Amended proposal for a Council Decision adopting a multiannual Community programme to stimulate the establishment of the information society in Europe (Information Society)
Date: 1997-10-10
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, budget, economic growth, information technology, new technology

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels,  10.10.1997 
COM(97) 460  final 

96/0283 (CNS) 

Amended proposal  for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

ADOPTING A MULTIANNUAL COMMUNITY PROGRAMME TO STIMULATE THE 
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY IN EUROPE (INFORMATION SOCIETY" 

(presented  by  the  Commission  pursuant  to  Article  189 a  (2) 
of  the  EC-Treaty) 

EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

The  Commission  has  decided  that  a  legal  basis  should  be  proposed  for  a  number  of 
budget  lines,  and  has  sent  to  the  budgetary  authority; a  Communication  on  this  issue 
(Communication of the Commission to the budgetary authority on the legal basis and the 
maximum  amounts,  SEC(94)  1106  final,  of  6  July  1994).  The  present  proposal  is 
submitted  in line with this  communication to cover budget line B5-331,  and concerns a 
multiannual  Community  programme  to  stimulate  the  establishment  of  the  information 
society in Europe (Information Society). 

The  development  of  the  information  society  in  Europe  is  the  result  of  a  permanently 
evolving  interaction  between  market,  social,  and cultural  forces,  which  affects  the way 
people  live,  learn  and work.  Many  people  are already  undergoing  profound  change  in 
their social and working lives, and worry about the growing impact of the development of 
the  information  society  on  employment,  training,  and  styles  of  life  and  work.  Many 
people  and  enterprises  in  Europe  are  not  fully  prepared  for  the  new  information  and 
communication  technologies,  which  may  lead  to  serious  disadvantages  for  Europe's 
possibilities to reap the potential benefits the information society offers  in terms of higher 
economic growth, more employment (albeit different)  and better quality of life. 

It is therefore necessary that ordinary people and businesses become more involved in the 
identification  of their needs, in the development of applications to support those needs, as 
well as in the management of the process to implement the information  society in general. 
This cannot be achieved by market forces  alone, which tend to concentrate on  short-term 
return  on  investment,  and  therefore  often  neglect  accompanying  measures  aimed  at 
longer-term  socio-economic benefits. 

Some  initiatives  were  already  taken  at  the  level  of  the  Member  States,  but  without 
accompanying  actions  at the  level  of the European  Union  there  is a considerable  risk  of 
duplication  of  effort,  lack  of  synergy  and  multi-speed  development  which  will  increase 
already  existing  distortions  between  and within  Member  States,  as regards  access  to  the 
information  society. 

In order to guarantee a successful  transition to a mature  information  society,  it should be 
avoided  that  entire  groups  of  people  or  social  and  economic  actors  be  marginalized  or 
develop an attitude of rejection.  This would be likely to happen in the absence of targeted 
efforts  to  promote  widespread  access  to  and  familiarity  with  information  services  and 
«applications which are more and more useful  and relevant to personal and business needs. 

The European Union must contribute to a better understanding by citizens, companies and 
institutions of the  issues, opportunities  and risks  at stake, helping to create confidence  in 
progress, and to mobilize popular support for the information  society 

So far,  the following  steps have been undertaken: 

Z^ 

In the White Paper on "Growth, competitiveness, employment - The challenges and ways 
forward  into the 21st century"  (COM(93) 700 final),  submitted  by the Commission  on 5 
December  1993,  the  Commission  acknowledges  that  the  implementation  of  the 
information  society  is  critical  for  the  future  of  Europe.  The  document  stresses  that 
information  and  communication  technologies  and  related  services  have  the  potential  to 
promote  steady  and  sustainable  growth,  to  increase  competitiveness,  to  open  new  job 
opportunities and to improve the quality of life of all Europeans. 

The  White  Paper  was  examined  by  the  European  Council  in  Brussels  on  10  and  11 
December  1993.  The Council gave its full  political support and requested that a report be 
prepared on the information  society by a group of prominent persons, providing  concrete 
recommendations for action. 

