Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - i2010 - Annual Information Society Report 2007 {SEC(2007) 395} {Volumes 1, 2, 3}
Date: 2007-03-30
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: activity report, electronic government, information society, information technology, research and development

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 30.3.2007 
COM(2007) 146 final 

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

i2010 - Annual Information Society Report 2007 

{SEC(2007) 395} 
{Volumes 1, 2, 3} 

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

i2010 - Annual Information Society Report 2007 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

3.3. 

4. 

5. 

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

Developments in the information society during 2006 ................................................ 3 

i2010 implementation in 2006 and actions for 2007/2008........................................... 4 

Information space......................................................................................................... 4 

Innovation and ICT R&D............................................................................................. 5 

Inclusion, better public services and quality of life ..................................................... 7 

Identifying future trends............................................................................................... 9 

Roadmap for future actions in view of the i2010 mid-term review........................... 11 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

i2010  is  the  Commission's  initiative  for  information  society  and  media  policies.  It  ensures 
coherence  across  the  Commission's  information  society  and  media  policies  and  seeks  to 
reinforce the important contribution of information and communication technologies (ICT) to 
the performance of our economies and the renewed Lisbon Strategy. i2010 operates in a fast 
changing  environment  and  therefore  requires  regular  up-dating  and  fine-tuning.  The  present 
report  represents  the  second  such  up-dating  and  prepares  the  ground  for  a  more  extensive 
mid-term review in 2008. 

The overall balance sheet for 2006 is positive.1 The main indicators are moving in the right 
direction,  with  ICT  remaining  a  major  factor  in  driving  growth  and  innovation.  The 
scepticism that held back ICT investments four or five years ago has been replaced by greater 
confidence in our ability to develop and deploy ICT applications to our economic and social 
advantage.  As  regards  policy  actions,  the  different  EU  level  initiatives  announced  at  the 
launch of i2010 in June 2005 are well on track. At Member State level, all the 2006 National 
Reform Programmes put more emphasis on mainstreaming ICT policies. 

The Commission implements i2010 in close co-operation with the Member States through the 
i2010  High  Level  Group.  In  2006,  as  part  of  its  industrial  policy,  it  launched  an  ICT  Task 
Force2  representing  industry  and  civil  society  to  check  whether  its  current  policies  are 
favourable to the competitiveness of the ICT sector or whether some adjustments are needed. 
This work and the report of the Task Force in particular lead the Commission to conclude that 
the present policy framework is broadly right. The Commission will follow up the Task Force 
recommendations, where not already in line with existing policies, with proposals for specific 
actions. 

2. 

DEVELOPMENTS IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY DURING 2006 

Six years after the burst of the Internet bubble, the information society is on a steady growth 
path.  A  decade  of  investment  in  ICT  is  bearing  fruit,  fuelling  innovation  in  ICT  areas  and 
transforming  the  EU  into  a  knowledge-based  economy.  Since  2005,  the  ICT  sector  has 
become increasingly driven by the expansion in the software market and relatively less by the 
electronic communication segment. This reflects innovation trends requiring more pervasive 
software  products.  Large  sales  in  systems  software  and  eBusiness  applications  indicate  that 
businesses  are  adopting  new  and  more  mature  eBusiness  solutions,  even  if  these  new 
investments may still be limited to large companies or early adopters of advanced eBusiness 
solutions. 

Users  are  quickly  embracing  new  services  brought  about  by  convergence.  Many  Member 
States now have high levels of broadband adoption, which in turn stimulates the development 
of innovative advanced services. The transformation of the content market is already apparent 
in the growth of online music sales and new digital devices. Movie distribution and online TV 
are  also  advancing.  The  move  from  traditional  content  distribution  to  online  availability  is 
accompanied by an explosion of user-created content. 

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2 

This assessment is based on EU25. Data on EU27 will be available from 2007. 
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/ict/taskforce.htm 

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The public sector is not lagging behind. Online public services are getting more mature and 
producing visible efficiency gains: more services have been put online, the available services 
have  become  more  sophisticated  and  more  Europeans  deal  with  the  public  sector  online. 
Public administration is leading the way and health and education are closing in. 

