  through  research  and  demonstration 
actions,  and  through  the  promotion  of  new  technical  solutions.  Since  the  Information 
Society  is  global,  European  authorities  are  committed  to  the  promotion  of  the  global 
integration  of  ICT  standardization,  and  to  promotion  of  its  benefits  to the  rest  of  Europe. 
In  addition,  the  Community  has  a  specific  role  in  protecting  the  public  interest,  for 
example,  the needs of the elderly  and  disabled. 

Against  this  background: 

The  Information  Society  is  market  driven.  The  main  role  in  the  development  of 
specifications  and  standards  in this domain  is therefore  for  market  operators. 

The  Commission  will  investigate  the  existence  of  standards-related  obstacles  to 
the  creation  of  new  ICT-based  services,  in  particular  electronic  commerce. 
Where  necessary,  it will  take  steps to eliminate  them. 

The  Member  States  should  refrain  from  adopting  new  regulations  that  will 
generate  new  technical  barriers  stemming  from  the  development  of  divergent 
technical  specifications  and  standards  in  the area  oflhc  Information  Society. 

The  European  standards  organisations  are  invited  to  promote  the  possibilities  of 
the  adoption  of  specifications  that  originate  outside  their  formal  structures.  They 
should  examine  the possibility  of adopting  PAS. 

Co-operation  in  standardization  between  the  regional  and  international  standards 
organisations  is  encouraged. 

13 

The  Commission  underlines  the  importance  of  the  forthcoming  World-wide 
Conference  on  Standardization  and  the  Global  Information  Society,  which  will 
follow  up  the  conclusions  of  the  G7  meeting  in  February  1995  and  which  will 
review  progress  and  identify  needs  for  further  work  in  standardization  for  the 
Global  Information  Society. 

The  Commission  will  protect  competition  and  will  encourage  open  and  non 
discriminatory 
ICT 
applications. 

specifications  and  standards 

for  new  services  and 

The  Commission  stresses  the  importance  of  RTD  and  demonstration  to  the 
development  and  implementation  of technical  specifications  and  standards, at the 
European and international  levels. 

The  Commission  will  bring  forward  proposals  for  the use, where  appropriate,  of 
PAS  or  de  facto  standards  in  Community  law,  such  as  public  procurement  and 
interoperability. 

14 

A N N EX  A 

Research  and  Technological  Development  and  Demonstration 

Part  1: 

Examples  of  ICT-related  actions  under  the  Fourth  Framework 
Programme 

The  Fourth  Framework  Programme  for  Research  and  Technological  Development  (RTD) 
comprises  a  series  of  specific  programmes  of  major 
for  European 
competitiveness  and  the  Information  Society. 

importance 

As regards  Information  Technology,  the  Information  Technologies  Programme  (ESPRIT) 
is  designed  to  help  Europe's  industries  gain  competitive  advantage  by  focusing  on  the 
needs  of  users.  Particular  attention  is  given  to  fostering  collaboration  between  users  and 
suppliers.  To  this  end,  ESPRIT  supports  a broad-based  RTD  environment,  in which  RTD 
is complemented  by  measures  to raise  awareness,  and  to  facilitate  access  to  technologies. 
Where  necessary,  ESPRIT  contributes  to, and  stimulates  standardization  initiatives. 

Examples  of such  current  initiatives  are: 

is 

in 

secure  global 

interoperability 

Information  Society 

to 
the  Global 

and  European 
An  action  undertaken 
competitiveness 
the  pilot  project 
WEBCORE,  addressing  the development  of the  World-Wide  Web  (WWW)  based 
on  the  cross-platform  HTML  standard.  The  WWW  allows  users  access  from 
different  sources  to  information  in  a  uniform  way  via  networks.  In  WEBCORE 
standards  in  particular  on  text  transfer  (HTTP),  security  and  the  generation  and 
access of documents  are developed.  The  WWW  Consortium  (W3C)  established  in 
this  project  comprises  European,  US  and  Japanese  organisations,  enabling  a 
continuing  European  contribution  to a technology  originally  developed  in  Europe. 
The  closely  related  accompanying  measure  W3UserNet  aims  to  include  users,  in 
particular  SMEs  into  the development  of the  WWW  and  its  standards. 

