Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the "Communication from the Commission on Strategies for jobs in the information society"
Date: 2001-06-13
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: employment policy, information society, job creation, teaching curriculum, vocational training

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become necessary, the Directive should provide for a panel to
be put together jointly by the Member States for the purpose
of selecting the eligible persons in the country of origin.

21.2.
Past experience has shown that in cases of evacuation
from crisis zones — as in the evacuation of Kosovar refugees
from Macedonian refugee camps — each Member State sends

its own committee to the region to select those who will be
granted protection. Provision should therefore be made in
such circumstances for a panel to be put together jointly by
the Member States (if necessary involving NGOs) for the
purpose of selecting those eligible for evacuation according to
uniform criteria in a decision which will be binding on the
Member States.

Brussels, 13 June 2001.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Jos CHABERT

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the ‘Communication from the Commission on
Strategies for jobs in the information society’

(2001/C 357/03)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Communication from the Commission on Strategies for jobs in the information
society (COM(2000) 48 final);

having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau on 13 June 2000, under the fifth paragraph of
Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, to direct Commission 5 for Social Policy,
Public Health, Consumer Protection, Research and Tourism to undertake the preparatory work;

having regard to its Opinion on Public sector information: a key resource for Europe — A Commission
Green Paper on Public sector information in the information society (COM(98) 585 final) (CdR 190/1999
fin) (1);

having regard to its Opinion on Learning in the information society: An action plan for a European
Education Initiative (96-98) (COM(96) 471 final) (CdR 368/96 fin) (2);

having regard to its Opinion on the Green Paper on Living and working in the information society:
People first (COM(96) 389 final) (CdR 365/96 fin) (3);

having regard to its Resolution on The information society: from Corfu to Dublin — The new emerging
priorities — The implications of the information society for European Union policies — Preparing the
next steps (COM(96) 395 final) (CdR 337/96 fin) (4);

having regard to its Opinion on the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament
and the Council on a multi-annual Community programme for purposes of stimulating the development
of a European multimedia content industry and of encouraging utilisation of this multimedia content in
the emerging information society (INFO 2000) (COM(95) 149 final) (CdR 22/96 fin) (5);

(1) OJ C 57, 29.2.2000, p. 11
(2) OJ C 116, 14.4.1997, p. 89
(3) OJ C 116, 14.4.1997, p. 81
(4) OJ C 42, 10.2.1997, p. 31
(5) OJ C 129, 2.5.1996, p. 39

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having regard to its Opinion on the Communication from the Commission on Europe’s way to the
information society — An action plan (COM(94) 347 final) (CdR 21/95 fin) (1);

having regard to its Opinion on the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European
Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the Universal
service for telecommunications in the perspective of a fully liberalised environment — An essential
element of the information society (COM(96) 73 final); (CdR 371/96 fin) (2);

having regard to its Resolution on The implementation of the European employment strategy (CdR
461/99 fin) (3);

having regard to its Opinion on the Communication from the Commission on Learning in the information
society: An action plan for a European Education Initiative (1996-1998) (COM(96) 471 final) (CdR
368/96 fin) (4);

having regard to its Opinion on The Role of local and regional authorities in linking education and
training establishments to enterprises (CdR 346/96 fin) (5);

having regard to the draft Opinion (CdR 303/2000 rev. 2) adopted by Commission 5 on 19 April 2001
[rapporteur: Mr Tögel (D/PSE)];

Considering

1.

2.

3.

4.

that the global economy is increasingly being transformed into an information society for which
new rules apply and which offers, because of its powerful underlying dynamism, enormous
opportunities for growth and employment by boosting growth and creating new jobs;

that the EU has therefore set itself the task of eliminating mass unemployment over the next ten
years by means of the consistent development of the information society;

that the information society already accounts for a significant proportion of EU GDP and has
recorded a higher level of growth than that of any of the other sectors of the economy. The
information society already provides employment for several million people;

that, although the EU is not yet exploiting the employment potential of the information society to
the full, it did, however, highlight the possible impact of the information society on employment at
the Employment Summit held in Luxembourg in November 1997. In the wake of the European
Council in Vienna in December 1998, a high level group was set up within which the Member States
exchange information on their national strategies for the information society. Furthermore, the
national employment action plans (NAP) drawn up under the European employment strategy have
since 1999 contained actions relating to the information society. The EU has also recently listed the
information society as one of its priority subjects, as was also demonstrated by the eEurope initiative
adopted at the European Summit in Lisbon at the beginning of the year;

4.a.

that the Commission Communication pays no attention whatsoever to the special situation of rural
and peripheral areas; without specific attention these areas will be seriously marginalised even
further with respect to the development of the information society.

