Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a multiannual Community programme to make digital content in Europe more accessible, usable and exploitable {SEC(2004)169}
Date: 2004-02-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, Internet, access to information, cooperation policy, dissemination of information, information technology, innovation

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 13.2.2004 
COM(2004) 96 final 

2004/0025 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

establishing a multiannual Community programme to make digital content in Europe 
more accessible, usable and exploitable 

(presented by the Commission)  

{SEC(2004)169} 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

Introduction 

In the period since the inception of the eContent programme1, the digital content market has 
seen change. The change that occurred is neither entirely coincident with, nor as extensive as, 
what  was  foreseen  at  the  time.  The  information  and  communication  technologies  (ICT) 
markets  slowed  down  in  general,  this  in  turn  adversely  impacted  the  information  market. 
However  technological  deployment,  development  and  innovation  have  continued  and  many 
sectors, among them the information market, are again seeing growth. 

The  rollout  of  high-speed,  always-on,  broadband  connections  is  beginning  to  drive  the 
demand for online digital content. As recognised by eEurope 20052, the successful rollout of 
broadband  Internet  access  however  depends  critically  on  the  availability  of  suitable  digital 
content.  The  speed  of  uptake  of  advanced  services  for  mobile  users  (3G  and  beyond)  is 
similarly dependent on the availability and accessibility of a large variety of digital content. 
More recently, developments in knowledge and content technologies open up opportunities to 
improve the accessibility of digital content and to greatly simplify its aggregation and reuse in 
products and services.  

In parallel with these developments, new legislation has been enacted in the Union, including 
the Directive on the re-use of Public Sector Information (PSI)3 and the Copyright Directive4 
currently  being  transposed,  both  of  which  aim  to  facilitate  an  internal  market  for  digital 
content products and services. 

These trends are expected to deliver benefits through digital content-based applications, in the 
form of increased productivity and innovation, and better information products and services 
with  a  positive  impact  on  eGovernment,  eHealth,  eBusiness  and  eLearning  related  content, 
applications and services as promoted by eEurope 2005. These benefits are not just economic, 
but will spill over to society as well. 

The content market encompasses media and publishing, on-line databases and other business 
services. Its value was estimated at 515 billion Euro in 20025. Digital content is still a small 
part of this market, which is traditionally dominated by films, TV programmes, books, videos, 
music, CDs and mail order catalogues. 

Media  convergence  and  the  global  reach  of  the  Internet  have  turned  digital  content  into  a 
potentially  lucrative  asset.  However,  in  relation  to  the  uptake  of  digital  content  Europe  has 
barriers. In particular, barriers relating to the multiplicity of languages, cultures and practices 
of  public  administration  and  enterprises  affect  the  establishment  of  cross  border  services  in 
Europe based on digital content. 

The  current eContentplus  proposal  (2005-2008)  addresses  these  barriers  and  identifies  areas 
of public interest in Europe where market forces fail to support adequate investment. eContent 
plus  aims  at  creating  conditions  for  broader  access  to  and  use  of  digital  content  and  where 
necessary  for  greater  economic  return  from  services  based  on  access  and  (re)use  of  digital 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 

Council Decision 2001/48 EC of 22 December 2000. 
COM(2002) 263. 
Directive 2003/98/EC of 17 November 2003 
2001/29/EC, adopted on 22 June 2001. 
European Information Technology Observatory - EITO 2003. 

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content.  The  programme  will  therefore  continue  to  make  a  significant  contribution  to  the 
eEurope strategy in sectors such as e-learning, e-government, etc. 

The  proposal  for  a  successor  programme  which  follows  gives  due  attention  to  the 
achievements  of  the  current  programme,  the  evolution  of  technologies,  markets  and  the 
legislative environment, and further changes in course which are likely to occur. 

2. 

The growing importance of digital content 

The growing importance of digital content today can be attributed to two major innovations: 
the  digitisation  of  traditional  media  formats  such  as  text,  images,  video,  audio,  and  the 
emergence  of  the  Internet  as  a  platform  for  integration  and  a  channel  for  distribution  of 
content  resources.  In  addition  to  making  a  wealth  of  information  accessible  to  users,  these 
innovations have transformed the business of content distribution and reinvented the way that 
businesses,  public  organisations  and  governments  interact  with  each  other  and  the  public  at 
large. 

More  recently  businesses  and  governments  seek  to  capitalise  on  the  Internet's  potential  to 
drive  efficiencies  and  spur  growth.  The  creation  in  Europe  of  a  legal  framework  to  support 
online  commerce  and  services  across  borders6  together  with  massive  capital  investments  in 
infrastructure financed by public and private sectors bear testimony to the importance that the 
online environment has been accorded in today's economy. Regulatory pressure has also been 
used  to  get  citizens  connected to  the  Internet.  In  the  three years  since  the  EU  regulation  on 
local loop unbundling7, Internet penetration has grown significantly in the Union, in particular 
among citizens. Close to 100% of companies, government offices and educational institutions, 
and  50%  of  citizens  are  online.  Priorities  have  now  shifted  to  the  rollout  of  broadband 
Internet access. The benefits for users are clear – speed – which in turn is expected to drive 
user demand for a greater variety of digital content products and services. 

With  the  online  environment  assuming  an  ever-increasing  role  in  diffusing  knowledge  and 
dispersing  information,  the  demand  for  quality  digital  content  becomes  inescapable.  The 
question is no longer whether information can be found, but whether it is reliable, complete 
and  can  be  tailored  to  the  user  needs.  The  paradigm  shift  taking  place  in  the  information 
market is from quantity to quality. 

Content providers are well positioned to combine the added-value gained by using digitised 
media  formats  with  the  efficiency  gains  of  online  operations.  The  notion  of  adding  value 
however extends beyond aggregating content from different sources or repurposing content to 
different market tastes and needs. The quality element that is missing in most of the content 
currently  available  comes  when  content  is  enriched  with  specific  knowledge  or  information 
that is relevant to its intended application. A new generation of Web technology – that relies 
on  vocabularies  that  computers  can  understand  as  well  as  process  –  can  do  just  this. 
Knowledge-enhanced  digital  content  offers  content  providers  the  potential  to  extend  the 
interoperability and augment the quality of any content-based product or service. 

Quality  digital  content  will  have  to  meet  the  needs  of  all  Europeans:  citizens  in  society, 
students, researchers, business users to augment their knowledge with ease and efficiency, as 

6 

7 

Directives on e-commerce (22 May 2001), electronic invoicing (20 December 2001) and directive and 
regulation (7 May 2002) on VAT on digital supplies. 
Regulation 2887/2000/EC, adopted on 18 December 2000. 

3 

 
 
  
 
                                                 
well  as  content  providers  and  other  ‘reusers’  to  exploit  digital  content  resources  to  create 
quality value-added products and services – irrespective of location or language. 

3. 

A changing environment 

Since  the  launching  of  eContent  in  early  2001,  the  technological  landscape,  the  legislative 
environment and the marketplace have seen significant developments. 

3.1.  Evolving technological landscape 

Internet  access  is  in  the  process  of  being  commoditised.  Lower  costs  of  hardware  for  data 
processing,  transmission  and  storage  have  meant  that  the  more  cost-sensitive  residential 
markets now account for a growing share of the initially professional and enterprise-oriented 
PC  and  Internet  Service  Provider  markets.  Online  public  information  services  for  example 
from  government  agencies  and  health  organisations  are  joining  the  ranks  of  specialised 
enterprise services. 

Now that third generation mobile services are seeing deployment in Europe, mobile services 
based on location–sensitive content are expected to gain impetus. A range of technologies are 
deployed in Europe offering broadband access – the most widespread being digital subscriber 
line (DSL) and cable modem. 

The  developments  which  have  brought  widespread  Internet  access  and  an  abundance  of 
digital  content,  also  set  the  challenges  for  the  future.  Possibly  the  most  important  are  those 
related to sharing, accessing and using digital content. 

Fundamental  to  attaining  the  full  potential  of  distributed  systems  such  as  the  World  Wide 
Web  is  the  ability  to  combine  information  and  functionality  from  different  systems  across 
different organisations, applications or platforms - interoperability. But it does not come for 
free: content must be enriched with metadata8 that is semantically well-defined. 

