Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the participation by the Community in a research and development programme aimed at enhancing the quality of life of older people through the use of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), undertaken by several Member States COM(2007) 329 final — 2007/0116 (COD)
Date: 2008-05-29
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: elderly person, information technology, new technology, quality of life, research and development, research programme

C 224/8

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

30.8.2008

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Proposal for a decision of the
European Parliament and of the Council on the participation by the Community in a research and
development programme aimed at enhancing the quality of life of older people through the use of
new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), undertaken by several Member States

COM(2007) 329 final — 2007/0116 (COD)

(2008/C 224/02)

On 10 July 2007 the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Arti-
cles 169 and 172 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the

Proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the participation by the Community in a
research and development programme aimed at enhancing the quality of life of older people through the use of new
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), undertaken by several Member States

The Section for the Single Market, Production and Consumption, which was responsible for preparing the
Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 6 May 2008. The rapporteur was Ms Darmanin.

At its 445th plenary session, held on 28 and 29 May 2008 (meeting of 29 May), the European Economic
and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by a unanimous vote.

1. Conclusions and recommendations

The EESC welcomes the proposal of the Commission
1.1
aimed at enhancing the quality of life of older people through
the use of new Information and Communication Technologies.
AAL can be one of the tools which will effectively and primarily
ensure the quality of life not only of older people but of any
person who is currently precluded from being able to stay at
his/her residence due to health issues.

1.2
The EESC firmly believes that the approach taken to such
research and development in the field of ICT should first and
foremost ensure that the needs of the beneficiaries are truly
understood, addressed and met. The approach should therefore
be a ‘bottom up’ approach where primarily the needs of the
users are known and subsequently research and development is
carried out accordingly.

1.3
The EESC believes that one of the important stakeholder
in AAL is the person who shall ultimately be benefiting of this
technology. Hence it is not only important to understand the
needs of such people but also prepare these people in the use of
such a technology and involve them in the design and testing of
the technology.

It is also for this reason that the EESC considers EU
1.3.1
policies related to Life Long Learning and eInclusion as being
important. To this effect
the
Commission should also take an integrated approach between
AAL and such policies.

the Committee believes that

1.4
The EESC considers that first and foremost one views
this programme as a very ‘Human’ programme rather than
another R&D programme. This is truly a research programme
but it is addressing social circumstances very often encountered
at a delicate stage in life.

1.5
As delineated further hereunder, the EESC believes that
the four core areas to be addressed concurrently under the AAL
programme are: the User needs; User safety; the Health and
Social Organisations (together with associations who represent
professionals in these sectors); and the Technology to be used.

1.6
The EESC emphasises that due account should be taken
of ethical and privacy issues in line with international guidelines.
Hence commends the recognition of such issues within the
Commission's proposal.

2. Gist of the Commission proposal

2.1

The proposal of the Commission has the specific aim of:

— Fostering the emergence of innovative ICT-based products
and services for ageing well, thus increasing the quality of
life of elderly people and reducing the costs of health and
social care.

— Improving

conditions

by
providing a coherent European framework to develop
common approaches, facilitate localisation and reduce the
cost of services.

exploitation

industrial

for

— Creating and leveraging a critical mass of research, develop-
ment and innovation at EU level in technologies and services
in the field of ageing.

This proposal follows the Commission's launch of an
2.2
Action Plan on ageing well
in the information society. This
action plan is seen as a key component in addressing the social
and economic challenges being faced by Europe due to demo-
is envisaged that Europe's population
graphic changes.
between the ages of 65 to 80 will
increase by nearly 40 %
between 2010 and 2030 (1). ICT is seen as a means to improve
quality life at this age, increase independence and staying heal-
thier.

It

(1) COM(2007) 329 final.

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C 224/9

2.3
The Commission aims at launching a 6 year programme,
Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) which complements the ICT for
Ageing under FP7 and also the Competitiveness and Innovation
Programme (CIP). The AAL programme shall receive funds
amounting to about EUR 300 million for the period 2008-
2013, these funds are made up equally from Community and
Member-State funds.

which do not have enough infrastructure for executing the
present proposal, the adoption of ‘specific measures’ such as
those which can be found in the article 159 of the EU Treaty,
imbalances
would be necessary to correct the main regional
within the European Union.

structures

created for

2.4
The legal framework on which the AAL programme is
based is Article 169 of the Treaty. Article 169 enables the Euro-
pean Community to participate in research programmes under-
taken jointly by several Member States, including participation
in the
execution of national
programmes. This specific legal framework has been selected for
the AAL programme in order to achieve greater effectiveness in
this research area through maximisation of cross border exper-
tise; commitment from Member States in part financing this
research; ensuring a coherent approach to the issue on a Euro-
pean level; ensuring genuinely in the internal market for intero-
perable ICT solutions for the ageing.

the

3. Background to the Commission proposal

3.1
A previous article 169 initiative, quoted by the Commis-
sion proposal as clinical trials in Africa EDCTP (European and
Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership), has high-
lighted the importance of clear commitment from participating
Member States in multi-annual financing of the project. The
AAL programme in fact intends to have a 50-50 contribution
from EU funds and national funds in the programme.

