GREEN PAPER - LIVING AND WORKING IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY: PEOPLE FIRST
Date: 1996-07-24
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: information technology, job creation, organisation of work, technological change, vocational training

COMMISSION  OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

J. 

A. 

Brussels, 24.07.1996 
COM(96) 389 final 

GREEN PAPER 

LIVING AND WORKING 

IN THE 

INFORMATION  SOCffiTY: 

PEOPLE FIRST 

Contents 

1. 

2. 

3. 

People first in the Information  Society  - executive  summary 

Why a Green Paper? - invitation to a political,  social  and civil  dialogue 

Working  in the Information  Society 

The concerns: skill revolution  and job  insecurity 

3.1. 
3.2.  The facts:  a new world  of work 
3.3. 

The  first  challenge:  to  build  knowledge  and  raise  awareness  of  new  forms  of  work 
organisation 
The  second  challenge: to ensure that  SMEs take full  advantage the IS 

3.4. 
3.5.  The third  challenge: to modernise  the  institutions  of working  life 
3.6.  A new concept  for  security 
3.7.  A new culture of  anticipation 
3.8.  Questions  for  further  reflection 

4. 

Employment  in the Information  Society 

The concerns: jobless  growth  and the end of work? 
The  facts:  steady  employment  growth  since  1960 
The first challenge: prevent beggar-thy-neighbour  policies 
The second challenge  :  more effective  management of the job transformation  process 
The third  challenge: to overcome the skill  gap 

4.1. 
4.2 
4.3. 
4.4. 
4.5. 
4.6.  Overhauling  education  and training to match the ICT-revolution 
4.7. 
The platform:  the new priorities  in the convergence  programmes 
4.8.  Questions  for  further  reflection 

5. 

Cohesion:  Living  in the Information  Society 

The concerns: concentration  or  cohesion? 

5.1. 
5.2.  The  facts: public policies make the  difference 
5.3.  The first challenge: to make the best of the new regulatory framework 
5.4. 
5.5.  The third  challenge: empowerment  and  integration 
5.6.  Consolidating  progress 
5.7.  Questions  for  further  reflection 

The  second  challenge: the human resource base 

6. 

The Information  Society  - the European way 

1.  PEOPLE  FIRST  IN  THE  INFORMATION  SOCIETY  -  EXECUTIVE  SUMMARY 

1.  We  are  living  through  a  historic  period  of  technological  change,  brought  about  by  the 
development  and  the  widening  application  of  information  and  communication  technologies 
(ICTs). This process is both different  from,  and faster than, anything we have seen before.  It 
has a huge potential  for  wealth creation,  higher  standards of living  and better  services. 

2.  ICTs  are  already  an  integral  part  of  our  daily  life,  providing  us  with  useful  tools  and 
services  in  our  homes,  at  our  workplaces,  everywhere.  The  Information  Society  is  not  a 
society  far  away  in  the  future,  but  a  reality  in  daily  life.  It  is  adding  a  new  dimension  to 
society  as we know it, a dimension of growing  importance.The production  of goods as well 
as services  is becoming  more and more  knowledge  based. 

3.  However,  the  speed  of  introduction  of  ICTs  varies  between  countries,  regions,  sectors, 
industries and  enterprises. The benefits,  in the form  of prosperity, and the costs, in the  form 
of  burden  of  change,  are  unevenly  distributed  between  different  parts  of  the  Union  and 
between citizens. Understandably, people are worried and demand answers to questions about 
the impact  of ICTs. Their  concerns can be summarised  in two main questions: 

the first has to  do  with  employment.  Will  these technologies  not  destroy  more jobs 
than they  create? Will people be able to adapt to the changes in the way we work? 

• 

the second  question has to do with democracy and equality. Will the complexity  and 
the  cost  of the new technologies  not  widen the  gaps between  industrialised  and  less 
developed areas, between the young and the old, between those in the know and those 
who  are not? 

4.  To  meet  these  concerns  we  need  public  policies  which  can help  us  reap  the  benefits  of 
technological progress, and which can ensure equitable access to the Information  Society and 
a  fair  distribution  of  the  potential  for  prosperity.  This  Green  Paper  aims  to  stimulate  the 
debate on the development of the European Information Society, and focuses on the key issues 
of the  organisation  of work,  employment  and  social  cohesion. 

1.1.  Working  in the  Information  Society  (Chapter 3) 

5.  ICTs  have  led  to  an  enormous  reduction  in  the  cost  of  storing  and  processing  of 
information  over the last 50 years. We are now witnessing a similar reduction in the cost of 
transmitting  information.  This is the beginning of the information  distribution revolution. In 
this  way  ICTs  are  reshaping  working  life,  the  organisation  of  enterprises  and  the  whole  of 
society.  Enterprises are being transformed  away from hierarchical and complex organisations 
with simple jobs to more decentralised and network-oriented organisations with more complex 
jobs.  The  most  successful  enterprises  are  combining  ICTs with  education  and  training  and 
with organisational transformation  in an integrated approach. Fostering this approach presents 
a number  of challenges. 

• 

a first challenge is to build knowledge and raise awareness of the potential of the new 
paradigm of work organisation to deliver both productivity growth and job  satisfaction. 

1CL 

• 

• 

a  second  challenge  is  to  help  SMEs,  the job  generators  in  the  EU,  maximise  the 
potential  of this change to become more competitive. 

a third  challenge  is to modernise  the contractual  framework  for  working  life  to find 
ways and means to reconcile  flexibility  and  security. 

1.2.  Employment  in the Information  Society  (Chapter 4) 

6. Europe has had steady but low employment growth for  several decades. The  introduction 
of  ICTs  does  not  seem  to  have  changed  the  rate  of job  creation.  If  anything,  growth  has 
become  slightly  more, not  less, job-intensive.  The introduction  of ICTs has huge effects  on 
skill  requirements  and  employment  policy  must  become  more  focused  on  human  resource 
investment. This is underlined by the already existing mismatch between skill supply and the 
demand  for  new skills - the two-speed  labour  market. 

what Europe needs is a substantial  overhaul of education and training that can match 
the ICT revolution  and keep pace with continuing  technological  development  during 
the years to come. 

• 

the education system must be transformed  from teaching to learning. Enterprises must 
offer  more  learning by doing. The unemployed  must be offered  retraining  instead of 
long term  unemployment  and de-skilling. 

1.3.  Cohesion:  Living in the Information  Society  (Chapter 5) 

7. Strengthening economic and social cohesion remains a key objective of the Union. Progress 
towards convergence in income per head between Member States has been positive but slow, 
but  disparities  between  regions  within  the  same  Member  States have  tended  to  widen  over 
time.  ICTs  can  play  an  important  role  in  supporting  regional  and  local  development  and 
promoting  integration  and  empowerment,  and  the  key  issue  is  how  to  maximise  the 
opportunities  and minimise the risks of new ICTs for  cohesion. 

• 

• 

• 

a  first  challenge  is  to  ensure  that  the  liberalisation  of  telecommunications  proceeds 
fully  and  rapidly  across the Union  and  that  the new regulatory  framework  supports 
cohesion  objectives. 

a second  challenge  is to integrate  more closely the Structural  Funds and  Information 
Society policies,  so as to  stimulate the access and use of  modern  ICTs. The  process 
of stronger  local  involvement through local and regional  employment pacts could  be 
an  important  vehicle  for  a  new,  more  employment  intensive  and  human  resource 
oriented  cohesion  policy. 

a third  challenge  is to  ensure that  the Information  Society  becomes a tool to  create 
an inclusive society. The Information  Society should be about people and it should be 
used  for  people  and  by  people  to  unlock  the  power  of  information,  not  to  create 
inequalities  between the information  rich and the information  poor. 

1.4.  Guiding  principles  for the Information  Society  (Chapter 6) 

8. The way we develop the Information  Society, the most  fundamental  change of our time, 
must reflect the ideas and values upon which the European Union is shaped. These ideas and 
values  should  be  transparent  in  order  to  gain  and  deserve  the  broad  support  of  European 
citizens. To this end the Commission invites all interested parties to reflect on the possibilities 
of formulating  a set of common Community principles for the development of the European 
Information  Society. 

2.WHY  A GREEN  PAPER?  -  INVITATION  TO A POLITICAL,  SOCIAL  AND  CIVIL DIALOGUE 

for  change  was 
9.  The  importance  of  the  Information  Society  (IS)  as  a  positive  force 
highlighted  in  the  Commission's  1993  White  Paper  on  Growth,  Competitiveness  and 
Employment1.  This White Paper, together with the subsequent report "Europe and the Global 
Information  Society", launched - with the full backing of the European Council - an important 
series of  initiatives to help  shape and promote the IS in Europe. 

10.  The  Commission's  1994  Action  Plan  "Europe's  way  to  the  Information  Society"2 
presented an overview of the Commission's work programme on the  Information  Society and 
placed  an  important  emphasis  on  social  and  societal  questions.  These  issues  were  also 
highlighted  in  the  Commission's  European  Confidence  Pact  for  Employment3.  This  Green 
Paper  is part  of a package  of  initiatives  being  developed  by the  Commission  to update and 
take  forward  the  1994 Action Plan. 

11. To meet the task of providing new insights into the social challenges of the  Information 
Society,  the  Commission  has  sought  advice  from  some  of  the  most  prominent  experts  in 
Europe on how to promote job creation, social  solidarity, equality  of opportunity  and access 
and the preservation  of Europe's  cultural  diversity  in the Information  Society. 

12. Two main groups were set up by the Commission. A High Level Group of Experts began 
its work in May  1995, and presented its preliminary report "Building the Information  Society 
for  us  all"  in  February  1996.  In  parallel,  the  Commission  created  an  Information  Society 
Forum, which is broadly based and consists of  128 members. The Forum's first annual report 
was adopted in June  1996. The IS was also one of the four main topics of the First European 
Forum  on  Social  Policy  held  in Brussels  in March  1996. 

13.  The  reports  of the  High  Level  Group  and  of the  Forum  were  designed  to  stimulate  the 
debate  about  issues beyond  those  business and academic communities  already  familiar  with 
them.  They  are  available  as complements to this Green  Paper,  and details  of how to  obtain 
full  copies  are at the end of this text. 

14.  The  Commission  has  decided  to  present  a  Green  Paper  in  order  to  promote  wide 
discussion  and  awareness  of  the  social  and  societal  issues  involved.  Only  through  active 
participation  of  a  wide  range  of  actors  can  our  societies  come  to  terms  with  the  new 
challenges  and  choices with which we are  confronted. 

