Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - eEurope 2005 Action Plan: An Update {SEC(2004) 607} {SEC(2004) 608}
Date: 2004-05-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, action programme, data processing, economic growth

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 17.5.2004 
COM(2004) 380 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

eEurope 2005 Action Plan: An Update 

{SEC(2004) 607 } 
{SEC(2004) 608 } 

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

The eEurope 2005 Action Plan is part of the strategy set out at the Lisbon European Council 
to modernise the European economy and to build a knowledge based economy in Europe. The 
mid-term review of eEurope was adopted in February 2004 and endorsed by the spring 2004 
Telecom Council. The present communication follows up the mid-term review by proposing a 
set  of  revisions.  The  new  actions  proposed  here  do  not  substantially  change  the  balance  or 
structure  of  the  Action  Plan.  The  eEurope  2005  targets  are  retained  as  is  the  emphasis  on 
exchange of good practice, benchmarking and open co-ordination.  

The  set  of  fifteen  actions  proposed  here  aim  to  complement  the  existing  actions  in  order  to 
achieve the specific objectives of eEurope and to speed up its progress. A summary of state of 
play in all actions is given in Commission staff working paper SEC(2004) 607 . 

Broadband: Policies on broadband are now high on the agenda. For this reason, all Member 
States committed to come forward with national broadband strategies by the end of 2003. This 
process is in progress for the Union of 15 Member States but has to be extended to a Union of 
25 Members (Action 1). In addition, as the territorial coverage of broadband widens, attention 
turns to remote and rural regions where the population is dispersed and market pull is weak. A 
Digital  Divide  Forum  will  be  launched  in  June  2004  to  look  into  this  issue  and  develop 
strategies to address it where necessary (Action 2). Broadband without the inherent benefits of 
IPv6  would  dramatically  limit  the  range  of  innovative  services  and  applications  and  the 
Commission will take stock of progress with National IPv6 Task Forces (Action 3). 

On-line  public  services:  eEurope  has  always  placed  great  emphasis  on  the  potential  for 
public  policy  to  catalyse  progress  towards  the  knowledge-based  society  through  bringing 
public  services  on-line  and  in  so  doing  to  make  such  services  more  efficient  and  cost 
effective. Much progress has been observed in all three fields considered by eEurope over the 
past  five  years  (i.e.  in  e-government,  e-health  and  e-learning)  and  considerable  additional 
benefits have been delivered. However, the mid-term review of eEurope pointed out that more 
could be done in each of these areas to enhance interoperability and build-up pan-European 
co-operation. To this end a series of new actions are proposed to facilitate a smoother roll-out 
from research and piloting into wider deployment. In particular, and in keeping with the open 
method of co-ordination, processes of consensus building and exchanges of good practice are 
proposed  that  draw  on  the  participation  of  all  stakeholders.  First,  as  regards  the  wider 
deployment  of  research  results  across  all  three  areas,  a  process  is  proposed  to  promote 
voluntary  and  multilateral  commitments  to  priorities  for  the  deployment  of  on-line  services 
(Action 4). In addition, actions are proposed in each field of on-line public services to increase 
interoperability and good practice exchange. In e-government a good practice framework that 
encourages mutual learning and the identification of barriers to the transfer of experience will 
be brought to a full operational level by 2005 (Action 5). In e-health the commitment of all 
Member States to develop a roadmap for e-health will be complemented by an inventory of 
best  practices  on  interoperability  in  e-health  (Action  6).  In  e-learning,  a  roadmap  of  future 
developments is proposed to create a common agenda amongst the diverse stakeholders from 
education, training, research, industry and the public sector (Action 7). 

e-Business: In the context of the Lisbon Strategy, the support of e-business through eEurope 
has been an essential component. More specifically, it has been active in ensuring an enabling 
environment  for  e-business,  focusing  in  particular  on  interoperability  and  standardisation, 
removing the legal obstacles to the use of e-business and facilitating the take-up of e-business 

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by  small  and  medium  enterprises  (SMEs).  Here  three  actions  are  proposed  to  improve  the 
framework conditions for the take-up of e-business. First, it is proposed to review the impact 
of the e-signature directive (Action 8). Second, in order to set the framework for m-commerce, 
a  blueprint  on  mobile  payments  will  identify  priorities  and  practical  steps  towards 
interoperable solutions (Action 9). Third, bearing in mind the large potential of digital rights 
management systems to create a safer environment for content production and distribution, a 
high level group has been launched with the aim of identifying issues at EU level in terms of 
technological, economic and legal aspects of digital rights management systems (Action 10). 

Two actions in e-business are proposed concerning the promotion of interoperability and the 
exchange  of  good  practice.  First  given  that  insufficient  interoperability  of  business 
applications  continues  to  impede  the  adoption  of  e-business,  an  Enterprise  Interoperability 
Centre  is  proposed  to  disseminate  the  results  of  a  new  Integrated  Project  on  enterprise 
interoperability (Action 11). Second, the activities of the e-Business Support Network, already 
launched  under  the  eEurope  2005  Action  Plan,  will  be  complemented  by  the  collection  and 
structuring of SME best practices on e-business into an on-line database (Action 12). 

During  the  consultation  for  the  mid-term  review,  the  issue  of  e-inclusion  was  repeatedly 
identified as a high priority in an ‘Information Society for All’. However, it is necessary to 
understand  in  more  detail  the  various  facets  of  this  complex  issue  and  then  to  convert  this 
intelligence into a practical agenda for action. Thus it is proposed to reassess the priorities for 
e-inclusion and to address them in the form of specific and realisable targets (Action 13).  

The benchmarking exercise is an essential component of the open method of co-ordination 
that  underpins  eEurope.  It  also  provides  a  picture  of  the  state  of  play  of  the  information 
society in Europe. Considerable effort goes into the collection of the benchmarking data, but 
currently the results are not presented in a way which gives the highest possible visibility to 
developments in the European information society. Nor, so far, have the data been analysed to 
draw  out  the  impact  of  eEurope  on  progress  towards  the  targets  and  the  implications  for 
policy  development.  Thus  it  is  proposed  that  the  visibility  and  analytical  value  of  the 
benchmarking  exercise  be  enhanced  by  developing  an  integrated  web-platform,  “eEurope 
Online”, providing up-to-date information on eEurope developments (Action 14). 

Finally, the mid-term review of the Lisbon Strategy will be presented in spring 2005 at the 
time when eEurope will have entered its final year. Thus it is appropriate to begin a process of 
review and reflection on the contribution of eEurope to the Lisbon Strategy and to prepare for 
renewed contributions to the Lisbon Strategy in its second phase to 2010 (Action 15). 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

eEurope 2005 Action Plan: An Update 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

2.1. 

2.2. 

2.3. 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

3.3. 

4. 

4.1. 

4.2. 

4.3. 