The report  of  the  high  level  group  on the  information  society  of  26 May  1994  "Europe 
and  the  global  information  society  -  Recommendations  to  the  European  Council" 
emphasised, amongst other things, the urgency of responding to the new challenges. 

The report was submitted to the European Council in Corfu  on 24 and 25 June  1994, who 
recognised  the  importance  of  the  opportunity  and  the  scale  of  the  challenge  facing 
Europe.  It  requested  the European  Commission  to  prepare  an Action  Plan  containing  a 
set of measures that the Union  and the Member  States should take as soon as possible in 
order to establish the information  society in Europe under the best possible conditions. 

The Commission responded to this request by means of a communication of  19 July  1994 
to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the 
Committee of the Regions on  "Europe's way to the information  society.  An  action  plan" 
(COM(94) 347 final).  This  plan  underlines  that  although  initiative  must  clearly  lie with 
the private sector, the Member  States and the Union must obviously support these  efforts, 
thus confirming  the  initial  political  impetus  given by the White Paper  and  the  European 
Council  meeting  in  Corfu,  by  implementing  a  dependable  and  stable  framework,  and 
setting an example in those fields for which they have responsibility. 

It was in this perspective that the Action Plan structured the different  policies  and  actions 
under four  main headings: the legal  and regulatory  framework;  networks, basic services, 
applications  and  content;  social,  societal  and  cultural  aspects;  and  promotion  of  the 
information  society.  On  this  basis,  first  steps  have  been  initiated.  In  particular,  the 
Commission  has  prepared  a  Communication  on  the  impact  of  Information  Society  on 
other  policies,  which  highlights  the  need  for  a  broad  approach  to  information  society 
policy development. 

In order to bring about a broad consensus amongst all the players in the economic, social, 
cultural  and academic fields,  the Commission  has set up the Information  Society  Forum 
and the High  Level Expert  Group on the  Social  and  Societal  Aspects  of the  Information 
Society. 

The first  interim report of the High Level Expert Group of January  1996 contained  a set 
of first reflections  in view of the preparation of a final report. 

In  its  first  annual  report  to  the  European  Commission  of  June  1996  the  Information 
Society  Forum  recommended  that  the  Commission  should  launch  EU-wide  awareness 
raising  initiatives,  implement  actions  best  suited  for  the  promotion  of  best  practices, 
promote  the  use  of  new  technologies,  give  extra  attention  to  explore  the  economic  and 

social  implications of the information  society,  and to ensure that people with disabilities 
have equal access to the information society. 

On  24  July  1996  the  European  Commission  adopted  a  Green  Paper  on  'Living  and 
Working  in  the  Information  Society:  People  First',  which  is  intended  to  deepen  the 
political, social and civil dialogue on the most important social and societal aspects of the 
information  society.  In the  light of the reactions received, the Commission  will present 
action proposals in 1997. 

The Midrand Conference  in  South  Africa,  by bringing together representatives  from  all 
layers  of  society  (government,  business,  labour,  academia  and  community)  proved that 
there  is  a  need  to  develop  links  between  European  initiatives  and  projects  with  an 
international  dimension from  developing countries; to create an inventory  of  information 
society initiatives  in the developing world; to develop national  and trans-national  fora  to 
disseminate  information,  enhance  co-ordination  and  spread  the  knowledge  of  learned 
lessons  and  best  practices.  The  Chairperson's  conclusions  at  the  Midrand  Conference 
underlined  that special  emphasis should be put on the development of integrated  systems 
to  meet  people's  basic  needs,  particularly  in  rural  areas.  Applications  for  developing 
countries  should  focus  on  universal  access,  local  content,  enpowerment  of  SME's,  with 
equal  engagement  in  the  development  of  the  physical  infrastructure  and  of  human 
resources. 