3.2
The preparatory work for this programme has been
carried out through a Specific Support Action project ‘Ambient
Assisted Living’ under the IST (Information Society Technolo-
gies) priority within the FP6 carried out in the period between 1
September 2004 and 31 December 2006. The consortium was
composed of partners
from the following Member States:
Austria, Germany, France, Finland, Italy, Belgium and Switzer-
land. Partners came from the private sector, the public sector
and a University.

3.3
The legal body of the AAL Joint Programme is the AAL
Association. This association is currently made up of 21
representatives. Being a bottom up driven
Member States
programme a number of contact points have been appointed in
the Member States pertaining to the Association.

4. General Comments

The EESC welcomes this AAL initiative under Article
4.1
169.
In particular we recognise that the initiative takes full
cognisance of the underlying demographic trends for the Euro-
pean citizens.

4.1.1
to improve the
economic, social and territorial cohesion of the Member States

The EESC considers that

in order

4.2
The EESC believes that the initiative should be viewed as
more than an opportunity to build pilot systems whose purpose
is to demonstrate proof of concept. It is very important that this
opportunity should bring together the broad range of stake-
holders that are required to be involved for the impact of this
initiative to endure.

The main stakeholders are the ultimate beneficiaries of
4.2.1
AAL. AAL is primarily intended at prolonging the independence
of ageing people and also ensuring that this category within the
population may live at home for as long a period as possible.
One should bear in mind that this is not only limited to the
ageing sector but also any individual who currently is impaired
from residing at his/her premises independently due to health
reasons. This initiative has to ensure that the needs and the
exigencies of
the heart of
these stakeholders are truly at
research.

4.3
Another important stakeholder is the health and welfare
organisations. This initiative must take cognisance of their orga-
nisational needs. The EESC recommends that these organisations
have opportunities to highlight issues such as integration and
interoperability of systems to other project stakeholders so as to
be successful.

4.4
It is highly recommended that the users of the systems
that will be developed under this initiative be involved as key
stakeholders in the work from the initial stages. The EESC
recommends that consortia subscribe, where possible, to user-
centred methods such as participative design for their develop-
ment methodology, in particular to promote strong usability of
devices and user interfaces. The Committee also commends the
recognition that due account will be taken of ethical and
privacy issues in line with international guidelines.

4.5
The EESC recognises the commitment provided to SMEs
in the draft proposal, and supports the recognition of industrial
organisations as key stakeholders that can support innovative,
market-orientated business models that demonstrate inbuilt,
clear pathways to exploitation. In particular, we commend the
recognition that SMEs can contribute in particular to research
that has a shorter time to markets (2+ years).

4.5.1 We encourage the recognition that SMEs are sometimes
technologically agile and offer the potential to bring new tech-
nologies and business models into the market at times at a
faster rate than larger companies or health and welfare organisa-
tions. This feature of SMEs is particularly resonant in this initia-
tive. Consequently the concerted partnership between large
organisations and SMEs stands to the benefit of the both.

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4.6
AAL is based on the premise of supporting people to
live at home for longer. To achieve this goal, there is a broad
range of sensors, actuators, user
interfaces, processors and
communication equipment that are required, and frequently can
only be provide by many different European SMEs.

not really suit the requirements of the main beneficiary. For this
reason the needs of the Users should be kept in mind, such
needs include: minimal behavioural change, mobility, choice,
improved quality of life and respect for one's privacy.

in this

Across all of these groups of stakeholders, we support
4.7
measures
initiative that encourage multidisciplinary
networking between technologists, clinicians and other health
and welfare organisations' staff and in particular with users,
both home dwellers and their local carers and loved ones.

4.8
In the context of a European Innovation System, this
initiative has the opportunity to adopt new models of innova-
tion that reflect current progress in open and user innovation
that drive progress towards connecting the Lisbon Strategy to a
new and more user-driven European Innovation System.

The EESC affirms it is important that there is equal
4.9
access by all types of organisations in all Member States to this
initiative.

Furthermore,

all national governments

4.10
should be
encouraged to participate. Currently Austria, Belgium, Cyprus,
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland,
Italy,
the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia,
Spain and Sweden as well as Israel, Norway and Switzerland
have agreed to co-ordinate joint activities to contribute to the
AAL programme.

4.11
The EESC is concerned that some countries are not
participating due to the cost of co-financing the research. Such
countries ought to be able to participate at any stage of the
programme once they meet
the programme requirements
(predominantly the co-financing).