15. The objective, therefore,  is to invite comments on and discussion of the Green Paper, and 
of the two associated  reports of the High Level Group and the Forum, during the  remainder 
of  1996.  This  process  will  be  launched  in  September,  in  collaboration  with  the  Irish 

1 

2 

3 

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Com  (94)  347  of  19.07.94 

CSE  (96)  1 of 5.6.96 

Presidency,  at a European  Colloquium  in Dublin.  In the  light  of the reactions received,  the 
Commission  will  present  action proposals in  1997. 

16. All Member  States are engaged in one way or another in reviewing the social  challenges 
of  the  emerging  Information  Society.  The  Green  Paper  raises  issues  which  affect  the 
responsibilities of governments and regional and local authorities, the social partners and civil 
society.  Recognising  fully  the  principle  of  subsidiarity,  the  Commission  will  examine  the 
extent to which there would be added value from pooling of experience through demonstration 
projects  or  other  initiatives, 
joint  sponsorship  of  research,  and  systematic  exchange  of 
information,  as  a  complementary  and  catalytic  contribution  to  the  policies  and  measures 
pursued within Member  States. The Structural  Funds have a key role to play in this process, 
in particular  Objective  4 and the ADAPT-BIS  Community  Initiative. 

17. The Green Paper also complements a range of activities already underway in other areas 
of Commission work, notably the White Paper on Teaching and Learning4, which focuses on 
the  skills  and  knowledge  which  will  be  necessary  for  people's  full  participation  in  the 
Information  Society,  as  well  as  the  forthcoming  initiative  "Learning  in  the  Information 
Society". 

18. Within  the framework  of existing  cooperation  this Green Paper  is intended to: 

deepen the  political  dialogue  with the European  Institutions and the Member  States, 
notably  on  employment  policies  in the  framework  of  the  Essen  process  (the  Single 
Report  to  the  European  Council  in  December  1996  and  the  development  of  the 
multiannual  programmes  1997), 

focus the social dialogue between employers and unions on these issues and stimulate 
joint  initiatives  at a European level, 

stimulate civil dialogue notably with the NGOs, on the basis of the Conclusions of the 
European  Social  Policy  Forum  in March  1996. 

All  concerned  are invited  to comment  on the issues raised  in this Green  Paper. 

Com  (95) 590 

3.  WORKING  IN  THE  INFORMATION  SOCDETY 

3.1.  The concerns: skill  revolution  and job  insecurity 

19. During  the  last  20 years, we have witnessed  an ICT revolution,  more  far-reaching  than 
most of us could have anticipated.  One of the main effects  of new ICTs has been a dramatic 
reduction  in  the  cost  and  time  of  storing,  processing  and  transmitting  information.  Such 
dramatic  changes  in  price  relations  have  a  fundamental  effect  on the  way  we  organise  the 
production  and  distribution  of  goods  and  services  and,  thereby,  on  work  itself.  These 
developments are reshaping work, skill structures and the organisation of enterprises. Through 
this, they are bringing fundamental  change to the labour market,  and to society as a whole. 

20.  The  resultant  shifts  in  the  structure  of  skills, work  patterns,  companies,  and  goods  and 
services  is  bewildering,  and  makes  very  different  and  new  demands  on  workers  and 
employers.  Static  function-based  skills, and traditional  management  models and  techniques, 
are rendered inadequate and inflexible in a workplace which demands the opposite of workers 
and  managers  - the  development  of a new  industrial  and enterprise  culture  characterised  by 
flexibility,  trust,  commitment  and ability to anticipate  and harness change. 

21.  The rate of job destruction in the late 20th century is not so different  from  that resulting 
from the structural changes of the past. More problematic is the new nature of job destruction. 
The  new  pace  of  change,  and  the  new  modes  of  production  it  engenders,  require  broader 
based skills and new production processes to respond to constantly changing market demands. 
This raises great  concerns  in terms of job  security, job  content,  skills obsolescence,  and the 
relationship  between  working  and  living  patterns.  It  also  creates  challenges  for  the  Union 
objective  of  equality  of  opportunity  and  access.  However,  this  does  not  mean  that,  in  the 
future,  only  highly  educated  IT-literate workers will  find  a job.  Traditional  or  manual jobs 
will  remain,  but their relative  importance  will decline. 

3.2.  The facts:  a new world of work 

22. Our economies are being transformed  away from  standardised manual production towards 
a  more  diversified,  knowledge  based,  production  of  goods  and  services.  This  is  why  ICTs 
provide tremendous opportunities for  improved productivity  and real wages, and thereby  for 
strong  economic  growth  and new jobs. 

23.  The technological  revolution  was, for  a long time, not transformed  into faster  growth of 
productivity.  At the  same time, the slow growth  of productivity  led to a limited  increase  in 
real  wages  and  low  consumer  expectations,  which  have  an  effect  on  the  willingness  of 
consumers to buy and of enterprises to invest and to create new jobs. The main reasons why 
ICTs  have  not  led  to  increased  productivity  are  now  well  documented:  in  the  past,  the 
introduction  of  new  technologies  has  been  hindered  by  a  lack  of  adequate  organisational 
transformation. 

24.  Despite these problems,  and despite  occasional  claims to the contrary, the EU economy 
and labour market systems are remarkably fluid. A Commission review of empirical research 
indicates an overall rate of enterprise creation and destruction in Europe of at least  10% a year 
and  considerably  higher  in  some  sectors,  with  the  average  'life'  of  a job  of  4-5  years  -

comparable  to the U.S. 

25.  Overall,  this  evidence  suggests  that,  whatever  problems  there  may  be  in  ensuring  the 
successful  integration  of ICTs, they are not related to a lack of flexibility  in employment  at 
the level  of  firms.  During recent  years we have seen a growing  number  of examples where 
the  introduction  of  ICTs  has  met  the  highest  expectations.  The  main  message  from  these 
examples  is  the  need  for  an  integrated  approach,  linking  the  introduction  of  ICTs  with 
education  and training  and with  organisational  transformation. 

26.  The  organisation  of  such  successful  "flexible  enterprises"  is  becoming  more  and  more 
based on processes, less and less on specialised functions.  Workers perform  a range of tasks, 
rather  than  pass  the job  on  from  one  to  another.  Enterprises  are  being  transformed  from 
hierarchical  and  complex  organisations  with  simple  jobs,  to  less  hierarchical,  more 
decentralised  and network-oriented  organisations, with more complex jobs. The new  flexible 
enterprise has been described as a fleet of small boats, moving on the same course, as opposed 
to an oil tanker  steered  from  a central point. It is important to understand this change not as 
"A New Model" for work organisation, but as a process towards ever improving practices in 
work  organisation. 

27.  Europe  has  recognised  this  sea-change  in  organisation.  We are not  short  on  innovative 
ideas and we already have a relatively well trained workforce.  Our weakness, as identified  by 
the  Commission's  Green  Paper  on  Innovation5,  has  been  in  combining  technological  and 
organisational  innovation.  High-quality,  high-performance  strategies require  enterprise-level 
training,  careful  job  design  and  rapid  implementation  of  innovations.  The  Competitiveness 
Advisory  Group  chaired  by  Mr  Ciampi  has  made  a  case  study  of  new  forms  of  work 
organisation.  The findings of the Group confirm  that these innovations in the organisation of 
enterprises lead to improved business performance, better job protection and job enrichment. 

3.3.  The first  challenge: to build knowledge and raise awareness of new forms of work 
organisation. 

28.  The  most  important  obstacle  to  this  development  is  the  lack  of  awareness  of  the  new 
forms  of work organisation and the potential of flexible  organisation. Managers may also be 
rightly cautious about innovations which alter systems and procedures currently delivering an 
acceptable  level  of performance,  compared  to entering  an unknown  realm  in which  there is 
uncertainty about how to complete the process of change and how long it will take. There are 
no  "turn-key"  solutions.  The  very  flexibility  of  the  technologies  means  that  they  must  be 
embedded  in  the  social  organisation  of  the  workplace  in  order  to  achieve  a  competitive 
combination  of productivity, performance  and quality. The key question therefore  is how to 
increase  awareness of the  potential  of  new approaches to organisation  of work. 

29. It is essential to find the right balance between what has to be done at enterprise level and 
what  could  be  done  at  national  and  European  level.  The  key  to  success  is  enabling  and 
supporting  local  initiatives,  and  the  role  of  governments  and  European  institutions  is  a 

Com 

( 9 5 ) 6 88  of 

2 0 . 1 2 . 95 

catalytic one, one that encourages new initiatives. But the role of public authorities  requires 
strong commitment  and action at a number of levels. This involves an understanding  of new 
forms  of work  organisation  and  their  implications  for  public  policy  and  for  enterprise,  and 
responding effectively  across many fields, from economic development to trade policies, from 
research  policies  to  skills  development,  and  imbuing  these  responses  with  the  values  of 
equality  of opportunity  and access. 

3.4  The second challenge: to ensure that  SMEs take full  advantage of  the IS 

30.  The  new  concept  of  an  integrated  approach  of  ICTs,  education  and  training  and 
organisational transformation offers enormous potential for firms to become more competitive 
and  to  create  better  working  conditions.  It  has  particular  advantages  for  SMEs,  the  key 
engines of employment growth - and especially "microfirms" - since the whole concept is built 
on the  small unit,  market-driven,  decentralised  and based on teamworking. 

31.  The extent to which SMEs' job creation benefits from ICTs varies. For the more globally 
oriented  SMEs,  the  IS  offers  important  advantages.  In  some  cases,  the  emergence  of 
microbusinesses  is  directly  linked  to  ICTs.  In  other  cases,  microbusinesses  are  just  an 
extension of existing traditional consultancy and profession services. However, the constraints 
which  SMEs  face  and  their  specific  problems  in  accessing  anticipation  and  training 
mechanisms justify  priority attention.  In this context, the prime concern should be to enable 
SMEs to act under their own responsibility  as regards adaptation to the Information  Society, 
and  the tools  and  technologies  of the  Information  Society  will  help them  do this.  The  new 
Integrated  Programme  for  SMEs6 recently  presented  by the Commission proposes to  launch 
a  pilot  action  to  ascertain  the  priorities  of  SMEs  and  the  obstacles  hampering  the  use  by 
SMEs of  information  technologies. 

3.5.  The third  challenge: to modernise the institutions of working  life 

32.  Alongside  the  question  of  raising  awareness  of  the  potential  of  new  forms  of 
organisation of work, we have to address the question of the modernisation of the institutions 
and the institutional  framework  of working  life. The world of work needs to be organised  in 
ways  that  support  and  facilitate  positive  developments,  rather  than  making  them  more 
difficult.  This  also  means  improving  the  quality  of  skills  and  therefore  of  education  and 
training,  (see Chapter 4). 

