98/253/EC: Council Decision of 30 March 1998 adopting a multiannual Community programme to stimulate the establishment of the Information Society in Europe (Information Society)
Date: 1998-03-30
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU aid, EU programme, budget, information policy

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II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COUNCIL

COUNCIL DECISION

of 30 March 1998

adopting a multiannual Community programme to stimulate the establishment
of the Information Society in Europe (Information Society)

(98/253/EC)

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 (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parlia-
ment (2),

(1) Whereas

introducing new forms

the establishment of
can, by

the Information
Society
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 (cid:190) the chal-
lenges and ways forward into the 21st century';

(2) 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 estab-
lished an action plan consisting of concrete meas-
ures at both Community and Member States level;

(3) 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 organisation of work and for employment cre-
ation;

(1) OJ C 51, 21. 2. 1997, p. 12.
(2) OJ C 222, 21. 7. 1997, p. 39.

(4) Whereas the pace of progress in the development
the Information Society depends to a large
of
extent on the
awareness, understanding and
support by citizens and public and private organisa-
tions, of the possibilities of applications of new
information and communication technologies to
service people’s and business’ needs;

(5) Whereas

the establishment of

the Information
Society will require availability, for each citizen,
company or public organisation, in every part of
the Community, of information of any nature they
need;

(6) Whereas

the establishment of

the Information
Society will gradually reorganise the nature and
content of human activity in all areas, and have
important cross-sectoral effects in areas of activity
hitherto independent;

(7) Whereas the measures necessary for the imple-
mentation of the Information Society have to take
into account the economic and social cohesion of
the Community as well as continuity in the func-
tioning of the internal market;

(8) Whereas the definition of these measures requires
preparatory analyses, aimed at improving under-
fields which may be
standing of
affected by Community actions
related to the
Information Society;

the various

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(9) 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;

(10) Whereas the first annual report of the Information
Society Forum to the Commission of June 1996
recommended that the Commission should launch
European Union-wide awareness raising initiatives,
promote actions best suited for the promotion of
best practices, promote the use of new technolo-
gies, 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;

(11) Whereas the 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;

(12) Whereas the measures necessary for the imple-
mentation of the Information Society have to take
into account the global dimension of the Informa-
tion Society;

(13) Whereas the G7 Ministerial Conference on In-
formation 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;

(14) Whereas the Rome Conference on 30 and 31 May
1996 recognised that one of the elements of the
political dialogue between the Community and the
12 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 Mediter-
ranean region which will benefit
in terms of
growth, competitiveness and employment to users,
industries and service providers of information and
communication technologies;

(15) Whereas the second European Union/Central and
Eastern European Countries Forum on the In-
formation 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
information
platforms
exchange and discussion;

provide

for

to

(16) Whereas existing possibilities

for
example in the fields of research and development,
information content,
trans-European networks,
social policy, and standardisation, should not be
duplicated;

actions,

for

(17) Whereas progress of this programme should be
continuously
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;

and

(18) Whereas it is necessary to fix the duration of the

programme;

(19) Whereas a financial reference amount, within the
meaning of point 2 of the Declaration by the Euro-
pean Parliament, the Council and the Commission
of 6 March 1995, is included in this Decision for
the programme, without
the entire duration of
thereby affecting the powers of
the budgetary
authority as they are defined by the Treaty;

(20) Whereas the Treaty does not provide, for the adop-
this Decision, powers other than those

tion of
defined in Article 235,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

A programme (Information Society)
with the following objectives:

is hereby adopted

(cid:190) increasing public awareness and understanding of the
potential impact of the Information Society and its
stimulating
new applications
people’s motivation and ability to participate in the
change to the Information Society;

throughout Europe,

(cid:190) optimising the socio-economic benefits of

the In-
formation Society in Europe, by analysing its tech-
nical, economic, social and regulatory aspects, by
appraising the challenges raised by the transition to
the Information Society, inter alia as regards employ-
ment, and by promoting synergy and cooperation
between European and national levels;

(cid:190) enhancing Europe’s role and visibility within the

global dimension of the Information Society.