4.12
The EESC recognises that AAL can bring about a reduc-
tion in the cost of the social care system. However it reiterates
that the scope of AAL is not cost reduction but the effectiveness
in ensuring quality of life for a category of citizens. The cost
reduction is a gladly accepted consequence.

the elderly are
in mind also that
One should bear
5.3
possibly the category of
the population who suffers from
eExclusion and therefore the digital divide requires to be over-
come. Furthermore connectivity is essential and therefore efforts
should be made so as all regions, particularly the more rural
in both
ones have access
physical and financial terms).

to Internet connectivity (access

5.3.1

In essence it is essential that:

— Technology does not replace face to face contact with the

carer or health provider

— The focus is preventive care, and self care

— Social inclusion is one of the main aims

— AAL should be integrated in one's way of living and together

with other services

— Given the specific circumstances of the user, the technology

employed should be safe and user friendly.

5.3.2
Hence the EESC firmly believes that the approach taken
within AAL should be a bottom up approach. The focus and
initiation of the whole process ought to be the needs of the
users rather then the technology in itself. A clear study should
be conducted in order to identify the whole spectrum of needs,
some of which can be identified as: the need to be in touch
with people particularly at a growing age (to this effect VOIPs
such as SKYPE and email have proved to be effective and cheap
tools); the lack of interest to update with the fast growing tech-
nological change; the ability to manage technological change;
the readiness to use such technology. Furthermore the Users
should be involved in the creation, implementation and evalua-
tion of such technologies.

5. Specific Comments

The EESC firmly believes that

5.1
the AAL programme
should keep in focus the specificities of the following three
sectors: the User; the Health Organisations; and the Technology
used.

5.2
The beneficiary and major stakeholders at times shall be
the elderly. It is paramount that the Programme keeps in focus
the needs of the ultimate users. Falling into the trap that the
Users should only be used in research environments so as to
test the research will unfortunately create innovation that may

the research in order to ensure that

5.4
Health and Welfare organisations, their representatives,
and the families of the Users, are ultimately the ones who shall
be using the technology in order to provide care to the benefici-
aries. It is essential that such organisations are involved in the
various stages of
the
resulting product fits into the operating system of such organi-
sations. One may anticipate that organisational changes shall be
required to be undertaken so as to implement new technologies
for AAL, hence it is imperative that welfare organisations are
ready for such changes and will undergo them in the smoothest
manner so as to maximise the potential of technologies for
AAL.

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C 224/11

5.4.1
The Carer is truly an important factor in the whole
welfare process even within AAL. Hence a paradigm shift
should be aimed not only at the organisation level but also at a
Carer level in order to ensure that the person who is having the
direct contact with the person requiring AAL will not only be
proficient in such technology but truly believes in the use of
such technology so as to also further inspire the confidence of
the person in such tools as a better means to quality of life.

5.4.2
The EESC also considers that the health system should
be thoroughly scrutinised in order to ensure that not only there
is organisational readiness for AAL but that Health and Social
Care organisations can actually cope with having more people
at home.

5.4.3
Furthermore with the adoption of AAL it is even more
crucial that the cooperation and coordination between Health

Brussels, 29 May 2008.

organisations and Social organisations is improved. There again
technology can be a tool to improve such cooperation however
more crucial is the mindset of the need and will to cooperate.

5.5
It is envisaged that AAL systems shall be complex, there-
fore interoperability should be one of the key objectives within
this programme. The innovation and technology should be wide
scaled, customised, integrated and proactive.

The EESC believes that

5.6
the Commission should also
adopt an integrated approach to AAL and policies such as Life
Long Learning. In fact, training under such policies, in particular,
should also be targeted at
the AAL
programme as training is an integral part of the success of such
technology.

the stakeholders of

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Dimitris DIMITRIADIS

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Proposal for a directive of the
European Parliament and of the Council on the taking-up and pursuit of the business of Insurance
and Reinsurance SOLVENCY II

COM(2007) 361 final — 2007/0143 (COD)

(2008/C 224/03)

On 31 October 2007 the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under
Articles 47(2) and 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the

Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the taking-up and pursuit of the business of
Insurance and Reinsurance — SOLVENCY II (*)

The Section for the Single Market, Production and Consumption, which was responsible for preparing the
Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 6 May 2008. The rapporteur was Mr Robyns de
Schneidauer.

At its 445th plenary session, held on 28 and 29 May 2008 (meeting of 29 May), the European Economic
and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 67 votes, with one abstention.

1. Recommendations

preserves its right to express its views about new features with
regard to the relation between consumers and (re)insurers in
due course, more specifically within the framework of
the
Commission's recent initiatives regarding retail financial services.

1.1
The EESC commends the Commission for the disciplined
recast of many complex directives in one clear document while
taking into account the rules governing the recast parts of the
work. Since the EU legislative framework should not only focus
on prudential policy, which deals with the part capital plays in
providing insurance services that are important to the business
the EESC
and citizens of Europe in many other

regards,

(*) The proposal was later amended to become COM(2008) 119 final. In
this opinion the numbering of the articles in the Directive relates to
this, the most recent version of the proposal for a Directive.

The EESC calls on the Commission to further pursue the
harmonisation of
the relationship between
policyholder and insurer, as is currently being examined in the

legal aspects of