33. It also means providing the right legal and contractual  framework  (labour law, collective 
agreements,  industrial  relations  etc.)  to  allow  firms  and  individuals  more  flexibility,  while 
providing adequate security to workers. Member  States'  labour laws based upon the standard 
model of full time, workplace-based employment of indefinite duration, can no longer respond 
entirely  to the  needs of a more knowledge-based  production  of  goods and  services. 

34.  New  work  organisation  practices  tends  to  blur  the  central  element  of  the  classic 
employment  relationship:  the  notion  of  employer  is  becoming  more  complex  (groups  of 

Com  (96)  3 29 

undertakings, joint ventures, networks, subcontractors); the location of work has  diversified; 
working  time  practices  have  been  individualised  to  respond  to  particular  needs  and 
requirements;  time-based  remunerations  may  in  some  cases  be  replaced  by  task-specific 
remunerations  and  the  scope  of  workers'  autonomy  enlarged.  In  other  words,  wage 
employment and self-employment  are tending to converge, rendering the scope of labour law 
unclear and reducing  its effectiveness  in certain fields (non-standard  contracts, telework  and 
where work  is outsourced  or externalised). 

Call Centres in Europe 

The type of  work  done by Europe's  citizens is changing, with the information  and 
service  sectors the main  source of new employment  in the last decade.  The way 
people work  is also changing, with a strong growth  in work relocation. For example, 
more than  6000 companies now have service  "call centres" to provide  information  to 
customers. These already  employ  about  130,000 Europeans and are expected  to 
generate  another  100.000 jobs by 2000. These developments are fastest  growing in 
Ireland,  but the UK has 4000 call centres with revenues of 450 million  ecu in  1996. 
In some  of these  centres the work is highly skilled  and requires knowledge of  several 
foreign  languages. In others, it is more routine, but requires inter-personal  skills and a 
willingness to work  unsocial hours. 

3.6.  A new concept for  security 

35.  It  is  important  to  have  a  well-informed  debate  on  these  basic  conditions  for  the 
development  of working  life. However, the public debate on the institutions of working  life 
is  often  confined  to  simplistic  arguments  on  regulation  or  deregulation.  The  emerging 
Information  Society requires a more sophisticated and fundamental  debate on the  institutional 
framework  which  can  shape this new world  of work. 

36. ICT integrated with education and training and with organisational transformation  offers 
great  potential  to  improve productivity  and  create  good jobs  with  good  wages  and  salaries. 
Public  policies  must  be  based  on  this  understanding.  However,  it  is  necessary  to  shift  the 
focus  of  the  debate  away  from  regulation-deregulation  and  towards  more  the  fruitful 
perspective  of  a  new  balance  between  flexibility  and  security  and  the  mutual  benefits  for 
enterprises  and  workers of a balance between the two elements. This is the new  perspective 
that  the Commission  introduced  in the consultation  of the  social  partners on working  time. 

37.  This new balance  between  flexibility  and  security  includes, on the  one hand, the use of 
part-time  work,  temporary  work,  fixed  term  contracts,  teleworking  and  new  forms  of 
employment  relationship,  where this  is appropriate.  On the other  hand,  it  includes  not  only 
security  against  arbitrary  dismissals  and  discrimination,  but  also  the  security  which  comes 
from  increased  involvement  within  the  company  and  the  possibility  to  develop  skills  and 

employability  to  the  benefit  of  both  company  and  employee.  In  this  context,  the  question 
arises of  how to provide the  most efficient  arrangements  for  workers'  involvement  in these 
matters. 

38. These are examples of necessary renewal. More fundamentally  there is a need for a radical 
rethink of all the relevant  systems - employment protection, working time, social protection 
and health and safety  - to adapt them to a world of work which will be organised  differently, 
in  particular  one  where  the  boundaries  between  work  and  leisure,  work  and  learning, 
employee and self-employed  are, or may become, less well-defined.  The concept of security 
for  workers  has  to  be  developed  and  broadened,  focusing  more  on  security  based  on 
employability  and the labour market rather than on the security of the individual workplace. 
It  should  be  focused  on  security  in  change,  not  security  against  change.  Within  this  it  is 
important  to  have  particular  regard  to  issues  of  equality,  and  how  to  ensure  that  change 
enhances efforts  toward both desegregation of the labour market and improved reconciliation 
of working  and  family  life,  for  both women and men. 

39. In the  light  of these  developments the Commission  is preparing a Green Paper  on work 
organisation and working time which will examine from an economic point of view the policy 
implications for the European Union and the Member  States of changes in work organisation 
and  working  time,  with  a  view  to  launching  a  debate,  in  particular  with  and  between  the 
Social  Partners. 

40.  The  Commission  will  also  present  in the  second  half  of  1996 a Communication  on  the 
impact  of  telework  from  the  point  of  view  of  labour  law,  health  and  safety  and  social 
protection. The aim of the Communication will be to encourage Member States and the Social 
Partners to develop good practices and implement measures to improve the working conditions 
of teleworkers. 

41.  ICTs also offer  new opportunities in the field of health and safety  at work. In particular, 
the  application  of  new  technologies  can  bring  considerable  added  value  to  risk  assessment 
activities, the collection,  screening and dissemination of information,  education  and training 
in  occupational  safety  and  health,  and  for  end users, particularly  SMEs. The Fourth  Health 
and Safety Action Programme (1996-2000)7 actively addresses questions regarding the impact 
of the IS on working and living conditions, and a conference  on these issues will be held in 
Brussels on  13-15 November  1996. 

3.7.  A new culture of  anticipation 

42.  The  European  Social  Fund  interventions  under  Objective  4,  together  with  the  related 
Community  Initiative  ADAPT,  are  aimed  mainly  at  improving  the  management  of  human 
resources by anticipating the changes which the Information  Society will bring, in particular 
by strengthening  investment  in human  capital.  Structural changes bring permanent  changes 
in employment  in terms of volume,  structure, and qualifications.  In particular,  it is vital  to 
develop a capacity for anticipation in enterprises which identifies  and minimises the negative 

Com 

(95)  282  of 

1 2 . 0 7 . 95 

10 

impact of these changes. This will also help tap new job opportunities through training which 
addresses new  skill needs. 

43.  The resulting  adaptation  needs are felt  at both macroeconomic  and company  level.  For 
this  reason,  one  of  the  main  objectives  of  the  anticipation  approach  should  be  to  enable 
companies to identify  more readily their quantitative and qualitative needs as regards human 
resources  in  the  context  of  a  better  understanding  of  overall  change,  thus  enhancing  the 
internal  and  external  capacity  for  adaptation. 

3.8.  Questions  for  further  reflection 

44. Developments in the relationship between the new forms of organisation of work and the 
legal framework  for work  raise some fundamental  questions to be discussed in the  framework 
of the  Social  Dialogue  and  in the Essen  employment process. 

• 

• 

• 

In seeking  the right balance between flexibility  and  security, there is a need  for 
both  legislative  activity  at  European  and  national  level  on  the basic  principles 
related  to  fundamental  social  rights,  and  for  increased  activity  by  the  social 
partners  to  translate  these  rights  into  agreements  and  working  practices  at  the 
workplace  and  in  the  labour  market.  Is  the  current  distribution  of  regulatory 
powers between legislation and collective agreements the right one, or does a new 
balance have to be  found? 

In the past, many important  issues concerning working life have been left  to the 
State, such as employment,  health and  safety,  family  life  implications, and the 
fight against exclusion. In this context should the scope of collective agreements 
be  reviewed?  The proliferation  of  new production  structures  may  require  new 
approaches to  these issues. 

As  the  legal  status  of  workers  changes  more  frequently  (between  wage 
employment  and  self-employment,  between  employment  and  learning,  between 
professions  and  workplaces),  how  can  a  coordinated  approach  to  labour  law, 
social  security and social protection be ensured in order to take account of these 
changes within  a context of social justice and economic  efficiency? 

In this context,  it is also  important  to reflect  upon: 

• 

• 

• 

how to promote best practice in terms of use of ICTs and job  creation; 

measures  which  help  SMEs  maximise  the  opportunities  of  the  Information 
Society;  and, 

how  to  maximise  the  contribution  of  the  Structural  Funds  to  promoting  best 
practice  in using new technology  and developing  a new culture  of  anticipation. 

11 

4.  EMPLOYMENT  IN  THE  INFORMATION  SOCIETY 

4.1.  The concerns: Jobless  growth and the end of work? 

45.  The  main  economic,  social  and  political  problem  in  Europe  is  high  and  persistent 
unemployment.  18 million people are unemployed,  half of them have been  out of work  for 
a year  or more. There  are  at least  9 million more discouraged  workers  who would  look  for 
a job  if they thought  the work  existed. 

46. This depressing situation has led to a debate on the "end of work" and of "jobless growth" 
linked to the effects  of ICTs on working  life. Several major  studies have been undertaken by 
the  ILO  and  OECD  as  well  as  by  the  EU  during  the  last  few  years  to  gain  a  better 
understanding of the nature of the employment problem in Europe, focusing on specific issues 
such  as the  relationship  between  technology  and  employment,  as well  as the  more  general 
relationship  between  macro-economic  and  structural policies. 

47.  The  transition  towards  the  Information  Society  is  already  taking  place,  and  this  will 
inevitably provoke significant changes in the living and working patterns of European citizens. 
The challenge is to shape the emerging Information  Society so that we neither miss out in the 
global  stakes  nor  weaken  the  solidarity  of  Europeans.  There  are three  aspects  that  deserve 
special  attention  in this Green  Paper: 

- the overall  effect  of ICT on  employment 
-  more  effective  management  of the process of  job  transformation 
- the effect  on  labour  markets  in terms of supply  and demand  of  skills and  competencies 

4.2.  The facts: steady employment  growth since  1960 

48. It is well recognised that the EU has had, on average, a much lower rate of  employment 
than the US and Japan over the past two decades - some 60% compared with 70% or more -
and  that,  in  contrast  to  those  countries,  the  EU's  level  of  unemployment  has  remained 
stubbornly  close to  10% over much of the last decade. 

49. However, it can also be observed that the rate of employment growth has remained almost 
unchanged over the last three-and-a-half decades across different areas of the developed world, 
albeit at different  rates - at around 2 per cent in the USA, around  1  per cent in Japan and 0,3 
per cent in Europe. It is worth noting that the rate of employment growth has not  significantly 
slowed  since  1973, the year of the first oil shock and the starting point  for  the slowdown of 
economic  growth. 

50. Hence far from  reflecting  a decline in the amount of work provided, the rise in European 
unemployment is largely related to the fact that employment growth (0,3 per cent on average 
per year) lagged behind labour force growth (0,6 per cent on average per year). The steadiness 
of employment  growth over the whole period  from  1960 to  1995  does not support the view 
that jobs are inexorably disappearing, only that employment failed to grow sufficiently  to keep 
up with the growth  in the  labour  force. 