Content enhancement refers to making content (and service descriptions) understandable and 
processable by machines, by binding it to some formal and meaningful description of itself. 
Relevant  standards,  covering  for  instance  descriptive  terminology,  vocabularies,  ontologies9 
and  the  formats  required  to  make  these  machine-processable,  are  about  to  emerge.  Content 
enhancement  requires  automated  or  semi-automated  tools,  supporting  the  cost-effective 
production and maintenance of metadata and ontologies. Such tools are also about to emerge.  

Metadata  can  cover  many  categories  of  knowledge  or  information,  such  as  background, 
context, content type, format, language, user rights and copyright. Content enhancement can 
thus  contribute  to  interoperability  and  quality  by  providing  solutions  to  issues  such  as 
reusability,  multilinguality,  searchability,  composability,  authentication,  and  digital  rights 
across distributed collections of digital content. 

The  systematic  enhancement  of  content  sources  is  one  of  the  answers  that  technology 
provides to the users’ need for quality content. 

8 
9 

Metadata is information added to a document describing its content, format, language, etc. 
Ontologies  serve  to  make  metadata  'understandable'  by  computers:  they  define  the  way  descriptive 
terms are interrelated and used in a given domain of interest. 

4 

 
 
  
 
                                                 
3.2.  A new legislative context 

Three  pieces  of  Community  legislation  constitute  important  progress  towards  providing  the 
appropriate legal framework for the exploitation of digital content resources:  

The  Public  Sector  Information  Directive10  aims  at  stimulating  cross-border  re-use  of  public 
sector  information  by  establishing  the  same  basic  market  conditions  for  all  players  in  the 
European information market in relation to its reuse. It is expected to stimulate development 
of  Community-wide  information  products  and  services  based  on  public  sector  information 
both by organisations with private interests and by those with public service functions.  

The  Commission  has  taken  an  integrated  approach  to  the  problem  of  public  sector 
information.  The  legislative  action  is  complemented  by  actions  in  the  current  eContent 
programme and awareness raising measures among stakeholders in the Member States via the 
recently established Group to Promote Digital Public Data. One of the first activities of this 
group  has  been  to  encourage  Member  States  inventories  of  asset  lists  with  a  view  to 
establishing European-wide inventories of public sector data.  

Directive 2001/29 of 22 May 2001 on copyright and related rights in the Information Society 
updates  the  legal  framework  of  copyright  and  related  rights  to  meet  the  challenge  of  new 
technology and is the means by which the Community and its Member States will ratify the 
1996 WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) Treaties. It harmonises certain aspects 
of copyright law across the Union and provides for certain public interest exceptions for the 
benefit  of  users  including  consumers,  the  libraries,  educational  establishments,  the  disabled. 
Directive  2001/29  will  facilitate  cross-border  trade  in  goods  and  services  protected  by 
copyright and related rights in particular, electronic products and services. 

Directive  96/9  of  11  March  1996  on  the  legal  protection  of  databases  is  an  earlier  measure 
which  harmonises  the  law  in  relation  to  databases  including  in  particular  electronic  and  on-
line databases. Directive 96/9 is the principal instrument which governs the use that may be 
made of electronic and on-line databases. Databases which are original within the meaning of 
the Directive are accorded copyright protection and other databases in which there has been 
substantial  investment  may  qualify  for  sui  generis  protection.  As  with  Directive  2001/29, 
there are also public interest exceptions for the benefit of certain users. 

3.3  Market developments and barriers 

To date, the Internet has succeeded commercially as a distribution medium where it has been 
able to offer a clear added-value over existing media. The Internet's computing environment 
can  be  utilised  for  aggregating,  customising  and  archiving  content,  for  generating  statistics 
and creating interactive content and services. Business data, corporate e-learning and online 
games  exploit  these  capabilities.  Though  niche  areas  in  themselves,  they  are  relatively 
successful  in  terms  of  generating  direct  revenues.  As  commercial  markets  with  vested 
interests  from  content  and  service  providers,  their  development  should  for  the  most  part  be 
left to market forces.  

However, commercial markets do not necessarily take care of public interests. Furthermore, 
the accumulation of barriers may be a disincentive for companies to invest in certain markets. 

10 

Directive 2003/98/EC of 17 November 2003 

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While media convergence and the global reach of the Internet have turned digital content into 
a  potentially  lucrative  asset,  concerns  over  piracy  and  rights  management  as  well  as 
uncertainty  over  which  business  models  will  succeed  have  acted  as  a  disincentive  to 
investment  in  service  creation.  Most  affected  is  the  entertainment  sector,  where  these 
concerns between content owners, the consumer electronics industry, consumer organisations, 
the software industry and network operators have yet to be resolved. Until these concerns are 
lifted, audiovisual works would not be widely distributed over the Internet11.  

In  the  information  resources  sector,  such  concerns  are  less  marked.  They  are  however 
replaced by a different set of problems, in particular in Europe where the conditions for their 
exploitation  in  Community-wide  services  fall  short  of  being  ideal.  Disparities  in  legislation 
and  in  technical,  administrative  and  cultural  practices  between  Member  States  are 
compounded by the multiplicity of Community languages, all of which have a bearing on the 
accessibility and usability of content resources. Enlargement will pose additional challenges, 
increasing  the  number  of  languages  and  administrative  cultures  to  be  covered  by  content 
services. 

The  problems  in  establishing  Community-wide  products  and  services  affect  not  just  the 
producers  of  these  services,  but  also  negatively  impact  the  users  –  organisations  and 
individual citizens. 

The  availability  of  reliable  services  based  on  information  held  by  public  sector  bodies, 
covering  for  example  administrative  procedures,  company  profiles,  environmental  data  or 
meteorological information are valuable tools for companies operating in the internal market 
as well as for citizens. Legal uncertainty, arising from differences between Member States in 
the  conditions  for  reuse  of  public  sector  information,  has  restricted  its  cross-border 
exploitation  in  products  and  services  by  private  sector  organisations.  Added  to  this,  the 
disparate practices within and between Member States in the gathering, storage, inventorying 
and description of public sector data imposes limitations on its interoperability across borders. 
And interoperability is a prerequisite for the establishment of services.  

Spatial  data,  i.e.,  information  that  combines  geographical  location  with  other  data  and 
information are embedded in up to 80% of all the data held in public sector institutions. It can 
be exploited to support applications in such areas as transportation, community development, 
agriculture, emergency response and environmental management. It is furthermore destined to 
play an important role in mobile communications services. Being derived from, among others, 
remote sensing, mapping, and surveying technologies, spatial data is particularly vulnerable to 
‘technical fragmentation’. Fragmentation holds back the growth prospects in Europe of some 
6000 organisations - both public and private - that deal with spatial information. 

localisation 

translation  and 

technologies  have  progressed, 

As 
the  multilingual  and 
multicultural nature of the European market has become less of an impediment to companies 
who  can  afford  the  technical  solutions  and  have  a  vested  interest  in  reaching  the  broader 
market. Thus the corporate e-learning market is growing (96% per year in Europe according 
to IDC in 2002). It is clear however that a significant fraction of European users are missing 
out  on  developments  -  schoolchildren,  students,  researchers  and  private  citizens  -  because 
they do not constitute a mass-market. For them, access to quality course material produced by 

11 

It  has  been  argued  that  this  is  also  due  to  the  lack  of  widespread  availability  of  broadband  access. 
However the counter argument, that broadband access will not take off without sufficient bandwidth-
hungry applications such as video, might also apply. 

6 

 
 
  
 
                                                 
schools and universities and access to comprehensive digital collections held by research and 
cultural institutions is essential. 

The  barriers  are  not  only  technical  in  nature.  Legislation  in  one  territory  may  allow  for  the 
free use of content for educational purposes but use of that same content, in similar contexts 
in  other  Member  States  may  constitute  copyright  infringement.  There  is  also  a  lack  of 
knowledge and experience concerning the use of digital rights management systems for rights 
clearance; this is most pronounced in the educational sector.  

Community-wide  services  must  also  take  into  account  the  multilingual  and  multicultural 
specificity of European users. The use of localisation technologies which enable cross-border 
aggregation  and  distribution  of  multilingual  digital  content  is  an  added  cost  for  producers. 
There are standards to meet the needs of users in respect of multilinguality covering learning 
objects, indexing and search, metadata and ontologies. Their sheer diversity however serves to 
act as a technical barrier. And sometimes national markets are simply too small. 

So barriers not only persist, they abound.  

The  proposed  Community  intervention  is  therefore  intended  to  create  the  conditions  to 
overcome these barriers by focusing on methods, tools, processes and services related to the 
design, development, access and distribution of high quality digital content, while leaving the 
actual  production  of  digital  content  to  the  market  forces  and,  where  appropriate,  to  other 
specific Community initiatives. 