4.4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

Introduction ................................................................................................................ 5 

Broadband .................................................................................................................. 7 

National broadband strategies ...................................................................................... 7 

The Growth Initiative and the Digital Divide Forum................................................... 8 

IPv6 .............................................................................................................................. 9 

Public services on-line: towards deployment........................................................... 9 

e-Government............................................................................................................. 11 

e-Health ...................................................................................................................... 12 

e-Learning .................................................................................................................. 12 

Creating a secure and dynamic framework for e-business .................................. 13 

e-Signatures................................................................................................................ 13 

e-Payments: a blueprint for mobile payments (m-payments) .................................... 14 

Digital Rights Management ....................................................................................... 14 

Towards the wider adoption of e-business................................................................. 15 

Action on e-Inclusion ............................................................................................... 16 

Benchmarking eEurope ........................................................................................... 17 

The Contribution of ICT to the Lisbon Strategy .................................................. 18 

Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 19 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

eEurope  is  part  of  the  Lisbon  strategy  to  modernise  the  European  economy  and  to  build  a 
knowledge  based  economy  in  Europe  with  improved  employment  and  social  cohesion  by 
2010, and thus it is one of the main instruments to build an “Information Society for All”. 

The eEurope 2002 Action Plan, which was endorsed by the Feira European Council in June 
2000, focused on connectivity, i.e. getting Europe on-line. The final report on eEurope 2002 
showed that the majority of its 65 targets had been met. Nearly all business and schools were 
connected to the internet; the number of households connected had nearly tripled and Europe 
had the fastest research network in the world1. 

However,  by  the  end  of  2002,  there  was  little  evidence  to  show  that  the  success  in  getting 
Europe  on-line  had  been  translated  into  new  jobs  and  services.  Nor  were  the  increases  in 
productivity observed elsewhere, notably in the USA, as visible in Europe. Connectivity was 
there,  but  use  was  lagging  behind.  Moreover,  given  that  access  to  internet  was  widespread, 
policy attention naturally began to turn to the demand-side issues of usage and impact.  

The Barcelona European Council therefore called on the Commission to draw up an eEurope 
action  plan  focusing  on  “the  widespread  availability  and  use  of  broadband  networks 
throughout  the  Union  by  2005  and  the  development  of  Internet  protocol  IPv6  ….  and  the 
security of networks and information, eGovernment, eLearning, eHealth and eBusiness”2.  

The  resulting  eEurope  2005  Action  Plan  was  adopted  in  May  2002.  Stimulating  use  and 
creating new services were its new central goals and it was endorsed by the Seville European 
Council3. The overall aims are that, by the end of 2005, Europe should have modern online 
public  services  (e-government,  e-learning,  e-health)  and  a  dynamic  e-business  environment, 
based  on  a  widespread  availability  of  broadband  access  at  competitive  prices  and  a  secure 
information infrastructure. 

The  Member  States  gave  their  commitment  to  implement  the  Action  Plan  in  the  eEurope 
Resolution of February 20034, which also welcomed the intention of the Commission to hold 
a mid-term review of the action plan “in advance of the Spring European Council 2004” in the 
context of an Enlarged Union. In parallel, the eEurope+ 2003 Action Plan had been launched 
in  June  2001  on  the  initiative  of  the  then  13  candidate  countries.  eEurope+,  which  had  the 
same  targets  as  the  eEurope  2002  Action  Plan,  came  to  a  close  in  February  2004,  with  the 
publication of its final progress report at the Budapest Ministerial conference5. 

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5 

See  eEurope  2002  Final  Report,  COM(2003)  66  and  eEurope  2002:  Progress  made  in  Achieving  the 
Targets SEC(2003) 407. 
Barcelona European Council, Presidency Conclusions, paragraph 40, 
http://europa.eu.int/en/Info/eurocouncil/index.htm. 
eEurope 2005 Action Plan, COM(2002) 263. 
Council Resolution on the Implementation of the eEurope 2005 Action Plan, 2003/C 48/02. 
eEurope+ 2003 Action Plan – Final Progress Report 

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The mid-term review, based on a wide consultation during 2003, confirmed the relevance of 
eEurope’s  objectives  and  their  adequacy  to  the  challenges  of  the  information  society  in  a 
Union  of  25  members.  In  the  review,  a  consensus  was  expressed  on  the  need  to  focus  on 
updating  and  fine-tuning  the  initiatives  and  strengthening  the  implementation  mechanisms. 
The mid-term review Communication was adopted in February 2004.6 Moreover, the spring 
2004 Telecom Council invited the Commission to bring forward a revision of the action plan 
in time for the June 2004 Council. 

The  present  Communication  provides  this  revision  of  the  eEurope  action  plan  and  gives  a 
detailed exposition of the range of actions where improvements can be made. In summary the 
main conclusions were that the revision at mid term should aim at: 

•  Enhancing the pan-European dimension; initiatives mostly remain nationally or regionally 

focused and opportunities for more effective exchanges of practice are missed, 

•  Tackling the barriers to the further rollout and take-up of broadband. This depends in part 
on making content more attractive and abundant. Content markets in turn will benefit from 
workable  approaches  to  the  protection  of  copyrighted  content  and  the  implementation  of 
interoperable DRM solutions, 

•  Addressing  interoperability  and  standards,  especially  to  permit  widespread  access  that  is 

technology-neutral, 

•  Realising the pay-offs from ICT investments in terms of productivity growth, job creation, 

higher efficiency and service quality, 

•  Making  a  stronger  link  between  benchmarking  efforts  and  policy  outcomes,  the 

measurement of demand and evaluation of impact of e-Europe, and 

•  Reinforcing  the  social  cohesion  aspects  of  eEurope,  particularly  as  regards  regional 
imbalances  and  the  potential  for  multiplatform  delivery  of  e-services  to  widen 
accessibility. 

These  conclusions  have  guided  the  revision  of  the  Action  Plan  itself,  which  was  the  main 
purpose  of  the  mid-term  review.  In  overview,  the  new  actions  proposed  here  do  not 
substantially change the balance or structure of eEurope. 

In keeping with the aim to fine-tune rather than fully revise the Action Plan, the structure of 
this Communication broadly follows the lines of the existing eEurope 2005 Action Plan. The 
Communication  starts  by  considering  broadband  strategies  and  access.  It  then  looks  at  the 
issues  of  deployment  of  on-line  public  services,  followed  by  a  third  section  on  creating  the 
right context for e-business adoption. In view of the imminent establishment of the European 
Network  and  Information  Security  Agency  (ENISA)  the  issue  of  a  secure  information 
infrastructure is not treated separately here. Rather, security issues are mainstreamed into e-
business and on-line public services. 

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COM(2004)108. 

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The  issue  of  e-inclusion  emerged  from  the  consultation  for  the  mid-term  review  as  a  new 
priority  and  a  preliminary  action  is  proposed  on  this  topic.  Section  six  on  benchmarking 
reaffirms its importance as a basis for the open method of coordination but also as a way to 
communicate  more  widely  the  progress  made  on  eEurope.  Finally,  in  light  of  the  mid-term 
review of the Lisbon Strategy and the fact that eEurope will enter its last year of operation in 
2005, a new action is introduced to review progress so far and to reflect on new options for 
the future. 

The  present  Communication  describes  recently  launched  actions  and  new  actions  which  the 
Commission proposes to speed up progress, but does not therefore review the original ones. 
However,  a  tabular  overview  of  all  original  and  new  actions  and  an  indication  of  progress 
made is given in an accompanying working paper (Annex 1). 

