Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Europe’s Digital Competitiveness Report : main achievements of the i2010 strategy 2005-2009 {SEC(2009) 1060} {SEC(2009) 1103} {SEC(2009) 1104}
Date: 2009-08-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, digital technology, disclosure of information, information processing, information system, information technology, new technology, radio telecommunications

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 4.8.2009 
COM(2009) 390 final 

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

Europe’s Digital Competitiveness Report 
Main achievements of the i2010 strategy 2005-2009 

{SEC(2009) 1060} 
{SEC(2009) 1103} 
{SEC(2009) 1104} 

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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 

Europe’s Digital Competitiveness Report 
Main achievements of the i2010 strategy 2005-2009 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

2.1. 

2.2. 

2.3. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

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

Key Achievements of i2010......................................................................................... 3 

Boosting the Single Market for European businesses and users.................................. 5 

Stimulating ICT research and innovation in Europe.................................................... 6 

Ensuring that all citizens benefit from ICT.................................................................. 7 

Impact of i2010 in the Member States ......................................................................... 8 

Looking ahead — future policy challenges ................................................................. 9 

Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 11 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Europe  remains  a  global  force  in  advanced  information  and  communication  technologies 
(ICT).  The  World  Wide  Web,  the  mobile  GSM  standard,  the  MPEG  standard  for  digital 
content  and  ADSL  technology  were  all  invented  in  Europe.  Maintaining  this  leadership 
position and turning it into a competitive advantage is an important policy goal. This is why in 
2005  the  Commission  presented  the  i2010  strategy  to  boost  Europe’s  lead  in  ICT  and  to 
unlock  the  benefits  of  the  information society  for  European  growth  and  jobs1.  This  strategy 
outlined concrete policy measures: 

•  To boost the single market for businesses and users by eliminating regulatory obstacles 
and  enhancing  regulatory  consistency  in  the  telecoms  sector  and  for  audiovisual  media 
services (in particular TV and video-on-demand); 

•  To  stimulate  ICT  research  and  innovation  in  Europe  by  pooling  public  and  private 
research funding and focusing it on areas where Europe is or can become a global leader, 
such as on LTE (long-term evolution) mobile technology, which will revolutionise wireless 
broadband, or ESC (electronic stability control), which helps prevent car accidents in case 
of sudden manoeuvres or on slippery roads; 

•  To ensure that all citizens benefit from Europe’s lead in ICT, in particular through first-
class  online  public  services  accessible  to  all;  safer,  smarter,  cleaner  and  energy-efficient 
transport  and  by  putting  the  cultural  heritage  of  the  EU  at  our  fingertips  by  creating  the 
European digital library. 

Over the past four years, ICT policies have confirmed their role as a major driver of Europe’s 
economic  and  social  modernisation  and  have  made  Europe  more  resilient  in  times  of  crisis. 
Today,  they  are  firmly  anchored  in  European  core  policies  for  growth  and  jobs.  All  EU 
Member States have ICT policies and consider them a key contributor to national growth and 
jobs under the renewed Lisbon agenda. i2010 has also influenced other policy areas, such as 
the  Single  Market  and  the  Consumer  Agenda.  ICT  policies  today  are  implemented  through 
various instruments, such as the Structural Funds or the Rural Development Funds. 

ICT,  and  in  particular  the  broadband  internet,  is  a  crucial  component  of  the  European 
economic recovery plan2. ICT accounts for half of the rise in EU productivity and available 
high-speed  broadband  is  key  to  new  jobs,  new  skills,  new  markets  and  cutting  costs.  It  is 
essential  to  businesses,  public  services  and  to  making  the  modern  economy  work.  This  has 
been  recognised  in  the  Commission’s  proposals  to  speed  up  economic  recovery  by  smart 
investments  in broadband networks  in rural areas, endorsed by the European  Council,  up to 
€1.02 billion. 

2. 