4. 

eContent: what challenges remain? 

The current proposal constitutes a follow-on from the eContent Programme which runs for a 4 
year period from January 2001. The Communication from the Commission12 to the Council, 
the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee 
of the Regions concerning the mid-term evaluation of the eContent programme has been quite 
positive and has recommended a follow-up programme characterised by a somewhat narrower 
scope  and  tighter  focus  in  order  to  optimise  the  impact.  The  main  recommendations,  which 
were also highlighted in the findings of a number of specific consultations held with relevant 
stakeholders  (namely  those  related  to  definition  of  the eContent  workprogramme  as  well  as 
meetings of the eContent programme management Committee, the Digital Public Data Group 
and other specific meetings organised by Commission Services) are summarised below : 

First,  tackling  the  problem  of  cross  border  information  supply  based  on  the  use  of  public 
sector information is an area where the EU can add substantial value. The attention given to 
the  use  of  metadata  should  be  reinforced.  The  effective  use  of  technology  in  optimising 
economic viability over the longer term is an issue that organisations in this still young market 
will have to confront. 

Second, the problem of localisation of content – dealt with by eContent as a separate issue – 
should  be  embedded  in  all  services  that  claim  a  European  dimension.  Localisation 
technologies  and  the  use  of  appropriate  open  standards,  now  wider  spread  in  commercial 
markets,  should  be  deployed  for  societal  benefit  in  areas  such  as  educational,  cultural  and 
scholarly  content.  However,  although  localisation  technologies  are  of  key  importance,  the 
programme  emphasises  that  in  order  to  design  and  deliver  quality  multilingual  and 

12 

COM(2003) 591, adopted on 10 October 2003. 

7 

 
 
  
 
                                                 
multicultural  content,  these  aspects  need  to  be taken  into  account  from  the  very  start  of  the 
process, keeping in mind the requirements of the different target groups and markets. 

Third, eContent has catalysed the collaboration of a high number of market players to realise 
a  number  of  projects  that  would  not  have  been  realised  otherwise  with  the  same  depth  or 
breadth13. 

The main shortcoming of eContent was to address a too large constituency, thereby lacking 
focus.  Hence,  dropping  some  areas  of  support,  e.g.  bridging  the  financing  gap  for  content 
firms,  and  focussing  on  a  limited  number  of  types  of  content  becomes  a  necessity.  The 
Commission  has  already  started  to  redress  this  problem  when  establishing  the  2003-2004 
workprogramme for eContent. 

What follows aims at creating conditions for broader access to and use of digital content and 
where necessary for greater economic return from new content-based services. The intention 
is to leverage investment in development and to broaden the offering of quality content-based 
services, facilitating the diffusion of knowledge and dissemination of information. 

5. 

The follow-up programme - proposed priorities 

5.1.  Objectives and focus 

In  order  to  address  the  challenges  posed,  it  is  proposed  to  adopt  a  financial  support 
programme  with  the  overall  objective:  to  make  digital  content  in  Europe  more  accessible, 
usable and exploitable, facilitating the creation and diffusion of information and knowledge– 
in areas of public interest – at the Union level. The programme will contribute to the Lisbon 
strategy  and  strengthen  European  competitiveness  in  the  knowledge  economy.  The 
programme focuses on the end-user – be it the citizen in society, the student, the researcher, 
business  user  wishing  to  augment  their  knowledge,  or  the  ‘reuser’  wishing  to  enhance  and 
exploit digital content resources for economic return. It should broaden user choice and help 
stakeholders to reap the benefits that knowledge-enhanced digital content can offer. 

Its  overall  emphasis  is  on  quality  content  that  serves  to  disperse  information  and  diffuse 
knowledge,  and  not  just  more  content.  The  use  of  metadata  to  enhance  the  content  itself  is 
considered as essential element to guarantee interactivity, re-usability and interoperability of 
content.  Knowledge  enhancement  will  facilitate  the  creation  of  dynamic  content,  tailored  to 
specific contexts (learning, culture, etc). 

The  social  context  targets  domains  where  market  forces  are  not  sufficient  to  ensure  that 
citizens  and  user  organisations  in  the  Union  can  benefit  from  content  offerings  made 
accessible by the latest technologies. The aim is to facilitate broader availability of reusable 
and interoperable quality content for service creation. It covers areas of public interest such as 
public sector information, learning content, scientific and scholarly content, and content from 
cultural institutions. 

The  economic  context  aims  to  help  establish  conditions  for  greater  economic  return  from 
content-based services. A special emphasis will be on spatial data addressing interoperability 

13 

eContent partial additionality is relatively high. 42% would also have gone ahead without EU funding, 
but would have undertaken their projects with reduced objectives and finances, with fewer partners and 
over  longer  time-scales.  Almost  20%  of  the  organisations  which  would  have  gone  ahead  with  their 
projects, would have done so without international collaboration. 

8 

 
 
  
 
                                                 
issues  –  a  particularly  acute  problem  because  the  collection  of  spatial  data  is  technology 
dependent  (eg:  via  sensors)  and  done  at  a  regional  level.  This  will  extend  to  location-based 
(mobile) services using spatial data, as well as services based on a combination of spatial data 
with other information. 

5.2. 

Implementation 

The programme envisages three operational goals:  

•  Facilitating access to European Digital Content  

•  Improving quality by facilitating best practice related to digital content 

•  Reinforcing co-operation and awareness between digital content stakeholders  

The  programme  will  finance  projects  designed  to  improve  tools,  processes  and  services 
related to the production, access, use and distribution of digital content. Where digital content 
involves  personal  data,  Directives  95/46/EC  and  2002/58/EC  should  be  adhered  to.  The 
programme  will  facilitate  the  transfer  of  knowledge,  experiences  and  good  practices;  co-
ordination activities; cross-fertilisation between content sectors, content providers and users. 
To this end, the programme encompasses the use of best practice actions normally conducted 
in thematic clusters as well as thematic networks bringing together a variety of stakeholders 
around a given technological and organisational objective. 

The  overriding  principle  of  the  programme  is  to  maximise  the  impact  on  a  group  of  actors 
beyond the participants of the programme. A tighter focus in terms of participants as well as 
objectives should help achieve this.  

The  financial  envelope  for  the  implementation  of  the  programme  is  proposed  to  be 
EUR 163 million covering a period of 4 years (2005-2008). 

Specifically,  the  activities  of  the  programme  will  support  the  emergence  of  pan-European 
frameworks (services, information infrastructures, etc.) facilitating discovery of and access to 
digital content in Europe, the creation of new content—based services and their organisational 
underpinnings.  A  series  of  experiments  will  showcase  how  semantically  well-defined 
metadata  can  improve  usability  and  reusability,  searchability  and  interoperability  of  digital 
content  in  multilingual  and  multicultural  environments.  Where  digital  content  involves 
personal  data,  the  technologies  used  should  be  privacy-compliant  and,  where  possible, 
privacy-enhancing. Target areas will be public sector information, spatial data, learning and 
cultural content. 

Fostering  the  organisational  frameworks  to  ease  access  to  digital  resources  and  showcasing 
the  best  use  of  technologies  for  their  exploitation  will  lower  the  perceived  risk  for 
organisations  and  thus  create  a  better  environment  for  investment  and  innovation  in  digital 
content.  

New  generations  of  technologies  are  designed  to  deliver  greater  functionality,  greater 
economy  or  both  to  those  who  use  them.  Effective  use  of  the  latest  technologies  in  their 
products  and  service  offerings  can  give  companies  a  decisive  competitive  edge  over  those 
who rely on older generations, particularly in today’s global economy.  

9 

 
 
  
 
5.3.  Links with other Community programmes 

There  are  links  with  Community  Research  and  Technological  Development  (RTD) 
programmes, notably in the field of semantic knowledge technologies, technology-enhanced 
learning  and  access  to  cultural  heritage,  as  well  as  links  to  a  number  of  non-research 
programmes. The latter include the Interchange of Data between Administrations Programme 
(IDA),  encouraging  interoperability  in  terms  of  the  content  of  the  information  which  is 
exchanged  within  and  across  administrative  sectors  and  with  the  private  sector.  To  achieve 
these aims several initiatives have been carried out in the areas of the metadata and content 
interoperability,  including  a  Commission  staff  working  paper  on  interoperability14,  and  the 
development of the European Interoperability Framework.  

