Decision No 2113/2005/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of  14 December 2005  amending Decision No 2256/2003/EC with a view to extension of the programme in 2006 for the dissemination of good practices and monitoring of the take-up of information and communication technologies (ICTs)   (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2005-12-14
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: action programme, data protection, information technology, knowledge economy

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Official Journal of the European Union

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DECISION No 2113/2005/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 14 December 2005

amending Decision No 2256/2003/EC with a view to extension of the programme in 2006 for the
dissemination of good practices and monitoring of the take-up of information and communication
technologies (ICTs)

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EURO-
PEAN UNION,

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

argues for wider use of ICTs and for continued policy
attention to ICT-related issues, which involves the need for
monitoring and exchange of good practices. That Commu-
nication was the starting point for a reflection process that
led to a new Information Society initiative in 2005, to start
in 2006.

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and
Social Committee (1),

After consulting the Committee of the Regions,

(5)

The new initiative, entitled ‘i2010: European Information
Society’, was announced in the Commission Communica-
tion of 2 February 2005 to the Spring European Council,
entitled ‘Working together for growth and jobs – A new
start for the Lisbon Strategy’, aiming at stimulating the
take-up of ICTs.

Acting in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 251 of
the Treaty (2),

(6)

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Decision No 2256/2003/EC (3), established the Modinis
programme for the monitoring of the eEurope 2005
Action Plan, dissemination of good practices and the
improvement of information and network security for the
period from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2005.

Decision No 2256/2003/EC was amended by Decision
No 787/2004/EC in order to adapt the reference amounts
to take account of the enlargement of the European Union.

In its Resolution of 9 December 2004 on looking into the
future of
information communication technologies
(ICT) (4), the Council invited the Commission to start pre-
paratory work for the follow-up to the eEurope 2005
Action Plan as an important part of the new Agenda for
the Information Society beyond 2005.

The Commission Communication of 19 November 2004,
entitled ‘Challenges for the European Information Society
beyond 2005’, analyses the challenges that a European
information society strategy up to 2010 must address. It

(1) Opinion delivered on 27 October 2005 (not yet published in the Offi-

cial Journal).

(2) Opinion of the European Parliament of 15 November 2005 (not yet
published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 1 Decem-
ber 2005.

(3) OJ L 336, 23.12.2003, p. 1. Decision as amended by Decision

No 787/2004/EC (OJ L 138, 30.4.2004, p. 12).

(7)

(8)

The Commission Communication of 1 June 2005, entitled
‘i2010 – A European Information Society for growth and
employment’, outlines the key policy priorities of a five-
year strategy to promote an open and competitive digital
economy. The promotion of exchange of good practices
and the monitoring of the take-up of ICT-enabled services
will continue to support the dialogue with stakeholders
and Member States, notably in the context of the open
method of coordination.

In the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament
and of
the Council establishing a competitiveness
and innovation framework programme (2007 to 2013), a
framework programme for Community action in the field
of competitiveness and innovation, covering the period
2007 to 2013, is proposed which brings together specific
Community measures contributing to entrepreneurship,
SMEs, industrial competitiveness, innovation, information
and communication technology, environmental technolo-
gies and intelligent energy, including those measures pro-
vided for in Decision No 2256/2003/EC.

Regulation (EC) No 808/2004 of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 21 April 2004 concerning Commu-
nity statistics on the information society (5) establishes a
common framework for the systematic production of
Community statistics on the information society. These
statistics include information required for the eEurope
benchmarking process, are relevant to the structural indi-
cators supporting the monitoring of performance of Mem-
ber States and are necessary in order to provide a uniform
basis for analysis of the Information Society.

(4) OJ C 62, 12.3.2005, p. 1.

(5) OJ L 143, 30.4.2004, p. 49.

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(9)

(10)

In the 12 months between the expiry of the eEurope 2005
Action Plan and the anticipated start of the Framework
Programme in 2007, the take-up of ICTs across the
economy needs to be monitored and supported through
continuation of benchmarking and statistical analysis
based on structural indicators, and the exchange of good
practices. The actions taken under the programme on
benchmarking, good practices and policy coordination in
2006 will support the achievement of the objectives of the
abovementioned Commission Communications of 2 Feb-
ruary 2005 and 1 June 2005.

The mechanisms for monitoring and for the exchange of
experiences, benchmarking activities, dissemination of
good practices and analysis of economic and societal con-
sequences of the information society should be continued
in 2006 to achieve the objectives of the Commission Com-
munication of 2 February 2005, aiming at stimulating the
take-up of ICTs as a continuation of the eEurope agenda,
and those of the Commission Communication of 1 June
2005.