IMPRIMATUR  (Intellectual  Multimedia  Property  Rights  Model  and  terminology 
for  Universal  Reference)  and  the  related  project,  COPEARMS  (Co-ordinating 
Project  for  Electronic  Authors  Right  Management  Systems)  have  the  objective  of 
developing  technology  and  consensus  building  at  the  global  level  for  securing 
Intellectual  Property  Rights  and  the  development  of  related  payment  systems  in 
the  Information  Society  in  a  "privacy-friendly"  way,  in  cooperation  with  partners 
from  the  US  and  Japan  who  are  involved  in  order  to  ensure  that  a  globally 
interoperable  system  is  developed. 

initiative  is  to  make 
The  aim  of  the  P  (Intelligent  Information  Interfaces) 
interaction  with  information  an  effortless  task  for  the  broad  population  of  non-
specialist  users.  It  is  a  response  to  the  rapidly  growing  amounts  of  information 
being  made  available 
for  which  access  and 
information 
management  is  still  difficult  and  time  consuming.  The  initiative  centres  around 

society, 

in  our 

research  to create  intelligent  information  interfaces  that  can  be  used  naturally  and 
intuitively,  flexibly  spanning  across  different  devices, applications  and  media. 

The  objective  of the  Open  Microprocessor  Initiative  (OMI)  is to  identify  and  take 
account  of  technological  advantages  and  trends  in  the  market  such  as the  move  to 
greater  on-chip  systems  integration,  the  need  for  simpler  architectures,  the  wish  to 
avoid  redesign  through  portability  and  the  need  for  easy  upgrading.  OMI  aims  to 
converge  with  accepted  technology  and  technical  specifications  rather  than 
compete  with  them,  and  to  help  Europe  build  critical  mass  by  recognising  and 
consolidating  its  strength. 

The  STEP  (Standard  for  the  Exchange  of  Product  Data)  has  the  objective  of 
improving  the  efficiency  and  effectiveness  of  information  exchange  in  all  kind  of 
manufacturing  processes.  It  is  a  highly  successful  global  technical  specifications 
resulting  from  work  initiated  in  former  RTD  Framework  Programmes. 

The  CAFE  (Conditional  Access  For  Europe)  project  has  the  objective  of 
designing  and  demonstrating  an  electronic  means  of  payment;  an  "electronic 
wallet".  The  CAFE  specification  is  a  new  European  technical  specifications  for 
electronic  payment  systems;  the  terminals  are  compatible  with  all  wallets  and 
clearing  systems  designed  to meet  the  specification.  The terminals  are  operated  by 
the  customer  inserting  a  smart  card,  containing  the  electronic  cash.  Also  remote 
operation  is  possible.  This  high  security  system  is  protected  by  tamper-proof 
devices  and  sophisticated  security  algorithms.  Presently  the  concept  is  being 
tested  on  premises  of the European  Commission. 

Linking  biological  databases  is a project  that  proposed  the  development  of  a  pilot 
experience  aiming  to  test  the  applicability  of  the  Common  Object  Broker 
Architecture  (COBA)  to  the  Biomedical  field.  COBA  is  an  emerging  technical 
specifications  providing  a  coherent  framework  in  which  distributed  applications 
in  cancer  and  AIDS  research,  vaccine 
can  interoperate.  Future  development 
development  and  agronomical  improvement  of  farm  animals,  to  cite  only  a  few 
examples,  will  greatly  depend  on  the  ability  to  integrate  vast  amounts  of  diverse 
biological  information  sources.  COBA  is a major  step  in this  direction. 

regards 

telecommunications 

As 
the  Advanced  Communications 
technology, 
Technologies  and  Services  (ACTS)  Programme  under  the  Fourth  Framework  Programme 
covers 
advanced 
convergent 
telecommunications  networking  to multi-media  and  digital  audio-visual  communications. 
Its  approach  enables  standardization  cycles  to  be  accelerated,  by  having  projects  validate 
their  concepts  and  technical  specifications  in  field  trials  involving  users. 

communications 

spectrum 

broad 

from 

the 

of 

Through  concertation  mechanisms,  participants  in  ACTS  projects  collaborate  wherever-
appropriate  on  common  trials  or  common  specifications.  The  specifications  that  emerge 
from  this  process  are  then  supported  in  the  standardization  bodies  by  the  organisations 
involved  in  the  ACTS  projects. 

