Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - “i2010 – A European Information Society for growth and employment” {SEC(2005) 717}
Date: 2005-06-01
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: economic growth, employment policy, information society, information technology, telecommunications

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 1.6.2005 
COM(2005) 229 final 

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

“i2010 – A European Information Society for growth and employment” 

{SEC(2005) 717} 

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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 

“i2010 – A European Information Society for growth and employment” 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 

A single European information space .......................................................................... 4 

Innovation and investment in research......................................................................... 6 

Inclusion, better public services and quality of life ..................................................... 9 

Conclusion: i2010 within the new Lisbon governance cycle..................................... 11 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

In launching the partnership for growth and jobs as a new start for the Lisbon strategy, 
the  2005  Spring  European  Council  called  knowledge  and  innovation  the  engines  of 
sustainable  growth  and  stated  that  it  is  essential  to  build  a  fully  inclusive  information 
society,  based  on  the  widespread  use  of  information  and  communication  technologies 
(ICT) in public services, SMEs and households. 

Information  and  communication  technologies  are  a  powerful  driver  of  growth  and 
employment. A quarter of EU GDP growth and 40% of productivity growth are due to 
ICT. Differences in economic performances between industrialised countries are largely 
explained by the level of ICT investment, research, and use, and by the competitiveness 
of information society and media industries1. ICT services, skills, media and content are 
a growing part of the economy and society. 

In  recent  years,  ICT  developments  have  gained  pace  to  arrive  at  the  threshold  of 
massive  growth  in  information  society  and  media,  made  possible  by  widespread  fast 
communications, connecting multiple devices. Traditional content (such as films, video, 
music) is now available in digital formats, and new services that are ‘born digital’, such 
as interactive software, are emerging. The digital convergence of information society 
and  media  services,  networks  and  devices  is  finally  becoming  an  everyday  reality: 
ICT will become smarter, smaller, safer, faster, always connected and easier to use, with 
content moving to three-dimensional multimedia formats. 

Proactive  policies  are  needed  to  respond  to  the  fundamental  changes  in  technology. 
Digital convergence requires policy convergence and a willingness to adapt regulatory 
frameworks where needed so they are consistent with the emerging digital economy. 

The  Commission  proposes  a  new  strategic  framework, 
i2010  –  European 
Information Society 2010, laying out broad policy orientations. It promotes an open 
and  competitive  digital  economy  and  emphasises  ICT  as  a  driver  of  inclusion  and 
quality of life. A key element of the renewed Lisbon partnership for growth and jobs, 
i2010 will build towards an integrated approach to information society and audio-
visual media policies in the EU. 

1 

The services of the information society and media industries were already described in the 1998 
Green  Paper  on  convergence  of  the  telecommunications,  media  and  information  technology 
sectors and the implications for regulation towards an information society approach - COM(97) 
623 - and, taking into account new developments, in the 2003 Communication on the Future of 
European  Regulatory  Audiovisual  Policy  -  COM(2003)  784.  These  services  reflect  the 
convergence now taking place between electronic communications services, information society 
services  and  broadcasting  services  and  the  emergence  of  new  content  services  resulting 
therefrom.  

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Drawing on a comprehensive analysis of information society challenges and drawing on 
wide stakeholder consultation on previous initiatives and instruments2, the Commission 
proposes three priorities for Europe’s information society and media policies: 

i) 

ii) 

iii) 

the completion of a Single European Information Space which promotes an 
open and competitive internal market for information society and media; 

strengthening Innovation and Investment in ICT research to promote growth 
and more and better jobs; 

achieving an Inclusive European Information Society that promotes growth 
and jobs in a manner that is consistent with sustainable development and that 
prioritises better public services and quality of life. 

The following sections outline the objectives of i2010 and the key activities, which are 
fully integrated and consistent with the new Lisbon governance cycle. 

2. 

A SINGLE EUROPEAN INFORMATION SPACE 

The  information  society  is  at  a  turning  point:  recent  technological  progress  has  been 
huge  and  ICT  are  entering  a  phase  of  mass  deployment  which  may  fundamentally 
change  the  way  in  which  we  work,  live  and  interact.  Rich  media  content  is  becoming 
available in new, diverse formats and can be delivered independent of location or time, 
personalised  to  individual  citizens’  preferences  or  requirements.  In  technical  terms, 
communication  networks,  media,  content,  services  and  devices  are  undergoing  digital 
convergence. Improvements in networks, combined with new compression techniques, 
create new and faster distribution channels and trigger new content formats and services 
(e.g. Voice over IP, Web TV, on-line music). 