(11) Decision No 2256/2003/EC should therefore be amended,

(c)

to analyse the economic and societal consequences of
the information society with a view to facilitating policy
discussions particularly in terms of competitiveness,
growth and employment as well as in terms of social
inclusion.

2.
The activities of the programme shall be actions of a
cross-sectorial nature, complementing Community actions in
other fields. None of these actions shall duplicate the work
being carried out in these fields under other Community pro-
grammes. The actions taken under the programme on bench-
marking, good practices and policy coordination shall work
to achieve the objectives of the Commission Communication
of 2 February 2005 to the Spring European Council, entitled
“Working together for growth and jobs – A new start for the
Lisbon Strategy”, aiming at stimulating the take-up of ICTs as
a continuation of the eEurope agenda and in particular pro-
moting broadband, eGovernment, eBusiness, eHealth and
eLearning, and the objectives of the Commission Communi-
cation of 1 June 2005, entitled “i2010 – A European Infor-
mation Society for growth and employment”, promoting an
open and competitive digital economy.

3.
The programme shall also provide a common frame-
work for complementary interaction at European level of the
various national, regional and local levels.’;

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

2.

the following Article shall be inserted:

Article 1

‘Article 2a

Decision No 2256/2003/EC is hereby amended as follows:

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

1.

the following Article shall be inserted:

(a) Action 1

‘Article 1a

1.
The programme for 2006 shall continue the monitor-
ing of the take-up and use of information and communica-
tion technologies (ICTs) across the economy and the
dissemination of good practices, and shall have the follow-
ing objectives:

Monitoring and comparison of performance:

— data collection and analysis on the basis of the
benchmarking indicators as defined in the Council
resolution of 18 February 2003 on the implemen-
tation of the eEurope 2005 Action Plan, including
regional indicators, where appropriate, and Regula-
tion (EC) No 808/2004 of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 21 April 2004 concerning
Community statistics on the information society (*).

(a)

to monitor performance of and within Member States
and to compare it with the best in the world by using,
where possible, official statistics;

(b) Action 2

Dissemination of good practices:

(b)

to support efforts by Member States to stimulate the use
of ICTs at national, regional or local level, by analysis of
good practices and by the complementary interaction of
developing mechanisms of exchange of experiences;

— studies to identify good practices, at national,
regional and local level, contributing to successful
take up of ICTs across the economy,

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— support for targeted conferences, seminars or work-
shops, dissemination, information and communica-
tion activities in support of the objectives of the
Commission Communication of 2 February 2005
to the Spring European Council, entitled “Working
together for growth and jobs – A new start for the
Lisbon Strategy”, aiming at stimulating the take-up
of ICTs as a continuation of the eEurope agenda,
and the Commission Communication of 1 June
2005, entitled “i2010 – A European Information
Society for growth and employment”;, promoting
an open and competitive digital economy, in order
to promote cooperation and exchange of experi-
ences
in
Article 1a(1)(b).

practices

defined

good

and

as

(c) Action 3

3.

in Article 4, the first paragraph shall be replaced by the
following:

‘The programme shall cover the period from 1 January 2003
to 31 December 2006.

The financial framework for the implementation of this pro-
gramme is hereby set at EUR 30 160 000.’.

.

4.

the Annex shall be replaced by the text in the Annex to this
Decision.

Article 2

This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication
in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 3

Analysis and strategic discussion:

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

— support the work of social and economic experts
with a view to providing the Commission with
input as regards prospective policy analysis.

(*) OJ L 143, 30.4.2004, p. 49.’

Done at Strasbourg, 14 December 2005.

For the European Parliament
The President
J. BORRELL FONTELLES

For the Council
The President
C. CLARKE

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ANNEX

‘ANNEX

Multiannual programme for the monitoring of eEurope, dissemination of good practices and the improvement of
network and information security (Modinis)

Indicative breakdown of expenditure 2003 to 2005

Percentages of total budget by category and year

Action 1 – Monitoring and comparison of
performance

Action 2 – Dissemination of good practices

Action 3 – Analysis and strategic discussion

Action 4 – Improvement of network
and information security

Percentage of Total

2003

12 %

8 %

2 %

17 %

39 %

2004

14 %

10 %

3 %

5 %

32 %

2005

14 %

12 %

3 %

0 %

29 %

Total 2003
to 2005

40 %

30 %

8 %

22 %

100 %

Indicative breakdown of expenditure 2006

Percentages of total budget by category and year

Action 1 – Monitoring and comparison of performance

Action 2 – Dissemination of good practices

Action 3 – Analysis and strategic discussion

Action 4 – Improvement of network and information security

Percentage of Total

2006

55 %

30 %

15 %

0 %

100 %’