The Rome Conference  highlighted  that the information  society needs to be constructed in 
the  Mediterranean  by  further  developing  telecommunications  and  research  networks, 
education  and  training  systems,  as well  as fostering  common  initiatives  like workshops, 
training and pilot projects.  At the same time it was stressed that the needs in terms of new 
information  and communications technologies be given consideration when governments, 
the  scientific  community  and  the  European  Union  join  forces  to  develop  information 
society initiatives. 

The  second  European  Union/Central  and  Eastern  European  Countries  Forum  on  the 
Information  Society  in  Prague  (follow  up  of  the  first  Forum  held  in  June  1995  in 
Brussels)  confirmed  the  need  to  foster  awareness  actions  of  all  issues  (social,  legal  and 
political)  involved  in  the  development  of  the  information  society,  particularly  for  those 
European  countries  which  are  reforming  their  economies.  An  action  plan  oriented 
towards  the  implementation  of  European  level  co-operative  projects  was  presented  for 
follow-up. 

The Commission's White paper on "Growth, competitiveness, employment", the report of 
the high level group ("Bangemann Report"), the Action Plan, the first  annual report of the 
Information  Society  Forum,  the  conclusions  of  the  Midrand,  Rome  and  Prague 
Conferences,  the growing world-wide  activity  in the field  of  the  information  society,  in 
particular  the  major  studies  launched  by  the  OECD  and  the  interest  shown  by  the  G7 
countries, have considerably broadened the scope of the activities undertaken  so far  In the 
context  of  the  development  of  the  telecommunications  policy  and  the  trans-European 
information  networks. 

Thus, the broader concept of the "information  society" makes it necessary to explore new 
perspectives  and  to  stimulate  new  activities,  in  particular  of  a  cross-sectoral  nature.  As 
recognised  in the  Communication  on  "The Information  Society:  From  Corfu  to  Dublin. 
The new emerging priorities", the multifaceted  nature of the information  society  implies a 
need  for  greater  policy  coordination  between  the  various  Community  policies  and 

between  the Communities  different  instruments  and funding  mechanisms.  In  particular, 
this  includes  increasing  public  awareness  of  the  possible  impacts  of  the  information 
society,  launching  actions that  demonstrate best practice  and  sharing  of  experiences  and 
knowledge  amongst  the  different  actors  in Europe,  as well  as  ensuring  that  experiences 
and  best practices  are  exchanged  at  international  level and  that the global  dimension  of 
the information  society is taken into consideration. 

The activities foreseen under this proposal therefore include three action lines: 

(a) measures to raise awareness: 

ACTION LINES 

-  the  dissemination  of  information  and  promotion  of  actions  aimed  at  a  better 
understanding of the opportunities, benefits  and possible risks of the information  society, 
for  instance  with  regard  to  different  user  groups,  professional  associations  etc.,  and 
monitoring of the evolution of people's awareness through regular surveys, 

- the gathering  and identification  of citizens' and users' needs, and the stimulation  of  the 
interest  of  industry,  in  particular  small  and  medium  sized  enterprises  (SME's),  in 
providing  services  and  applications  to  meet  these  needs,  for 
instance  through 
presentations  of  EU  information  society  activities,  networks,  applications  and  concrete 
opportunities to be exploited, 

- the  demonstration  of potential  impacts of the information  society  at regional  level,  the 
promotion  of  exchange  of  relevant  information  between  cities  and  regions,  and  giving 
visibility  to  the  general  public  on  concrete  projects  being  implemented  to  service  their 
needs, 

-  the organization  and  follow-up  of fora  on the development  of the  information  society, 
advising the Commission on the challenges to overcome, 

(b) measures to help establish the information  society in Europe: 

-  the  analysis  of  the technical,  economic,  social  and  regulatory  aspects,  the  appraisal  of 
the  challenges  raised  by  the  transition  to  the  information  society,  as  well  as  the 
identification  of actions necessary for the optimization of the socio-economic benefits, 