51.  Contrary to some claims that technical progress  can only be labour saving, existing data 
suggest  growth has become slightly more rather than less job-intensive, with the pace of job 

12 

creation  remaining  steady  in the face  of the sharply reduced rate of economic growth  in the 
70s  and  80s.  The  data  also  suggest  that  the  relative  capacities  of  American  and  European 
economies to create employment have not changed since  1973.  Until then, annual growth of 
4,3 per cent was required for the economy to start creating employment in Europe, and 2 per 
cent  was required  in  the United  States. New jobs  are now being  created  as soon  as  growth 
reaches 2 per  cent,  in Europe, and 0,6 per cent in the USA. 

52.  This  new  growth  and  employment  pattern  is  reflected  in  the  slowdown  in  measured 
productivity growth after  1973. The rate of growth of productivity and GDP fell, even though 
more  and  more  ICTs were  introduced,  while the  growth  in employment  continued  at  much 
the same speed as before.  Whatever the detailed explanation of this paradox - and debate and 
analysis continues - it is clear that the aggregate data do not support the thesis of "the end of 
work" or even the beginning of jobless growth. The more successful  employment performance 
in the USA,  Canada  and Japan,  cannot be explained  by less use of labour  saving ICTs. 

53.  On the  contrary,  the  development  and  introduction  of  ICTs has, in general,  been more 
extensive  in  these  countries  -  and  particularly  the  US  -  than  in  the  European  countries. 
Moreover, within the EU the Member  States which are more advanced in terms of ICTs also 
tend  to have the  highest  employment  rates. As with  all technological  change, the  spread  of 
ICTs  is  a  growth  factor,  and  there  is  a  positive  link  between 
technological  progress, 
productivity  and economic growth which offers  the potential for the growth of new forms of 
employment.  Technological  progress  spurs  innovation,  thus  creating  the  potential  for  new 
entrepreneurial  opportunities,  especially  for  SMEs.  This  higher  growth  potential  must  be 
exploited if unemployment is to be reduced and the European economies are not to fall behind 
in the  global  stakes. 

54. The main impact of ICTs in relation to employment is a radical restructuring  of jobs and 
the  world  of  work.  Manufacturing  industry  has  declined,  but  this  decline  has  not  been 
uniform.  Within manufacturing, low-technology, low-skill and low-wage jobs have been shed. 
High-technology,  high-skill  and high-wage  employment  have  expanded. 

55. The main source for employment growth is the service sector. Job gains are coming both 
from  the dynamic part and from  the more traditional part. Employment gains associated with 
new  technologies  have  more  than  compensated  for  any  labour  displacement.  In  fact, 
employment  growth  in services has been faster  in those countries which have  invested  most 
in the  application  of new technologies. 

56.  So far,  employment  growth in the European core ICT industries has been quite flat,  due 
to  the  downturn  in  the  business  cycle.  But  this  hides  quite  heterogeneous  developments. 
Employment  in  consumer  electronics,  data  processing  and  telecommunications  equipment 
manufacturing  has  clearly  declined.  Employment  levels  in  the  components  industry  and 
telecommunications  services has remained  stable.  By contrast, employment  in software  and 
computer  services has seen steady  growth, almost tripling its size since  1980 and employing 
nowadays around  750,000 workers in the Union. This sector remains an area in which there 
are particularly high hopes for employment growth, especially in new high-skill, knowledge-
intensive  services,  such as multimedia  software  and end user training. 

57.  Overall, these  trends  are  expected  to be maintained  in the  short-run,  with the  exception 
of  telecommunication  services,  where  expected  jobs  losses  due  to  digitalization  and 

13 

liberalisation  will  not  be  compensated  by the new entrants' job  creation  in the  short  term. 
However,  these  trends  do  not  take  account  of  job  creation  in  other  areas  related  to  the 
Information  Society. Audiovisual services have shown a noticeable employment growth, with 
a  37% increase  over  the period  1983-1992, and the prospects  are  also  good  for  further  job 
growth.  Additional  ICT-related job  creation  has  taken  place  in  areas  such  as teleservices, 
telebanking, and retail distribution,  but precise figures are difficult  to trace  statistically.  The 
statistical observation of these new developments in the economy, and especially in the related 
service  industries  is a challenge  for  the statistical  system. 

58. In addition, the positive employment  effects  of the Information  Society  are not expected 
to  be  concentrated  only  in  the  ICT  and  other  IS  sectors.  Research  undertaken  by  the 
Commission  is  showing  that  liberalisation  of  telecommunications  combined  with  a  rapid 
adoption  of ICTs will  lead to job creation and improved welfare  in the rest of the economy. 
The boost of investment in new telecommunication  and data processing equipment combined 
with the general price reductions and the real income increases resulting from the reductions 
in  telecommunications  tariffs  will  yield  positive  effects  in  terms  of  employment  and  value 
added  in the rest of the economy  in the medium and long term. These job  gains will  largely 
compensate  for  any job  loss  that  could  take  place  in  the  telecommunication  sector.  This 
mechanism  applies not only to telecommunications but also to the diffusion  of all ICTs. The 
problem,  however,  is  in  managing  the  time  lag  between  these  processes,  and  in  helping 
individuals  adapt to the new challenges  and opportunities  of the  labour  market. 

59. Though  the  longer  term patterns of job  creation  in the Information  Society  are  difficult 
to quantity, forecasts  show that  new jobs will be created  in the whole economy, not only in 
the  ICT  industry  and  in  new  and  emerging  multimedia  services,  but  also  in  all  the  other 
services  and  industrial  sectors,  including  traditional  and  declining  ones. There  is a plethora 
of examples where the  introduction and use of ICTs in enterprises has had substantial positive 
impact  on  employment. 

60.  Over the period  1985-1994 employment  in the  services  sector  in the EU grew  by  some 
10 m.  Although  80% of  this  overall  growth  in  employment  took  place  in the  period  1985-
1990, the second half of the period still saw a growth of 2 m jobs in business, computers and 
research, the same increase as in the earlier period  - with 0.6 m extra jobs in education, and 
0.9 m jobs in health and sanitation - all sectors where ICT has an important impact. The only 
significant  area  of  service  sector job  loss  in  the  1990-1994 period  was  in  wholesaling  and 
retailing,  where  the  decline  in  employment  has  been  primarily  due  to  lack  of  demand,  not 
increased  productivity. 

61.  These  new  employment  patterns  are  also  affecting  the  gender  balance  of  the  labour 
market. The growth in the service  sector  has offered  new opportunities  for  women  entering 
the labour market. Employment for women has been increasing from the middle of the 1960s 
to  the  beginning  of the  1990s.  Women  have  increased  their  share  in the  work  force,  and  a 
significant  proportion  of the new female jobs are part-time jobs.  In contrast  to the  long  run 
trend  for  female  employment  growth,  employment  for  men  has been  decreasing  ever  since 
1965, except  for  some years in the end of the 80s. 

4.3.  The first  challenge:  prevent  beggar-thv-neighbour  policies 

62. Across the labour  market,  one conclusion which must be drawn from  past  developments 

14 

is that weak employment growth in Europe, around 0.3 per cent a year, and concomitant high 
and  persistent  unemployment,  must  be  explained  by  other  factors  than  technological  ones. 
Unemployment  in  Europe  started  to  increase  in  the  middle  of  the  1970s.  Until  1985,  a 
significant  number  of jobs were lost,  at the same time as the labour  force  grew faster  than 
ever. Ten million new jobs were created during the long growth period of the second half of 
the  80s. However,  half  of the new jobs were lost during  1992-93. 

63.  A  number  of  factors  -  including  macroeconomic  developments  -  played  a  role  in  the 
emergence  and scale of unemployment. However, it is important to understand the structural 
aspects. The high level  of unemployment  is due to the lengthening  of unemployment  spells. 
Unemployment  has  been  turned  into  long-term  unemployment  and  social  exclusion  as  a 
consequence of the passivity of labour market policies, offering  mainly income support to the 
majority  of  the  unemployed,  but  no  new  skills  for  a  re-start  in  the  new,  more  skill  and 
qualification  based  labour  market. 

64. With the Single Market, Europe is taking a great leap forward in the modernisation of the 
economy.  It  is  not  only  a  huge  structural  improvement.  It  also  offers  new  conditions  for 
growth and employment-oriented  macroeconomic policies. Member  States must make better 
use of the multiplier  effect,  as emphasised  in the Commission's  "Action  for  Employment  in 
Europe-  A  Confidence  Pact".  It  highlights  the  potential  of  the  integration  process.  This 
potential has not yet been used to optimum effect.  This is especially true in the fight for jobs. 

65.  The high degree of European  economic integration  and interdependence has  intensified. 
Consequently,  sustained  co-ordinated  action  gives  more  value  added  than  the  sum  of 
individual, disparate, measures in each Member State. This approach will be addressed  in the 
policy  report  being  prepared  at  the  request  of  the  European  Council  in  Florence,  on  the 
capacity of the European Union as an entity for  employment policy. This involves replacing 
the  zero-sum  game  of  beggar-thy-neighbour  policies  with  a  plus-sum  game  of  coordinated 
growth policy,  creating confidence  among consumers and investors.  Such a growth-oriented 
policy  would  substantially  improve  the  conditions  for  the  development  of  jobs  in  the 
Information  Society. 

4.4. The second challenge nnore effective management of the job transformation process 

66.  Job  destruction  and job  creation  are an integral  part  of the process  of structural  change 
resulting  from  the introduction  of ICTs. Enterprises can do much to absorb these  shocks by 
the  forward  planning  of  employment  requirements,  and  there  are  now  many  examples  of 
imaginative policies negotiated between Social Partners. These involve not only education and 
training, as set out below, but also working time, wage moderation in order to maintain jobs, 
issues of equity in the process of change and compensating job creation in local and regional 
economies. 

67. In order to manage effectively  the process of change, all economic and institutional actors 
-  employers,  workers, public  authorities  at all  levels, education  and  training  institutions and 
business support  services - have to be involved. Forward  looking enterprise  behaviour  needs 
in  many  cases  to  be  externally  supported  and  help  for  this  process  may  come  from  the 
development  of inter-firm  cooperative agreements and partnerships as well as private-public 
partnerships  to  enhance  local  business  support  structures.  This  is  particularly  relevant  for 
SMEs, which  need  to  be  supported  and  involved  in networks to  enhance  their  capacities  to 

15 

innovate, define business strategies and anticipate their skill needs. The Structural Funds, and 
in particular  Objective  4 and the ADAPT and SME Community Initiatives, can also be used 
to facilitate  these changes (section  3.7 above). 