ACTS  projects  are  designed 
the  roles  and 
interfaces  of  each  category  of  operator,  service  provider  and  user.  Guidelines  in  the 
context  of  advanced  communications  are  being  devised  at  the  level  of  technology, 

to  develop  common  models  describing 

li 

services/applications,  and  business/practices.  All  the  ACTS  projects  are  expected  to 
contribute  to  some  extent  to  formal  standardization  or  to  ad  hoc  fora.  Some  ACTS 
projects  have  been  recognised  by  a  world-wide  initiative  called  Telecommunications 
Information  Networking  Architecture .Consortium (TIN AC). 

Part 2: 

Examples  of  ICT-related  demonstration  actions  under  the  Fourth 
Framework  Programme 

Demonstration  of  technologies  that  result  from  RTD  is  an  important  element  under  the 
Fourth  Framework  Programme.  The  Telematics  Applications  Programme  covers,  inter 
alia,  the  following  areas: 

The  "Telematics  Applications  for  Health  Care"  sector  was  intended  to  contribute 
during  its  AIM  (Advanced  Informatics  in  Medicine)  exploratory  action  phase  to 
the  establishment  of  European  standardization  on  health  informatics  standards. 
The  "Directory  of  the  Iiuropean  Standardisation  Requirements  and  Programme 
for  the  Development  of  Standards"  is  a  comprehensive  and  detailed  action  plan, 
including  research  projects  previously  undertaken  under  the  AIM  initiative  and  its 
successor,  i.e. Telematics  Applications  for  Health  Care: 

• 

• 

The  aim  o\'  the  BEAM 
(Biomedical  Technology  Assessment  and 
Management)  was  to  develop  information  and  coding  related  to  medical 
technology.  It  led  to  a  final  pre-standard  framework  document  that  is 
intended  for  use  by  organisations  involved 
in  the  development  and 
maintenance  of  nomenclatures  and  coding  systems  for  medical  devices, 
and  by  designers  of  databases  or  information  systems  including  medical 
devices. 

The  objective  of  the  OEDIPE  (Open  European  Data  Interchange  and 
Processing  for  Computerised  Electrocardiography)  project  on  open  data 
interchange  and  processing  of  ECG  data  is  to  demonstrate  and  promote 
the  SCP-ECG  (Standards  Communication  Protocol  for  ECG)  by  setting  up 
demonstrators  for  cart-to-host  and  host-to-host  data  interchange  and  by 
developing  an  experimental  European  network  of  distributed  cooperative 
databases  for  the  follow-up  of selected  heart  diseased  populations. 

The  "Telematics  Applications  for  Transport"  sector  contributed  during  its  DRIVE 
phase  to  validation  and  demonstration  of  RDS-TMC  (Radio  Data  Systems-Traffic 
Message  Channel)  traffic  information.  In cooperation  with  CEN  which  shares  the 
Transport  Telematics  standardization  activities  with  ISO,  standards  have  been 
elaborated  on  location  referencing  rules  (RDS-TMC),  A_LERT-C  event 
list 
(Advice  problem  Location  for  European  Road  Traffic)  and  ALERT-C  protocol 
for  message  coding  and  management.  Other  examples  include  Road  Traffic  Data 
elaboration,  storage  and  distribution.  Advanced  traffic  information  services  are 
now  part  of  the  priorities  for  Trans-European  Networks  for  transport,  and  most 
European  countries  will  introduce  RDS-TMC  by  1998. 

The  "Telematics  Applications  for  Disabled  and  Elderly"  sector  -  previously  the 
Technology  Initiative  for  the  Disabled  and  Elderly  (TIDE)  -  has  launched  also  a 

iii 

number  of  significant  actions  and  projects  in  relation  to  pre-standardization  work 
in  assistive  and  rehabilitation  technologies.  Preliminary  studies  undertaken  under 
TIDE  (e.g.  the  HEART  project)  resulted  in  planning  European  standardization 
activities  in this  area. 