The EU can build on these achievements to pursue its growth and innovation policies and all 
Member  States  recognise  the  key  role  of  ICT  in  achieving  the  Lisbon  goals.  Compared  to 
2005,  the  Member  States’  2006  National  Reform  Programmes  put  more  emphasis  on 
mainstreaming  ICT  policies.3  ICT  are  identified  as  drivers  of  innovation,  as  tools  for 
transforming government and business models and as instruments for improving our quality 
of life. Broadband, eGovernment and digital literacy - the priority areas identified in 2005 - 
show  good  if  somewhat  uneven  progress  among  the  Member  States.  ICT  research  and 
development,  trust  and  security  issues,  and  measures  to  reduce  administrative  costs  for 
businesses and administrations emerge as new priorities in a number of countries. There are 
still disparities between the Member States, but in some areas, for instance broadband take-
up,  emergence  of  new  services  or  eGovernment,  the  leading  EU  countries  are  also  world 
leaders. 

3. 

I2010 IMPLEMENTATION IN 2006 AND ACTIONS FOR 2007/2008 

3.1. 

Information space 

Digital convergence is finally coming of age. Although the process is by no means completed, 
convergence  is  now  very  much  a  reality.  Policy  makers  need  to  ensure  that  the  legislation 
impacting  on  converging  sectors  provides  the  legal  certainty  needed  for  stakeholders  to 
innovate. The aim is to respond to technological changes in a way that promotes competition, 
consolidates  the  internal  market  and  benefits  users.  A  review  of  the  main  policy  issues  at 
stake  indicates  that  the  overall  legal  and  regulatory  framework  is  favourable  for  the  further 
development of convergence.4 

The  majority  of  actions  planned  in  the  first  pillar  of  i2010,  to  create  a  single  European 
information  space,  have  been  launched.  In  2006  the  regulatory  framework  for  electronic 
communications  has  been  reviewed  and  amendments  will  be  tabled  by  mid  2007.  The 
discussion  will  continue  in  2007  with  a  green  paper  on  the  future  of  universal  service  in 
electronic communications. Better and efficient use of radio spectrum as an important element 
of the regulatory review has been promoted, including by introducing more flexibility5. This 
will continue with proposals on common approaches to collective use of spectrum and to the 
digital  dividend.  The  Commission  will  also  address  the  concerns  and  threats  to  privacy 
revealed by its 2006 public consultation on radio spectrum identification (RFID). 

The Commission will add further building blocks to European audiovisual policy, advancing 
the  debate  on  media  pluralism  and  media  literacy.  The  new  MEDIA  2007  programme, 
covering the period 2007-2013, will continue financial support for the European audiovisual 
sector.  Furthermore,  the  Commission  will  outline  measures  to  support  the  introduction  and 
take-up of mobile TV across the EU. 

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Implementing the renewed Lisbon agenda – A year of delivery, COM(2006) 816, 12.12.2006 
"The challenges of convergence", working paper for the i2010 High Level Group, 12.12.2006 
Rapid  access  to  spectrum  for  wireless  electronic  communications  services  through  more  flexibility, 
COM(2007) 50, 8.2.2007 

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With  the  arrival  of  new  online  services,  market  players  are  entering  a  learning  process  to 
develop new, multilingual and innovative content. The Film Online Charter, initiated by the 
Commission and agreed by business leaders in 2006, is a first milestone in this respect. The 
Commission  is  now  exploring  how  the  Charter  can  pave  the  way  for  a  broader  policy  on 
online content to encourage the development of high quality and innovative online content. 

On the policy side, the next challenge is to ensure that users are confident in the use of new 
services. In 2006 the Commission proposed a regulation to limit international roaming tariffs 
for the users of mobile services and in February 2007 it has launched a public consultation on 
the review of the consumer protection acquis at the European level.6 

Finally, the Commission complemented its new strategy for a secure information society by 
a  communication  on  fighting  spam,  spyware  and  malicious  software  and  will  address 
cybercrime in 2007. It will evaluate the functioning of the European Network and Information 
Security Agency (ENISA) to decide if the agency's mandate should be extended and monitor 
the implementation of security measures to assess the need for additional action by 2008. 