68.  The bottom  line  is that  if  workers  are to  cooperate  in the process  of continuing  change 
that the  Information  Society  requires, new ways of handling  the job  transformation  process 
have to be found.  This is a responsibility  both for  governments  and  Social  Partners 

4.5.  The third challenge: to overcome the skill gap 

69.  The  ICT  revolution  plays  an  important  role  in  the  functioning  of  the  labour  market, 
through  the  reshaping  of  work,  skill  structures  and  the  organisation  of  work.  As  the  new 
technology is an information technology, it requires not only stronger basic skills in numeracy 
and  literacy  ,  but  also  a  new  form  of  basic  skill,  the  skill  of  interaction  with  the  new 
technology,  let  us call  it  "informacv". 

70. Technological developments and competition between enterprises are stimulating the speed 
of structural  change. Each year, on average, more than  10 per cent of all jobs disappear  and 
are replaced by different jobs in new processes, in new enterprises, generally requiring new, 
higher or broader  skills. There is a much slower pace on the supply side in the acquisition of 
new skills.  Each year,  one age cohort,  2-3 per cent  of the  labour  force,  leaves working  life 
because of age and other reasons, and a new one enters, with new education and training, with 
new  skills.  The  high  speed  of  transformation  of  enterprises,  and  the  limited  supply  of  new 
skills, leads to a severe mismatch,  "a two-speed  labour market", with the redundancy  of old 
skills and  bottlenecks  for  new skills. 

71.  The real  challenge  for  the transformation  and upgrading of skills lies in the readaptation 
of  those  who  are  already  in  the  labour  force  to  the  new  requirements  of  the  Information 
Society. However, many in the workforce  have limited basic skills in numeracy and literacy, 
skills even more necessary in the Information  Society, and a great number have no education 
and  training  in  informacy.  People  with  outdated  or  inadequate  vocational  training  find  it 
difficult  to re-enter  the  workforce.  Most training  and retraining  is organised  for  the  young, 
not  for  people  already  in the  workplace, or for  those who  have been  working  for  10, 20 or 
30 years and  have  lost their jobs. 

72. Most of them are offered  only income support until a new job turns up, or while awaiting 
early retirement. But new jobs, demanding old skills, are not turning up. The new jobs require 
new skills. The gap will  continue to grow, unless governments and employers  embark  upon 
a new, much more radical policy to provide people with new skills and competencies,  linked 
to  the  development  of  new  forms  of  work  organisation  and  the  introduction  of  new 
technologies. 

73.  This poses a major  challenge to governments and to the Social  Partners, enterprises and 
workers, the  scale of  which  can be illustrated  by the forecasts  of a continued  high  speed  of 
technological  renewal and an ageing population. Ten years on, 80 per cent of the technology 
we operate today  will be obsolete, and replaced with new, more advanced technologies.  By 
that time, 80 per cent of the workforce  will be working on the basis of formal  education and 
training more than  10 years old. Significant  changes in the demographic profile  serve only to 
highlight  the  scale  of the challenge.  The workforce  is ageing, and the technology  is  getting 

16 

younger. 

4.6.  Overhauling  education  and training to match the ICT-revolution 

74. What Europe needs is a substantial overhaul  of education and training that can match the 
ICT revolution and keep pace with the continued ICT development during the years to come. 
We need  a  new  interplay  between  work  and  training,  instead  of  the  old  interplay  between 
work  and  non-work,  a new  interplay  which  gives the  individual  the  opportunity  to  develop 
skills  and  competencies  and  to  grow  in  tune  with  the  permanent  revolution  of  skills  that 
accompanies ICTs. 

75. In the long-term the underlying need is for Europe to develop a new architecture  of  life 
long education  and training,  involving all parts of education and training  systems, including 
schools  and  designed  and  delivered  in  more  appropriate  ways,  with  particular  regard  to 
gender,  but also  by engaging  more effectively  older people  and those with disabilities.  This 
effort  is now being initiated by the  1996 European Year of Lifelong  Learning and the White 
Paper  on  Teaching  and  Learning.  But  the  urgent  need  is  to  arrest  the  growing  skill 
obsolescence  of  the  adult  working  population  through  a  pro-active  approach  to  industrial 
adaptation and change. Speed and foresight are of the essence, because all the evidence points 
to  a  vicious  downward  spiral  of  job  destruction,  long-term  unemployment  and  skill 
obsolescence  which  is harder  to correct  the longer  it goes on. 

76. Four  areas are of great  importance  in enhancing  employability: 

- laying  the  best  foundations:  the  foundations  of  our knowledge  and  skills  are  laid  during 
the first years  of education,  and the processes  involved  will  evolve as the  IS develops.  The 
quality  and the organisation  of pre-school and school education will be profoundly  affected. 
Teachers  and  trainers  in particular  must be targeted,  and the quality  of their  initial  training 
and continuing professional  development  secured to exploit new ICTs. The programmes and 
infrastructure  to  link  schools  into  the  full  networking  potential  of  the  IS, especially  in  the 
more remote regions where infrastructure  is at risk, are of special importance. Member States, 
which have unambiguous responsibility for the organisation and content of school  education, 
should continue to mount suitable programmes which take the IS into account and the EU can 
assist  in  supporting  pooling  of  experience,  particularly  involving  the  less favoured  regions. 
In addition, the European Council in Florence asked the Commission to quickly elaborate an 
action plan on "Learning in the Information  Society", which will include the  interconnection 
of school  networks at European  level, the promotion  of multimedia  educational  content, and 
the  stimulation  of  awareness  and  training  of  teachers  and  trainers  to  the  use  of  new 
Information  Society tools. 

- from teaching to learning: education and training must, according to the first annual report 
from  the  Information  Society  Forum,  be  swiftly  reoriented  so  that  learning  institutions  are 
much more responsive to changes in the skill needs of business and industry.  This is crucial 
to job  creation  and productivity  growth.  Higher education institutions  have begun to  lay the 
foundations  for  the  learning  communities  of  the  future,  and  their  efforts  should  be 
strengthened  through the ties  of partnerships with  local  industry  and  services  recommended 
in the Ciampi report on competitiveness and piloted successfully  in the Comett and Leonardo 
da  Vinci  Programmes.  The  compulsory  school  system  has  also  seen  important  initiatives, 
many spurred by EU programmes, but still needs considerable support and resources to build 

17 

the  necessary  alliances  with  the  world  of  work.  This  raises  issues  of  investment  capacity, 
methodology  and  curricular  development,  with  particular  regard  to  learner  needs.  More 
broadly,  since  learning  retention  is  much  higher  (80%)  by  "doing"  rather  than  reading  or 
hearing (5-10%) the potential for self learning using ICTs is immense, and if shaped correctly, 
could be a key tool for closing the knowledge gap itself. The basic principles of education and 
training  have  to  be  based  more  on  the  notion  of  learning  capacities,  rather  than  formal 
education  and training. 

Using ICTs in schools 

Some  Member  States have  launched plans for  bringing their education systems  in line 
with the dynamics of the Information Society. The federal German Ministry of Education 
recently  announced  one such initiative,  Schulen ans Netz, through which  10,000 out of 
Germany's  52,000  schools  over  a  3-year  period  will  be  connected  to  national  and 
international  networks and multi-media services. In some of the German Lander, it has 
been  decide  to  connect  all  schools,  a  goal  which  in  the  longer  term  is  shared  by  the 
federal  government.  The  Schulen ans Netz initiative is made possible by an  innovative 
partnership  between  government  and  private  enterprises* Similar  initiatives  have  been 
launched  in  other  countries  such  as  the  United  Kingdom,  France,  Italy,  Denmark, 
Sweden,  Portugal  and  Finland. 

-  learning  bv  doing:  "the  learning  company"  must  emerge  as  a  vital  component  of  the 
learning society. People who work in such a company will be using their electronic access to 
knowledge  and  information  to  update  their  skills.  This  requires  new  forms  of  partnership 
between  business,  other  organisations,  and  educators,  to  ensure  that  the  new  and  changing 
skills required  are made available. In this perspective, it is easy to understand that  renewing 
education within working time will be more important than reduction in working time itself. 
The  crux  of  this  approach  is  to  continually  reinforce  the  employability  of  the  workforce 
through training. The risk is that as firms develop more flexible  employment contracts, with 
lower levels of job security, so as to rapidly adjust to changes in labour demand, the rationale 
for  investment in the training of a principal labour force may be weaker rather than stronger. 
For example, the propensity of large Japanese firms to invest in training may be explained by 
the policy of life-long  employment, which means that the returns on training  are kept within 
the firm. In Europe, therefore, it should not be assumed that flexibility  and job insecurity are 
one and the same thing. Indeed, the capacity of enterprises to continually adjust to market and 
technological  change  depends  on  the  cooperation  of  a  core,  stable  and  loyal  labour  force. 
Enterprises should be encouraged to invest more in the training of their core labour force, and 
special  incentives  and  arrangements  should  be provided  to  extend  these  instruments  to  the 
peripheral  labour  force. 

-  retraining  instead  of  deskilling; the most  critical  question  is how people  who  have  lost 
their old jobs are reintegrated into working life. Member States have mostly failed, during the 
last 20 years, to offer  restarts for the unemployed. Tackling this problem is one of the central 
tasks  of  the  Essen  re-employment  strategy,  further  underlined  by  the  Heads  of  State  and 
Government  at the European  Council in Madrid  1995. Instead of having 9 million people in 
long term unemployment  and de-skilling, the most expensive  form  of public spending, with 

18 

the lowest return to the economy  or the individual, and many more millions on their way to 
long term  unemployment,  the Member  States  should have  9 million  involved  in upgrading, 
maintaining  and  improving  their  skills  in  literacy,  numeracy  and  informacy.  It  should  be a 
right,  and  an  obligation,  for  all  unemployed  to  maintain  and  develop  basic  skills  for  the 
Information  Society  and  have  them  imbued  with  relevance  to  the  real,  dynamic,  labour 
market.  Reintegration  should  start  long  before  people  become  long  term  unemployed  and 
discouraged.  That is the fundamental  difference  between active and passive policies. In this 
framework,  governments  have  to  find  ways  to  transform  expenditures  for  passive  labour 
market policies into active policies, preparing jobseekers for a more knowledge based pattern 
of production  of goods and  services. Focusing more of these financial resources on training 
grants and new skills, not merely cash assistance, will help in improving the dynamism of the 
labour market and of public finances overall. In this context, placement services also need to 
move towards the provision  of more personalised  ICT based  support  for job  seekers. 

4.7.  The platform:  The new priorities in the convergence  programmes 

77. There is now broad consensus in Europe that education  and training play a  fundamental 
role in a modern employment policy. This is why the Commission particularly welcomes the 
new emphasis given in the conclusions of the European Council in Florence to investment in 
human  resources,  in  infrastructure,  and  in  research  and  development.  In  this  way,  the 
Ministers  of  Labour  and  Employment,  education  and  training,  research  and  development, 
transport  and  communication  have  a  new  platform  for  initiatives  which  are  important  for 
growth  and  employment. 

