Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the 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
Date: 2006-02-16
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: economic growth, employment policy, information society, information technology, regional policy, telecommunications

16.8.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 192/21

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the Communication from the Commission to the
Council,
the European Economic and Social Committee and the
Committee of the Regions i2010 — A European Information Society for Growth and Employment

the European Parliament,

(2006/C 192/05)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

HAVING REGARD TO the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parlia-
ment, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on i2010 — A
European Information Society for Growth and Employment, COM(2005) 229 final;

HAVING REGARD TO the European Commission's decision of 1 June 2005 to request its opinion on
this subject under Article 265(1) of the Treaty establishing the European Community;

HAVING REGARD TO the decision taken by its Bureau on 12 April 2005 to instruct the Commission
for Culture and Education to draw up the opinion on the subject;

HAVING REGARD TO the Lisbon strategy which aims to make the European Union ‘the most competi-
tive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world [by 2010], capable of sustainable economic
growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion’;

HAVING REGARD TO the appeal by the European Council in Brussels (22 and 23 March 2005) to the
Commission to relaunch the Lisbon strategy without delay with economic growth and employment as the
watchwords (1);

HAVING REGARD TO the Presidency Conclusions of the European Council held in Brussels on 22 and
23 March 2005 according to which ‘it is essential to build a fully inclusive information society, based on
widespread use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in public services, SMEs and house-
holds. To that end, the i2010 initiative will focus on ICT research and innovation, content industry devel-
opment, the security of networks and information, as well as convergence and interoperability in order to
establish a seamless information area.’ (2);

HAVING REGARD TO its Opinion on the Communication from the Commission on eEurope 2005 action
plan: An update (CdR 193/2004 fin) (3);

HAVING REGARD TO its Opinion on the Communication from the Commission Connecting Europe at
High Speed: National Broadband Strategies (CdR 257/2004 fin) (4);

HAVING REGARD TO its Opinion on the Communication from the Commission The future of European
regulatory audiovisual policy (CdR 67/2004 fin) (5);

HAVING REGARD TO its Opinion on the Communication from the Commission Science and Technology:
the key to Europe's future — guidelines for future European policy to support research (CdR 194/2004 fin) (6);

HAVING REGARD TO its Outlook Opinion on The role of universities in local and regional development
within the context of a Europe of knowledge (CdR 89/2003 fin) (7);

(1) Presidency Conclusions, European Council held in Brussels on 22 and 23 March 2005, 7619/1/05 REV1, point 8,

http://ue.eu.int:docCenter.asp.

(2) Presidency Conclusions, European Council held in Brussels on 22 and 23 March 2005, 7619/1/05 REV1, point 18,

http://ue.eu.int:docCenter.asp.
(3) OJ C 71 of 22 March 2005, p. 59.
(4) OJ C 71 of 22 March 2005, p. 55.
(5) OJ C 318 of 22 December 2004, p. 27.
(6) OJ C 71 of 12 March 2005, p. 22.
(7) OJ C 73 of 23 March 2005, p. 55.

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HAVING REGARD TO the opinion (CdR 252/2005 rev. 2) adopted on 7 December 2005 by the
Commission for Culture and Education (rapporteur Mr Theodoros Georgakis, Mayor of Ilioupoli (EL/
PES);

WHEREAS:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can contribute directly and indirectly, to a
considerable extent, to meeting the goals of the Lisbon strategy;

The ambitious plan for connection at high speeds, taking into account equal rights and digital
opportunities without the introduction of discrimination, for a pan-European information infrastruc-
ture, must play a major role in the approach of the whole of Europe, the Member States of the EU
and all the future candidate countries, the cities and rural areas, enterprises and citizens;

Investments in research and innovation are of decisive importance and must naturally be increased
so that the ICT sector continues to contribute to development and employment;

It is of vital importance to develop an effective and modern information infrastructure for new and
existing enterprises and modernised public services;

Equal opportunities in the information society must be counted among the rights of European citi-
zens as regards interconnectedness and services independently of the type of user, the social situa-
tion and the location;

The information infrastructure and the broadband provision will need to be regarded and managed
in the same way as water and electricity supplies;

adopted the following opinion at its 63rd plenary session, held on 15/16 February 2006 (meeting of
16 February):

1. Views of the Committee of the Regions

General Comments

The Committee of the Regions

1.1 welcomes the concise nature and the clarity of the
Commission's analysis and conclusions in its Communication
on i2010: A European Information Society for growth and employ-
ment;

agrees with the statement that knowledge, research and

1.2
innovation are driving forces of sustainable development;

firmly supports the view that building a fully inclusive

1.3
information society is one of the priority tasks;