In 2007-2008, the Commission will: 

•  Make proposals for the review of the regulatory framework for electronic communications, 
launch  a  debate  on  the  future  of  universal  service  and  continue  to  develop  a  coordinated 
framework for a flexible and efficient management of spectrum, in particular with respect 
to collective use of spectrum and the digital dividend; 

•  Assess  policy  needs  for  media  literacy  and  propose  comprehensive  approaches  to  RFID 

and to mobile TV; 

•  Promote a comprehensive approach to the development of high quality innovative content; 

•  Follow up on the security strategy with a communication on cybercrime, evaluate ENISA 
to decide on a prolongation of its mandate and assess the need for additional action in the 
security field (2008). 

3.2. 

Innovation and ICT R&D 

Boosting research and innovation is at the centre of the Commission's strategy for growth and 
jobs.  The  EU  has  a  target  of  3%  of  its  GDP  dedicated  to  R&D,  2%  of  which  should  come 
from the private sector. The EU is still far from this target, with some 1.9% of GDP spent in 
R&D. The 2006 Annual Progress Report on Lisbon stresses that all Member States have set a 
national R&D investment target and that if all of these targets  are  met, the EU will reach a 
R&D level of 2.6% of GDP in 2010. 

ICT industries account for a large share of aggregate business R&D spending (26% in 20037). 
As emphasised by the ICT Task Force, increasing ICT R&D expenditure is key if the EU is to 
reach  the  3%  objective.  European  research  and  innovation  receive  a  major  boost  with  the 
launch of the Seventh Framework Programme for Research (FP7) that will run from 2007-
2013.  The  EU  will  invest  over  €9  billion  in  ICT,  the  largest  single  item  in  FP7.  The 

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Green  Paper  on 
http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cons_int/safe_shop/acquis/index_en.htm 
Commission Services estimate based on OECD/Eurostat survey of R&D expenditure 2003 

the  Review  of 

the  Consumer  Acquis,  COM(2006)  744,  8.2.2007, 

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Commission will continue to cooperate with the nine European ICT Technology Platforms set 
up to strengthen partnership with industry and achieve a critical mass of research in strategic 
fields. Two of the platforms will provide the basis for Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs), a 
new type of initiative that will pool EU, Member State and industry funds into public-private 
research partnerships to boost European cutting-edge research. 

The  EU  is  also  committed  to  improving  the  framework  conditions  for  innovation8,  and  has 
identified  10  key  actions  to  this  end.9  The  Commission  is  working  on  identifying  relevant 
policy  gaps  to  ensure  that  the  EU's  standardisation  policy  for  the  ICT  sector  meets  the 
challenges  of  today's  fast  moving  markets.  It  will  also  encourage  public  authorities  to 
cooperate and reinforce the role of the EU public sector as a first buyer of innovation and/or 
pre-commercial products and services, thereby opening up new lead market opportunities 
for among others ICT-based products and services. 

Innovation  Programme 

Innovation  does  not  only  arise  from  research  but  is  increasingly  driven  by  users  of 
technologies or organisational change. The ICT policy support programme (ICT PSP) in the 
Competitiveness  and 
innovation  and 
competitiveness  through  promoting  wider  uptake  and  best  use  of  ICT  by  citizens, 
governments and businesses, in particular SMEs. In 2007 the ICT PSP will focus on the role 
of the public sector as a user and will address three main themes: efficient and interoperable 
eGovernment  services;  ICT  for  accessibility,  ageing  and  social  integration;  and,  ICT  for 
sustainable  and  interoperable  health  services.  In  2007  the  Commission  will  continue  the 
review of the policy needs to promote and facilitate eBusiness in the framework of eBusiness 
W@tch and eBSN10). It will respond to the call of the ICT Task Force to design a long-term 
eSkills strategy, including the link with education and training. 

stimulates 

(CIP) 

Member  States  and  regions  are  encouraged  to  support  the  spread  of  ICT  according  to  their 
needs both for the development of ICT products and services and of infrastructure. Under the 
Structural Funds the EU devoted about €7 billion during 2000-2006 on ICT-related projects. 
ICT  are  also  one  of  the  priorities  in  the  2007-2013  Community  Strategic  Guidelines  on 
cohesion.11 