Other relevant non-research programmes include certain Community programmes for culture 
and  education  (MEDIA,  Socrates-Minerva  and  Leonardo  da  Vinci  programmes  and  the 
proposed  eLearning  programme)  as  well  as  other  initiatives  for  the  development  of 
interoperable metadata standards.  

The  proposed  activities  build,  partly,  upon  results  achieved  in  RTD  programmes,  and  will 
take into account actions launched under other programmes and initiatives, such as those on 
quality in e-learning, to avoid duplication and maximising impact. They complement, in parts, 
activities  in  IDA.  IDA  is  addressing  interoperability  of  government  services  whilst 
eContentplus draws on public sector information in order to enable commercial reuse. 

6. 

Conclusion 

The stage has now been set in Europe to exploit vigorously the untapped potential of digital 
content. 

It  is  these  elements  combined  –  making  the  best  use  of  technology  in  providing  access  to 
information  and  knowledge  for  all,  and  generating  better  conditions  for  European-wide 
investment  by  companies  –  that  will  assure  Europe  a  place  at  the  head  of  the  knowledge 
economy.

14 

Commission  staff  working  paper  ‘Linking-up  Europe:  the  importance  of  interoperability’,  Brussels 
3.7.2003 SEC (2003) 801. 

10 

 
 
  
 
                                                 
2004/0025 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

establishing a multiannual Community programme to make digital content in Europe 
more accessible, usable and exploitable  

(Text with EEA relevance) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular 
Article 157(3) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission15, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee16, 

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions17, 

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty18, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

The  evolution  of  the  Information  Society  and  the  emergence  of  broadband  will 
influence  the  life  of  every  citizen  in  the  European  Union  by,  inter  alia,  stimulating 
access  to  knowledge  and  new  ways  of  acquiring  knowledge  thus  increasing  the 
demand for new content, applications and services. 

Internet penetration in the Community is still growing considerably. The opportunities 
offered by the Internet should be exploited to bring every individual and organisation 
in  the  Community  the  social  and  economic  benefits  of  sharing  information  and 
knowledge. The stage has now been set in Europe to exploit the untapped potential of 
digital content. 

The  conclusions  of  the  European  Council  held  in  Lisbon  on  23  and  24  March  2000 
stressed that the shift to a digital, knowledge-based economy, prompted by new goods 
and services, will be a powerful engine for growth, competitiveness and jobs. On that 
occasion  the  role  of  the  content  industries  in  creating  added  value  by  exploiting  and 
networking European cultural diversity was specifically recognised. 

15 
16 
17 
18 

OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 

11 

 
 
  
 
 
                                                 
(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

The eEurope 2005 Action Plan19, developing the Lisbon strategy, calls for actions to 
stimulate  the emergence of  secure  services, applications and content over broadband 
network and thus to stimulate a favourable environment for private investment, for the 
creation of new jobs, to boost productivity, to modernise public services, and to give 
everyone the opportunity to participate in the global information society. 

The  demand  for  quality  digital  content  in  Europe,  with  balanced  access  and  user 
rights,  by  a  broad  community,  be  they  citizens  in  society,  students,  researchers, 
business  users  wishing  to  augment  their  knowledge,  or  ‘reusers’  wishing  to  exploit 
digital content resources to create services, is increasingly apparent. 

The  eContent  Programme20  (2001-2004)  favoured  the  development  and  use  of 
European digital content on the Internet and the linguistic diversity of European web-
sites  in  the  Information  Society.  The  Communication  of  the  Commission21 
concerning the mid term evaluation the eContent programme reaffirms the importance 
to act in this field. 

Technological  advances  offer  the  potential  to  add  value  to  content  in  the  form  of 
embedded  knowledge  and  to  improve  interoperability  at  the  service  level,  which  is 
fundamental  to  access  and  use  and  distribute  digital  content.  This  is  particularly 
relevant for areas of public interest such as learning and culture and more generally for 
public sector information.  

A legislative framework is being defined to deal with the challenges of digital content 
in the Information Society22 23 24. 

Different  practices  among  Member  States  continue  to  pose  technical  obstacles 
impeding wide access, use, reuse and exploitation of public sector information in the 
Community. 

(10)  Where the digital content involves personal data, Directives 95/46/EC and 2002/58/EC 
should be respected and the technologies used should be privacy-compliant and, where 
possible, privacy–enhancing.  

(11)  Community actions undertaken concerning the content of information should promote 

the Community's multilingual and multicultural specificity. 

(12)  The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision should be adopted in 
accordance  with  Council  Decision  1999/468/EC  of  28  June  1999  laying  down  the 
procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission 25. 

19 
20 
21 
22 

23 

24 
25 

COM(2002) 263. 
OJ L 14, 18.1.2001, p. 32. 
COM(2003) 591. 
COM(2002)  207,  proposal  for  a  Directive  on  the  re-use  of  public  sector  information  adopted  by  the 
Commission on 5 June 2002. 
Directive  2001/29/EC  EC  on  copyright  and  related  rights  in  the  Information  Society,  adopted  on  22 
June 2001. 
Directive 96/9 of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases. 
OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. 

12 

 
 
  
 
                                                 
(13)  Complementarity  and  synergy  with  related  Community  initiatives  and  programmes 
should  be  ensured  by  the  Commission,  in  particular  those  related  to  education  and 
culture and to the European Interoperability Framework.  

(14)  This  act  establishes  a  financial  framework  for  the  entire  duration  of  the  programme 
which is to be the principal point of reference for the budgetary authority, within the 
meaning  of  point  33  of  the  Interinstitutional  Agreement  of  6  May  1999  between  the 
European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission  on  budgetary  discipline  and 
improvement of the budgetary procedure. 

(15)  Since  the  objectives  of  the  proposed  actions  cannot  be  sufficiently  achieved  by  the 
Member States  due  to  the  transnational  character  of  the  issues  at  stake  and  can, 
therefore,  by  reason  of  the  European  scope  and  effects  of  the  actions  be  better 
achieved  at  Community  level,  the  Community  may  adopt  measures,  in  accordance 
with  the  principle  of  subsidiarity  as  set  out  in  Article 5  of  the  Treaty.  In  accordance 
with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Decision does not 
go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives. 

HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

Article 1 

[Objective of the Programme] 

1. 
This  Decision  establishes  a  Community  programme  to  make  digital  content  in  the 
Community more accessible, usable and exploitable, facilitating the creation and diffusion of 
information and knowledge – in areas of public interest – at Community level.  

The  programme  shall  be  known  as  the  “eContentplus”  programme  (hereinafter  “the 
Programme”) 

In  order  to  attain  the  overall  aim  of  the  Programme  referred  to  in  paragraph  1,  the 

2. 
following lines of action shall be addressed: 

–  facilitating access to, and use and exploitation of digital content 

–  improving quality and facilitating best practice related to digital content 

–  reinforcing co-operation and awareness 

The  activities  to  be  carried  out  under  those  lines  of  action  are  set  out  in  Annex  I.  The 
Programme shall be implemented in accordance with Annex II. 

Article 2 

[Participation] 

1. 
Participation  in  the  Programme  shall  be  open  to  legal  entities  established  in  the 
Member States. It shall also be open to participation of candidate countries in accordance with 
bilateral agreements to be concluded with those countries. 

13 

 
 
  
 
2. 
Participation in the Programme may be opened to legal entities established in EFTA 
States which are contracting parties to the EEA Agreement, in accordance with the provision 
of that Agreement.  

Participation  in  the  Programme  may  be  opened,  without  financial  support  by  the 
3. 
Community, to legal entities established in third countries and to international organisations, 
where such participation contributes effectively to the implementation of the Programme. The 
decision  to  allow  such  participation  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  procedure 
referred to in Article 4(2). 

Article 3 

[Competences of the Commission] 

1. 

2. 

The Commission shall be responsible for the implementation of the Programme. 

The Commission shall draw up a work programme on the basis of this Decision. 

The Commission shall act in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 4(2) 

3. 
for the purposes of the following: 

(a) 

adoption and modifications of the work programme; 

(b) 

determination of the criteria and content of calls for the proposals, in line with 
the objectives set out in Article 1; 

(c) 

any departure from the rules set out in Annex II; 

The Commission shall inform the committee of progress with the implementation of 

4. 
the Programme. 

Article 4 

[Committee] 

1. 