The Committee would also point out that the Communication makes no specific provision for the
agricultural and rural development sector, in terms of entrepreneurs, employees or related activities;

5.

that it was also recognised that this task can only be fulfilled if life-long learning is applied as a
fundamental principle in all areas of society and if all the necessary prerequisites can also be in place
to enable a vast pool of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) specialists to be
trained;

(1) OJ C 210, 14.8.1995, p. 109
(2) OJ C 116, 14.4.1997, p. 33
(3) OJ C 226, 8.8.2000, p. 43
(4) OJ C 116, 14.4.1997, p. 89
(5) OJ C 116, 14.4.1997, p. 98

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6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

that the high level of skills, the creativity and the versatility of the EU workforce, the internal market,
the introduction of the euro and the adaptability of EU enterprises should all be harnessed with a
view to tapping the employment potential of the information society, whilst ensuring that priority
is given to adequate intervention in rural and peripheral areas;

points out that some local and regional authorities have already introduced specific, innovative
measures in this field. Their experience can serve as a valuable catalyst for projects which can be
transferred to other EU Member States. It is therefore important to help authorities to carry out
effective exchanges of experience;

that in order to consolidate this initial favourable net balance, a European strategy for jobs in the
information society should not focus exclusively on commercial interests but should also focus on
their social implications;

that the quality of life of employees, the real value of new technical possibilities to both the
individual and society and the social, environmental, democratic and ethical justification of these
technical possibilities should therefore, represent decisive reference variables in the context of the
development of strategies for jobs in the information society;

that, in the light of persistent unemployment and the consequences which this has for regional and
local authorities, the greatest challenge facing all players is to ensure that the net effect on
employment of the introduction of the information society is either neutral or positive; considerable
efforts will need to be made in both the political and social fields in order to achieve this goal;

that the introduction of the information society will not,
in itself, provide a solution to the
employment crisis or intensify it. There is rather a danger that the use of new ICT for rationalisation
purposes over the next few years will bring a further decline in the level of employment which may,
however, be offset in the longer term by the simultaneous growth in the number of jobs in new
production and service sectors,

adopted the following opinion by a unanimous vote at its 39th plenary session held on 13 and 14 June
2001 (meeting of 13 June).

The Committee of the Regions

also notes that lifelong learning for knowledge acqui-
5.
sition will occupy a special place in the information society, as
workers will require a high level of qualifications, skills and
adaptability;

considers that one of its most important tasks is to
1.
support suitable initiatives for new areas of employment and
thus to contribute to the creation of new jobs and to counter
the migration of jobs;

2.
points out that the IT sector could develop into one of
the key industries of the 21st century and thus become a
major reference point for the education and employment
system as well as for an active European labour market policy;

3.
supports the Commission in its development of socially
acceptable strategies for the full exploitation of the employ-
ment potential of the information society in the framework of
the European Employment Strategy;

6.
with due regard to the principle of subsidiarity, therefore
takes the view that regional and local authorities should be put
in a position:

— to integrate information-society instruments into edu-

cation systems,

— to support the incorporation of information-society and
multimedia instruments into syllabuses (public-private
partnership),

welcomes the report as an important contribution to,
4.
and support for, the e-Europe initiative which aims to make
Europe ready for the digital age;

— to support

the establishment of regional and local

networks for educational content producers,

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— to ensure that all teachers possess verifiable knowledge of

the information society,

therefore reiterates its call for support for the regional

11.
and local authorities in:

— to provide Internet access for every school,

— offering every worker the opportunity to acquire know-

ledge of the information society,

— to improve the multimedia capacity of computers in

schools;