In 2007-2008, the Commission will: 

•  Propose  JTIs  on  nanoelectronics  (ENIAC)  and  on  embedded  systems  (ARTEMIS)  for 

decision by the Council; 

•  Review standardisation for ICT; 

•  Address the potential of pre-commercial procurement for improving the quality of public 

services and Europe's innovation performance; 

•  Continue  policy  coordination  for  ICT  uptake,  review  eBusiness  policies  and  trends  and 

define any necessary policy measures; 

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An innovation-friendly, modern Europe, COM(2006) 589, 12.10.2006 
Putting  knowledge  into  practice:  A  broad-based  innovation  strategy  for  the  EU,  COM(2006)  502, 
13.9.2006 
http://www.ebusiness-watch.org/ and http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/e-bsn/index_en.html 
COM (2006) 386, 13.7.2006 

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•  Address the need for action in the field of eSkills and employability as part of the follow-

up to the ICT Task Force. 

3.3. 

Inclusion, better public services and quality of life 

Inclusion 

As innovation  transforms  the role of users, there is a growing need to keep all users are on 
board. The eInclusion conference in Riga initiated this reflection process, with a Ministerial 
Declaration  laying  out  political  guidance  for  further  action.  As  a  next  step  the  Commission 
will outline its vision for the 2008 eInclusion initiative, building on extensive consultations. 
It will review progress in the field of eAccessibility and consider the need for further action, 
including proposals for legal measures.12 

The Commission will continue its support for bringing high-speed broadband access to all 
Europeans.  This  will  feed  the  ambitious  Commission  initiative  on  "Regions  of  economic 
change" launched under the Structural Funds.13 As a further delivery on the commitments in 
the  Riga  Declaration,  the  Commission  will  review  measurements  and  policies  on  digital 
literacy, in close relationship with education and training. 

In 2007-2008, the Commission will: 

•  Set out a vision for a comprehensive policy on eInclusion (2007) and prepare the European 

initiative on eInclusion for 2008; 

•  Review progress in eAccessibility and propose further actions, if needed; 

•  Support awareness raising (major event on broadband for rural communities in 2007) and 
exchange  of  best  practice  (website)  on  bringing  high-speed  broadband  access  to  all 
Europeans; 

•  Launch  the  regional  networks  "Better  ICT  connections  between  regions"  and  "Bringing 
eGovernment to regions and businesses " as part of the initiative of regions for economic 
change; 

•  Review digital literacy measurement and policies. 

Better public services 

In 2006, online public services grew more mature most visibly in the areas of eGovernment 
and  eHealth.  Member  States  are  making  progress  in  their  national  eGovernment  initiatives 
and  are  cooperating  on  common  EU  level  activities  to  reach  the  ambitious  goals  of  the 
eGovernment action plan by 2010. In 2006, the EU eHealth portal was launched. All Member 
States have completed their eHealth strategies and a compilation of national good practice in 
the field of eHealth will be made available. 

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The  Commission  will  for  example  include  a  provision  aiming  at  making  audiovisual  media  services 
accessible  to  people  with  visual  or  hearing  disability  in  its  amended  proposals  for  the  Audiovisual 
Media Services (AVMS) directive. 
Regions for economic change, COM(2006) 675, 8.11.2006 

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Member  States  acknowledge  the  European  dimension  of  public  ICT-enabled  services  and 
have  identified  key  enablers  to  reach  cross-border  interoperability.  In  the  framework  of  the 
IDABC programme, the Commission will revise the European Interoperability Framework in 
2007.14  The  Commission  will  also  issue  a  recommendation  on  eHealth  interoperability  and 
will  launch  measures  in  support  of  an  innovation-friendly  eHealth  market  in  the  area  of 
personal health monitoring and management. By 2008 the objective is to put in place health 
information  networks  based  on  fixed  and  wireless  broadband,  as  well  as  mobile 
infrastructures and Grid technologies. 

During  2007-2008,  large-scale  pilots  under  the  ICT  policy  support  programme  will 
continue to support better public services in areas such as eID, secure document transmission 
between administrations, eProcurement, eParticipation, emergency patient data and electronic 
prescribing. The large-scale pilots in the area of eProcurement and eID will also be supported 
by the ongoing work of the IDABC programme in these fields. 