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS OF I2010 

i2010  was  designed  as  the  strategic  framework  for  Europe’s  information  society  and  media 
policies. It described the overall thrust of policy to promote an open and competitive digital 

1 
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i2010 — A European Information Society for growth and employment - COM(2005) 229. 
See  A  European  Economic  Recovery  Plan  -  COM(2008)  800  -  and  Investing  Today  for  Tomorrow’s 
Europe - COM(2009) 36. 

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economy across Europe and it underlined for the first time the importance of ICT to improve 
the  quality  of  life.  Its  ultimate  goal  is  to  complete  the  single  market  for  ICT  products  and 
services to benefit European consumers, businesses and administrations. 

The pro-competition and pro-consumer policy drive led by i2010 has produced many tangible 
results: 

•  More and more Europeans are online. The number of regular internet users has increased 
from  43%  in  2005  to  56%  in  2008;  most  of  them  use  the  internet  almost  daily  and  with 
high-speed internet access. Regular internet use is also becoming more inclusive, with the 
numbers of users in disadvantaged groups (the inactive, the less educated and those aged 
55-64) rising the fastest; 

•  Europe has become the world leader in broadband internet. With 114 million subscribers, it 
is  the  largest  world  market  and  penetration  rates  are  rising  swiftly.  Half  of  all  European 
households  and  more  than  80%  of  European  businesses  have  a  fixed  broadband 
connection,  three  quarters  of  them  with  average  download  speeds  above  2  Mbps. 
Broadband internet is available to 93% of the EU25 population, up from 87% in 2005; 

•  High  rates  of  broadband  connectivity  have  translated  into  higher  usage  of  advanced 
services. Europeans are rapidly changing their habits, adopting new ways to communicate. 
80 %  of  regular  internet  users  engage  in  increasingly  interactive  activities,  e.g. 
communicating,  using  online  financial  services,  sharing  and  creating  new  content  and 
participating in innovative processes; 

•  The market for mobile phones has exceeded 100% penetration — increasing from 84% of 
the EU population in 2004 to 119% in 2009. This makes Europe the world leader in mobile 
penetration, as the rates in the US and Japan are around 80%. Consumers spend more time 
talking  and  texting  at  prices  at  least  34.5%  less  than  in  2004,  including  a  70%  drop  in 
roaming charges since 2005; 

•  Europe has made fast progress in the supply and use of the 20 benchmarked online public 
services.  The  supply  of  fully  available  services  to  citizens has  increased  to  50%  in  2007 
(27% in 2004) and for businesses to 70% (58% in 2004). One third of European citizens 
and almost 70% of businesses in the EU use eGovernment services; 

•  EU–funded ICT research has played a key role in Europe’s major industrial development, 
such  as  in  micro-  and  nano-electronics,  in  healthcare  and  the  EU’s  road  safety  agenda. 
Europe  is  also  the  home  of  breakthrough  research,  such  as  Giant  Magneto-Resistance 
technology, which revolutionised the hard disk business and won the 2007 Nobel prize in 
physics, and ADSL technology, the basis for today’s broadband internet success; 

•  ICT  policies  have  been  increasingly  mainstreamed.  Member  States  have  recognised  the 
importance of ICT for productivity and growth and the potential of ICT to achieve a range 
of  socio-economic  objectives.  Many  Member  States  now  have  integrated  national  ICT 
strategies with objectives similar to those of the i2010 initiative.  

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These are some of the key success stories of the past four years3. Although the potential is not 
yet fully reaped-the overall achievements of i2010 can best be assessed by comparing them to 
the objectives set in 2005 for the three strategic pillars of the initiative. 

2.1. 

Boosting the Single Market for European businesses and users 

One of the most important areas where ICT policy has made a difference for Europeans is in 
promoting  the  single  market  in  telecoms  and  audiovisual  media  services  for  the  benefit  of 
citizens. 