The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. 

Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 3 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC 
2. 
shall  apply,  having  regard  to  Article  8  thereof.  The  period  laid  down  in  Article 4(3)  of  the 
Decision 1999/468/EC shall be three months. 

3. 

The Committee shall set its rules of procedure. 

Article 5 

[Monitoring and Evaluation] 

1. 
In order to ensure that Community aid is used efficiently, the Commission shall ensure 
that  actions  under  this  Decision  are  subject  to  prior  appraisal,  follow-up  and  subsequent 
evaluation. 

14 

 
 
  
 
2. 
The Commission shall monitor the implementation of projects under the Programme. 
On  completion  of  a  project,  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. 

3. 
The Commission shall submit an evaluation report on the implementation of the lines 
of action referred to Article 1(2) to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and 
Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  by  January  2007  at  the  latest.  The 
Commission shall submit a final evaluation report at the end of the Programme. 

Article 6 

[Financial provisions] 

1. 

The Programme shall cover a period of four years from the 1st of January 2005.  

2. 
The  financial  reference  amount  for  the  implementation  of  the  Programme  for  the 
period referred  in paragraph  1 shall be  EUR  163  million.  The  annual  appropriation  shall  be 
authorised  by  the  budgetary  authority  within  the  limits  of  the  financial  perspective.  An 
indicative breakdown of expenditure is given in Annex III. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

15 

 
 
  
 
 
 
ANNEX I 

ACTIONS 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

eContentplus  has  the  overall  aim  to  make  digital  content  in  Europe  more  accessible,  usable 
and  exploitable,  facilitating  the  creation  and  diffusion  of  information  and  knowledge  –  in 
areas of public interest – at the Union level. 

It  will  create  better  conditions  for  accessing  and  managing  digital  content  and  services  in 
multilingual  and  multicultural  environments.  It  will  broaden  users’  choice  and  support  new 
ways  of  interacting  with  knowledge-enhanced  digital  content,  a  feature  which  is  becoming 
essential to make content more dynamic and tailored to specific contexts (learning, cultural, 
etc.). 

The  programme  will  pave  the  way  for  a  structured  framework  for  quality  digital  content  in 
Europe  –  The  European  Digital  Content  Area  –  by  facilitating  transfer  of  experiences,  best 
practice and cross-fertilisation between content sectors, content providers and users. 

Three sets of measures are foreseen:  

•  Facilitating access to, use and exploitation of digital content 

• 

Improving quality and facilitating best practice for digital content  

•  Reinforcing co-operation and awareness. 

2. 

LINES OF ACTION 

2.1. 

Facilitating access to, use and exploitation of digital content  

The activities  encompass  the  establishment of networks and alliances between stakeholders, 
encouraging the creation of new services.  

Target areas are public sector information, spatial data, learning and cultural content. 

Focus will be on: 

–  supporting  a  wider  recognition  of  the  importance  of  public  sector  information  (PSI),  its 
commercial  value  and  associated  societal  implications  of  its  use.  Activities  shall  improve 
effective  cross-border  use  and  exploitation  of  PSI  between  public  sector  organisations  and 
private companies for added-value information products and services. 

–  encouraging  a  wider  use  of  spatial  data  by  public  sector  bodies,  private  companies  and 
citizens  through  co-operation  mechanisms  at  European  level.  Activities  should  tackle  both 
technical and organisational issues, avoiding duplications and underdeveloped territorial data 
sets.  They  should  promote  cross-border  interoperability,  supporting  co-ordination  between 
mapping agencies and fostering the emergence of new services at European level for mobile 
users. They should also support the use of open standards. 

16 

 
 
  
 
 
– 
fostering  the  proliferation  of  open  European  knowledge  pools  of  digital  objects,  for 
education and research communities, as well as the individual. The activities will support the 
creation  of  trans-European  brokering  services  for  digital  learning  content,  with  associated 
business  models.  The  activities  should  also  encourage  the  use  of  open  standards,  and  the 
creation  of  large  user  groups  analysing  and  testing  pre-standardisation  and  specifications 
schemas  with  a  view  to  convey  European  multilingual  and  multicultural  aspects  into  the 
process of definition of global standards for digital learning content.  

–  promoting the emergence of trans-European information infrastructures for accessing and 
using  high  quality  European  digital  cultural  and  scientific  resources  through  the  linking  of 
virtual  libraries,  community  memories,  etc.  Activities  should  encompass  co-ordinated 
approaches to digitisation and collection building, preservation of digital objects, inventories 
of cultural and scientific digital resources. They should improve access to digital cultural and 
scientific  assets  through  effective  licensing  schemas  and  collective  pre-emptive  clearing  of 
rights. 

2.2. 

Improving quality and facilitating best practice related to digital content 

The  activities  intend  to  facilitate  the  identification  and  wide  diffusion  of  best  practice  in 
methods,  processes  and  operations  to  achieve  higher  quality,  greater  efficiency  and 
effectiveness on the creation, use and distribution of digital content. 

They  encompass  experiments 
that  demonstrate  searchability,  usability,  re-usability, 
composability  and  interoperability  of  digital  content  within  the  context  of  the  existing  legal 
framework  while  meeting  from  the  early  stage  of  the  process  the  requirements  of  different 
target groups and markets in an increasingly multilingual and multicultural environment, and 
to this end extending beyond mere localisation technologies.  

They shall exploit the benefits of enhancing digital content with machine-understandable data 
(semantically well defined metadata based on relevant descriptive terminology, vocabularies 
and ontologies).  

The  experiments  shall  be  conducted  in  thematic  clusters.  The  gathering,  dissemination  and 
cross-sector fertilisations of gained knowledge shall be integral part of the experiments.  

Target  application  areas  are  public  sector  information,  spatial  data,  digital  learning  and 
cultural content, as well as scientific and scholarly digital content. 

2.3. 

Reinforcing co-operation and awareness 

The activities include measures accompanying relevant legislation relating to digital content, 
and  supporting  collaboration  between  public  sector  actors,  as  well  as  awareness  building 
among  stakeholders  and  vis-à-vis  potential  users  (including  consumer  organisations)  of 
existing  and  upcoming  products  and  services.  They  will  support  the  development  of 
benchmarking,  monitoring  and  analysis  tools,  the  impact  assessment  of  the  programme  as 
well  as  the  dissemination  of  results.  They  will  identify  and  analyse  emerging  opportunities 
and problems (e.g. trust, quality marking, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in education), and 
propose, as appropriate, solutions. 

17 

 
 
  
 
ANNEX II 

THE MEANS FOR IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAMME 

(1) 

The  Commission  will  implement  the  programme  in  accordance  with  the  technical 
content specified in Annex I. 

(2) 

The programme will be executed through indirect action comprising:  

(a) 

shared-cost actions 

– 

– 

– 

Projects  designed  to  augment  knowledge  to  improve  existing  products, 
processes  and/or  services  and/or  to  meet  the  needs  of  Community 
policies.  The  Community  funding  will  normally  not  exceed  50  %  of  the 
cost of the project. Public sector bodies may be reimbursed on the basis of 
100 % of additional costs 

Best  practice  actions  to  spread  knowledge.  They  will  normally  be 
conducted  in  thematic  clusters  and  linked  through  thematic  networks 
The Community contribution for the measures set out under this indent 
will  be  limited  to  direct  costs  deemed  necessary  or  appropriate  for 
achieving the specific objectives of the action.  

Thematic networks: networks bringing together a variety of stakeholders 
around  a  given  technological  and  organisational  objective,  so  as  to 
facilitate  co-ordination  activities  and  transfer  of  knowledge.  They  may 
be  linked  to  best  practice  actions.  Support  will  be  granted  towards  the 
additional eligible costs of co-ordinating and implementing the network. 
The Community participation may cover the additional eligible costs of 
these measures.  

(b) 

accompanying measures 

– 

Accompanying  measures  will  contribute  to  the  implementation  of  the 
programme  or  the  preparation  of  future  activities.  Measures  devoted  to 
the  commercialisation  of  products,  process  or  services,  marketing 
activities and sales promotion are excluded.  

•  studies  in  support  of  the  programme,  including  the  preparation  of 

future activities;  

•  exchange of information, conferences, seminars, workshops or other 

meetings and the management of clustered activities;  

•  dissemination, information and communication activities; 

(3) 

The selection of shared-cost actions will be based on calls for proposals published on 
the Commission's Internet site in accordance with the financial provisions in force. 