In 2007-2008, the Commission will: 

•  Continue  to  support  the  implementation  of  the  eGovernment  action  plan,  including  by 
pursuing  its  efforts  to  integrate  and  transform  its  own  administration,  and  revise  the 
European Interoperability Framework; 

•  Issue  a  recommendation  on  eHealth  interoperability,  promote  an  innovation-friendly 

eHealth market and establish an interoperable health information network (2008); 

•  Launch large-scale pilot projects under the CIP. 

Quality of life 

ICT are not only a driver of innovation and competitiveness, but also change the way people 
live and communicate. i2010 responds by focusing on areas where technological innovations 
could  significantly  improve  quality  of  life:  ageing,  cultural  diversity,  intelligent  cars,  and 
climate change. 

In 2007, the Commission will launch a flagship initiative on Ageing well in the information 
society. This will comprise a research initiative on Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), based on 
Article 169 of the EU Treaty, integrating technologies into products and services to ensure a 
continuum from advanced research to deployment. This will be complemented by longer-term 
research  in  FP6  and  FP7  and  deployment  activities  under  the  CIP,  such  as  home  care  for 
elderly. 

The  Digital  Libraries  and  the  Intelligent  Car  flagship  initiatives  are  being  implemented. 
The Commission issued guidance on digitisation, online accessibility of cultural material and 
digital preservation, and on scientific resources. The Member States were asked to bring eCall 
back  on  track.  In  2007  the  Commission  will  assess  progress  on  the  Intelligent  Car  and  on 
negotiations on the voluntary introduction of eCall in vehicles. 

New ICT-based technologies are essential not only for greater resource efficiency but also to 
achieve  qualitative  shifts  towards  radically  different,  more  sustainable  economic  and  social 

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consumption  patterns.  In  2007,  an  i2010  flagship  initiative  will  be  developed  to  address 
priorities such as energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. 

In 2007-2008, the Commission will: 

•  Launch  the  flagship  initiative  on  "Ageing  well  in  the  information  society",  propose  the 
Article 169 AAL initative and launch pilots under the CIP focusing on independent living 
and chronic disease monitoring; 

•  Review the implementation of the recommendation on digitisation and online accessibility 

of cultural material and digital preservation (2008) 

•  Assess implementation of the Intelligent Car flagship and of eCall; 

•  Develop a flagship initiative on ICT for sustainable growth. 

4. 

IDENTIFYING FUTURE TRENDS 

The  Lisbon  strategy  has  made  innovation  a  top  priority  and  the  EU  has  developed  a 
comprehensive policy agenda for this purpose. ICT are widely recognised as a key enabler for 
innovation.  To  build  on  the  achievements  of  i2010  in  2005  and  2006,  the  EU  has  to  take  a 
more  forward-looking  approach  and  tighten  the  link  between  ICT  policies  and  Lisbon 
priorities.  Policy  makers  also  have  to  understand  how  new  economic  and  societal 
developments  can  extend  the  benefits  of  the  information  society  to  new  groups  and  foster 
competition and European industrial leadership while including society at large. Therefore the 
following three issues should be addressed in the i2010 mid-term review 2008. 

A new wave of innovation in networks and Internet 

The  information  society  is  becoming  a  reality.  Low  cost  networks,  extended  by  mobile  or 
wireless networks, allow seamless connection and use of applications and services integrated 
in the network and these are becoming more widely used in society. 

This move is supported by emerging technological trends such as the migration towards very 
high-speed networks, ubiquitous wireless technologies, web 2.0, the Internet of Things, Grids, 
new  network  architectures,  web-based  services,  user  interfaces,  user-created  content  and 
social networking. These trends will affect the business and working environment, providing 
new  industrial  opportunities  and  new  solutions  for  eBusiness  and  employment,  thus 
improving the work-life balance. They will also extend the role of users as innovators. This is 
already visible in the explosion of user-created content. 