This was the key goal of the strategic objective for the first pillar of i2010: 

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

Fragmentation in Europe’s market of 500 million consumers prevents economies of scale, to 
the detriment of businesses and consumers. This is even more the case in the digital economy; 
there  is  no  technical  reason  why  borders  should  hinder  the  flows  of  wealth  creation.  The 
Commission  has  actively  sought  to  open  up  competition  in  e-communications,  remove 
regulatory  barriers,  enhance  regulatory  consistency  and  create  a  level  playing  field  for 
Europe’s operators, industry and consumers. It has fostered a more coordinated approach to 
spectrum  and  the  potential  use  of  the  ‘digital  dividend’  across  the  Member  States.  The  two 
Roaming  Regulations  aimed  to  create  a  European  domestic  market  for  consumers  and 
businesses4. 

The  reform  of  the  e-communications  framework,  due  to  be  adopted  shortly,  will  further 
improve the single market in a number of ways. Most importantly it will give consumers more 
choice  and  improve  transparency,  protecting  them  better  against  security  and  personal  data 
breaches and spam by encouraging competition in new networks. A new regulatory body at 
European  level  should  help  ensure  fair  competition  and  more  consistency  of  national 
regulation.  At  the  same  time,  national  regulators  will  gain  greater  independence.  Year  after 
year,  annual  progress  reports  on  the  telecoms  framework  have  shown  that  Europe’s  pro-
competition rules have promoted competition, investment and innovation, prices have fallen 
and consumers have more choice, more rights and better quality services. 

The  launch  of  the  eYou  Guide  in  May  2009  was  an  important  step  to  empower  users  by 
explaining in plain terms European law applicable to the online world. This first multilingual 
online  guide  to  users’  rights  in  Europe  addresses  key  areas  of  consumer  protection  online, 
including privacy and personal data, internet safety and security, online advertising, copyright 
and shopping online5. 

Television is undergoing a period of dramatic change and the Commission has kept Europe at 
the forefront of developments, promoting digital broadcasting and mobile television. Building 
on the ‘country of origin’ principle, updated content rules have been agreed to pave the way 

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The attached staff working paper SEC(2009) 1060 provides a full inventory of all actions taken under 
i2010 during 2005-2009. 
Regulations  (EC)  No  717/2007  and  (EC)  No  544/2009  on  roaming  on  public  mobile  telephone 
networks within the Community amending Directive 2002/21/EC on a common regulatory framework 
for electronic communications networks and services 
http://ec.europa.eu/eyouguide. 

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for  new  audiovisual  services  encompassing  not  only  different  media  (terrestrial,  mobile, 
satellite,  over  the  web)  but  also  different  formats  (interactive  television,  video  on  demand, 
social  networking,  etc.).  Today,  Europe  has  clear  rules  for  audiovisual  media  services 
providers  and  quality  of  viewing  remains  ensured  through  limits  on  advertising  in 
documentaries, news and children’s programmes. Furthermore, rules on content that is racist 
or incites hatred have been extended to on-demand services6. 

Commission support for films under the EU MEDIA programme, extended for 2007 to 2013 
with  a  budget  of  €755  million,  has  helped  bring  fi lms  and  content  made  in  the  EU  to  the 
international screen. Many films that have won global fame would simply not have left their 
country  of  production  without  European  support7.  EU  added  value  is  not  just  to  fund  these 
artistic productions, but to bring European life and culture to a wide international audience by 
making European films available within and outside Europe. 

2.2. 

Stimulating ICT research and innovation in Europe 

In the first decade of the 21st century, the EU lags behind other areas of the world regarding 
ICT R&D, notably the US, Japan and South Korea. It therefore launched ambitious research 
programmes to counter the deficit and to support forward-looking R&D. During the last five 
years,  the  EU  has  engaged  in  an  intense  pursuit  of  the  global  leaders,  while  in  the  coming 
years it will strive for world leadership in ICT research.  

This approach is reflected in the overall objective for the second pillar of i2010: 

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

Under this objective, Europe adopted its largest ever budget for ICT research and innovation, 
more than €10 billion for ICT under FP7 and the CIP 8 from 2007 to 2013 to help generate the 
next wave of economic growth and drive the transition to a low-carbon society. 