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The activities set out in this programme 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. In order to avoid overlap, to complement
other initiatives, and to bring complementary expertise
into
relevant Community
programmes shall be associated with the development of
activities.

programme,

this

the

The programme should also provide a common frame-
work for complementary and synergetic interaction at
the various national/regional/local
European level of
initiatives
the Information
Society, in particular, through assistance of the committee
provided for in Article 5(1), so as to make use of available
facilities and enhance transparency and cooperation at
European level, while fully applying subsidiarity.

the establishment of

for

Article 2

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

(a) measures to raise awareness in Europe:

(cid:190) adding value where necessary to local, national
initiatives promoting a better
and crossborder
understanding, for instance through the dissem-
ination of information, of the opportunities, bene-
fits and possible risks of the Information Society,
whether aimed at the general public or at specific
target groups,

(cid:190) gathering and dissemination of

information on
citizens’ and users’ needs with respect to Informa-
tion Society services and applications,

(cid:190) enhancement of the visibility to the general public
and other interested parties of real projects being
implemented to service their needs,

(cid:190) the monitoring of peoples’ awareness of and fa-
miliarisation with the Information Society services
and applications,
through the
fostering of regular surveys and the integration of
national surveys into a European picture,

in particular

(cid:190) stimulation of the interest of industry, in particular
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs),
in
providing services and applications that meet the
needs expressed by citizens and users, for instance,
through presentations of
Information Society
activities, networks, applications and concrete
opportunities to be exploited,

(cid:190) demonstration of

the
the potential
Information Society at regional
including
within its crossborder dimension, the promotion
of exchange of relevant information between cities
and regions,

impact of
level,

(cid:190) support

for

the

Information Society Forum
consisting of experts representing a broad range of
trade
interests from industry, academia, media,
unions, consumer and user groups, advising the
Commission on the challenges to overcome for
the development of the Information Society;

(b) measures to optimize the socio-economic benefits of

the Information Society in Europe:

(cid:190) 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,

(cid:190) the analysis of current initiatives at European and
national level regarding the provision of applica-
tions, based in particular on a permanent invent-
ory of projects which facilitate the deployment of
the Information Society,

(cid:190) the provision of transparency, based in particular
on a permanent inventory, concerning ongoing
policies
at European and
national level,

and programmes

(cid:190) 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,

(cid:190) the promotion of exchange of expertise and ex-
periences between ongoing studies and activities at
European and national level,

(cid:190) 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,

(cid:190) the identification of obstacles to the functioning of
the internal market in the area of the Information
Society and the consideration of measures to guar-
antee the full benefit of the area without frontiers
for
the
linguistic diversity,

taking into account

its development,

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(cid:190) the launching of actions to ascertain the priorities
of SMEs and regarding the obstacles hampering
the use by SMEs of information and communica-
tions technologies (ICT),
in close coordination
with Commission efforts to mobilise different
groups of ICT users,

(cid:190) the promotion of electronic literacy in the educa-
tional sector through the dissemination of relevant
experience gained at national and European level;

(c) measures

to enhance Europe’s

within the global dimension of
Society:

role and visibility
the Information

(cid:190) the establishment of an inventory of initiatives

taken worldwide,

(cid:190) the exchange of information with third countries,
in particular with a view to encouraging their
access to the potential of the Information Society,

(cid:190) the collaboration in the preparation of demonstra-
tion actions, either bilaterally or in collaboration
with international organisations.

For the various categories of actions above, the work
programmes to be defined each year should define the
priority work areas and concrete actions, seeking to max-
imise added value at European level.

Article 3

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

(cid:190) the award of contracts for the execution of

tasks
relating to analyses, exploratory studies, detailed
studies of specific fields, demonstration actions of
limited size, as well as the coordination, evaluation
and co-financing of actions,

(cid:190) the organisation of,

the participation in and the
granting of support for meetings of experts, confer-
ences, seminars, consultations of persons or of groups
having common interests, in particular with a view to
encouraging the access of
third countries to the
potential of the Information Society,

(cid:190) the publication and the dissemination of information.