New  content  creation,  services  and  business  models  are  driving  growth  and  jobs.  For 
example, Western European online content markets are expected to triple by 2008 (with 
the  consumer  part  growing  tenfold)3.  These  developments  are  expected  to  multiply 
across the sector, today already accounting for 8% of EU GDP. However, the impact of 
digital  convergence  will  be  felt  globally  and  will  lead  to  increased  worldwide 
competition.  If  Europe  is  to  benefit  fully  from  its  economic  potential,  a  proactive 
policy  approach  is  needed  to  stimulate  favourable  market  developments  and  the 
promotion  of  the  knowledge  society  (e.g.  lifelong learning, creativity and innovation), 
consumer protection and a healthy and safe European information society. 

The creation of a Single European Information Space needs to address at the outset four 
main challenges posed by digital convergence:  

•  speed:  faster  broadband  in  Europe  services  to  deliver  rich  content  such  as  high 

definition video; 

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3 

I.e.  the  eEurope  initiatives  and  the  communication  on  the  future  of  European  audiovisual 
regulatory policy - COM(2003) 784. 
European Information Technology Observatory (EITO) 2005. 

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•  rich content: increased legal and economic certainty to encourage new services and 

on-line content; 

•  interoperability:  enhancing  devices  and  platforms  that  “talk  to  one  another”  and 

services that are portable from platform to platform; 

•  security:  making  internet  safer  from  fraudsters,  harmful  content  and  technology 

failures to increase trust amongst investors and consumers. 

Objective  1:  A  Single  European  Information  Space  offering  affordable  and  secure 
high bandwidth communications, rich and diverse content and digital services. 

Digital convergence calls for a consistent system of rules for information society and 
media. In this area, the internal market is governed by a wide set of rules covering e.g. 
audiovisual  media,  digital  television,  on-line  trading,  intellectual  property  rights  and 
support measures for the creation and circulation of European content. Some regulatory 
elements  (e.g.  the  e-Commerce  directive)  are  recent  and  reflect  digital  convergence. 
Others,  notably  the  Television  without  Frontiers  Directive  are  due  for  review.  The 
Commission  undertakes  to  examine  the  rules  affecting  the  digital  economy  to  make 
their  interplay  more  coherent  and  oriented  to  economic  and  technological  realities. 
Concretely the Commission will: 

•  by  end  2005,  propose  a  revision  of  the  ‘Television  without  Frontiers’  directive  to 

modernise the rules on audiovisual media services; 

•  by  2007,  the  Commission  will  have  analysed  the  community  acquis  affecting 
information society and media services and will bring forward proposals for change 
where necessary. 

Complementary  policies  will  promote  fast  and  efficient  implementation  of  the 
updated  frameworks  and  support  will  continue  for  the  creation  and  circulation  of 
European content and knowledge4. 

Regulation of electronic communications has been transformed in the last decade. The 
European  electronic  communications  regulatory  framework,  in  force  since  2003,  is  an 
example of best practice. Where it has been implemented consistently and effectively it 
has opened up competition, encouraging lower prices and investment. Regulation must 
keep pace with technological and market developments. Therefore, in the 2006 review 
of the framework, the Commission will thoroughly examine its principles and mode of 
implementation, especially where bottlenecks are delaying the provision of faster, more 
innovative and competitive broadband services. 

New high speed wireless applications are driving demand for radio spectrum5. Policy 
aims to facilitate spectrum access across the EU through market mechanisms. This will 
be assisted by the planned switching off of analogue terrestrial television by 2012. The 

4 
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With MEDIA, the eLearning and the eContent programme and their successors. 
E.g. broadband mobile, wireless local and wide area networks (WiFI & WiMax) and digital TV. 

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Commission  will  consolidate  its  proposals  by  defining  a  strategy  for  efficient 
spectrum management in 2005 to be implemented in the 2006 review of the electronic 
communications framework. 

Digital  convergence  requires  devices,  platforms  and  services  to  interoperate.  The 
Commission intends to use all its instruments to foster technologies that communicate, 
through  research,  promotion  of  open  standards,  support  for  stakeholder  dialogue  and, 
where  needed,  mandatory  instruments.  Such  a  policy  mix  was  the  foundation  of 
Europe’s  mobile  telephony  success.  Under  i2010,  the  Commission  will  also  seek  to 
establish  a  comprehensive  approach  for  effective  and  interoperable  digital  rights 
management.  