Today,  e-infrastructure  such  as  GEANT,  grids,  supercomputers  and  data  repositories  are 
catalysts of a new ‘scientific renaissance’ to stimulate prosperity and growth. The success of 
the Future and Emerging Technology scheme has shown the need to boost investment in high-
risk transformative research to ensure Europe remains competitive in ICT in the long term9. 

In addition, ground-breaking public-private partnerships have been launched. The Artemis and 
Eniac  Joint  Technology  Initiatives  in  embedded  computing  systems  and  in  nanoelectronics 
address  crucial  technologies  to  keep  manufacturing  competitive,  from  automotive  and  aero-
space to energy equipment and health technologies. The Ambient Assisted Living Initiative has 
taken off and aims to make Europe a hub for developing new digital solutions for Europe’s 

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Audiovisual Media Services Directive, 2007/65/EC. 
e.g. ‘La Vie en Rose’, ‘Das Leben der Anderen’, ‘Die Fälscher’, ‘Gomorra’, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. 
The ICT Policy Support Programme under the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP) is one 
of  the  main  financial  instruments  under  i2010,  running  from  2007  to  2013  with  a  budget  of  €728 
million.  It  stimulates  innovation  and  competitiveness  through  wider  uptake  of  ICT  by  citizens, 
governments 
in  particular  SMEs,  http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/ 
activities/ict_psp/index_en.htm. 
Moving the ICT frontiers — a strategy for research on future and emerging technologies in Europe - 
COM(2009) 184. 

and  businesses, 

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elderly  people.  These  initiatives  are  helping  EU  industry  achieve  world  leadership  and  are 
ramping  up  R&D  investment  by  providing  incentives  to  both  industry  and  Member  States. 
Over six years, more than €6 billion has  been earmarked for these three initiatives. 

The EU is also a potential leader in the future internet. The Commission has started work on a 
public-private partnership that could underpin the design and architecture of a future internet 
offering  faster  transport  of  more  data,  more  IP  addresses,  a  more  secure,  privacy  and  data 
protection friendly internet that is open, interoperable and promotes innovation, competition 
and choice. This will expand the usage of RFID and web services. The new initiative builds 
on existing research priorities; e.g. the FIRE (Future Internet Research and Experimentation) 
Facility  has  started  offering  services  to  the  research  community  to  experiment  on  new 
networking  and  services  paradigms.  The  European  Technology  Platforms  have  also  broken 
new  ground  by  acting  as  open  platforms  for  cooperation  between  industry,  academia  and 
research institutes. 

Europe  can  now  build  on  these  major  steps  to  accelerate  closing  the  ICT  research  gap. 
Research  spending  is  only  a  means,  however,  not  an  end  in  itself.  Marketing  innovative 
products  and  services  is  the  key  to  EU  growth,  jobs  and  competitiveness.  While  some 
Member  States  are  topping  global  innovation  indexes,  innovation  readiness  remains 
fragmented. A stronger and more coordinated focus on research and innovation is thus crucial. 
A renewed strategy for ICT research and innovation in Europe was issued in March 200910. It 
aims  to  establish  Europe’s  leadership  in  ICT,  facilitate  the  emergence  of  new  markets  and 
businesses  for  ICT  and  make  Europe  more  attractive  to  investment  in  skills,  research  and 
innovation. 

2.3. 

Ensuring that all citizens benefit from ICT 

i2010  included  for  the  first  time  a  number  of  initiatives  that  take  account  of  Europe’s 
demographic challenges, putting citizens at the heart of policy and highlighting the economic 
aspects of various schemes. 