- the assessment of the opportunities  and barriers which  disadvantaged  social groups  and 
peripheral and less favoured  regions may face  in accessing and using information  society 
products  and  services;  the  identification  of  appropriate  measures  to  overcome  these 
obstacles  and  to  grasp  the  related  benefits,  the  promotion  of  information  systems  and 
services serving in particular the needs of elderly, disabled and unemployed people, 

- the analysis of current initiatives at European  and national  level regarding the provision 
of applications, based  in particular  on a permanent  inventory  of projects  which  facilitate 
the deployment of the information  society, 

- the provision of transparency, based  in particular on a permanent inventory,  concerning 
ongoing policies and programmes at European and national level, 

-  the  contribution,  on  the  basis  of  identified  best  programmes  and  practices,  to  the 
European  wide  take-up  of  successful  examples  in  information  society  policies,  projects 

and  services,  for  instance  by  supporting  demonstration  actions,  in  particular  in  small 
communities  acting  as small-scale,  flexible  test sites where new  approaches  can be tried 
out,  with  the wide participation  of  citizens  from  different  social  groups,  as well  as with 
the active involvement of social partners and voluntary associations, 

-  the  promotion  of  synergy  and  cooperation  between  ongoing  studies  and  activities  at 
European  and  national  level,  in  particular  by  catalytic  brokerage  action  helping  in  the 
creation of partnerships among interested organisations and individuals, 

-  the  identification  and  evaluation  of  the  financing  mechanisms  needed  to  develop  the 
information  society,  in particular those  able to help stimulate  public/private  partnerships 
for the deployment of applications of public interest, 

- the identification  of obstacles to the functioning  of the Internal Market in the area of the 
information  society and the consideration of measures to guarantee the full  benefit  of the 
area without frontiers  for its development, 

- the launching of actions to ascertain the priorities of SME's and regarding the obstacles 
hampering  the  use  by  SME's  of  information  technologies,  in  close  coordination  with 
Commission efforts  to mobilise different  groups of ICT users, 

(c)  measures  to  take  into  consideration  and  make  use  of  the  global  dimension  of  the 
information  society: 

-  the  enhancement  of  visibility  of  the  global  dimension  of  the  information  society,  in 
particular  through  an  inventory  of  initiatives  taken  worldwide,  the  exchange  of 
information  with third  countries,  and notably with developing  countries, and through  the 
collaboration  in  the  preparation  of  demonstration  actions,  either  bilaterally  or  in 
collaboration with international organisations, 

These  activities  shall  not  duplicate  existing  possibilities  for  actions  in  fields  already 
covered  under  other  instruments,  e.g.  in  the  fields  of  research  and  development,  trans-
European  networks,  information  content  and  standardization.  In order to  avoid  overlap, 
to  complement  other  initiatives,  and  to  bring  more  expertise  into  this  programme,  the 
relevant  services  shall  be  associated  with  the  development  of  activities.  They  shall  be 
invited to participate in the definition  of the work programme, on which calls for proposal 
will be based, the evaluation  and selection of proposals, as well as the review of results. 

In the light  of  the  above  mentioned,  the  Commission  invites  the  Council  to  adopt,  after 
consulting  the  European  Parliament,  the  attached  decision.  For  the  adoption  of  this 
decision  the EC Treaty  does  not provide for  other  powers  than  those  defined  in  Article 
235. 

Amended  proposal  for  a 

COUNCIL  DECISION 

ADOPTING A MULTIANNUAL  COMMUNITY  PROGRAMME  TO  STIMULATE 
THE ESTABLISHMENT  OF THE INFORMATION  SOCIETY IN EUROPE (INFORMATION  SOCIETY) 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular 
Article 235 thereof, 

Having regard to the Commission proposal, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament1, 

Whereas the establishment  of  the  information  society  can, by  introducing  new  forms  of 
economic, political  and social relations, help the Community  to cope with the  challenges 
of the next century, in particular the creation of new jobs, as indicated  in the White Paper 
on 'Growth,  competitiveness  and employment - the challenges and ways forward  into the 
21st century'; 