2. 

BROADBAND 

Broadband  is  currently  one  of  the  highest  priorities  in  the  eEurope  Action  Plan.  All  15 
Member States are putting into place national strategies and these are being analysed with a 
view to stimulating further progress following the 2004 June European Council. Further work 
is proposed in order to maintain this momentum and to extend it to new Member States. 

Certainly, the importance of broadband reflects the rapid expansion of broadband availability 
and  take-up.  The  mid-term  review  Communication  and  the  Communication  ‘Connecting 
Europe  at  High  Speed’  drew  attention  to  the  very  high  rate  of  growth  of  broadband 
connections in Europe, which doubled in 2003. The issue of territorial coverage is in most of 
the  national  broadband  strategies.  Further  initiatives  at  the EU  level  have  been  launched,  in 
particular  the  Growth  Initiative.  The  lag  in  demand  requires  greater  insights  into  the 
conditions  for  a  wider  use  of  broadband.  This  will  be  investigated  through  studies  to  be 
launched  by  the  Commission  during  2004.  However,  it  is  also  important  to  unblock 
bottlenecks to the development of markets for on-line content, for example through work on 
Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems and by building confidence in e-business. (These 
are addressed in Section 4).  

2.1. 

National broadband strategies 

At  the  European  Council  in  spring  2003,  the  15  Member  States  committed  to  adopting 
national  broadband  strategies7.  The  Commission  will  present  a  synthesis  of  these  strategy 
statements  to  the  Telecom  Council.  However,  the  current  exercise  only  covers  15  Member 
States.  It  is  necessary  to  extend  the  exercise  to  the  full  Union  of  25  Member  States  and  to 
maintain momentum by identifying key areas for further action.  

Action  1:  New  Member  States  should  adopt  national  broadband  strategies  by  the  end  of 
2004.  Technological  developments,  growth  of  the  broadband  market  and  exchange  of 
experiences  require  an  update  of  national  broadband  strategies.  Member  States  should 
complete  a  comprehensive  update  by  the  end  of  2005.  The  Commission  will  continue 
monitoring  progress  in  the  implementation  of  national  strategies  and  will  review  progress 
and developments in the first half of 2006 as part of the evaluation of eEurope 2005. 

7 

“Connecting Europe at high speed: national broadband strategies” COM (2004).369 

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2.2. 

The Growth Initiative and the Digital Divide Forum 

The eEurope 2005 Action Plan sets widespread availability and use of broadband as one of its 
main targets.  

Investment  in  electronic  communications  must  be  primarily  industry  led,  but  public 
authorities can play a role, particularly in remote, rural or disadvantaged areas where demand 
may  be  insufficient  to  attract  commercial  investment.  Where  private  investment  in 
information  infrastructure  in  less  favoured  areas  is  held  back  by  fears  of  insufficient 
profitability,  there  is  a  risk  that  eEurope  will  not  meet  its  goal  to  develop  an  "information 
society for all". To this end, specific actions have been taken, articulated around the use of the 
Union's  structural  funds,  to  overcome  shortfalls  of  demand  in  rural  and  remote  regions  and 
economically disadvantaged urban areas. Revised guidelines have been issued on the criteria 
and  modalities  to  be  met  for  implementation  of  structural  funds  in  support  of  electronic 
communications  so  that  it  is  compatible  with  state  aid  rules.8  The  European  Initiative  for 
Growth9, endorsed by the European Council in December 2003, highlights the opportunity of 
using financial instruments, including the Structural Funds to ensure widespread availability 
of  broadband  as  already  proposed  by  eEurope  2005.10  To  give  further  impetus,  new  Digital 
Divide  “Quick-start  projects”  will  accelerate  provision  of  broadband  in  under-served  areas 
using  a  technology-neutral  approach.  Public  intervention  may  complement  commercial 
investment  but  should  not  pre-empt  private  initiatives  nor  distort  competition,  and  should 
always be based on a technology-neutral approach.  

The  recently  adopted  Commission  White  Paper  on  Space  Policy  and  the  Communication 
“Connecting Europe at High Speed”11 both announced a Digital Divide Forum, which will be 
launched in June 2004. Rather than creating a new entity, this Forum will be an on-line forum 
for  discussion  which  gathers  input  from  existing  committees  and  groups  under  the  co-
ordination of the eEurope Advisory Group12 in order to bring together stakeholders in the area 
of the information society and analyse how to bridge the territorial aspect of the digital divide. 
The  work  of  the  forum  focuses  on  the  possibilities  of  extending  territorial  coverage  of 
broadband infrastructure in the EU, reaching hitherto under-served regions, thus contributing 
to bridge the digital divide. 

The  Forum  will  have  three  aims.  First,  it  will  analyse  the  main  factors  determining  the 
broadband digital divide and give practical suggestions on the way forward to reduce the gap. 
Second, it will examine  alternative  technological options, with particular attention to access 
over different broadband transmission media. Third, it will monitor the broadband quick-start 
projects within the European Initiative for Growth and the exchange of good practices. 

Action 2: During 2004, the Commission will set-up the Digital Divide Forum and produce a 
first outcome by mid-September 2004. The draft report of the Forum will be opened to wide 

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12 

SEC (2003) 895. 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/regional_policy/sources/docoffic/working/doc/telecom_en.pdf 
COM(2003) 690 final. 
See  EC  COM(2003)  65  “Road  to  the  Knowledge  Economy”  and  COM(2003)  690  “A  European 
Initiative for Growth”. 
“Space:  a  new  European  frontier  for  an  expanding  union  -  An  action  plan  for  implementing  the 
European Space Policy”, COM(2003) 673; and “Connecting Europe at high speed: recent developments 
in the sector of electronic communications,” COM(2004) 61. 
“eEurope Advisory Group” is the new denomination of the “eEurope Steering Group” mentioned in the 
MODINIS Decision N°2256/2003/CE. 

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public  discussion  by  July  2004  and  will  provide  input  to  the  Commission  report  on  the 
Growth Initiative in spring 2005. 

2.3. 

IPv6 

The  conclusions  of  the  Barcelona  European  Council13  highlighted  “Network  Security  and 
Internet Protocol IPv6” as one of the areas suggested for ministerial focus. The new Internet 
Protocol,  IPv6,  together  with  Broadband  is  a  key  enabling  technology  for  eEurope  and  the 
Information Society. The provision of Broadband without the inherent benefits of IPv6 would 
dramatically limit the range of innovative services and applications which are a pre-requisite 
for  an  advanced  Information  Society.  Some  Member  States  have  already  created  National 
IPv6 Task Forces aiming to facilitate the uptake of the new version of the Internet Protocol 
and developed national plans that include compliance with IPv6 in public tendering. 

Action  3:  During  2004,  the  Commission  will  take  stock  of  the  progress  achieved  in  the 
uptake of IPv6 in Europe and produce a report by the end of the year, as foreseen in the 
Communication on Next Generation Internet14 adopted in February 2002. 

3. 