78.  Presenting  education  and  training  as a central  element  for  a new re-employment  policy 
can  meet  with  opposition.  The  argument  is  that  the  deep-rooted  employment  problem  in 
Europe cannot be solved through education and training if there are no new jobs to find after 
training.  This argument  is true, but misses the point.  The purpose  of education  and  training 
is not  to  replace  macroeconomic  policies  for  growth  and  new jobs.  The  purpose  of  a  new 
education and training policy  is to bring about a positive flexibility  in enterprises and  in the 
labour market that allows a more growth oriented macroeconomic policy to be pursued.  That 
is why the key to employment growth is the development of an integrated approach between 
structural  and  macroeconomic measures, as outlined  in the Broad  Economic  Guidelines and 
why  education  and  training  should  be  shaped  to  learner  needs,  with  particular  regard  to 
combatting  inequality  and  disadvantage,  in  order  to  unlock  the  productive  potential  of  the 
whole  population. 

19 

4.8.  Questions  for  further  reflection 

79.  These  challenges  raise  a number  of  questions that need  to be  addressed,  notably  in the 
framework of  the  Essen  employment  process  (the  Joint  Employment  Report  to  the  Dublin 
Summit  and the  1997 Multiannual  Programmes). They  concern: 

the capacity of education and training; against the perspective of the skills needs 
of  the  Information  Society,  what  are the  Member  States'  plans  for  the  next  5 
years? 

the design  and quality  of education and training; how to reshape education  and 
training to adjust  to the existing and emerging needs of the Information  Society, 
during the coming  5-10 years? 

the  capacity  for  retraining  those  unemployed,  which  presently  constitutes  the 
weakest point in our system for education and training; how to give people who 
have  lost their jobs a new start  in working  life? and, 

the degree to which equality  of  opportunity  and access can be secured in order 
to ensure realisation  of the productive  potential of the whole active  population. 

80.  There  are  also  some  questions,  where  the  social  partners  have  a  special  responsibility, 
which need  to be addressed  in the framework  of the social dialogue: 

what joint initiatives are the social partners prepared to take in the field of human 
resources to  secure a continuous upgrading of  skill and  competence of  workers 
to meet the needs of  "the  flexible  firm"  during the coming 5-10 years? 

what initiatives are the social partners prepared to take to give young people that 
have  finished  education  and  training  a  start  in  the  real  labour  market,  and 
opportunities to maintain and develop the basic skills required for the Information 
Society? 

20 

5.  COHESION:  LIVING  IN  THE  INFORMATION  SOCIETY 

5.1.  The concerns: concentration  or cohesion? 

81.  ICTs have a powerful  capacity to shrink distance and improve access to information  and 
services. The new technologies and networks have the potential to bring work to areas of high 
unemployment,  to reduce the disadvantages  of less favoured  and more peripheral  regions. 

82. But there are also concerns about the impact of ICTs on cohesion. Many people fear  that 
the  new  technologies  will  reinforce  rather  than  reduce  existing  inequalities,  leading  to  a 
concentration of jobs and production in a few core regions. There are also concerns about the 
development  of a two tier  society  of information  "haves" and  information  "have nots". 

5.2.  The facts:  public  policies make the  difference 

83. In our market economies, there are strong forces that lead to concentration.  That  is why 
strong,  coherent,  public  policies  for  fair  distribution  and  social  cohesion  are  necessary  to 
balance economic progress and social justice. Fundamental  changes, such as the  information 
revolution, make such policies all the more necessary, but offer  also many new opportunities 
to use ICTs to  create  an  inclusive, productive  society. 

84.  Many  Member  States  have  realised  the  need  for  active  ICT-policies,  and  proactive 
strategies to develop the Information  Society  are evolving at the Member  State and regional 
levels.  Generally,  strategies  begin  by  focusing  on  the  basic  aspects  of  infrastructure 
development  and  the  need  to  support  companies  -  especially  SMEs  -  in  adapting  to  the 
Information  Society.  Once  support  for  the  infrastructure  has  been  set  in  place,  the 
development  of  private  and/or  public  partnerships  is  encouraged  to  promote  a  broader 
participation  in  the  IS. A number  of  Member  States  have  developed  policies,  for  example, 
which recognise the importance of integrating schools and other educational  institutions into 
the  IS  infrastructures.  One  example  of  a broader  strategy  is Denmark's  Info-Society  2000 
programme,  which  aims  to  promote  a  range  of  electronic  public  services  to  develop  the 
Information  Society  and to promote  social  inclusion within  it. 

85.  It  is,  of  course,  difficult  to  separate  the  impact  of  ICTs  from  the  broader  factors  also 
affecting  social  and regional  development.  Generally  speaking, there  has been a slow trend 
towards convergence in income per head between Member States, but there has been virtually 
no  change  in  overall  income  disparities  between  regions.  While  some  of the  weakest  areas 
have converged strongly towards the levels of the rest, disparities between regions within the 
same Member  State have tended  to widen  over time. 

86.  EU policies  play  a major  role  in  the  progress  being  made by  the  cohesion  countries  to 
catch up with the rest, and  Structural  Funds have been effective  in reducing  socio-economic 
disparities, although the resources  involved  are not of the magnitude to fully  offset  general 
trends.  Regional  policies  in  the  Member  States  seem  to  have  been  less  successful.  This 
presents  new  policy  challenges  concerning  the  relative  economic  advantage  of  non-core 
regions, and how best to maximise the opportunities and minimize the risks of new ICTs  for 
cohesion  in the Union. 

21 

5.3  The first  challenge: to make the best of the new regulatory  framework 

87.  The  first  challenge  is  the  need  to  maximise  the  potential  of  telecommunications 
liberalisation  and the development  of the new regulatory  framework,  which is a the heart of 
the  move  to  the  IS.  The  commitment  to  full  liberalisation  by  1 January  1998  will  have  a 
strong impact on the development of ICTs, productivity and growth. ICTs are becoming the 
main  arteries  of  wealth  creation,  and  access to efficient  telecommunications  networks  is an 
essential prerequisite to taking advantage of IS. However, there remain significant  differences 
between Member States and regions in the level of basic infrastructure  provision, the cost and 
reliability  of  services, and the availability  of advanced  services. 

88.  The  Commission  is  working  to  ensure  that  the  combination  of  new  technologies  and 
liberalisation reduces rather than widens existing regional differences.  While full  liberalisation 
has not yet been achieved, experience in markets that have already liberalised is encouraging, 
and  evidence  shows  high  levels  of  ICT penetration  even  in  remote  areas.  To  give  but  one 
example,  Finland  has by  far  the highest  connection to Internet  of all countries, measured  in 
relation  to population.  The  capacity  to  shrink  distances is already  deployed  as an  important 
element  in developing  regional policies. 

89.  However,  liberalisation  will  not  automatically  bring  such  benefits  to  all  regions  of  the 
Community, partly because the existing levels of infrastructure  and services are  significantly 
lower in some areas, and partly because of educational and institutional barriers to the use of 
new ICTs.  Care  is needed  to ensure  that existing  disparities  are not widened.  However,  the 
solution cannot be to slow down the liberalisation of telecommunications and create obstacles 
for the implementation of ICTs. Rather, it is to strengthen flanking policies for  infrastructure 
and human resource development, and the Structural Funds have an important role to play in 
this  context. 

90. The definition of a universal service provision- the definition of a minimum set of services 
offered  at  affordable  prices  - is an important  contribution to  cohesion,  and the  Commission 
has  already  discussed  this  issue  in  its  recent  Communication  on  universal  service  for 
telecommunications8. However, going beyond this there remain important questions concerning 
the level and quality of access of less favoured and less populated regions, groups with special 
needs, and public institutions  such as schools, hospitals and  libraries, to the full  range of IS 
services.  These  and  other  questions will be addressed  in the Commission's  first  Monitoring 
Report  on universal  service provision  in  1998. 

5.4.  The second challenge: the human  resource base 

91.  The  second  challenge  is  to  strengthen  human  resource  development  to  stimulate  the 
formulation  of proactive  strategies  in cohesion  regions, so that they can reap the benefits  of 
the  Information  Society.  The  importance  of  the  new  integrated  approach  to  ICT  and 
organisational  renewal  has been  discussed  in Chapter  3. The need  for  an updated  policy  for 
skills and  competencies  for  the Information  Society  has been discussed  in Chapter 4. 

92.  One  conclusion  is that  human  resources  policies  will  be  of  growing  importance  in  the 
future,  as the production of goods and services will be more and more knowledge based. ICT 

Com  96 (73) final  of  13.03.96 

22 

equipment  can  be  bought  and  used  all  over  the  world.  A  crucial  factor  in  determining  the 
longer run success of a region is the knowledge of the people and their capacity to use ICTs. 
There is a need to reorient the  Structural  Funds within the framework  of the emerging IS to 
take  account  of  this.  Policies  must  be  more  oriented  to  stimulating  the  access  and  use  of 
modern ICTs. 

93. The prospects for success in less favoured regions appear to be strongest where innovation 
involves  significant  change  in  organisational  behaviour  in  both  enterprises  and  in  public 
institutions. The new concept of the flexible firm could offer  great opportunities for  regional 
development. 

94. In "Action  for  Employment  in Europe - A Confidence  Pact", the Commission  has taken 
the  initiative  to  develop  local  and  regional  partnerships  in  order  to  improve  growth  and 
employment.  The  aim,  without  setting  up  new structures,  is to  generate  and  boost  political 
momentum at the local level, focusing  on realistic economic and job-creation objectives. The 
most important element involves mobilising all those concerned in business formation  and job 
creation in political reflection and proposal making forums. The European Council in Florence 
gave the go-ahead  for  the process of selecting pilot regions and towns prepared  to take part 
in territorial  employment pacts. 

95.  The process of  stronger  local  involvement  could  be  an important  vehicle  in  developing 
a new, more employment intensive and human resource oriented cohesion policy approach in 
the Information  Society. The European Commission, by means of Article  10 of the ERDF and 
Article 6 of the ESF, is supporting two types of innovative actions in the regions to take  full 
advantage of the Information  Society. First, the preparation of Regional  Information  Society 
Strategy  and  actions  plans  based  on  establishing  a  regional  consensus  based  on  wide  local 
partnerships on how to integrate the Information  Society into regional  development  policies 
(including  human  resources  and  labour  market  aspects).  Second,  the  development  of 
transnational  pilot applications which demonstrate best practice. Partners will work together 
to prepare and launch applications which contribute to regional development and employment 
growth.  Emphasis  will  be  given  to  user-driven  applications  which  can  generate  social  and 
economic  benefits  and  are  related  to  wider  regional  development  priorities  (including 
applications  for  specific  social  groups,  employment  services,  training,  open  and  distance 
learning,  healthcare,  and  business  support  services).  The  experience  of  these  and  other 
initiatives can provide the basis for  broader  assistance through the  Structural  Funds. 