Whereas  the  European  Council  in  Corfu  on  24  and  25  June  1994  took  note  of  the 
Recommendations of the High Level Group on the information  society as presented  in the 
report  'Europe  and  the  global  information  society'  and  the  Commission  established  an 
Action  Plan  consisting  of  concrete  measures  at  both  Community  and  Member  States 
level; 

Whereas  the  European  Council  in  Florence  on  21  and  22  June  1996  underlined  the 
potential  of  the  information  society  for  education  and  training,  for  the  organization  of 
work and for employment creation; 

Whereas the pace of progress in the development of the information  society  depends on a 
large  extent  on  the  awareness,  understanding  and  support  by  citizens  and  public  and 
private  organisations,  of  the  possibilities  of  applications  of  new  information  and 
communication technologies to service people's and business' needs; 

Whereas  the  establishment  of  the  information  society  will  require  availability,  for  each 
citizen,  company or public organization,  in every part of the Community,  of  information 
of any nature they need; 

^ J No 

Whereas the establishment of the information  society will gradually reorganize the nature 
and  content  of  human  activity  in  all  areas,  and  have  important  cross-sectoral  effects  in 
areas of activity hitherto independent; 

Whereas the measures  necessary  for  the implementation  of the  information  society  have 
to take  into  account the economic  and  social  cohesion  of  the  Community  as well  as the 
continuity in the functioning  of the Internal Market; 

Whereas  the  definition  of  these  measures  requires  preparatory  analyses,  aimed  at 
improving  understanding  of  the  various  fields  which  may  be  affected  by  Community 
actions related to the information  society; 

Whereas  the  first  interim  report  of  the  High  Level  Expert  Group  on  the  Social  and 
Societal  Aspects  of  the  Information  Society  of  January  1996  contained  a  set  of  first 
reflections  in view of the preparation of a final report; 

Whereas  the  first  annual  report  of  the  Information  Society  Forum  to  the  European 
Commission  of  June  1996  recommended  that  the  Commission  should  launch  EU-wide 
awareness  raising  initiatives,  promote  actions  best  suited  for  the  promotion  of  best 
practices,  promote  the  use  of  new  technologies,  give  extra  attention  to  explore  the 
economic  and  social  implications  of  the  information  society,  and  to  ensure  that  people 
with disabilities have equal access to the information  society; 

Whereas the European  Commission  on  24 July  1996 adopted  a Green  Paper  on  'Living 
and  Working  in the Information  Society:  People First',  which  is  intended  to  deepen  the 
political, social and civil dialogue on the most important social and societal aspects of the 
information  society;  in  the  light  of  the reactions  received,  the  Commission  will  present 
action proposals in 1997; 

Whereas the measures  necessary  for  the implementation  of the information  society  have 
to take into account the global dimension of the information  society; 

Whereas  the  G7  Ministerial  Conference  on  Information  Society  and  Development  in 
Midrand,  South Africa  from  13 to  15 May  1996 recognised  that the  "information  society 
model"  should  be  pursued  for  the  benefit  of  the  developing  countries,  to  solve  their 
unique  needs  and  challenges,  to  support  their  sustainable  growth  and  to  ensure  their 
effective  participation in the emerging global "wired" economy; 

Whereas  the  Rome  Conference  on  30  and  31  May  1996  recognised  that  one  of  the 
elements  of  the  political  dialogue  between  the  European  Community  and  the  twelve 
countries involved in the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, started in November  1995 with 
the Barcelona  Conference,  is indeed the construction  of a truly  open  information  society 
in the Mediterranean  region  which will benefit  in terms  of  growth,  competitiveness  and 
employment to users, industries and service providers of information  and  communication 
technologies; 

Whereas the second European  Union/Central  and  Eastern  European  Countries  Forum  on 
the Information  Society in Prague on 12 and  13 September  1996 confirmed  that the issues 
involved  in  the  development  of  the  information  society  are  particularly  important  to 
European  countries  which  are  reforming  their  economy  and  underlined  the  need  to 
provide platforms for information  exchange and discussion; 