PUBLIC SERVICES ON-LINE: TOWARDS DEPLOYMENT  

The eEurope 2005 Action Plan places a particular emphasis on the importance of stimulating 
the take up of ‘on-line public services’ in the areas of e-government, e-health and e-learning. 
This is for at least three reasons. First, the potential for ICT to contribute to efficient delivery 
of  public  services  is  huge  because  they  represent  a  very  large  part  of  European  economic 
activity, a large number of jobs and considerable purchasing power. The eEurope Action Plan 
recognises  that  the  significant  weight  of  public  services  can  be  used  to  catalyse  progress 
towards  the  knowledge-based  economy.  Second,  the  take-up  of  ICT  can  promote  more 
efficient  and  effective  delivery  of  services  to  European  citizens.  For  instance,  in  the  recent 
UK government efficiency review it was estimated that public administration costs could be 
significantly  reduced  through  greater  use  of  ICT.  In  particular,  ICT  can  increase  the  cost-
effectiveness of the public sector in order to better meet the constant pressures to raise value 
for money or do more with less. Third, these services are largely under the direct influence of 
policy  makers.  Indeed,  eEurope  gives  priority  to  these  areas  in  part  because  of  the  direct 
leverage that policy makers have on the pace of innovation in services. 

The mid-term review communication on eEurope identified considerable progress on the roll 
out of on-line public services. But, there are concerns that demand for such on-line services 
lags behind their availability and that the potential efficiency gains from applications of ICT 
are not yet widely demonstrated. The actions proposed in this section provide steps towards a 
greater  efficiency  and  wider  take-up  of  on-line  public  services  in  the  main  fields  of  e-
government, e-health and e-learning.  

There  is  already  considerable  EU-level  effort  to  develop  on-line  public  services.  The  IST 
programme has major research activities in each of the fields (e-government, e-health and e-
learning).  The  eTEN  is  the  European  Community  Programme  designed  to  help  the 
deployment of telecommunication networks based services (e-services) with a trans-European 

13 
14 

http://register.consilium.eu.int/pdf/en/02/st07/07172en2.pdf. 
COM(2002) 96 final. 

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dimension15.  While,  the  mission  of  the  IDA-programme  (Interchange  of  Data  between 
Administrations)  is  to  co-ordinate  the  establishment  of  pan-European  telematic  networks 
between  administrations.  e-Government  actions  are  supported  by  a  common  policy 
framework,  the  Communication  on  e-government  and  the  targets  in  the  2005  Action  Plan. 
This  includes  the  work  of  IDA  to  develop  interoperability  measures,  for  use  by  sectoral 
networks and which has a strong orientation towards pan-European e-government services to 
citizens and enterprises.16 These efforts are already embedded in the eEurope framework for 
example, in the 2005 Action Plan a target was set that an Interoperability Framework for pan-
European services would be established by the end of 2003. In January 2004, the Commission 
met  this  objective  by  publishing  a  consultation  document  on  a  European  Interoperability 
Framework.17  Promotion  of  and  political  commitment  to  e-government  has  been  reinforced 
through Ministerial Conferences in 2001 and 2003. 

Despite  these  efforts,  the  application  of  IST  is  not  rolling  out  smoothly  from  pilot  stage  to 
wide deployment to deliver the very significant potential increase in quality and efficiency of 
public services. In particular, responses to the consultation for the mid-term review found a 
need for further efforts on interoperability and the deployment of pan-European services.  

On  interoperability  in  e-government,  Member  States  identified  various  issues  as  very 
important,  examples  cited  included  common  citizen  identifiers,  e-authentication  and  data 
vocabularies. In e-health there is a need to create European wide interoperability guaranteeing 
citizen-centred  continuity  of  healthcare  and  patient  mobility.  In  e-learning,  the  absence  of 
interoperability  is  seen  as  slowing  down  the  application  of  research  results  in  educational 
environments,  as  a  barrier  to  the  creation  of  a  flourishing  content  market  and  as  preventing 
users from creating and sharing their own content.  

The eEurope 2005 mid-term review communication also noted that public e-services such as 
e-health  and  e-learning  are  nationally  and  regionally  focused  and  should  develop  a  pan-
European dimension. In support of this target, a major step forward has been taken with the 
recent  adoption  of  the  IDABC  Programme  (Interoperable  Delivery  of  pan-European  e-
government  services  to  Public  Administration,  Business  and  Citizens  Programme)  by  the 
European Parliament and Council. 

In keeping with the instruments for implementing the eEurope Action Plan (i.e. joint setting 
of  targets,  benchmarking  and  exchange  of  good  practice),  the  actions  proposed  here 
emphasise  the  treatment  of  the  interoperability  and  pan-European  services  as  well  as  the 
exchange  of  good  practice,  in  particular  a  more  structured  exchange  of  best  practice  and 
transferability  of  lessons  in  e-government,  a  systematic  evaluation  of  lessons  from  previous 
initiatives  and  increased  efforts  to  exchange  such  experiences  in  the  form  of  good  practice 
frameworks.  

A  number  of  significant  actions  to  increase  interoperability  and  good  practice  exchange  in 
electronic public services have been started since the launch of eEurope 2005. For example, in 

15 

16 

17 

See Decision No. 1376/2002/EC of 12 July 2002 & No. 1336/97/EC of 17 June 1997 of the European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  a  series  of  Guidelines  for  trans-European  telecommunications 
networks. 
For the current IDA programme, see the Guidelines Decision No 1719/1999/EC and the Interoperability 
Decision (No 1720/1999/EC), which were respectively amended on 21 October 2002 in Decision No. 
2046/2002/EC & No 2045/2002/EC. 
http://europa.eu.int/ISPO/ida/export/files/en/1674.pdf 

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e-government,  in  addition  to  the  Interoperability  Framework,  a  good-practice  framework  is 
being established during 2004 to follow up the Ministerial Conclusions of the e-Government 
Conference in Como in July 2003 and the e-government Communication.18 In e-learning, the 
recently  launched  eLearning  Programme19  reinforces  community  effort  to  support  the 
exchange of experience and good practice across Europe. 

The  first  action  proposed  aims  to  achieve  wider  deployment  across  all  three  areas  of  e-
government, e-health and e-learning (and possibly more widely to embrace, for example, the 
issue of e-inclusion). In particular, the aim is to set the stage for a more effective development 
of  trans-European  on-line  services  by  a  setting  up  a  process  to  identify  priority  fields  for 
action and in particular to feed the results into considerations on how to follow-up the current 
eTEN programme.  

Action  4:  Identification,  by  the  end  2005,  of  a  detailed  list  of  priorities  for  a  wide 
deployment of ICT solutions for the delivery of public services in Europe. The action will be 
in two steps. Step one will be to launch in 2004 a prioritisation of areas of action in which 
completed  research  and  development  projects  and  other  advanced  work  could  support 
innovations  in  public  services  in  Europe.  Step  two,  to  take  place  during  2005,  will  involve 
exploring  the  priorities  and  implementation  proposals  in  more  detail  through  multi-
stakeholder  working  groups.  Amongst  other  aims,  it  will  provide  inputs  to  the  work-
programme of any successor to the eTEN programme. The emphasis would be on establishing 
a commitment to common platforms and/or standards for the deployment of e-services  on a 
voluntary and multilateral basis.  