5.5.  The third  challenge: empowerment  and integration 

96.  The third  challenge  is to use the Information  Society  to  strengthen  social  cohesion  and 
enhance  people's  ability  to participate  fully  in  every  aspect  of  social  and  economic  life,  to 
make  it  a  tool  for  the  creation  of  an  inclusive  society.  The  Information  Society  should  be 
about  people  and  it  should  be  used  for  people  and  by  people  to  unlock  the  power  of 
information,  not to create new or reinforce  existing inequalities between the information  rich 
and the  information  poor. 

97.  The Information  Society provides many new possibilities to improve the quality  of  life 
of  the  citizens  of  Europe.  It  offers  the  possibility  to  generate  new  types  of  consumer  and 
public  service  and  new  modes  of  access to  existing  services.  In  particular,  many  forms  of 
disadvantage  can be tackled  in new ways. 

23 

98.  But  to  achieve  this requires  a range  of  active  public  policies  across  many  fields.  This 
includes particularly workplace skilling and classroom access, and making the mastery of ICTs 
integral to labour market measures and local community development and support. It requires 
also  equipping  people  to  understand  and  relate  to  the  changes  brought  about  by  new 
technologies in fields as diverse as democratic representation and retail services, learning and 
leisure,  care  and  culture.  For  both  public  policy,  and  for  generation  of  markets  for  ICTs, 
participation, access and confidence must be fostered. Examples of concerns and how they can 
be  addressed  include those  of  the  generational  balance,  the  disabled,  and  health  care  more 
generally. They also concern the problem of gender bias in terms of both access and in terms 
of the broader  effect  of  ICTs  in the labour  market. 

99.  Many  of these  questions have been discussed  in more  detail  in the High Level  Expert 
Group report and in the first annual report of the Information  Society Forum. In the Member 
States, political initiatives are being taken, and enterprises and local authorities are responding. 
Access to the Information  Society  is improving. ICTs are becoming more user-friendly.  The 
European Union has an important role to play in stimulating this process, for example though 
pooling  of  strength  and  experience,  research  and  development,  common  pilot projects,  and 
Structural  Fund  support. 

100. In pursuit of the objectives of empowerment and integration in the Information  Society, 
this  Green  Paper  focuses  on  four  main  issues:  The  first  is the  issue  of  democracy  and  the 
importance of access. The second concerns equality of opportunity between women and men. 
Third,  there  is  the  question  of  promoting  social  integration,  particularly  for  groups  with 
special  needs.  The fourth  issue is that of public health. 

101.  Democracy  is not just  a matter  of voting  in  elections.  It  concerns  participation  and 
representation  in  a  range  of  decision-making  fora,  at  many  levels.  The  European  model  is 
bedded  in  the  concept  of  informed  democracy.  Real  enfranchisement  requires  access  to 
accurate  current  information  on which  to base democratic  choices  and  decisions.  For  true, 
inclusive, democracy to exist, the whole population must have equal access to information  to 
make choices effectively  and equitably. The Information  Society can enhance democracy by 
ensuring equal  and public access to the ICT infrastructure,  to networked information  services 
and to the skills required  to access these services. 

102.  It  is  important  that  we  realise  the  great  potential  for  public  expression  and 
experimentation in the IS, especially  in areas which are low cost and accessible to grassroots 
groups.  As  the  Information  Society  Forum  noted  in  its  First  Annual  Report,  the  new 
technologies  could  have  extraordinarily  positive  implications  for  our  democracies  and 
individual  rights  by  strengthening  pluralism  and  access  to  public  information  and  enabling 
citizens to participate more  in public  decision making. The vitality  of political  debate  could 
be reinvigorated through more use of direct democracy. At the same time, however, it is also 
important  to  counter  the  more  negative  aspects  of  the  IS.  The  circulation  of  racist  and 
pornographic  material  on the Internet,  for  example, give rise to considerable  concern. 

103.  An example of ICTs creating new opportunities for  greater public participation  in, and 
awareness  of,  the  political  process  is the  United  States  government's  National  Information 
Infrastructure,  which includes an initiative for online government. Motivated by the desire to 
open up the relationship and dialogue between federal  government  and the general public, it 
is an important  example of using ICTs to widen democratic participation.  Another example, 

24 

from  Europe  is  the  Danish  government's  Info-Society  2000  programme,  which  involves 
developing a range of electronic public services aimed at developing the Information  Society 
and  promoting  social  inclusion  within  it.  It  includes  a programme  for  an  Open Network  of 
Society,  which  is  a  coherent  computing  and  télécoms  network  which  will  be  as  easy  for 
citizens to use, and  as readily  accessible,  as the telephone  system  currently  is. 

104.  This  kind  of  approach  would  have  substantial  value  for  the  European  Union.  If  co 
ordinated on a EU-wide basis, it could greatly enhance social cohesion across the Union, and 
promote  citizens'  sense  of  European  identity.  In  particular,  the  benefits  of  including  the 
European  institutions themselves  in open government  initiatives would  be  substantial. 

105. Clearly, the  IS offers  great potential  for  more  accessible  and  effective  public  services. 
However  the  move  towards  electronic  public  service  delivery  presents  technical  and 
organisational challenges. If public services are to go on-line some level of access to technical 
facilities  has  to  be  guaranteed.  Moreover,  many  people  cannot  afford  to  subscribe  to  IS 
services as individuals. Others live in locations where the IS infrastructural  facilities  are less 
well  developed.  Public  access  points  or  one-stop  information  centres  therefore  need  to  be 
established  to  complement  the  development  of  home  based  IS  activities  and  services.  In 
addition,  it is important to take account  of the needs of people who find ICT-based  services 
difficult  to use or hard  to come to terms with. 

106.  Equality  of  opportunity  between  women  and  men can be  enhanced  by the  potential 
of ICTs to improve the balance between family  and working life. But change is taking  place 
within a heavily segregated labour market, and the impact of ICTs is very different  on women 
and men. It is important, therefore,  to be aware of this differential  impact in areas as diverse 
as education and training, labour law, working patterns and skill profiles  in order to respond 
effectively.  For  example,  gender  bias  can  be  overcome  in  the  training  process  by  making 
course materials more  'gender aware', by ensuring that education and training can take place 
in  environments  which  are  more  sympathetic  to  and  comfortable  for  women,  and  by 
supporting the establishment  of teleworking  agencies which are directly aimed at  supporting 
female workers.  Further, much progress can be made by women being involved in the design 
and specification  of ICT products. A range of work on addressing disadvantage and inequality 
has  been  undertaken  at  European  Union  level,  including  working  on  gender  issues  with 
Equality  agencies  in all the Member  States, and  specific  action  in the context  of the  Fourth 
Action  Programme  on Equal  Opportunities.9 

107.  More  broadly,  the  changes  in  employment  systems  developing  due  to  technological 
advances must be informed  by the need to mainstream  equality  issues, both in terms of long 
run competitiveness and social justice, in order to maximise the potential, for  both work and 
family  life,  of the changing  roles of women  and men. 

108.  Social  integration  can  also be  enhanced  by the potential  offered  by  ICTs to  achieve 
access and democracy, and to combat exclusion and isolation in all its forms. ICTs will permit 
more people to work from,  or near, home for  at least some of the time, opening the way  for 
more  communities  to  become  alive  during  the  working  day,  and  will  allow  more 
services  - especially education and community services - to be delivered at local level. As the 

Com 

( 9 5) 

3 81 

25 

High Level Expert Group noted, such changes could help to reinvigorate whole communities 
and lead to stronger social networks and a sense of place. ICTs could also help to overcome 
some of the disadvantages associated with mobility problems and a lack of access.  Moreover, 
the IS can increase participation and therefore  involvement and co-responsibility  of citizens 
in a wide range of issues, such as environmental protection. 

109.  At  the  same  time,  however,  the  transition  to  the  Information  Society  also  poses 
challenges to social cohesion. People living in isolated rural communities or in deprived inner 
city  areas,  people  who  are not  in work  or in education  are unlikely  to  encounter,  or have 
access to new technologies. This brings the danger of creating a two-tier Information Society. 
It must therefore be accompanied by a strategy designed to enhance active participation within 
our communities. Revitalising local communities and promoting a sense of proactivity in the 
Information  Society  is important because: 

revitalised  communities  are  better  able  to  generate  employment  opportunities  and 
wealth in the global marketplace, 
changing demographic and social welfare trends mean increasing numbers of people 
require some form of care provision, 
ICTs have an important potential to support more cohesive and integrated communities 
and to reduce the exclusion facing  disadvantaged groups, 
for many people, the relationship between work and leisure time is changing, and this 
has important implications at the individual,  family  and community  level 
for those who are unemployed on a long term basis, new ways of playing  an active 
role in society  need to be found 

110.  Promoting  access  to,  and  use  of,  ICTs  in  schools  is  vital  to  the  development  of  an 
inclusive Information Society, and this issue will be tackled by the Commission's forthcoming 
action plan on "Learning in the Information  Society". Learning can no longer be limited to 
schooling.  The Information  Society will also be a knowledge society,  in which the need for 
life long learning - in school, in the home, and on the job - will be paramount. In this context, 
particular attention needs to given to the needs of older people and disabled people who are 
often perceived as being less geared to the use of ICTs and unable to take part in the IS. 

111. In fact, ICTs have the potential to improve the quality of life of older people and people 
with disabilities by facilitating  independent living in the community and helping to open up 
new  possibilities  for  access,  participation  and  socio-economic  integration.  Realising  this 
potential involves adapting the technology to peoples' needs. For example, ICT applications 
can  provide  alternative  modes  of  communication  and  information  presentation,  such  as 
multimedia  services  for  people  with  sensory  impairments.  Equally,  they  can  offer  the 
opportunity  to carry out activities from the home, such as telework or distance learning for 
people who have difficulties  accessing employment and educational opportunities. They can 
also facilitate  remote access to medical  and social  care and other support services. 

112. In various cities  and regions across Europe, projects have been set up which use ICTs 
in innovative  ways to help older and disabled people.  The importance  of  ICTs as a tool to 
help promote integration of older and disabled people has also been recognised in a number 
of EU programmes. HANDYNET, for example, is a European-wide computerised information 
and  documentation  system  on  technical  aids  for  disabled  people,  and  research  and 
development into the use of ICT products and applications to help disabled and older people 

26 

in their daily lives is currently being promoted under the EU's TIDE Programme (Telematics 
for the Integration of Disabled and Elderly). Consideration needs to be given to how this can 
be  taken  forward  in  the  5th  Research  and  Technological  Development  (RTD)  Framework 
Programme.  These  issues  will  also  be  covered 
in  the  Commission's  forthcoming 
Communication  on disabled people. 