Article 4

The programme shall cover a period from 1 January

1.
1998 to 31 December 2002.

The financial reference amount for the implementa-
2.
tion of
abovementioned
for
programme will be ECU 25 million. An indicative break-
down of expenditure is given in the Annex.

this programme

the

The Budgetary Authority shall authorise the appro-
3.
priations within the framework of the annual budgetary
procedure and in compliance with the financial per-
spective.

Article 5

The Commission shall be responsible for the imple-
1.
mentation of the programme and its coordination with
other Community programmes.

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

2.

The procedure laid down in Article 6 shall apply to:

(cid:190) the adoption of the work programme including the

extent of funding,

(cid:190) the breakdown of the budgetary expenditure,

(cid:190) the criteria and content of calls for proposals,

(cid:190) the assessment of the projects proposed under calls for
proposals for Community funding and the estimated
the Community contribution for each
amount of
than
project where
ECU 100 000,

to or more

equal

this

is

(cid:190) the measures for programme evaluation,

(cid:190) participation in any project by legal entities from
third countries and international organisations.

3. Where, pursuant to the fourth indent of paragraph 2,
the amount of the Community contribution is less than
inform the
the Commission shall
ECU 100 000,
committee of the projects and of the outcome of their
assessment.

The Commission shall

4.
inform the
committee of progress with the implementation of the
programme as a whole.

regularly

Article 6

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. The opinion shall be de-
livered by the majority laid down in Article 148(2) of the
Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council
is
required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission.
The votes of the representatives of the Member States
within the Committee shall be weighted in the manner
set out in that Article. The chairman shall not vote.

The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if
they are
the
committee.

in accordance with the opinion of

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If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the
opinion of the committee, or if no opinion is delivered,
the Commission shall without delay submit
to the
Council a proposal relating to the measures to be taken.
The Council shall act by a qualified majority.

If, on expiry of a period of three months from the date of
referral to the Council, the Council has not acted, the
proposed measures shall be adopted by the Commission.

the end of

the end of

two years and at

the
4. At
programme, the Commission shall submit to the Euro-
pean Parliament, Council,
the Economic and Social
Committee and the Committee of the Regions, once the
committee referred to in Article 5(1) has examined it, an
evaluation report on the best results obtained in imple-
menting the actions
referred to in Article 2. The
Commission may present, on the basis of those results,
proposals for adjusting the orientation of the programme.

Article 7

Article 9

The Information Society Forum referred to in Article 2(a),
final indent, may be called upon by the committee to
offer advice or guidance.

Article 8

1.
In order to ensure that Community aid is used effi-
ciently, the Commission shall ensure that actions under
this Decision are subject
to effective prior appraisal,
monitoring and subsequent evaluation.

2. During implementation of actions and after their
completion the Commission shall evaluate the manner in
which they have been carried out and the impact of their
implementation in order to assess whether the original
objectives have been achieved.

The selected beneficiaries shall submit an annual
3.
report to the Commission or a final report for projects of
short duration.

by

support

Participation in this programme may be open, in accord-
ance with the procedure laid down in Article 6 without
from this
financial
programme, to legal entities established in third countries
and to international organisations, where such participa-
tion contributes effectively to the implementation of the
programme and taking into account
the principle of
mutual benefit.

the Community

Article 10

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 30 March 1998.

For the Council

The President

LORD SIMON of HIGHBURY

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ANNEX

MULTIANNUAL PROGRAMME FOR THE INFORMATION SOCIETY

Indicative breakdown of expenditure

1998 to 2002

Percentages of total budget by category and year

Awareness

Optimisation

International

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

Total
1998 to 2002

9 % 7 % 6 % 5 % 3 % 30 % maximum

11 % 11 % 11 % 12 % 12 %

57 %

2 % 2 % 3 % 3 % 3 % 13 % maximum

Percentage of total

22 % 20 % 20 % 20 % 18 %

100 %