Trustworthy,  secure  and  reliable  ICT  are  crucial  for  a  wide  take  up  of  converging 
digital  services.  During  2006  the  Commission  will  propose  a  Strategy  for  a  Secure 
Information Society to combine and update the instruments available, including raising 
awareness of the need for self-protection, vigilance and monitoring of threats, rapid and 
effective  response  to  attacks  and  system  failures.  Support  will  be  given  to  targeted 
research to ‘design-in’ security and to deployment measures that test solutions for key 
issues  such  as  identity  management.  Revision  of  regulation  will  be  considered  where 
necessary,  for  example  in  protection  of  privacy,  electronic  signature  or  discouraging 
illegal and harmful content. 

In  summary,  the  i2010  agenda  on  the  Single  European  Information  Space  will 
accelerate the economic pay-off from digital convergence by the following measures: 

Review  the  electronic  communications  regulatory  framework  (2006),  including  defining  an 
efficient spectrum management strategy (2005) 

Create a consistent internal market framework for information society and media services by  

•  modernising the legal framework for audio-visual services, starting with a Commission 

proposal in 2005 for revising the Television Without Frontiers Directive 

• 

• 

analysing and making any necessary adaptations to the community acquis affecting 
information society and media services (2007) 

actively promote fast and efficient implementation of the existing and updated acquis 
governing the information society and media services 

Continued support for the creation and circulation of European content 

Define and implement a strategy for a secure European Information Society (2006) 

Identify and promote targeted actions on interoperability, particularly digital rights 
management (2006/2007)  

3. 

INNOVATION AND INVESTMENT IN RESEARCH 

ICT  make  a  crucial  contribution  to  growth  and  jobs  in  Europe.  The  ICT  sector  is  a 
major contributor to the economy, while the adoption and skilful application of ICT is 
one  of  the  largest  contributors  to  productivity  and  growth  throughout  the  economy, 
leading to business innovation in key sectors. 

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Research  and innovation:  Europe accounts for around one third  of global ICT sales, 
which are growing at 5% per year, with double digit growth in emerging markets such 
as India and China. Europe is a global leader in electronic communications, accounting 
for 40 to 50% of the revenues of the world’s largest players6. Europe is also strong in 
sectors such as nano-electronics, micro-systems and embedded systems.  

Investment  in  research  and  innovation  is  crucial  for  the  ICT  sector  to  continue 
delivering  jobs  and  growth  in  the  short  and  long  term.  However,  as  Table  1  shows, 
Europe is seriously under investing in ICT. 

Table 1 - Investment in ICT Research (2002)7 

ICT R&D8 

Private sector investments 

Public sector investments 

Inhabitants 

Investments / inhabitant 

ICT R&D as % Total R&D 

Source: IDATE (for EU-15); OECD 

EU-15 

US 

Japan  

23 B€ 

8 B€ 

383 m 

80 € 

18% 

83 B€ 

20 B€ 

296 m 

350€ 

34% 

40 B€ 

11 B€ 

127 m 

400€. 

35% 

Strategic  ICT  research  is  needed  to  assure  Europe’s  leadership  in  areas  where  it  has 
recognised strengths (e.g. nanoelectronics, embedded systems, communications) and in 
emerging  areas  (e.g.  web-services, cognitive systems). Targeted research is needed on 
bottlenecks  such  as  integrated  solutions,  ease  of  use  and  security.  This  also  supports 
Europe’s  international  competitiveness  in  crucial  areas  such  as  standards  and  R&D 
location decisions. Europe needs higher ICT research investment to reach the Barcelona 
target of 3% of GDP on R&D. 

Deployment and adoption of ICT: Research alone is not enough. The benefits of ICT 
come  from  embedding  them  into  products  and  services  and  the  adoption  of  new 
business  models,  organisational  change  and  skills.  Businesses  are  getting  productivity 
gains  from  ICT  but  still  face  a  lack  of  interoperability,  reliability  and  security; 
difficulties to reorganise and integrate ICT into the workplace and high cost of support. 
SMEs in particular have difficulties to adopt ICT. 