However,  despite  the  common  challenges  of  achieving  interoperability  and  transferring 
experience from one place to another, there are different issues at stake in each of the main 
areas of public services. Thus a series of more focused actions is proposed to tackle this issue 
in each public service domain treated by eEurope. 

3.1. 

e-Government 

A  good  practice  framework  for  e-government  was  launched  in  2004.  This  initiative 
implements  the  e-government  Communication  and  the  Telecom  Council  conclusions  of 
November  2003,  both  of  which  identified  continuity  and  a  comprehensive  approach  as  key 
factors in the process of exchanging good practices. The development of good practice in e-
government  requires  a  continuous  and  effective  collaboration  between  the  different  public 
authorities in the Member States, the European institutions and the private sector.  

Action  5:  Bringing  the  good  practice  framework  for  e-government  to  full  operation  by 
middle of 2005, through: 

•  Facilitating  the  exchange  of  good  practices  and  learning  from  experiences  at  local, 

regional, national, European and international level.  

•  Providing continuity in good practice exchanges.  

18 
19 

The Role of e-Government in Europe’s Future COM(2003) 567. 
Decision  No  2318/2003/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  December  2003  adopting 
the eLearning Programme. 

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•  Addressing critical issues that hamper the transfer of good experiences such as the legal 
aspects  of  the  process  of  re-using  successful  developments,  the  ownership  of  the  systems 
and their relationship with the public tendering procedures to be followed, and procedures 
for engaging in public-private partnerships.20  

3.2. 

e-Health 

The  Commission  has  recently  adopted  an  Action  Plan  in  the  area  of  e-health  and  one  of  its 
main  aims  is  to  promote  the  sharing  of  best  practices  and  the  measurement  of  progress.21 
Member  States  have  expressed  the  need  for  development  of  standards  addressing  the 
interoperability  of  diverse  systems  and  services  and  to  explore  the  possible  role  of  open 
source  applications  to  achieve  this  objective.  Many  countries  have  proceeded  with 
accreditation of e-health systems that are becoming models for other regions, such as those in 
the United Kingdom and Belgium. Another example of conformance testing and accreditation 
is the interoperability guidelines of Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise in Europe (IHE). It 
should be noted that the development of an ICT infrastructure for collecting data on mobility 
of patients and professionals and linking centres of reference would contribute to the follow-
up of ongoing reflection processes on patient mobility. 

Action 6: The compilation of an inventory of best practices on interoperability in e-health 
by  the  end  of  2005.  This  builds  on  the  commitment  that  by  the  end  of  2005,  each  Member 
State  is  committed  to  develop  a  national  or  regional  roadmap  for  e-health,  focusing  on 
deployment, setting targets for the interoperability and use of electronic health records, and 
issues such as the reimbursement of e-health services. This action will provide the basis for 
agreeing  attributes  and  norms  beyond  existing  standards  that  define  good  quality  products 
and services. 

3.3. 

e-Learning  

The  interim  report  ‘Education  &  Training  2010’  recently  adopted  by  the  Council  confirms 
that  the  pace  of  reform  in  education  and  training  in  Europe  needs  to  speed-up  if  we  are  to 
achieve  the  targets  set  in  Lisbon.22  In  particular,  it  highlights  the  need  to  strengthen  co-
operation in Europe and to foster the organisation of education and training systems around 
quality,  access  and  openness  to  the  wider  world.  For  this  to  happen,  research  should  work 
hand-in-hand with education and training, and new services need to be developed based on a 
learner-centred  approach  and  sound  pedagogy.  In  most  cases,  the  integration  of  ICT  into 
lifelong  learning  requires  fundamental  changes  to  the  way  learning  is  supported,  with 
organisational change within the institutions involved. This can only happen successfully and 
in  a  sustainable  manner  through  partnerships  between  the  various  stakeholders  including 
teachers,  trainers,  educational  authorities,  ministries  of  education  and  labour,  learners, 
employers, trade unions and private sector actors. 

Action7: The establishment, by the end of 2005, of a roadmap of activities to foster closer 
co-operation  between  the  stakeholders  of  education,  training,  research,  industry  and  the 
public  sector  in  order  to  further  the  deployment  of  lifelong  learning  services  based  on  e-
learning.  This  action  will  put  in  place  activities  to  foster  co-operation  between  the  various 

20 
21 

22 

N.b. the Commission is preparing a Green Paper on public-private partnerships in the European Union. 
‘e-Health - making healthcare better for European citizens: an action plan for a European e-Health Area' 
COM(2004) 356. 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/policies/2010/et_2010_en.html. 

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communities of stakeholders and set targets to further the deployment of lifelong e-learning. It 
is proposed to launch this activity through a major conference in the first semester of 2005. 

4. 

CREATING A SECURE AND DYNAMIC FRAMEWORK FOR E-BUSINESS 

eEurope  has  been  active  in  ensuring  an  enabling  environment  for  e-business,  focusing  in 
particular on interoperability and standardisation, removing the legal obstacles to the use of e-
business and facilitating the take-up of e-business by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). 
These  initiatives  are  being  further  strengthened,  building  on  progress  achieved  so  far.  But 
with  the  emergence  of  new  services  and  applications,  overcoming  a  lack  of  trust  and 
confidence in using on-line services is increasingly perceived as a prerequisite to innovation 
in  e-business  and  the  full  deployment  of  e-services.  Priority  to  e-business  related  security 
issues  is  therefore  increasing;  a  recent  example  being  the  recommendations  of  the 
Communication on unsolicited commercial communications.23 

Similarly,  the  Commission’s  proposals  on  a  Framework  Directive  on  Unfair  Commercial 
Practices24,  and  a  regulation  on  enforcement  cooperation25  are  aimed  among  others,  at 
increasing consumers’ confidence in the market, and providing more transparent and efficient 
cross-border enforcement of consumer protection rules. 

In  addition  to  these  activities,  and  in  line  with  the  conclusions  of  the  mid-term  review  of 
eEurope, three new actions are proposed that should improve the environment for e-business. 
The  first  looks  to  full  implementation  of  measures  in the e-Signature Directive. The second 
aims to increase consumer confidence in e-business through the implementation of secure and 
effective mobile payment systems. The third addresses the issue of digital rights management, 
which  has  been  identified  as  one  of  the  critical  conditions  for  the  emergence  of  vibrant 
markets for on-line content.  

The  other  actions  proposed  in  this  section  fall  into  the  category  of  raising  awareness  and 
exchanging good practice. The wide adoption of e-business suffers the same challenges as on-
line public services,  failures of interoperability, the lack of common standards and the need 
for  more  effective  exchange  of  experiences.  Progress  in  this  area  remains  slow  due  to  the 
large  number  of  actors  involved  and  the  complexity  of  issues  at  stake.  The  Commission 
proposes to support this progress by providing platforms for the main actors to meet and agree 
targets and milestones for making progress. 

4.1. 

e-Signatures 

All Member States have now implemented the general principles of the e-Signature Directive. 
However, a number of issues remain on the legal and market aspects of the application of the 
Directive.  Firstly,  there  is  currently  no  market  demand  for  qualified  certificates  and  related 
services.  Secondly,  greater  interoperability  of  e-signatures  is  called  for  by  the  Directive  as 
necessary to achieve the wide spread-use of electronic signatures and related services.  