1.4
accepts the view that ICT constitute a powerful lever
for development and employment, in line with the statistical
data indicating that 25 % of the increase in GDP and 40 % of
the increase in productivity in the European Union are due to
ICT;

recognises that

the digital convergence of services,
1.5
networks, equipment and means of mass communications is
rapidly taking place, with the result that the channels of access
for citizens to the wealth of information are being broadened;

agrees that

1.8
the i2010 strategy serves the open and
competitive digital economy and makes provision for quality
and avoidance of social exclusion;

underlines the importance of defining the three priori-

1.9
ties of the i2010 strategy and agrees on:

— completion of the Single European Information Space

— support for innovation and investment in research

— an information society for all without social exclusions and
with the emphasis on better public services and quality of
life;

1.10
expresses the conviction that the i2010 initiative will
contribute to improving the quality of life for citizens and
more generally to a better society.

As regards the Single European Information Space,

the Committee of the Regions

1.11
supports the forward-looking policy approach of the
European Commission, taking the view that in the ICT market
of the European Union there is vast potential which must be
fully exploited. A single European market with rules which do
not differ from one country to another is particularly suitable
for entrepreneurial activity;

1.6
points out that the achievement of digital convergence
is facilitated by social convergence and the establishment of
sets of operational rules;

1.12
underlines the need to recognise and give shape to
the role of regional and local authorities in implementing the
i2010 strategy;

1.7 welcomes the i2010 strategy for the European informa-
tion society and agrees with the general policy orientations and
the basic priorities;

1.13
is pleased to note the attempt to tackle the main chal-
lenges, but points out that the results will be evaluated taking
account also of the proposed action programmes;

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underlines that

1.14
the challenge of achieving faster
broadband services in structurally weak and disadvantaged
areas calls for the allocation of significant resources from the
Structural Funds and that those of achieving rich information
content, interoperability and security of transactions call for the
allocation of significant resources from the research and devel-
opment programmes;

1.15
takes the view that high-quality broadband access at
reasonable prices is one of the major factors in determining the
quality of services for citizens, in particular, by increasing the
quality of services provided by local authorities while making it
easier for small and medium-sized enterprises to offer their
products for sale. Remote regions and communities especially
the outermost ones in particular are expected to benefit consid-
erably from more and faster access to broadband services;

1.16
underlines that society is particularly sensitive to ques-
tions of consumer protection and personal data protection, a
fact which must be taken into account in formulating the
strategy and the operating rules of the ICT market;

1.17
expresses, by extension, the conviction that the new
ICT services and applications should in all cases respect the
rules of data protection, while consumers must always have the
opportunity to check on the processing which their personal
data undergo. The ‘raising awareness of
the need for self-
protection’ proposed by the Communication (8) will also need
to be accompanied by stronger safeguards;

1.18
attaches special importance to the security of trans-
actions, to combating illegal and harmful Internet content, and
to the need for the EU to guarantee that services and high
quality communications are offered at
reasonable prices,
ensuring territorial cohesion throughout the EU, with special
attention focusing on remote and outermost regions;

1.19
takes the view that the content of the new services
and the new digital media must not be planned only on the
basis of economic criteria but must be developed according to
social and cultural needs;

1.20
encourages the setting up of science parks and the
development of a suitable framework for investment by small
and medium-sized enterprises.

As regards innovation and investment in research,

the Committee of the Regions

the

strongly

supports

European Commission's
1.21
approach to more and better ICT research in Europe. However,
on this subject, it will be necessary to ensure a transfer of the
ensuing knowledge, producing results in such a way that the
whole of European industry benefits and that progress towards
the Lisbon goals is maintained in all regions;

1.22
holds the view that it is necessary to ensure a high
budget allocation for research in the 2007-2013 period, ‘even
if other parts of the budgetary plans for the period 2007-2013
were to change’ (9);

1.23
underlines the fact that despite the vital importance
which the transformation of research results into products has
for every economy and every technology, the special features
of the ICT sector will need to be taken carefully into account.
This is particularly true in as much as ICT influence the way in
which local and regional authorities work (on-line governance),
are organised and carry out their tasks (supplying a range of
services to the individual, co-managing historical and environ-
mental heritage, co-managing infrastructure and networks for
local mobility, on-line learning, on-line health,
teleworking
etc.).

recalls that

ICT are a key factor for
1.24
in any case,
improving coordination and cooperation in various
fields
between local, regional national and European authorities, and
between them and European citizens and private entities. More-
ICT provide a major opportunity to improve public
over,
services.