7.
points out in this context, however, that with a view to
achieving the above aims, the following prerequisites should
be met: the public education system is developed; all school-
children to be given access to the new technologies; funding
to be provided for more staff and the necessary technological
resources for the further training of teachers and the develop-
ment of teaching models which promote the integration of the
new media into the teaching process in an intelligent way;

stresses that the employment opportunities offered by
8.
the information society should not entail
the large-scale
marginalisation of the public education system in terms of
infrastructure and technology. The important role which
education plays, and will continue to play, in the future means
that it is in no way appropriate for the regional and local
authorities to withdraw from their responsibility for public
education. Ways of regulating the relationship between private
industry and schools should therefore be investigated;

also points out that work in the information society
9.
does not follow traditional organisational models, but rather
requires flexible, adaptable, multi-skilled employees, many of
whom work in areas which focus on knowledge and infor-
mation. This flexibility and adaptability must not entail reduced
quality of work or job-instability;

10.
points out that the regional and local authorities have
for some time been engaged in intensive discussions on the
subject with industry, associations and trade unions. As the
regional and local authorities are both responsible for edu-
cation and a driving force behind economic development, they
can help build bridges between educational and vocational
training institutions on the one hand and industry on the
other. In many regions and areas an important step has been
taken with the introduction of new IT training professions. In
this way it has been possible in a relatively short time to train
workers up to a high level of practical competence in skills of
direct relevance to the workplace, above all in the use of
technology. This has made it possible to remedy a major
shortage of skilled workers in the sector, which had hitherto
concentrated its personnel policy mainly on graduates and
skilled staff from other sectors;

— establishing a framework and practical arrangements at
regional and local level for greater use of teleworking, as
an innovative way of creating jobs which will promote
the integration into the labour market of young people
living in rural areas, thus contributing to the maintenance
of territorial balance. Moreover,
the development of
information-society initiatives must go hand-in-hand
with the creation of jobs for women which make it
possible to reconcile work and family life,

— increasing the supply of, and demand for, places in
tertiary-level education, with due regard to gender bal-
ance,

— supporting secondary-level IT courses,

— improving the employability of the disabled,

— preparing specific actions for entrepreneurs and workers
engaged in agriculture, rural development and related
activities, to facilitate access to information society tools,
technology and language,

— developing activities to promote lifelong learning, par-
ticularly activities aimed at guaranteeing universal access
to basic digital skills and at establishing local learning and
e-learning centres;

12.
expects the integration of labour and further training
policy, in view of the clear need — also stressed by the social
partners — for workers to acquire skills equipping them for
the new demands of working in the information society, and
for lifelong learning to become an integral part of working life.
Shorter working hours, with the time being devoted to
‘education modules’ for the acquisition of vocational skills,
could give a major impetus to employment as well as a
significant boost
to the ‘skills offensive’ which is being
demanded from every quarter;

13.
recognises that in the information society it may be
necessary for the vocational education system to be increas-
ingly complemented by company-financed training. And yet,
through the new IT training professions, the existing education
system has made an important contribution to economic

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structural change and it has passed an important test in the
transition to the information society;

and public bodies to accelerate the day-to-day use of infor-
mation-society instruments and thus to improve the efficiency
and quality of their services and bring government and citizens
closer together;

that

therefore feels,

in this context,

14.
the need for
comprehensive modernisation of labour and social law and
training arrangements should be looked at, with the aid of
the social partners,
in order to ensure that they meet the
requirements of work in the information society. An employ-
ment policy for the information society should shape the new
forms of organisation of work, e.g. teleworking, and new work
relationships, e.g. network-based self-employment, in a socially
acceptable way, to ensure that the opportunities for workers
and for society are exploited and in order to prevent social
dislocation and potential divisiveness;

points out, for the purpose of clarification, that changes
15.
in work in the information society will make it necessary to
think about redefining the concepts of worker and company,
establishing a single protective framework for teleworking,
laying down suitable data protection arrangements for the
world of digital work, ensuring that works and staff councils
and trade unions have access to firms’ electronic networks,
broadening the criteria of social security systems — e.g. by
bringing in the ‘new self employed’ — and implementing
effective minimum social and labour standards;

welcomes the idea of the training funds established by
16.
some ICT firms as public-private partnerships open to other
partners, from which the following measures, inter alia, are to
be financed:

— increase in the number of places available at vocational
training establishments and higher educational
insti-
tutions, universities and comparable institutions. Gradu-
ates are offered the opportunity to acquire an additional
ICT qualification,

— grants for students of ICT-related subjects,

— promotion of specific and inter-disciplinary further train-
ing; in particular skilled ICT workers could be trained as
part of a sectoral further training offensive, outside the
system of training offered by public institutions,

— exchange of staff with research institutions;

agrees with the Commission that public services will be
17.
radically changed in the information society and that this
requires determined efforts by all regional and local authorities

also welcomes the idea of individual learning accounts as a
useful and effective instrument for disseminating knowledge
of information and communications technologies and as a
new way of mobilising financial resources to promote lifelong
learning;

proposes that an examination be made of possible ways

18.
of assisting regional and local authorities in:

— establishing user-friendly Internet pages providing clear
information on citizens’ rights and links to the main
regional and local authorities and services,

— establishing public-access Internet sites and carrying out
on-the-spot training of employees in information-society
skills,

— establishing central contact points for companies,

— establishing in the urban centres which provide a focal
point for rural and peripheral areas, special telecentres to
provide young and very young people, in particular, with
the opportunity to learn IT skills and access the Internet,
which are prerequisites for teleworking;

19.
supports the Commission in its belief that the infor-
mation society and electronic commerce will promote econ-
omic growth and create jobs. New areas of activity will open
up for firms in the information society and continuous
innovation using information-society instruments will be
extremely important in improving competitiveness and cre-
ating jobs;

strongly recommends that the regional and local auth-

20.
orities be supported in their efforts to ensure that:

— local companies can develop new services,

— a higher proportion of risk capital goes to firms in the

sector,

— cooperation between industry and research bodies at

regional and local level is promoted,

— the needs of SMEs are taken into account in all public
in a socially

programmes at regional and local
acceptable way,

level

— more companies use ICT services;

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21.
considers, however, that even in the information society
regulatory mechanisms will need to be brought into effect with
the participation of the social partners, in order to ensure that
account is taken of collective agreements on minimum wages,
holiday entitlement, sick pay etc. when creating new jobs;

22.
also believes that, in order to tap the undoubted employ-
ment potential of the transition to the information society, job-
creating product innovations and the purchasing power-based
demand which is essential for the mass consumption of new
goods and services should be specifically promoted;

23.
supports the establishment of networks of IT compani-
es for the analysis of needs, exchange of experience and

cooperation on recruiting and training skilled workers. In this
context the establishment of industry associations for initial
and further training should be initiated or mediated, and
support for these provided via coordination or guidance bodies
involving providers of training services. Suitable guidance
bodies could be set up, e.g.
in collaboration with local
structural and economic support organisations and associ-
ations. This is the way to persuade more IT firms to provide
training places;

24.
recommends examination of ways in which support
can be provided to the central and eastern European applicant
states,
in order to help them develop socially acceptable
strategies for jobs in the information society.

Brussels, 13 June 2001.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Jos CHABERT

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the ‘Communication from the Commission to the
Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the
Regions — Making a reality of The European Research Area: Guidelines for EU research activities
(2002-2006)’

(2001/C 357/04)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Commission Communication to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic
and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — Making a reality of The European Research
Area: Guidelines for EU Research Activities (2002-2006) (COM(2000) 612 final);

having regard to the Commission Decision of 4 October 2000 to consult the Committee on the subject,
in accordance with Article 265(1) of the Treaty establishing the European Community;

having regard to the decision taken by the COR president on 7 February 2001 to instruct Commission 5
— Social Policy, Public Health, Consumer Protection, Research and Tourism — to draw up the opinion
on the matter;

having regard to the draft opinion (CdR 63/2001 rev.) adopted by Commission 5 on 19 April 2001
[rapporteur: Mr Torchio (I/EPP)],

unanimously adopted the following opinion at its 39th plenary session of 13 and 14 June 2001 (meeting
of 13 June).