Action 8: The Commission will present a report analysing the operation and the effects of 
the  e-Signature  Directive  with  the  aim  of  further  promoting  e-signatures.  Promotional 

23 
24 
25 

Communication on Unsolicited Commercial Communications or ‘spam’, COM(2004) 28. 
COM(2003) 356 final. 
COM(2003) 443 final. 

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activities shall focus not only on those e-signatures based on qualified certificates but should 
take into account also other applications and new technological developments such as mobile 
communication technologies. 

4.2. 

e-Payments: a blueprint for mobile payments (m-payments) 

Confidence and trust in online ordering and payment is essential to stimulate e-business and 
mobile  commerce26  (m-commerce).  As  noted  in  the  mid-term  review,  particular  efforts  are 
needed  to  establish  effective  procedures  for  micro-payments  and  to  address  policy  issues 
relating to m-payments.  

This  action  focuses  on  payment  services  for  mobile  phones  and  mobile  communications 
devices.  Mobile  payments  have  the  potential  to  become  an  important  segment  of  the  retail 
payment  market  and  therefore  contribute  to  the  efficiency  of  the  European  Single  Payment 
Area.  They  are  also  a  pre-condition  for  the  development  of  a  successful  marketplace  for 
advanced mobile services in the European Union.  

Yet,  in  spite  of  high  expectations,  no  mobile  payment  system  has  yet  gained  significant 
market  acceptance.  In  this  context,  there  is  an  increasing  difficulty  for  each  individual 
initiative to reach critical mass and remain viable in the long term. This leads to fragmentation 
and delay in the emergence of m-commerce (an important sub-segment of e-business). 

Action 9: A Blueprint on Mobile payments will be endorsed by the main stakeholders by the 
end of 2005. The aim of the Blueprint is to set priorities and to identify a pragmatic roadmap 
for interoperable mobile payments, taking into account existing initiatives as far as possible 
notably  standardisation  work  carried  out  in  the  field  by  the  European  Standardisation 
Organisations. To be effective, the Blueprint should be endorsed by a critical mass of market 
actors in both the financial and the telecommunications sectors. In addition, it should obtain 
the support of relevant public authorities. 

4.3. 

Digital Rights Management  

One  of  the  main  advantages  of  broadband  is  its  potential  to  offer  a  seamless  web  of  audio, 
video  and  data  services  to  the  end-user.  However,  the  future  of  content  distribution  on 
broadband  networks  and  mobile  applications  is  largely  dependent  on  the  conditions  under 
which this rich media content can be created, delivered and sold to end-users. 

The advent of broadband networks and their capacity to transmit large volumes of multimedia 
content at high speeds emphasises the importance of ensuring that digital content is available 
under the appropriate conditions, which meet the interests of all stakeholders. In this context, 
Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies can potentially provide the right incentives 
for  development,  notably  a  secure  environment  for  ensuring  remuneration  of  rightholders, 
payment  for  e-content  as  well  as  preventing  illegal  copying.  This  would  encourage  content 
producers to make their content available and thus entice users to take-up broadband. 

The  availability  of  DRM  systems  and  services  is  a  key  component  of  the  e-content 
distribution. Technological protection measures and DRM systems are currently available and 
business  models  are  being  tried  out  with  varying  degrees  of  success  in  the  market  place 

26 

Mobile  commerce  and  payments  refer  to  commerce  and  payments  through  mobile  communication 
network. 

EN 

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notably for the distribution of online music or movies. The legal framework for technological 
protection measures and DRMs is provided by the Copyright Directive (2001/29/EC).  

However, the situation is far from satisfactory. Market developments are held back by a lack 
of consensus between stakeholders on implementation of DRM in relation to factors such as 
interoperability  and  standardisation,  privacy  concerns  of  consumers,  balance  between  the 
remuneration  for  private  use  and  the  application  of  technological  protection  measures  or 
DRMs,  the  impact  of  the  use  of  DRMs  on  copyright  exceptions  and  the  effectiveness  of 
DRMs in the control of piracy. 

With  the  objective  to  facilitate  the  smooth  introduction  of  DRM  systems,  a  dialogue  with  a 
range of stakeholders representing the value chain can help to provide orientations for further 
progress. In collaboration with the relevant services of the Commission, a High Level Group 
on Digital Rights Management has been established.  

Action 10: During 2004 the High Level Group on Digital Rights Management will provide 
an  overview  of  technological,  economic  and  legal  challenges  to  DRM  and  strategic 
recommendations for how to move beyond dialogue to action.  

4.4. 

Towards the wider adoption of e-business 

In  the  eEurope  2005  Action  Plan,  a  target  was  set  that  by  the  end  of  2003  there  would  be 
private  sector-led  interoperable  solutions  for  electronic  transactions,  security,  signatures, 
procurements  and  payments.  Despite  considerable  efforts  this  target  has  not  yet  been  met.27 
Moreover,  the  mid-term  review  communication  notes  that  insufficient  interoperability 
remains  a  major  impediment  to  the  adoption  of  new  business  models  that  could  enhance 
productivity and competitiveness. To this end further stimulation actions are underway. The 
eEurope  Standardisation  Action  Plan  notably  supports  the  creation  of  a  dynamic  e-business 
environment, which will build on input from the Integrated Project under the 6th Framework 
Programme for Research and Development and an Enterprise Interoperability Centre. Also, a 
conference on interoperability is planned during 2004.  

Action  11:  Create  the  appropriate  conditions  for  an  Enterprise  Interoperability  Centre  to 
become  operational  by  the  end  of  2005.  The  insufficient  interoperability  of  business 
applications  continues  to  impede  the  adoption  of  new  forms  of  collaboration  in  which 
business processes, resources, skills and, eventually, knowledge are shared. Very often rather 
than  lacking  standards,  it  is  the  proliferation  of  standards  that  hampers  interoperability. In 
this  context  a  new  Integrated  Project  has  been  launched  under  the  IST  priority  of  the  6th 
Framework  Programme  with  a  view  to  contributing  to  Enterprise  Interoperability  Support. 
The  results  will  be  disseminated  through  an  ‘Enterprise  Interoperability  Centre'  which  will 
become operational after its business plan is approved by the Commission services by April 
2005. All stakeholders, including the private sector and Member States will be invited to play 
an  active  role  in  the  work  of  this  new  centre  in  order  to  promote  a  common  platform  for 
debate on interoperability issues. 

Also,  it  is  proposed  to  increase  the  articulation  between  e-business,  innovation  and 
entrepreneurship policies and initiatives by building upon existing and successful forums like 

27 

See: for example the CEN-ISSS e-business standards focus group report published in July 2003, 
http://www.cenorm.be/cenorm/businessdomains/businessdomains/informationsociety 
standardizationsystem/ebusiness+and+ecommerce/ebusiness+focus+group/reportfinal.pdf 

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the European e-Business Support Network (eBSN). At the same time, specialised consultancy 
advice is being offered to SMEs to define e-business strategies with a view to optimising the 
use of ICT, adapting business processes and implementing necessary organisational changes. 
Bringing these strands together improves the possibility to support a more effective exchange 
of best practice and a wider recognition of how ICT can enhance the business performance of 
SMEs. 