% 

Whereas  existing possibilities for  actions, e.g.  in the fields  of research  and  development, 
trans-european  networks,  information  content,  social  policy,  and  standardization,  shall 
not be duplicated; 

Whereas  progress  of  this  programme  should  be  continuosly  and  systematically 
monitored;  whereas  at the  end  of this programme there  should  be  a final  assessment  of 
results obtained compared with the objectives set out in this Decision; 

Whereas it is necessary to fix the duration of the programme; 

Whereas, for  the adoption  of this decision, the Treaty  does not provide  for  other  powers 
than those defined  in Article 235, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 

1.  A programme (Information  Society) is hereby adopted with the following  objectives: 

-  increasing  public  awareness  and  understanding  of  the  potential  impact  of  the 
information  society and its new applications, 

- helping to establish the information  society in Europe, by promoting widespread  access 
to and familiarity  in the use of new information  services and applications. 

- giving consideration to and making use of the worldwide  dimension  of the  information 
society. 

2.  The programme shall cover a period from  1  January  1997 to 31 December 2001. 

3.  The Budgetary  Authority  shall  authorize the appropriations  within  the framework  of 
the annual budgetary procedure and in compliance with the financial  perspective. 

4.  The  activities  foreseen  are  actions  of  a  cross-sectoral  nature,  complementing 
Community  actions  in other  fields.  None of these  shall  duplicate  the work being  carried 
out in these fields under other Community programmes. 

Article 2 

In  order  to  attain  the  objectives  referred  to  in  Article  1, the  following  actions  shall  be 
undertaken: 

(a) measures to raise awareness: 

-  the  dissemination  of  information  and  promotion  of  actions  aimed  at  a  better 
understanding of the opportunities, benefits  and possible risks of the information  society, 

- the gathering  and  identification  of citizens' and  users' needs,  and the stimulation  of the 
interest  of  industry,  in  particular  small  and  medium  sized  enterprises  (SME's),  in 
providing services and applications to meet these needs, 

-  the  demonstration  of  potential  impacts  of the  information  society  at regional  level, the 
promotion  of  exchange  of  relevant  information  between  cities  and  regions,  and  giving 
visibility  to  the  general  public  on  concrete  projects  being  implemented  to  service  their 
needs, 

-  the organization  and  follow-up  of fora  on the development  of  the  information  society, 
advising the Commission on the challenges to overcome, 

(b) measures to help establish the information  society in Europe: 

-  the  analysis  of  the technical,  economic,  social  and  regulatory  aspects,  the  appraisal  of 
the  challenges  raised  by  the  transition  to  the  information  society,  as  well  as  the 
identification  of actions necessary for the optimization of the socio-economic benefits, 

- the assessment of the opportunities  and barriers which disadvantaged  social groups and 
peripheral  and less favoured  regions may face  in accessing and using information  society 
products  and  services;  the  identification  of  appropriate  measures  to  overcome  these 
obstacles and to grasp the related  benefits, 

- the analysis of current  initiatives at European  and national  level  regarding the provision 
of  applications, based  in particular on  a permanent  inventory  of  projects  which  facilitate 
the deployment of the information  society, 

- the provision  of transparency,  based  in particular on a permanent inventory,  concerning 
ongoing policies and programmes at European and national level, 

-  the  contribution,  on  the  basis  of  identified  best  programmes  and  practices,  to  the 
European  wide  take-up  of  successful  examples  in  information  society  policies,  projects 
and services, 

-  the  promotion  of  synergy  and  cooperation  between  ongoing  studies  and  activities  at 
European and national level, 

-  the  identification  and  evaluation  of  the  financing  mechanisms  needed  to  develop  the 
information  society,  in  particular those  able to help stimulate  public/private  partnerships 
for the deployment of applications of public interest, 

