WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1314/97 by Amedeo AMADEO to the Commission. New technologies and employment
Date: 1997-04-11
Institutions: AMADEO, European Parliament
Subjects: Structural Funds, economic and social cohesion, new technology, public sector, regional policy, research and development, technological change, trans-European network

C 21/40

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

22. 1. 98

(98/C 21/116)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1314/97

by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) to the Commission

(11 April 1997)

Subject: New technologies and employment

Having regard to (cid:145)The impact of the introduction of new technologies on employment(cid:146) (CES 1403/96), the public
sector(cid:146)s role must be reviewed and adjusted in response to the need to create the infrastructure required for the
development and application of new technologies (particularly information and communication technologies)
and to ensure that they rapidly spread throughout the production sector. Implementation of the trans-European
networks programme is vital in order to provide properly-organized modern infrastructure at European level.

The  Commission  is  asked  to  ensure  that  national  and  Community  R&TD  policies  are  based  on  instruments
providing  forecasts  and  information  regarding  technology  and  employment  scenarios.  Such  scenarios  would
then be used by those involved in research to formulate their R&TD priorities on the basis of a (cid:145)bottom-up(cid:146)
approach and to organize integrated projects at European level.

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-1313/97 and E-1314/97
given by Mrs Cresson on behalf of the Commission

(17 June 1997)

The  impact  of  technological  progress,  more  particularly  the  development  of  information  technology,  on
employment,  is  the  subject  of  many  concerns  and  is  intensively  studied  at  Community  level.  The  overall
conclusions  of  the  work  carried  out  on  this  issue  are  that  the  global  effect  of  technological  development  on
employment is a shift from less skilled and more repetitive jobs, to higher skilled and more creative ones.

It  is  also  agreed  that  investment  in  research  and  technological  development  (RTD)  has  a  positive  impact  on
growth and competitiveness, which is a major factor of job creation, through the development of new products
and the opening of new markets.

In  order  to  benefit  from  these  mechanisms,  bearing  in  mind  the  concern  to  avoid  social  or  regional
marginalisation, the Community is making substantial efforts in the framework of social, regional, education and
training and research policy, through a broad range of instruments and programmes, to stimulate both training
and the mastering of new technologies, and the development of RTD activity.

The results of this action can already be observed. The gap between more advanced and less advanced Member
States  in  terms  of  economic  performance,  as  well  as  the  even  more  important  gap  in  terms  of  technological
potential and activity, are progressively narrowing.

In order to strengthen the economic and social cohesion of the Community, and to maximise the impact of the
actions undertaken, the Commission intends better to combine and fully exploit the possible synergies between
RTD and regional policies, through a strengthening of the articulation between RTD programmes and structural
funds.

Such  a  development  is  explicitly  foreseen  in  the  Commission  proposal  for  the  fifth  framework  programme
(1998-2002). In a forthcoming communication on economic and social cohesion, research and competitivity, the
guidelines the Commission proposes to follow in this respect will be presented, as well as mechanisms it would
be possible to use.

(98/C 21/117)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1318/97

by Jose· Pome·s Ruiz (PPE) to the Commission

(10 April 1997)

Subject: Eurostat and entry into the third phase of EMU

During the debate following his speech to the European Parliament(cid:146)s Subcommittee on Monetary Affairs on
27  November  1996,  the  Director-General  of  Eurostat  was  requested  to  ensure  that  Eurostat(cid:146)s  periodical
publications included a reference to the TEU convergence criteria and, with regard to the CIT, separated the