113.  However, realising the full potential of these new applications raises important questions 
about the availability, the affordability  and the accessibility of ICTs. While some applications 
require  only  a basic  phone  line,  others  demand  more  advanced  services  which  may  not  be 
within  everybody's  reach.  In  addition  to  the  ongoing  work  to  develop  user-friendly 
applications,  therefore,  it  is  also  important  to  ensure  that  both  social  policy  and  the 
telecommunications  regulatory  framework  and universal  service provision  take  full  account 
of the evolving  needs of older  and  disabled  people, to enable them to participate  fully  in -
and benefit from - the Information  Society. Many of these questions will be addressed  in the 
Commission's first Monitoring  Report  on universal  service provision  in  1998. 

114. Healthcare design, delivery and scope is being reshaped by the emerging IS, and there 
is great scope for innovation. The introduction of ICTs in the health sector - and particularly 
health telematics  - will  facilitate  better  coverage of health  services,  improve the quality  of 
diagnostics and healthcare and help to ensure the cost effective  delivery of health services to 
sparsely  populated  and remote areas. 

115.  The  development  of  ICTs  allows  for  and  creates  a need  to  reorganise  work  in  health 
services  at  all  levels.  The  entire  health  care  system  will  be  affected  as will  health  service 
provision  and  processes.  The  jobs  and  skills  required  of  health  service  staff  will  change 
substantially.  Major  training  and  retraining  of  healthcare  professionals  will  be  needed.  In 
addition,  healthcare telematics systems should provide the physician with greater support in 
terms  of diagnostic  capacity  and  information. 

The use of ICTs in  healthcare 

The  use  of  computers  and  computer-based  patient  records  for  primary  care  and  in 
hospitals has  increased  quickly  over the past  10 years  in  countries  like the UK,  where 
90% of general practitioners (GP) own a PC and 79% use electronic healthcare records, 
Denmark  where  65%  of  GPs  own  PCs  and  use  electronic  health  records,  and  the 
Netherlands where the numbers are 80% and 40% respectively  while in other  countries 
the  progress  was  much  slower.  Great  effort  has  been  spent  on  standardisation  of  the 
electronic  patient  records  and patients'  smartcards  in the  Telematic  Applications  RTD 
Programme  since  the  beginning  of  the  90s.  As  a  result,  communication  between 
hospitals, general practitioners, laboratories has shown great improvement  in quality  of 
care, efficiency  and cost  effectiveness. 

27 

116. As part of these developments, there will be  greater  collection  and transfer  of  medical 
records than  in the past.  Ensuring  a high  level of privacy  and protection  of health  data will 
therefore  be  a  major  priority.  New  safeguards  will  be  needed  in  order  to  ensure  that  both 
professionals  and  patients  have  confidence  in  the  new  systems.  As  the  High  Level  Expert 
Group has noted, there may be a need in some cases for ethical standards in the health sector 
to be  re-examined. 

117.  Standardisation  is  also  an  important  issue  in telematics  based  healthcare.  Appropriate 
standardisation  of  telematics  and  associated  systems,  including  software  is  required  at  the 
European,  national, regional  and community  levels if the potential  system-wide benefits  for 
healthcare are to be achieved.  This is an area in which the European Commission, along with 
the appropriate  international  standardisation  bodies, can provide  some  leadership 

118. Finally, evaluation  of both the positive and the potentially adverse impacts of  ICTs at 
various  levels  of  health  systems  is  crucial.  Numerous  pilot  healthcare  projects  have  been 
initiated  in Europe but little coherent  evaluation of the impact  of telematics innovations has 
been  undertaken  to  date.  As  the  High  Level  Expert  Group  has  noted  the  information  and 
experience  gained  should  be  systematically  collected,  analyzed  and  distributed.  They  also 
recommended that clearing house activities for the analysis and exchange of such information 
should  be established  within the European Union  framework. 

5.6.  Consolidating  progress 

119. Member States are developing public policies across the issues related to achieving social 
cohesion  in the  emerging  Information  Society.  In all  of these areas, the  European  Union  is 
also playing  its part,  in terms  of  support  of policy  development,  using mechanisms  such as 
this Green Paper  and the deliberations which have shaped  it, through to pooling of strength 
and experience on  specific  issues. There  is also significant  Structural  Fund  support to all of 
these  efforts. 

120. An  important  aspect  of  this range  of activity  is the  work  which has been  done  in  the 
context of the Fourth RTD Framework Programme to promote the social applications of ICTs. 
The aim of creating a user-friendly  Information  Society  - for  example, through work on the 
identification  of ways of giving people easier access to information  and education throughout 
their  lives  -  is  one  of  the  priority  themes  identified 
in  the  Commission's  recent 
Communication  on preliminary  guidelines for  the Fifth  RTD Framework  Programme.10 

5.7.  Questions for  further  reflection: 

121.  Harnessing  the potential  of ICTs to  strengthen  cohesion  and achieve  integration  raises 
a number  of  important  questions: 

Com 

(96)  332 

28 

what more should be done at Community, national and regional level to maximise 
the benefits  of the liberalisation process and smooth the transition to the IS? 

what degree of priority are regional and local authorities giving to the IS within 
the scope of their responsibilities? What lessons have already been learned from 
the  development  of  regional  IS  strategies  and  pilot  actions,  and  how  can  this 
experience  be built  on and  disseminated? 

what  strategies can be developed,  in the context  of  regional  employment  pacts, 
to  provide  the  capacity  and  the  access  to  unlock  human  resources  potential  to 
maximise  the  development  impact  of  ICTs  at  local  level?  What  kind  of  local, 
regional  and  national  activities  can  be  launched  to  promote  and  facilitate  the 
development  of telematics applications of societal interest which will respond to 
the needs of  users? 

in terms of  enhancing  the democratic process, what actions need to be taken to 
maximise the potential  for people to engage  fully  in active  society? 

how  can  we,  in particular,  ensure  that ICTs work to  combat  disadvantages  and 
inequality  and, in this context,  how can the contribution  of Commumty  actions 
be maximised  ? 

how can we facilitate  the great potential of ICTs for  developing better  coverage 
and  delivery  of  healthcare? 

29 

6.  THE  INFORMATION  SOCIETY  -  THE  EUROPEAN  WAY 

122.  The  European  Union  is  built  on  a  strong  tradition  of  cultural  diversity,  political 
democracy and market economy. The Member States have developed social models with many 
common features  including  strong social rights and independent  social partners, able to take 
responsibility  for  working  conditions  and  for  fair  distribution.  In  the  framework  of  the 
European Union the Member States have created one single market of 370 million consumers 
with some  16 million  enterprises  - the largest economic entity  in the world. 

123.  The  European  social  model  is  built  both  on  competition  between  enterprises  and 
solidarity between citizens and Member States. The European Information  Society must draw 
strongly from this economic, social and cultural strength, linking technological, economic and 
social  aspects together  in the creation  of new opportunities  for  all its citizens. 

124.  The  Information  Society  represents  the  most  fundamental  change  in  our  time,  with 
enormous opportunities for society as a whole, but with risks for individuals and regions. The 
way we develop it must reflect the ideas and values which have shaped the European Union. 
These ideas and values should be transparent and coherent with social justice in order to win 
the support of citizens. To this end, the Commission invites all interested parties to reflect on 
the possibility of formulating  a set of common Community principles for the development of 
the European Information  Society. 

125. The  Commission  suggests that public policies  should  inter  alia: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

Strengthen  the  capacity  of the  EU  economy  to  create jobs,  achieve  high  levels  and 
sustainable  rates  of  economic  growth  and  employment,  ensure  that  SMEs  take  full 
advantage  of  the  IS,  and  improve  cohesion  across  the  Member  States  and  regions, 
using the  potential  of ICTs to increase productivity  in the use of  labour,  capital  and 
material  resources. 

Improve democracy and social justice by ensuring that the potential of ICTs to provide 
relevant, up-to-date, information on matters of common interest and to enable citizens 
to participate in public decision making, are fully  supported by governments, with the 
involvement  of non-governmental  organisations. 

Ensure that the objectives of equal opportunity policies are enhanced,  at work and in 
the home, by paying particular attention to the education of young people in ICTs, and 
by  incorporating  ICT  information  and  training  in  the  various  policies  and  actions 
designed  to correct  imbalances  in the gender  roles of adults. 

Overcome  the  disadvantages  faced  by  disadvantaged  social  groups,  and  ensure  that 
those who currently  lack  opportunities in society have the possibility to master ICTs 
and  to  thereby 
improve  their  relative  position,  rather  than  become  further 
disadvantaged. 

Support  people  with  special  needs,  many  of  whom  can  be  helped  to  improve  their 
quality  of  life  and  address  their  own  needs,  as  well  as  to  further  enhance  their 
contributions  to  society  as a whole, with the help of ICT. 

30 

6. 

Reduce  bureaucracy  and  improve the quality  and efficiency  of public  administration 
at national, regional and local level, and improve the overall benefits  of welfare  state 
services,  such  as  health  care  and  education,  through  efficiency  improvements  and 
through the better matching  of provisions and  individual needs. 

Comments are invited on all of the issues presented in this Green Paper. They should be sent 
to: 

PEOPLE FIRST 
European  Commission 
Directorate  General V 
Employment,  Industrial  Relations and Social  Affairs 
DG  V/B/5 
200,  rue de la Loi/Wetstraat  200 
B-1049 
BELGIUM 

By 31 December  1996. 

Comments can also be  sent by e.mail to:  peoplefirst@fse.dg5.cec.be 

Copies of this Green Paper, the High Level Expert Group Report and the Information  Society 
Forum  Report  are also available  at the above address, or from  the ISPO Web server  at: 

URL:  http://www.ispo.cec.be/infosoc/legreg/docs/peopllst.html 

http://www.ispo.cec.be/hleg/hleg.html 
http ://www. ispo. cec. be/info  forum/pub. html 

This  Green  Paper  is  also  accessible  by  clicking  on  the  following  icons:  'The  European 
Institutions',  'European  Commission',  'Directory  of  the  European  Commission',  'DG  V 
Employment, Industrial Relations and Social Affairs'; at the Web site of the European Union: 

http ://europa. eu. int/ 

31 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(96) 389 final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

16  15  05 

Catalogue number  : CB-CO-96-412-EN-C 

ISBN 92-78-07832-8 

Office  for Official  Publications of the European Conununities 

L-2985 Luxembourg 

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