A  new  era  of  ‘e-business  solutions’  is  coming,  based  on  integrated  ICT  solutions, 
secure  web-services  and  ‘collaboration  tools’  to  raise  worker  productivity.  New 
developments indicate that the business use of ICT will increase in the next years. It is 
also  essential  to  adapt  the  working  environment  through  efficient  use  of  ICT  in  the 
workplace and for a flexible organisation of safe and high quality work. 

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OECD Information Technology Outlook 2004. 
Comparable data for EU 25 will be available by the end of 2005. 
"Investment in ICT Research, Comparative Study”, IDATE 2002. 

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Objective 2: World class performance in research and innovation in ICT by closing 
the gap with Europe’s leading competitors. 

The  Lisbon  Strategy  emphasises  investment  in  research  and  innovation  to  generate 
growth and jobs. When Europe is successful at invention, it sometimes fails to innovate. 
i2010 will therefore actively seek to reduce barriers between research results and 
economic rewards. 

The  Commission  has  recently  launched  two  major  proposals  to  strengthen  Europe’s 
position  in  ICT;  the  Seventh  Research  Framework  Programme  (FP7)  and  the 
Competitiveness  and  Innovation  Programme  (CIP)9.  In  its  proposal  for  FP7,  the 
Commission  asks  for  a  substantial  increase  in  the  ICT  research  budget.  This  will 
contribute  to  closing  the  ICT  gap  with  other  leading  economies  if  it  is  fully 
complemented by increases in private and public research spending. 

The  Commission  will  encourage  the  transformation  of  technological  progress  into 
innovative  applications  and  services  in  the  public  and  private  sector.  It  will  support 
approaches  that  are  high  risk  and  creative  and  building  scale  through  private-public 
partnerships10  that  mobilise  the  know-how,  capabilities  and  financial  resources  of 
industry  and  research  around  strategic  research  priorities11.  The  Commission  will 
prioritise  its  strategic  research  in  areas  where  European  added  value  is  greatest  and 
where impact on growth and jobs is highest. In FP7 the technology pillars are: 

•  technologies for knowledge, content and creativity - including cognition, simulation 

and visualisation; 

•  advanced and open communication networks; 

•  secure and dependable software; 

•  embedded systems; 

•  nanoelectronics. 

The  co-ordination  of  the  Commission’s  research  and  deployment  instruments  will  be 
enhanced  by  focusing  them  on  key  bottlenecks  such  as  interoperability,  security  and 
reliability,  identity  management,  rights  management  and  ease  of  use.  Research  and 
deployment  instruments  will  be  coordinated  to  demonstrate  technological  and 
organisational  solutions  in  areas,  where  a  shared  EU  level  approach  can  help  to  build 
economies of scale and encourage investors. 

The Commission also intends to encourage investment in ICT research and innovation 
in  Europe  through  complementary  measures.  The  Commission  will  support  strategic 

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FP7 proposes to attribute 1 800 m€ annually to ICT. The ICT Policy Support Programme of the 
CIP proposes 800 m€ for 2007 to 2013 to encourage take-up and use of ICT. 
Including European Technology Platforms or Joint Technology Initiatives. 
Research in nanoelectronics will be supported and coordinated by the Commission according to 
the proposal of FP7 and in line with the vision and the strategic research agenda of the European 
Technology Platform on Nanoelectronics. 

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co-operation  between  ICT  research  programmes  by  bringing  together  national  and 
European-level  activities  and  by  building  on  the  experience  of  shared  infrastructures 
such as GÉANT. It will monitor expenditure performance by both the public and private 
sectors. It will also promote education and training policies so that Europe has the skills 
it needs to research, innovate and use ICT. 

In  support  of  the  take-up  of  ICT  the  Commission  intends  to  propose  an  integrated 
policy on e-business giving special attention to SMEs. This should be complemented by 
support under the Structural and Rural Development Funds. 

In  summary,  to  launch  the  i2010  agenda  on  raising  investment  in  research  and 
innovation the Commission will: 

Propose an 80% increase in Community ICT research support by 2010 and invite the member 
states to do the same 

Prioritise strategic ICT research around FP7 key technology pillars (2007) 

Launch  research  and  deployment  initiatives  to  overcome  key  bottlenecks  that  require  both 
technological and organisational solutions (2006) 

Define  complementary  measures  to  encourage  private  investments  in  ICT  research  and 
innovation (2006) 

Make  specific  proposals  on  an  Information  Society  for  all  in  the  Community  Strategic 
Guidelines on Cohesion 2007-2013 

Define  e-business  policies  aiming  to  remove  technological,  organisational  and  legal  barriers  to 
ICT adoption with a focus on SMEs 

Develop  tools  to  support  new  patterns  of  work  that  enhance  innovation  in  enterprises  and 
adaptation to new skill needs 

4. 