18 

 
 
  
 
(4) 

Applications  for  Community  support  should  provide,  where  appropriate,  a  financial 
plan listing all the components of the funding of the projects, including the financial 
support requested from the Community, and any other requests for or grants of support 
from other sources. 

(5) 

Accompanying measures will be implemented through calls for tenders in accordance 
with the financial provisions in force. 

19 

 
 
  
 
ANNEX III 

INDICATIVE BREAKDOWN OF EXPENDITURE 

1) 

Facilitating access to, and use and exploitation of digital content 

35 – 45 % 

2) 

Improving quality and facilitating best practice related to digital 
content  

50 – 60 % 

3) 

Reinforcing co-operation and awareness 

6 – 10 %  

20 

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 

Policy area(s): INFSO 09 

Activity(ies): Activity 03 eEurope 

Title of action: Multiannual Community programme to make digital content in Europe 
more accessible, usable and exploitable (eContentplus) (2005 – 2008) 

1. 

BUDGET LINE(S) + HEADING(S) 

Budget line(s): 09 03 02 and 09 01 04 02 

2. 

OVERALL FIGURES  

2.1. 

Total allocation for action: € million for commitment 

€ 163 million 

2.2. 

Period of application:  

From January 1st, 2005 to December 31st, 2008 

2.3. 

Overall multiannual estimate on expenditure: 

a) 

Schedule  of  commitment  appropriations/payment  appropriations 
intervention) 

(financial 

09 03 02 

€ million (to 3rd decimal place) 

2005 

2006 

2007 

2008 

Total 

26.600

27.500

44.500

61.400 

160.000

9.000
13.000
4.600

-
8.000
16.000
3.500

-
-
16.000
22.500
6.000

- 
- 
- 
22.600 
38.800 

9.000
21.000
36.600
48.600
44.800

Commitment 
appropriations 

Payment 
appropriations26 

2005 
2006 
2007 
2008 
2009 and subs. Yrs 

Total 

26.600

27.500

44.500

61.400 

160.000

26 

The amounts relating to the execution of the eContent programme (2001 – 2005) need to be added for 
2005, 2006, 2007 to payment credits. 

21 

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
b) 

Technical and administrative assistance and support expenditure (see point 6.1.2.) 

09 01 04 02 

€ million (to 3rd decimal place) 

2005 

2006 

2007 

2008 

Total 

0.900

0.600

0.800

0.700 

3.000

Commitment 
appropriations 

Payment 
appropriations 

2005 
2006 
2007 
2008 
2009 and subs. Yrs 

0.400
0.500

-
0.300
0.300

-
-
0.475
0.325

- 
- 
- 
0.450 
0.250 

0.700 

0.400
0.800
0.775
0.775
0.250

3.000

Total 

0.900

0.600

0.800

09 03 02 + 09 01 04 02- € million (to 3rd decimal place) 

2005 
27.500 

2006 
28.100 

2007 
45.300 

2008 
62.100 

Total 

163.000 

Subtotal a+b 

Commitment 
appropriations 

Payment 
appropriations 

2005 
2006 
2007 
2008 
2009 and subs. Yrs 

9.400
13.500
4.600

-
8.300
16.300
3.500

-
-
16.475
22.825
6.000

- 
- 
- 
23.050 
39.050 

9.400
21.800
37.375
49.375
45.050

Total 

27.500

28.100

45.300

62.100 

163.000

c) 

Overall  financial  impact  of  human  resources  and  other  administrative  expenditure 
(see points 7.2. and 7.3.) 

€ million (to 3rd decimal place) 

Commitments/ 
payments 

2005 
1.982 

2006 
1.982 

2007 
1.982 

2008 
1.982 

Total 
7.928 

22 

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TOTAL a+b+c 

Commitments 

2005 

2006 

2007 

2008 

2009 and 
subs. Yrs 

Total 

29.482  

30.082 

47.282  

64.082  

170.928 

Payments 

11.382 

23.782 

39.357 

51.357 

45.050 

170.928 

2.4. 

Compatibility with the financial programming and the financial perspective 

X 

(cid:133) 

(cid:133) 

Proposal compatible with the existing financial programming 

This  proposal  will  entail  reprogramming  of  the  relevant  heading  in  the 
financial perspective. 

This  may  entail  application  of  the  provisions  of  the  Interinstitutional 
Agreement. 

The  current  financial  programming,  extrapolated  on  the  basis  of  the  eContent  programme, 
foresees 27.6 M€ for 2005 and 28.5 M€ for 2006.  

The  proposed  programme  encompasses,  only  in  part,  a  continuation  of  the  predecessor 
programme  (public  sector  information).  New  emphasis  is  being  put  here  on  the  use  of 
geographical  information  for  cross-border  (e.g.  mobile)  services.  Certain  activities  were 
dropped  (actions  related  directly  to  the  market)  or  are  continued  with  a  changed  approach 
(actions  to  foster  specifically  multilingual  content).  New  emphasis  is  being  put  on 
multilingual  aspects  of  cultural  and  educational  content,  as  well  as  scientific  and  scholarly 
content. 

The  changes  have  been  introduced  to  respond  to  political  priorities  (as  described  in  the 
context  of  eEurope)  and  technological  advances.  The  programme,  in  fact,  reflects  that  the 
rollout  of  broadband  infrastructures  and  3G  mobile  networks  critically  depends  on  the 
availability of suited content.  

As compared to the predecessor programme and further to a smaller number of demonstration 
projects in highly focussed areas, an adapted approach is proposed, namely thematic networks 
of best-practice experiments which would allow to better integrate resources and knowledge 
(less projects, increased multiplier effect) and thus to maximise the impact of the programme. 

–  Under  the  Lines  of  Action  “Facilitating  access  to,  use  and  exploitation  of  digital 
content”,  continuity  is  being  assured  as  regards  to  Public  Sector  Information.  However,  a 
number of additional actions are deemed necessary to target certain aspects of the production, 
distribution  and  use  of  digital  content  for  education  and  culture,  not  covered  with  other 
Community actions, including the predecessor eContent programme.  

–  A new set of actions has been introduced  under  the Lines  of Action “Improving quality 
and facilitating best practice for digital content “. These actions, based on experimentations, 
will  support  the  enhancement  of  digital  content  propagating  the  use  of  knowledge 
technologies in relation to its creation, use and distribution. The Lines of Action are focused 
on specific target groups, and include notably educational and cultural content.  

23 

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
These  activities  and  related  constituencies  will  be  built  up  incrementally  and  will  reach  full 
scope in 2007 and 2008. 

The above implies that the financial programming reflects:  

1) continuity from current activities with incremental build up of constituencies. 

2)  new  actions  be  introduced  gradually  to  generate  critical  mass  at  early  stages,  with  large 
scale roll out from 2007 and 2008. 

3) past experiences on similar programmes, displaying that the participation of new Member 
States  intensifies  over  time,  reaching  full  participation  in  later  phases  of  the  programme. 
Therefore  an  extended  approach  to  constituency  building  is  needed,  particularly  in  a 
programme  dealing  with  content  where  the  new  languages  and  cultures  will  play  a  visible 
role. 

For  the  above  reasons,  the  design  of  the  budget  appropriations  takes  a  graduated  approach 
towards its full scope from 2007 onwards. The increase in 2006/2007 is, however, mitigated 
by the fact that the first Call will be launched late Spring 2005 covering 2005 and large part of 
2006 budget. 

2.5. 

Financial impact on revenue: 

X  No financial implications (involves technical aspects regarding implementation 

of a measure) 

3. 

BUDGET CHARACTERISTICS 

Type of expenditure 

New 

EFTA 
participation

Participation 
candidate 
countries 

Heading 
Financial 
Perspective 

NON-
COMP 

DIFF 

NO 

YES 

YES 

N 3 

4. 

LEGAL BASIS  

Article 157(3) of the Treaty establishing the European Community 

Decision no …/…./EC of the European Parliament and the Council, concerning the 
adoption  of  a  multiannual  community  programme  (2005  –  2008)  to  make  digital 
content in Europe more accessible, usable and exploitable (eContentplus). 

24 

 
 
  
 
5. 

DESCRIPTION AND GROUNDS 

5.1. 

Need for Community intervention 

5.1.1.  Objectives pursued and community intervention 

The overall objective of the proposed programme is to make digital content in Europe more 
accessible, usable and exploitable, facilitating the creation and diffusion of information and 
knowledge– in areas of public interest– at the Union level. 