Action 12: The establishment by the end of 2005, of a database of SME best practices with 
regard  to  e-business.  A  first  step  in  this  process  will  be  to  organise  a  conference  on  ‘e-
business,  innovation  and  entrepreneurship’,  to  review  the  impact  of  policies  at  regional, 
national or European level on e-business. Moreover, case studies of SMEs representing best 
practices in using e-business or in introducing innovative ways of conducting businesses or 
designing  innovative  products  will  be  fed  into  a  database.  This  collection  of  best  SME 
practices  will  be  disseminated  through  existing  channels  like  the  European  e-Business 
Support Network. In addition, the potential to create a network of ICT centres of excellence 
harnessing  the  expertise  and  resources  of  SME,  technology  developers,  and  academic  and 
research organisations will be explored during 2004 with a view to identifying success factors 
for  the  efficient  diffusion  and  use  of  ICT  and  e-business  in  European  SMEs.  Links  will  be 
developed with forums like the eBSN, where appropriate. 

5. 

ACTION ON E-INCLUSION  

The  power  of  the  new  technology  is  that  it  offers  striking  new  ways  of  strengthening 
inclusion.  ICT  will  facilitate  the  development  of  mainstream  products  and  services  that  are 
more  and  more  accessible,  such  as  assistive  technologies  to  interface  in  a  seamless  manner 
with  a  wide  range  of  other  devices.  Web  distributed  services  can  also  make  it  easy  to  have 
access specific services any time, anywhere, improving accessibility for people with reduced 
mobility. 

European efforts in research and technological development are contributing to the state of the 
art.  The  Sixth  Research  Framework  programme  has  a  specific  area  focused  on  e-inclusion 
within the Information Society part of the programme. Its goal is to promote e-inclusion as a 
core building block of the information society. It aims to use technical solutions to ensure our 
vision of a society based on equal access and participation for all in Europe. Public authorities 
may need to play an active role, ensuring that the possibilities offered by these technologies 
exploited in an inclusive manner will not create new barriers. 

The consultation on the mid-term review highlighted a concern about e-inclusion and digital 
divide issues and there was a consensus on the need for further action, notably in the light of 
enlargement and the increasing socio-economic impact of ICT. The actions called for were of 
two types. First, a need was identified for better and more comprehensive data and analysis to 
assess the extent of regional and social imbalances in ICT diffusion and the reasons for low 
user adoption in certain groups, such as women. Second, specific practical actions should be 
reinforced and newly developed to address e-inclusion, for example: 

•  guidelines on multiplatform approaches to increase access to and widen use of e-services, 

e.g. through Digital TV, mobile platforms or wireless area networks;  

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•  implementation  targets  for  European  e-accessibility  and  usability  standards  (e.g.  public 
procurement, Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) guidelines, Design for All and labelling) 
and further research in this area;  

•  further development of public internet access points;  

•  Raising awareness and digital literacy in a gender sensitive way, in particular among those 
groups  at  risk  of  exclusion  and  with  specific  needs  (such  as  disabled  and  elderly  people, 
those with low education and income, immigrants etc.), as well as provision of appropriate 
contents and services. 

Action  13:  By  mid  2005,  e-inclusion  priorities  should  be  reassessed  on  the  basis  of  a 
thorough  analysis  of  the  background  to  e-inclusion,  laying  out  a  series  of  specific  and 
realisable targets. This reflection will provide support to other EU level initiatives relevant to 
e-inclusion, notably in the areas of social inclusion, employment, education and training, or 
research  &  development.  More  coherent,  strategic  and  integrated  approaches  should  be 
developed, ensuring that policies in relation to e-inclusion and e-accessibility reinforce and 
are  reinforced  by  other  policies  to  promote  social  inclusion,  particularly  in  the  context  of 
developing  National  Action  Plans  to  promote  social  inclusion.  Ultimately,  considering 
growing ICT pervasiveness, greater e-inclusion will contribute to cohesion and growth goals 
set  in  the  Lisbon  strategy.  Preparatory  steps  will  be  taken  in  2004.  The  Commission  will 
analyse  the  situation  and  provide  policy  guidance,  notably  through  the  eEurope  Advisory 
Group  and  the  High  Level  Group  on  the  Employment  and  Social  Dimension  of  the 
Information Society28. 

6. 

BENCHMARKING EEUROPE  

A  key  aim  of  this  update  is  to  improve  the  implementation  of  eEurope.  Benchmarking  is 
central  to  the  implementation  of  the  Action  Plan.  It  is  fundamental  to  the  open  method  of 
coordination  used  by  eEurope.  An  improvement  to  the  availability  and  relevance  of  the 
benchmarking indicators should enhance the value–added of the action plan.  

It  is  recognised  that  the  revision  of  eEurope  should  not  generate  new  statistical  burdens  on 
Member States and enterprises. However, the mid-term review strongly indicated the need to 
examine the extent to which the actions promoted under eEurope are delivering benefits. To 
do this an additional emphasis is needed on analysing impact. In addition, it is vital that the 
measurement efforts gain a higher level of visibility. Thus, the revised Action Plan will focus 
on bringing benchmarking into the spotlight through three main points of focus: 

First,  indicator  measurement  should  be  more  visible  and  easier  to  use.  Up  to  now,  data  has 
been  made  available  on  the  eEurope  web  site  and  analysed  annually  in  a  Commission 
benchmarking report. In order to raise the visibility and impact of the eEurope Action Plan the 
Commission will establish a new domain on eEurope benchmarking indicators on the Eurostat 
dissemination database, which will be accessible free of charge on the internet and implement 
a  thorough  review  of  its  on-line  presentation  of  eEurope  in  order  to  combine  wider  data 
sources with analytical background.  

28 

http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/knowledge_society/esdis_en.htm 

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Second, more analysis of impact is required. The detailed analysis of benchmarking data will 
continue  to  be  presented  in  advance  of  the  European  Council  but  this  data  should  be 
supplemented with analysis of the impact of measures undertaken within eEurope, especially 
in the context of its contribution to the Lisbon targets. One simple example is the provision of 
comparable  data  for  third  countries.  Other  examples  are  attention  to  outcomes  of  eEurope 
actions  in  terms  of  contributions  to  growth,  job  creation,  service  efficiency,  cohesion  and 
sustainability. 

Third,  the  policy  relevance  of  benchmarking  should  be  increased  through  striking  a  better 
balance  between  timeliness  and  robustness  of  data.  The  Council  Resolution  on  eEurope 
specified that most benchmarking indicators should be obtained from surveys undertaken by 
national statistical institutes and co-ordinated by Eurostat. This has the benefit of producing 
high quality statistics. It was not possible to provide first quarter 2003 data for all 15 Member 
States  in  advance  of  the  spring  European  Council  2004,  however,  a  new  regulation  on 
Community statistics on the Information society will ensure annual updates for the majority of 
benchmarking  indicators  within  the  EU  25  on  a  timely  basis.  Ways  should  be  sought  to 
complement the national surveys with a flexible response system to give up to date guidance 
to policy makers. 