INCLUSION, BETTER PUBLIC SERVICES AND QUALITY OF LIFE 

As the use of ICT grows, so does its impact on society. i2010 recognises this in three 
ways: making sure that ICT benefit all citizens; making public services better, more 
cost effective and more accessible; and improving quality of life.  

ICT  are  becoming  more  widely  used  and  are  benefiting  more  people.  But  today  over 
half of the EU population either does not reap these benefits in full or is effectively cut 
off  from  them.  Reinforcing  social,  economic  and  territorial  cohesion  by  making  ICT 
products  and  services  more  accessible,  including  in  regions  lagging  behind,  is  an 
economic, social, ethical and political imperative. In i2010, strong emphasis is given 
to full participation and to providing people with basic digital competence. 

Public  services  are  a  major  part  of  the  European  economy.  For  example,  public 
procurement  accounts  for  16%  of  GDP.  A  key  challenge  is  to  make  these  services 
better,  more  accessible  and  more  cost-effective.  Considerable  advances  have  been 
achieved  in  the  rollout  of  ICT-based  public  services.  Successes  are  already  being 

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registered: for example, on-line tax returns save millions of hours each year. However, 
much remains to be done to demonstrate economic impact and social acceptance. 

ICT can contribute strongly to improvements in the quality of life. ICT are capable of 
improving the health of our citizens via new ICT enabled medical and welfare services. 
In light of the demographic challenges facing Europe, ICT can help make public health 
and  welfare  systems  more  efficient  and  effective.  ICT  can  be  a  strong  force  for 
reinforcing Europe's cultural diversity by making our heritage and our cultural creations 
available  to  a  wider  number  of  citizens.  ICT  are  also  a  tool  for  environmental 
sustainability, e.g. through monitoring and disaster management and through clean, low 
energy  and  efficient  production  processes12.  ICT  can  help  to  make  transport  safer, 
cleaner and more energy efficient. 

Objective  3:  An  Information  Society  that  is  inclusive,  provides  high  quality  public 
services and promotes quality of life. 

Digital  convergence  brings  new  challenges  for  e-Inclusion.  The  Commission  will 
therefore adopt a comprehensive approach. During 2005, it will address e-accessibility 
through a mix of research and stimulation measures to make ICT systems easier to use 
for a wider range of people. It will give guidance to extend the geographical coverage of 
broadband  in  under-served  areas  and  will  review  the  scope  of  the  Universal  Service 
Directive in 2005 and the directive as a whole in 2006. In 2006, the Commission will 
also review the contribution of ICT and digital literacy to key competences targets in the 
‘Education and training 2010’ initiative. 

In addition, the Commission intends to propose a European Initiative on e-Inclusion 
in 2008, addressing issues such as equal opportunities, ICT skills and regional divides. 
It  will  be  prepared  through  actions  on  active  monitoring,  digital  literacy  and  research 
into  accessible  technological  solutions.  All  available  instruments  should  be  deployed, 
including  integration  in  the  strategic  guidelines  for  the  Structural  Funds,  rural 
development funds, national support, regulatory intervention and research. 

The Commission intends to promote ICT-enabled public services, not least through its 
own  e-Commission  project,  that  are  more  transparent,  accessible  and  cost-effective. 
However,  considerable  challenges  remain.  Technically  there  is  a  need  for  common 
interfaces, portability of identity from one system to another and authentication systems. 
Organisational  changes  needed  include  new  practices,  new  skills  and  different  rules. 
These issues are best tackled in an integrated way through initiatives such as the recent 
e-Health and e-Procurement Action Plans. The Commission will also propose an Action 
Plan on e-Government and strategic orientations on ICT-enabled public services. The 
Commission will support these efforts using a limited set of high profile demonstrators 
to  test  technical,  legal  and  organisational  solutions.  The  priorities  and  scope  of  these 
projects will be decided in partnership with Member States. 

12 

i2010 will exploit these opportunities jointly with the Environmental Technologies Action Plan 
(ETAP). 