The eContentplus proposal envisages three specific objectives:  

–  Facilitating access to European Digital Content; 

–  Improving quality by facilitating best practice related to digital content; 

–  Reinforcing co-operation and awareness. 

5.1.2.  Measures taken in connection with ex ante evaluation 

The  ex-ante  evaluation  covers  a  wide  range  of  actions  which  took  place  over  the  last  few 
years. 

The  proposal  builds  on  the  Communication  from  the  Commission27  to  the  Council,  the 
European  Parliament,  the  European  Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of 
the Regions concerning the mid term evaluation of the eContent programme and on the results 
of other specific consultations from which it emerges clearly that the theme is considered to 
be highly relevant to a number of economic and social actors, and that barriers that still exist 
in a number of areas make public intervention at Community level desirable.  

The  drafting  of  this  proposal  has  taken  into  account  discussions  involving  Commission 
services  responsible  for  relevant  actions,  such  as  Internal  Market,  Education  and  Culture, 
Enterprise and Eurostat.  

A  wide  and  effective  take-up  of  digital  content  is  seen  as  an  important  contribution  for  the 
achievement  of  the  objectives  of  eEurope;  the  rollout  of  high-speed,  always-on,  broadband 
connections  are  beginning  to  drive  the  demand  for  online  digital  content.  The  successful 
rollout of broadband Internet access however depends critically on the availability of suitable 
digital content. The speed of uptake of advanced services for mobile users (3G and beyond) is 
similarly dependent on the availability and accessibility of a large variety of digital content.  

It  has  also  taken  account  of  recent  and  ongoing  developments  in  knowledge  and  content 
technologies, which open up opportunities to improve the accessibility of digital content and 
to greatly simplify its aggregation and reuse in products and services.  

In parallel with these developments, new legislation has been enacted in the Union, including 
the Public Sector Information (PSI) Directive28 and the Copyright Directive29 currently being 
transposed , both of which aim to facilitate an internal market for digital content products and 
services. 

27 
28 
29 

COM(2003) 591 final, adopted by the Commission on 10 October 2003. 
Directive 2003/98/EC of 17 November 2003 
2001/29/EC, adopted on 22 June 2001. 

25 

 
 
  
 
                                                 
These trends are expected to deliver benefits through digital content-based applications, in the 
form of increased productivity and innovation, and better information products and services 
with  a  positive  impact  on  eGovernment,  eHealth,  eBusiness  and  eLearning  related  content, 
applications and services as promoted by eEurope 2005. These benefits are not just economic, 
but will spill over to society as well 

eContentplus identifies areas of public interest in Europe where market forces fail to support 
adequate investment and aims at creating conditions for broader access to and use of digital 
content and where necessary for greater economic return from services based on access and 
(re)use of digital content.  

A  fact  that  increases  the  relevance  of  the  programme  is  that  there  are  only  a  few  national 
programmes  directly  comparable  to  eContentplus  in  terms  of  scope  and  remit.  In  most 
countries, digital content is part of a larger ICT strategy but not the subject of a specific policy 
or programme. The proposed actions will be therefore complementary to, and in support of, 
actions being undertaken at national and regional level. 

Two operational conclusions followed from all of the above:  

–  there is a consensus as to the added value of the European dimension to make available, 
broadly accessible and usable quality content-based services that facilitate the diffusion of 
information  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  –  in  society  and  business,  in  education  and 
research  –  at  the  Union  level.  there  is  a  consensus  as  to  the  opportunity  for  a  follow-on 
enhanced  Community  programme  giving  due  attention  to  the  achievements  of  the 
eContent  programme  and  to  the  evolution  of  technologies,  markets  and  the  legislative 
environment,  and  further  changes  in  course  which  are  likely  to  occur,  while  bringing  a 
number of qualifying elements that increase focus, concentrate the action without reducing 
the  relevance  to  the  target  population.On  the  basis  of  the  above  and  also  taking  into 
account the lessons drawn from other Community programmes, an ex-ante evaluation report 
based on the Guide on ex-ante evaluation (published by DG Budget in December 2001) was 
drawn up by the Commission's services.  

The content of this report has been fully integrated into the explanatory memorandum as well 
as into the financial statement. 

5.1.3.  Measures taken following ex post evaluation 

The lessons from the past can be looked at from two different angles:  

(a) 

lessons applicable to the design of the programme;  

(b) 

lessons applicable to the administration of the programme. 

Three main issues result from the mid-term evaluation of the eContent programme30: 

(1) 

(2) 

The programme intervention logic is well designed and the target areas are appropriate 
for Community intervention. 

The programme should focus  its  action and targets  in  order  to  maximise  leverage  of 
Community funds. 

30 

COM(2003) 591. 

26 

 
 
  
 
                                                 
(3) 

The  issue  of  multilingualism  and  localisation  should  be  a  built-in  feature  of  projects 
and not subject to a specific action line. 

The intervention logic of eContent is kept but adapted to the evolution of the legal framework, 
the  advances  in  technology  and  the  changed  market  situation.  Multilingualism  and  content 
localisation have become transversal themes to be applied to all projects/measures supported. 

The  overriding  principle  is  to  maximise  the  impact  on  a  group  of  actors  beyond  the 
participants of the programme. A tighter focus in terms of participants as well as objectives 
should help achieve this. This would also seem justified as the digital content industry is more 
mature than it was when the original eContent programme was conceived. 

5.2. 

Actions envisaged and arrangements for budget intervention 

The actions foreseen are three: 

(1) 

Facilitating access to, use and exploitation of digital content; 

(2) 

Improving quality and facilitating best practice for digital content; 

(3) 

Reinforcing co-operation and awareness. 

These actions cover well defined target areas. The programme focuses on quality content that 
serves to disperse information and diffuse knowledge, rather than just increasing the amount 
of  content  available.  Quality  of  content  is  increased  based  on  the  concept  of  content 
enhancement,  whereby  content  is  bound  to  some  formal  and  meaningful  description  of 
itself31.  Content  enhancement  requires  automated  or  semi-automated  tools,  supporting  the 
cost-effective  production  and  maintenance  of  metadata  and  ontologies.  Such  tools  are  also 
about to emerge as a result of the Community research programmes32. 

The  programme  will  finance  projects  designed  to  improve  methods,  tools,  processes  and 
services related to the design, development, access and distribution of digital content. It will 
facilitate the transfer of knowledge, experiences and good practices; co-ordination activities; 
cross-fertilisation  between  content  sectors,  content  providers  and  users.  To  this  end,  the 
programme  encompasses  the  use  of  best  practice  actions  normally  conducted  in  thematic 
clusters  as  well  as  thematic  networks  bringing  together  a  variety  of  stakeholders  around  a 
given technological and organisational objective. 

31 

32 

Metadata  (data  about  data)  can  cover  many  categories  of  knowledge  or  information,  such  as 
background,  context,  content  type,  format,  language,  user  rights  and  copyright;  content  enhancement 
can  contribute  to  tackling  issues  such  as  searchability,  composability,  reusability,  authentication, 
multilinguality, data protection and digital rights across distributed collections of content. 
Reference to FP V and FP VI to be inserted. 

27 

 
 
  
 
                                                 
5.3.  Methods of implementation 

The  delivery  mechanisms  foreseen  in  the  proposal  follow  broadly  the  usual  Community 
approach to grants and co-funding on the basis of a detailed financial request. There will also 
be parts that are fully financed by the Community, such as the accompanying measures that 
will contribute to the implementation of the programme or the preparation of future activities.  

The  programme  will  be  managed  at  central  level  by  the  Commission.  The  appropriation  is 
intended to cover expenditure for studies, meetings of experts, information, conferences and 
publications directly linked to the objective of the programme, plus any other expenditure on 
technical and administrative assistance not involving public authority tasks. 

28 

 
 
  
 
6. 

FINANCIAL IMPACT  

6.1. 

Total financial impact - (over the entire programming period) 

6.1.1.  Financial intervention (Commitment appropriations) 

Breakdown 
Facilitating access to, use 
and exploitation of digital 
content 
Improving quality and 
facilitating best practice 
for digital content 
Reinforcing co-operation 
and awareness 
TOTAL 

2005 

Commitments in € million (to the 3rd decimal place) 
2006 

Total 

2008 

2007 

14.000 

11.000 

17.000 

21.000 

63.000 

10.800 

14.500 

24.000 

36.200 

85.500 

1.800 

2.000 

3.500 

4.200 

11.500 

26.600 

27.500 

44.500 

61.400 

160.000 

The split between the three actions is indicative and is done according to the middle value of 
the split indicated in the Annex III of the draft Council Decision. 