- the identification  of obstacles to the functioning  of the Internal Market in the area of the 
information  society and the consideration of measures to guarantee the full  benefit  of the 
area without frontiers  for its development, 

- the launching of actions to ascertain the priorities of SME's and regarding the obstacles 
hampering  the  use  by  SME's  of  information  technologies,  in  close  coordination  with 
Commission efforts  to mobilise different  groups of ICT users, 

(c)  measures  to  take  into  consideration  and  make  use  of  the  global  dimension  of  the 
information  society: 

-  the  enhancement  of  visibility  of  the  global  dimension  of  the  information  society,  in 
particular  through  an  inventory  of  initiatives  taken  worldwide,  the  exchange  of 

Vo 

information  with third  countries,  and  notably  with  developing  countries,  and  through  the 
collaboration 
in  the  preparation  of  demonstration  actions,  either  bilaterally  or  in 
collaboration  with international  organisations. 

Article 3 

In carrying out the objectives outlined  in Article  1  and the actions defined  in Article 2, the 
Commission can use any relevant means, and in particular: 

-  the  award  of  contracts  for  the  execution  of  tasks  relating  to  analyses,  exploratory 
studies, detailed  studies of specific  fields,  realization  of demonstration  actions, as well as 
the coordination, evaluation and co-financing  of actions; 

- the organization, the participation  in and the granting of support for  meetings of experts, 
conferences,  consultations  of  persons  or  of  groups  having  common  interests,  seminars, 
and the publication  and the dissemination of  information; 

-  the  contribution  to  the  activities  of  international  organizations  in  relation  to  the 
information  society,  and  in  particular  those  aiming  to  encourage  the  access  of  the 
developing countries to the potential of the information  society. 

Article 4 

1.  The Commission shall be responsible for the implementation of the programme. 

2.  The Commission  shall be assisted  by a committee of an advisory  nature  composed  of 
representatives  of  the  Member  States  and  chaired  by  the  representative  of  the 
Commission. 

The  representative  of  the  Commission  shall  submit  to  the  committee  a  draft  of  the 
measures to be taken.  The committee  shall  deliver  its opinion  on  the  draft  within  a time 
limit  which  the  chairman  may  lay  down  according  to  the  urgency  of  the  matter,  if 
necessary by taking a vote. 

The opinion  shall be recorded  in the minutes; in addition,  each Member  State shall  have 
the right to request that its position be recorded in the minutes. 

The Commission shall take the utmost account of the opinion delivered  by the committee. 
It  shall  inform  the  committee  of  the  manner  in  which  its  opinion  has  been  taken  into 
account. 

Article 5 

The procedure laid down in Article 4 (2) shall apply to: 

- the adoption of the work programme, 

- the criteria and content of calls for proposals 

4\ 

-  the  assessment  of  the  projects  proposed  under  calls  for  proposals  for  Community 
funding  and the estimated  amount of the Community  contribution  for  each project  where 
this is equal to or more than ECU 500.000, 

- the measures for programme evaluation, 

-  participation  in  any  project  by  legal  entities  from  third  countries  and  international 
organizations. 

Article 6 

1.  A mid-term  evaluation  report  on  the activities  launched  and  results  obtained  will  be 
presented  by the Commission  to the European  Parliament  and the Council  after  the  first 
two years of the programme.  Upon completion of the programme, the Commission  shall 
present  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  an  evaluation  report  on  the  results 
obtained through implementing the actions referred to in Article 2. 

2.  Measures shall be taken to monitor the effectiveness  of spending to date on moves to 
establish  the  information  society  in  Europe  to  ensure  best  use  of  Community  funds  for 
future  programmes. 

3.  The results of monitoring measures shall be made available to the advisory  committee 
provided for in Article 4(2). 

This Decision is addressed to the Member States. 

Article 7 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 

The President. 

f^ 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(97) 460 final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

15  16 

Catalogue number  :  CB-C0-97-475-EN-C 

ISBN 92-78-24677-8 

Office  for Official  Publications of the European Communities 

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