Even though many aspects of future networks and the Internet will not be realised for some 
time, obstacles to the development of the information society can already be identified. These 
concern  issues  from  investment  in  higher  bandwidth,  net  neutrality,  through  spectrum 
availability to security. An early debate with stakeholders on longer term developments ought 
to look at the need for possible policy action. 

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A user's perspective on innovation 

With the emergence of new services, the next challenge is the user. The rise of user-created 
content  is  opening  further  perspectives  for  a  more  creative  and  innovative  Information 
Society.  In  the  same  way  that  users  exploited  open  source  software  to  develop  new 
collaborative processes, they are now using ICT to create and exchange their own content in 
innovative  ways.  This  is  raising  new  challenges,  notably  with  regard  to  legal  liability  for 
content distribution, the re-use of copyright protected material and the protection of privacy. 

Consequently,  the  traditional  vision  of  the  users  will  change  in  the  information  society. 
Nevertheless policies aiming at lifting the obstacles to wider use of ICT - as defined in i2010 - 
will not become obsolete. With the 2008 eInclusion initiative, i2010 has an inbuilt focus on 
users and the interest of consumers is already present in the Commission's ICT policies. One 
recent  example  is  the  Commission  proposal  on  roaming  to  eliminate  unjustified  charges  on 
consumers. 

New segments of the population are using ICT services and products. Users are increasingly 
concerned with privacy, lack of interoperability, lack of transparency on contractual terms and 
pricing,  excessive  complexity  of  applications  and  inefficiencies  of  litigation.  Policy  makers 
now have to respond to these concerns. 

Improving framework conditions 

The EU innovation strategy sees the completion of the internal market as the way forward to 
ensure effective competition  and  provide sufficient  scale  to  help  large  companies  and  many 
SMEs to compete globally. Therefore the Commission has planned a revision of the internal 
market strategy aiming at enhancing innovation and implementing better regulation. 

One  of  i2010's  main  objectives  is  to  create  a  single  information  space.  Up  to  now,  the 
emphasis has been on networks and content regulation. The EU – even if progress has been 
made – with its 27 separate markets is still far away from a single information space. Markets 
for  online  services  are  already  global  but  many  EU  consumers  avoid  buying  goods  and 
services via the Internet from another Member State. Legal concerns are still an obstacle for 
enterprises to engage in eBusiness and in some areas regulatory barriers generating potential 
obstacles to competitiveness have been identified.15 

We  need  a  broader  perspective  taking  into  account  new  trends.  For  instance,  the  Internet 
enables  patients  to  look  around  for  treatment  anywhere  in  the  EU  or  beyond,  and  similarly 
doctors to provide services at a distance. This impacts on the organisation of services and has 
implications for public finances. Reflection on the internal market should therefore go beyond 
the  assessment  of  legal  obstacles  addressed  in  the  review  of  the  regulatory  framework  on 
electronic  communications  and  the  Audiovisual  Media  Services  Directive.  Building  on  the 
work  of  the  ICT  Task Force, the reflection must tackle barriers that  hinder the provision of 
pan-European online services, explore how ICT can reinforce the internal market and try to 
assess the cost and risks of fragmentation of the European information society. 

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http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/ict/taskforce.htm 

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5. 

ROADMAP FOR FUTURE ACTIONS IN VIEW OF THE I2010 MID-TERM REVIEW 

To prepare the discussions on the i2010 mid-term review of 2008, the Commission proposes 
to involve the Member States, the i2010 High Level Group, industry, civil society and other 
stakeholders more closely in the development of the different topics. The Commission will: 

•  Develop the topics identified in chapter 4 above in cooperation with the i2010 High Level 

Group. 

•  Launch  a  public  consultation  involving  all  stakeholders  to  validate  the  approaches 

proposed for developing the key topics. 

•  Address the main issues for the mid-term review at a high level i2010 event in 2008. 

The outcome of these discussions will inspire the European Spring Council 2008, which is to 
address  the  issues  of  the  next  generation  of  networks  and  the  Internet.  The  i2010  mid-term 
review  should  ensure  that  i2010  continues  to  be  a  valid  reference  framework  for  Europe's 
information  society  and  media  policies,  enabling  Europe  to  reap  the  full  benefits  of 
developments to implement the Lisbon Growth and Jobs agenda. 

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