As regards the information society for all, without social exclusions,
emphasising better public services and quality of life,

the Committee of the Regions

1.25
emphasises the need to maintain a balance between
the positive economic effects of ICT and the likely social, legal
and cultural consequences of their introduction for the life of
European citizens. It is therefore essential for ICT strategies to
be linked with the policies on youth and education and funda-
mental human rights;

life, and that

shares the view that ICT may be expected to boost
1.26
quality of
their more widespread use might
enhance existing ICT-based health services and facilitate the
establishment of new ones, thereby helping to improve people's
health overall and give them better and more effective access to
public health services;

1.27
considers that the use of ICT as a new ‘cultural tech-
nique’ alongside reading and writing may lead to a decline in
information (news-
the traditional sources and channels of
papers, correspondence). So that these basic skills can be main-
tained, it is necessary for learning through ICT to complement
traditional
forms of communication rather than to replace
them;

1.28
continues to point out the need to maintain cultural
and linguistic diversity. The use of a single language as the
most important one in the ICT sector (10) must not influence
the necessary supply of specialised services for citizens in all
languages, as well as respect for multiculturalism and multilin-
gualism;

(9) CdR 194/2004, point 1.6 (Opinion of

the Committee of

future of

European research;

the
rapporteur:

Regions on the
J. Myllyvirta).

(8) Page 6 of the Communication.

(10) It is estimated that 80 % of the content of the worldwide web has

been produced in English (source: www.englishenglish.com).

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1.29
points out the need for digitalisation of the written
European cultural heritage so that it can be preserved for future
generations. This effort must be made in all languages, for all
regions and for all countries of Europe;

1.30
emphasises that ICT use should produce substantial
gains in productivity rates and in competitiveness, generating
major benefits for society;

1.31
endorses the three ‘flagship’ proposal priorities identi-
fied for ICT: the needs of the ageing society, safe and clean
transport and cultural and linguistic diversity;

highlights the importance of using ICT as a new
1.32
‘social instrument’. To this end, ICT strategies must be linked to
community social policy;

1.33
favours the creation of libraries and pictorial museums
of digital content on the historical and cultural heritage with
general access for all;

1.34
supports the promotion of the digital dialogue (e-
consultancy) with the aim of exchanging proposals, views,
ideas, comments and best practices among countries, regions
and more generally civil society.

2. Recommendations of the Committee of the Regions

The Committee of the Regions

2.1
proposes that the Commission and the Member States
attach special importance and high priority to the decentralisa-
tion of the management of:

— policies

— action programmes

— financial resources

to the local and regional authorities on i2010 matters, so that
infrastructure and services are set up to improve the develop-
ment and quality of life of citizens in the regions;

2.2
recommends that the Commission promote the formu-
lation and application of indicators for comparative representa-

Brussels, 16 February 2006

tion and evaluation of the regional distribution and use of ITC,
to provide a continuous source of conclusions which would be
useful and necessary for adopting measures to bring about
socio-economic and technological convergence between the
regions;

2.3 wishes to be informed of the results and conclusions of
the interim evaluation report on the i2010 strategy, which
should be made known in good time, and to give its views on
them;

2.4
recommends that the Commission, when planning the
action programmes, take account of the fact that a large part of
the sector's development derives from the computer games
industry and that great emphasis should therefore be placed on
the quality of this development and the effects which it has on
society and the younger generation in particular;

asks the Commission to involve the CoR fully in initia-
2.5
tives which may be organised to revise or adapt the agreed
strategy once it has been implemented;

2.6
informs the Commission of its intention to make addi-
tional approaches to the Member States to encourage them to
give effective support to the i2010 initiative and to adapt their
national reform programmes, including those on ITC, with the
primary objective of strengthening their regions, in particular
remote the outermost and rural regions and island commu-
nities who can best benefit from the socio-economic benefits of
developing ICT;

2.7
suggests that the Commission pay special attention to
the less economically developed regions, so that they can make
use of the opportunities for effective convergence offered by
ICT, and can avoid the risks of exclusion which ICT creates for
those who do not have access to them.

In conclusion, the Committee of the Regions emphasises and
considers that it is necessary to broaden and maintain an
unhindered and continuous dialogue on the strategy ‘i2010 —
A European Information Society for Growth and Employment’.
This is made necessary by the speed of technological develop-
ments and the needs to which they constantly give rise.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Michel DELEBARRE