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The vital contribution of ICT to the quality of life often goes unrecognised and take-up 
is  limited.  To  raise  visibility,  the  Commission  proposes  to  launch  flagship  ICT 
initiatives  on  key  social  challenges.  The  three  initial  priorities  are  the  needs  of  the 
ageing  society,  safe  and  clean  transport  and  cultural  diversity.  The  first  initiative 
will  be  on  caring  for  people  in  an  ageing  society  addressing  technologies  for 
wellbeing,  independent  living  and  health.  The  second  will  be  on  the  intelligent  car: 
smarter,  safer  and  cleaner  addressing  environmental  and  safety  issues  arising  from 
increased  road  use.  The  third  will  be  on  digital  libraries  making  multimedia  sources 
easier  and  more  interesting  to  use.  It  will  build  on  Europe’s  rich  heritage  combining 
multicultural  and  multilingual  environments  with  technological  advances  and  new 
business models. 

In summary, to launch i2010’s societal agenda the Commission will: 

Issue policy guidance on e-accessibility and coverage of broadband (2005) 

Propose a European Initiative on e-Inclusion (2008)  

Adopt  an  Action  Plan  on  e-Government  and  strategic  orientations  on  ICT-enabled  public 
services (2006)  

Launch  demonstrator  projects  to  test,  at  an  operational  scale,  technological,  legal  and 
organisational solutions to bringing public services on-line (2007) 

Set-up three ‘quality of life’ ICT flagship initiatives as initial steps (2007) 

5. 

CONCLUSION: I2010 WITHIN THE NEW LISBON GOVERNANCE CYCLE 

The  European  Union  has  given  a  new  start  to  the  Lisbon  Strategy  emphasising  the 
partnership for growth and jobs. i2010 will contribute in making Europe more attractive 
to investment and innovation in knowledge-based goods and services. Each actor has a 
role to play within his field of responsibilities: 

•  The  European  Commission,  through  the  Community  Lisbon  Programme  and  in 

particular i2010, will lead in: 

–  developing  proposals 

the  regulatory  frameworks  for  electronic 
communications,  information  society  and  media  services  to  exploit  to  the  full  the 
internal market; 

to  update 

–  using  the  Community  financial  instruments  to  stimulate  investment  in  strategic 

research and to overcome bottlenecks to widespread ICT innovation; 

–  supporting policies to address eInclusion and quality of life. 

•  Member  States  through  the  National  Reform  Programmes  to  be  adopted  by  mid-
October  2005  should  define  Information  Society  priorities  in  line  with  the 
Integrated  Guidelines  for  growth  and  jobs,  which  stress  the  importance  of  ICT 
uptake, ICT infrastructure and ICT for jobs and education. These programmes could 
help Member States to: 

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–  ensure rapid and thorough transposition of the new regulatory frameworks affecting 

digital convergence with an emphasis on open and competitive markets; 

–  increase ICT research in national spending; 

–  develop modern and interoperable ICT-enabled public services; 

–  use their considerable purchasing power as a force for innovation in ICT; 

–  adopt ambitious targets for developments of the information society at national level. 

•  Other stakeholders should be engaged in open and constructive dialogue in support 
of  an  innovative  knowledge  society.  In  particular,  industrial  partners  should  aim  at 
raising  investments  in  ICT  research  and  technologies,  while  constructive  efforts 
should be made in areas where there are critical bottlenecks to developments in the 
digital economy. 

Member  States  should  subsequently  report  annually  on  achievements  in  their 
Implementation  Reports  on  the  National  Reform  Programmes  according  to  the  new 
Lisbon  governance  cycle.  Progress  on  these  will  be  analysed  in  the  Commission’s 
Annual Lisbon Progress Report. 

The Commission will at the same time widen and strengthen dialogue with stakeholders 
and  work  with  Member  States  to  address  these,  notably  through  the  open  method  of 
coordination13. The Commission may, for example, promote exchange of good practice 
and  monitor  the  take-up  of  broadband  services,  eBusiness  and  eGovernment  services, 
investment in ICT research, social and economic disparities and digital literacy through 
progress  reports.  This  will  not  entail  new  reporting  mechanisms  for  Member  States 
outside their Implementation Reports on the National Reform Programmes.  

With  i2010,  the  Commission  launches  a  new  integrated  Information  Society  policy 
approach.  Fully  in-line  with  the  new  governance  cycle  of  the  re-launched  Lisbon 
Strategy, i2010 will contribute to the core Lisbon goal of sustained growth and jobs. 

13 

Working together for growth and jobs. Next steps in implementing the revised Lisbon strategy - 
SEC(2005) 622. 

EN 

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   EN