Action  14:  The  implementation  of  ‘eEurope  Online’  -  an  integrated  web-platform  for 
eEurope,  supported  by  a  flexible  response  data  gathering  and  reporting  mechanism.  The 
action has two components: 

•  Integrated  web-based  information  service  on  eEurope:  the  first  phase,  by  end  2004,  will 
produce  a  reformatted  web  site  presenting  all  benchmarking  data  and  links  to  other 
relevant  sources,  such  as  the  NewCronos  Eurostat  database.  The  second  phase  to  be 
completed in mid 2005 will be to provide analysis of official statistics. 

•  A flexible response data gathering and reporting mechanism: the Modinis Programme will 
be  used  to  complement  the  national  statistical  institute  surveys  through  targeted  data 
gathering  exercises  for  areas  for  which  official  statistics  are  not  available.  Commission 
proposals  will  be  presented  in  the  course  of  2004  following  consultation  with  Member 
States. 

7. 

THE CONTRIBUTION OF ICT TO THE LISBON STRATEGY 

The  eEurope  initiative  was  launched  in  support  of  the  Lisbon  strategy.  When  the  current 
eEurope Action Plan enters its last year in 2005, the Lisbon Strategy itself will be undergoing 
a mid-term review. It is therefore appropriate to launch now a detailed analysis of the role of 
ICT  in  achieving  the  Lisbon  targets.  The  growing  evidence  that  ICTs  are  essential  to 
increasing  productivity  and  inclusiveness  provides  a  key  demonstration  of  the  relevance  of 
ICT stimulation actions such as eEurope. However, it is time to reflect whether the specific 
instruments  and  targets  adopted  for  eEurope  are  the  right  ones  or  whether  a  greater  impact 
could  be  achieved  through  a  new  battery  of  policy  tools.  At  the  same  time,  across  its  life 
eEurope has emphasised connectivity, readiness to adopt ICT and, more recently, the delivery 
of services. In the mid-term review communication the point was made that the emphasis now 
needs to turn towards delivering solutions. This implies a shift of emphasis away from supply 
to demand and away from measuring adoption to looking at impact.  

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In addition, the Lisbon Strategy is based on the principle of a set of policy objectives that is 
balanced  across  the  economic,  social  and  environmental  domains.  ICT  has  a  major  role  to 
play in each of these areas. Thus it is timely to consider whether the scope of any successor to 
eEurope  should  be  adjusted  to  permit  a  greater  engagement  on  social  and  environmental 
sustainability, as far as growth is also central to achieving the other Lisbon objectives. A close 
alignment  will  be  pursued  with  the  new  Financial  Perspectives,  where  the  successor  of 
eEurope  will  build  amongst  others  on  the  closer  articulation  between  deployment,  research, 
and regulatory policies that are advocated in the Financial Perspectives. 

Also,  it  will  be  necessary  to  consider  the  impact  of  eEurope  on  the  international  scene. 
Numerous partner countries have shown their interest in the EU approach. Several countries 
have taken the eEurope initiative as a reference for developing their own actions. Policy and 
regulatory dialogues between the Union and its partners have been established, which find a 
natural extension in the implementation of co-operation programmes.29 This is the case with 
partner  countries  in  Asia,30  Latin  America31  and  the  Mediterranean.32  In  addition,  the  key 
areas and themes of eEurope 2005 correspond closely to those identified for the advancement 
of the global information society, in particular in the framework of the UN World Summit on 
Information Society (WSIS), which held its first session in Geneva in December 2003.  

Action 15: The Commission will submit, ahead of the spring European Council in 2005, a 
strategic analysis of eEurope in the context of the synthesis report and orientations on the 
support  of  ICT  to  the  Lisbon  Strategy  in  its  second  phase  to  2010.  There  will  be  two  key 
elements  to  the  Commission’s  proposal.  Firstly,  during  the  latter  half  of  2004  a  process  of 
evaluating  the  contribution  of  eEurope  to  the  achievement  of  the  Lisbon  Strategy  will  be 
launched. The evaluation will build on existing evaluations and impact assessments to create 
an overall assessment of the impact of eEurope. Secondly, a process of reflection on options 
for the future will be conducted with the assistance of the eEurope Advisory Group. 

8. 

CONCLUSIONS 

This  Communication  presents  an  update  to  the  eEurope  2005  Action  Plan.  The  aim  is  to 
address  certain  areas  which  were  identified  as  important  fields  of  action  during  the 
consultation  for  the  mid-term  review.  The  Communication  can  be  seen  as  a  series  of 
preparatory  steps  towards  the  establishment  of  a  new  policy  framework  for  ICT  policy  in 
Europe.  To  this  end  it  emphasises  stakeholder  dialogue  and  exchange  of  good  practice  in 
order  to  identify  pathways  towards  progress  rather  than  the  specification  of  radically  new 
targets.  In  addition,  it  emphasises  the  importance  of  undertaking  a  phase  of  review  and 
evaluation  before  any  successor  to  eEurope  is  proposed  or  launched.  In  particular,  it  is 
necessary  to  make  explicit  the  role  of  ICT  in  achieving  the  Lisbon  Targets  of  growth, 
cohesion and sustainability.  

29 

30 

31 
32 

For example, EU accession countries have adopted an eEurope+ Action Plan, inspired by eEurope, and 
the  Northern  European  countries  have  developed  a  comparable  strategy.  Also,  South-East  Asia  and 
emerging economies like Brazil, Mexico and Morocco have adopted “e-strategies”. 
ASIA  IT&C  has  IT&C  has  worked  together  with  Asian  developing  countries  since  1999,  supporting 
projects in fields such as agriculture, teaching, health, transport, tourism and electronic trade. 
"@LIS" (Alliance for the Information Society) launched in 2002 in Seville. 
“New Approach for Telecommunications Policies" (NATP) and a programme for the development of 
the Information Society (EUMEDIS) 

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The  Lisbon  Strategy  is  a  strong  political  commitment  to  ensure  that  the  European  Union 
becomes  the  most  competitive  and  dynamic  knowledge-based  economy  by  2010.  If  the 
European Union wants to play a leading role in the global Information Society, it is necessary 
that all three pillars of Lisbon Strategy are fully implemented in ICT policy. These are growth 
and  competitiveness,  cohesion  and  sustainability.  These  provide  an  orientation  for 
consideration of the next steps beyond 2005 and beyond the timeframe of the current eEurope 
Action  Plan.  New  policy  guidance  such  as  safeguarding  citizen-user-consumer  interests, 
providing industrial policy tools and increasing e-inclusion should be taken into account. 

However, to make such a review and preparation phase worthwhile it is essential to have the 
full engagement of Member States. The Commission therefore invites all 25 Member States to 
reconfirm  their  commitment  to  the  eEurope  2005  Action  Plan  and  its  current  targets.  In 
addition,  it  requests  the  Member  States  to  play  an  active  role  in  assuring  the  success  of  the 
new initiatives in particular with regard to the deployment of new services in e-government, 
e-learning and e-health. 

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