ADLIB  (Advanced  Database  Linkages  in  Biotechnology)  has brought  together  the 
major  European  scientific  publishers, biological  information  provides  and  users  to 
test  the  technical  feasibility  of  linking  scientific  literature  database  and  factual 
databands  (DNA,  genomes,  molecules).  This  requires  the  implementation  of  the 
CCDB  data  model,  which  is  the  result  of  a  previous  project,  as  well  as  the  SRS 
protocol,  developed  under  a  "BIOMED"  project,  allowing  different  databases  to 
link  information.  ADLIB  is  a  perfect  example  of  how  previous  research  efforts 
with  different  origins  (academy,  industry)  crystallizes  in  a product  oriented,  close 
to market  project. 

Part 3: 

Examples  of  demonstration  and  trial  projects  complementary  to  the 
Fourth  Framework  Programme 

As  examples  of  Community  action  in  demonstration  and  trial  projects  complementary  to 
the  Fourth  Framework  Programme,  the  following  can  be  mentioned: 

A  programme  to  provide  multimedia  information  services  to  citizens  by  city 
administrations  in  partnership  with  local  industry,  on  the  basis  of  a  common 
platform  employing  a  mixture  of  existing  and  novel  technical  specifications. 
(EUKIOSK) 

The  development  of  requirements  for  the  architecture  of  a  universal  set-top  unit 
(the device  which  forms  the bridge  between  data  streams  from  broadcast,  cable, or 
telecom  sources  and  the  screen  in  the  home).  The  European  Broadcasting  Union. 
(UNITEL) 

A project  that  aims  at  the  development  of  visualisation  suites  for  images  produced 
by  the  most  recent  medical 
standard 
techniques  for  fusing  and  processing  images  from  multiple  sources  and  presenting 
3-D  models  to the specialist.  (EUROMED) 

imaging  techniques;  it  will  develop 

Under  the  policy  of  'Trans-European  Networks  for  transport,  the  Community 
supports  standardization  work 
studies  on 
architecture  and  data  modelling  as  well  as  demonstration  projects  for  improving 
air  traffic  management  system  capacity. 

in  Euroconlrol, 

together  with 

finally,  education  and  training  establishments  have  a  contribution  to  make  to  the 
Information  Society,  and  actions  such  as  the  Communities  Socrates  and  Leonardo 
Programmes  can  help  to  validate  ICT  technical  specifications  associated  with 
distance  learning 

IV 

A N N EX  B 

Glossary of Abbreviations 

Note:  This  glossary  includes  all  abbreviations  regularly  used  in  the  text  of  this 
Communication.  Titles  of  Individual  Research  and  Demonstrations 
Programmes, which, where  they  are  known  by  acronyms  rather  than  titles, 
are explained in the text, and are not included in the list. 

CEEC 
CEN 
CENELEC 
CTRs 
ED! 
EN 
EPHOS 
ETSI 
EWOS 
ICT 
IDA 
I EC 
IPR 
ISO 
JTC1 
PAS 
PHARE 
RTD 
SME 
WTO 

Central and Eastern European Countries 
European Committee for  Standardization 
European Committee for Electrotechnical  Standardization 
Common  Technical Regulations 
Electronic  Data  Interchange 
European  Standard 
European  Procurement  Handbook for Open  Systems 
European Telecommunications  Standards  Institute 
European  Workshop on Open Systems 
Information  and Communications  Technology 
Interchange of Data between  Administrations 
International  Electrotechnical  Commission 
Intellectual  Property  Rights 
International  Organisation  for  Standardization 
ISO-IEC Joint Technical Committee N°l 
Publicly Available  Specification 
Poland and Hungary: Aid for Economic  Restructuring 
Research and  Technological  Development 
Small and Medium Sized  Enterprises 
World  Trade Organisation 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(96) 359  final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

16  15 

Catalogue number  : CB-CO-96-410-EN-C 

ISBN 92-78-07810-7 

Office  for Official  Publications of the European Communities 

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