6.1.2 

Technical  and  administrative  assistance,  support  expenditure  and  IT  expenditure 
(Commitment appropriations) 

2005 

Commitments in € million (to the 3rd decimal place) 
2006 

Total 

2008 

2007 

Technical and 
administrative assistance 
(web site, editorial services, 
projects evaluation, etc.) 
Information, publications, 
communication 
TOTAL 

0.750 

0.475 

0.675 

0.600 

2.500 

0.150 

0.900 

0.125 

0.600 

0.125 

0.800 

0.100 

0.700 

0.500 

3.000 

Expenses for meetings are charged on 09 01 02.  

29 

 
 
  
 
 
6.2. Calculation of costs by measure envisaged (over the entire programming period)  

Breakdown  

Type  
of outputs 
(projects. Files) 

Commitments in € million (to the 3rd decimal place) 

Number of 
outputs over 4 
years 

Average unit 
cost 

Total 
cost 
(total for 
4 years) 

Facilitating access to. 
and use and 
exploitation of digital 
content 

Public sector information 
Geographic information 
European knowledge pools 
Access to cultural and scientific 
resources 

Total 

Improving quality and 
facilitating best 
practice for digital 
content 

Best practice 
Thematic networks 
Projects 

6  2.000 
5  3.100 
5  4.100 
5  3.000 

21 

4  8.000 
5  5.300 
9  3.000 

Reinforcing co-
operation and 
awareness 

TOTAL COST 

Total 

18 

Accompanying measures 
Exchange of information. studies 
Conferences. Workshops 
Programme evaluation 

8  0.800 
8  0.500 
2  0.300 
2  0.250 

Total 

20 

* Annual average outputs 

12.000 
15.500 
20.500 
15.000 

63.000 
32.000 
26.500 
27.000 

85.500 
6.400 
4.000 
0.600 
0.500 
11.500 
160.000 

Annual target outputs have been calculated according to the following overall distribution of 
the programme’s budget: 

•  Facilitating access to, and use and exploitation of digital content: 35 – 45 % 

•  Improving quality and facilitating best practice related to digital content: 50 – 60 % 

•  Reinforcing co-operation and awareness: 6 – 10 %  

30 

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7. 

IMPACT ON STAFF AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENDITURE  

7.1. 

Impact on human resources 

Types of post 

A 

B 

C 

Permanent 
officials or 
Temporary 
staff 

Other human 
resources 

Total 

Staff to be assigned to management 
of the action using existing and/or 
additional resources 

Number of 
permanent posts 

Number of 
temporary posts 

Total 

Description of tasks deriving 
from the action 

9

3

3

9

3

3

2

Programme management (calls, 
workprogramme, commission 
procedures), project 
management, costs monitoring

Technical assistance to projects

2 END33

15

2

17

No resources additional to those existing in the Directorate are envisaged. 

7.2. 

Overall financial impact of human resources 

Type of human resources 

Amount € 

Method of calculation 

Officials 

Temporary staff 

Other human resources 

1,620,000 

15x108,000 

86,000 (see 
footnote ) 

2x43,000 

Total 

1,706,000 

The amounts are total expenditure for twelve months. 

33 

Expected contribution from EFTA in terms of personnel. 

31 

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
7.3. 

Other administrative expenditure deriving from the action 

Budget line 

(number and heading) 

Overall allocation  

09 01 02 

Missions 

Conferences 

Compulsory committees  

Non compulsory 
meetings 

Information systems 
(A-5001/A-4300) 

Other expenditure – 
Part A (state which) 

Amount € 

Method of calculation 
(Yearly expenses) 

56,000

80 missions per year € 700 within EU 

100,000

Conferences - per year 

60,000

3 annual meeting x 1 participant x 25 Member State x 
€ 800 

60,000

3 annual meetings with stakeholders (20 participants x 
€ 1,000 per meeting) 

-

-

-

-

Total 

276,000  

The amounts are total expenditure for twelve months. 

The  needs  for  human  and  administrative  resources  shall  be  covered  within  the  allocation 
granted to the managing DG in the framework of the annual allocation procedure. 

8. 

FOLLOW-UP AND EVALUATION 

8.1. 

Follow-up arrangements 

The  implementation  of  the  programme,  including  monitoring,  will  be  carried  out  by 
Commission  officials.  The  ongoing  monitoring  of  the  programmes  will  be  based  on  the 
information obtained directly from beneficiaries, which will submit interim and final activity 
and financial reports, including performance indicator criteria set out in the selection process.  

In order to ensure the quality of the execution of the programme, visits to the projects will be 
carried out on a regular basis, and regular feedback will also be requested on the activities of 
participants in the programme. 

All  projects  and  actions  will  include  built-in  evaluation,  or  provision  for  assessment  by 
external  experts  or  internal  sources,  and  contain  performance  indicators  and  guidelines  for 
follow-up. 

32 

 
 
  
 
For one-off actions, such as seminars and conferences, on-site monitoring will be undertaken, 
and external in-depth evaluation will be carried out on the basis of random samples and/or on 
the basis of risk factors. 

8.2. 

Arrangements and schedule for the planned evaluation 

An interim evaluation will be carried out on the second year of the programme. An ex post 
evaluation focused on the impact of the action in question will be carried out at the end of the 
programme. 

For the purpose of evaluation, the following indicators have been identified: 

General objectives 

Indicators 

(cid:137) 

 to make digital content in Europe more 
accessible, usable and exploitable, 
facilitating the creation and diffusion of 
information and knowledge– in areas of 
public interest– at the Union level 

-  Quantitative/qualitative data on actions, reports 

and other results of these actions 

-  Quantitative/qualitative data on participants’ 

perceptions as to the impact of the programme; 

Operational Objectives 

Indicators 

1. Facilitating access to, use and 
exploitation of digital content 

2. Improving quality and facilitating best 
practice for digital content 

Quantitative/qualitative  data  on  the  establishment  of 
networks and alliances between stakeholders, and the 
creation of new services in the field of public sector 
information  (PSI),  spatial  data,  digital  learning  and 
cultural content.  

Number  and  coverage  of  best  practice  in  methods, 
processes  and  operations  to  achieve  higher  quality, 
greater  efficacy,  efficiency  and  economy  on  the 
creation, use and distribution of digital content in the 
field  of  access  to  public  sector  information  (PSI), 
spatial data, learning and culture. 

Number  and  coverage  of  experiments  demonstrating 
searchability,  usability,  re-usability,  composability 
and interoperability of digital content in multilingual 
and multicultural environments in the field of access 
to  public  sector  information  (PSI),  spatial  data, 
learning and culture. 

3. Reinforcing co-operation and 
awareness 

Extent of awareness-raising activities, benchmarking, 
monitoring 
as 
dissemination of results. 

as  well 

analysis 

tools, 

and 

33 

 
 
  
 
9. 

ANTI-FRAUD MEASURES 

Funding decisions and contracts between the Commission and the beneficiaries provide for in 
situ  checks  to  be  carried  out  on  the  premises  of  beneficiaries  of  a  Community  grant  by  the 
Commission  and  the  Court  of  Auditors,  and  bestow  the  power  to  require  evidence  of  any 
expenditure made under such contracts, agreements and legal undertakings within five years 
following  the  end  of  the  contractual  period.  On-the-spot  audits  will  be  carried  out  when 
deemed necessary. 

Beneficiaries are subject to reporting and financial accounting obligations. These are analysed 
from the point of view of content and eligibility of expenditure, bearing in mind the purpose 
of the Community funding, and taking account of contractual obligations and of the principles 
of economy and sound financial management. 

Appended to the financial agreements is information of an administrative and financial nature, 
designed to specify the kind of expenditure which is eligible under such agreements. Where 
appropriate, Community coverage of certain cost elements will be limited to items which are 
real,  identifiable  and  verifiable  in  the  beneficiary’s  book-keeping  arrangements,  so  as  to 
facilitate checking and auditing (and evaluation for selection purposes) of projects in receipt 
of funding. 

As  regard  procurement,  and  as  foreseen  in  the  Financial  Regulations  (art  93-96), 
administrative  or  financial  penalties  may  be  imposed  by  the  Commission  on  candidates  or 
tenderers who are in one of the case of exclusion foreseen. 

34