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

This  is  particularly  true  for  eHealth,  where  European  policies  are  improving  the  health  and 
well-being  of  Europeans,  while  at  the  same  time  bringing  productivity  benefits  to  complex 
and costly healthcare systems in the Member States and increasing the competitiveness of the 
European  healthcare  industry.  Two  key  policy  initiatives  were  launched  in  2008:  one  to 
facilitate  patient  access  to  telemedicine  services  and  stimulate  market  development;  and  the 
second  initiative  helps  Member  States  address  cross-border  interoperability  of  electronic 
health record systems to support citizens and the market. eHealth is also one of the focus areas 
of the Commission’s Lead Market Initiative, which aims to accelerate market growth through 
schemes to improve cross-border cooperation and delivery of health services. 

eGovernment is another leading policy area, with over 50% of government services now fully 
available  online.  The  interoperability  of  eGovernment  services  represents  still  a  major 
challenge. Although the number of citizens using ICT to interact with public administrations 
is  still  low,  it  is  steadily  rising.  The  transition  from  a  ‘one-stop  shop’  to  citizen-focused 

10 

A Strategy for ICT R&D and Innovation in Europe: Raising the Game - COM(2009) 116. 

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services has been the focus of eGovernment policies for the last four years. The 5-year Action 
Plan adopted in 2006 committed the Commission and the Member States to deliver tangible 
benefits to all Europeans. The eParticipation preparatory scheme shows how the use of new 
technologies can  lead to greater  public participation, providing the public with new tools to 
make their voices heard. The ongoing CIP large-scale pilots on interoperability of electronic 
procurement  systems  and  on  the  pan-European  recognition  of  electronic  identities  will  help 
unlock the economic potential of eGovernment across the EU. 

i2010 also aimed to demonstrate how ICT can improve the quality of life of citizens. This has 
been  the  main  target  of  the  eInclusion  policy  since  2005.  2008  saw  the  launch  of  the 
‘eInclusion: Be Part of It!’ initiative, which culminated with the eInclusion Vienna ministerial 
conference.  Other  examples  include  initiatives  aiming  to  boost  the  rights  of  people  with 
disabilities, elderly and socially disadvantaged persons. Given the close correlation between 
ICT  skills  and  inclusion  in  society  and  the  labour  market,  the  Commission  carried  out  a 
comprehensive review on digital literacy in Europe. 

In  2005,  i2010  proposed  three  ‘quality  of  life’  flagship  initiatives.  The  Ambient  Assisted 
Living  initiative  shows  how  ICT  helps  address  the  challenges  of  an  ageing  population.  The 
Intelligent Car initiative, launched in 2006, promotes smarter, safer and cleaner vehicles. Cars 
involved  in  a  serious  accident  will  call  112  for  help  in  the  near  future.  This  initiative  also 
brought world-wide media attention to EU research in road safety and informed consumers of 
the benefits of these novel ICT-based safety systems. 2008 witnessed the birth of Europeana, 
Europe’s multimedia online library, museum and archive with more than three million books, 
maps, sound recordings, photographs, archival documents, paintings and films from cultural 
institutions  accessible  through  a  web  portal  available  in  all  EU  languages11.  Also  in  2008, 
i2010 rose to one of the major future challenges by launching a fourth flagship initiative on 
ICT for sustainable growth, focusing on the contribution of ICT to energy efficiency. 

3. 

IMPACT OF I2010 IN THE MEMBER STATES 

The i2010 initiative has been implemented in all Member States by national strategies. Some 
are  general  ICT  strategies  and  some  address  more  specific  policies,  such  as  broadband, 
eInclusion, eHealth, eLearning and eBusiness. 

The  national  strategies  are  constantly  revised  and  updated  as  part  of  the  Lisbon  process. 
Almost all plans closely reflect the goals of the i2010 strategy. 

show  how 

A  first  wave  of  national  ICT  strategies  was 
launched after the adoption of i2010 in 2005 and a 
second  wave  has  recently  followed.  National  ICT 
strategies 
the  open  method  of 
coordination  works  in  practice:  some  clearly  refer 
to  inspiration  from  other  Member  States.  The  first 
generation of national broadband strategies focused 
on  making  broadband  available  to  100%  of  the 
population;  today  the  focus  is  on  higher  speeds, 
the  universal  service 
broadband  as  part  of 

11 

www.europeana.eu 

Finland  plans  to  have  1  Mbps  as  a  universal 
service  obligation  by  2010  and  100  Mbps  for 
all  by  2015.  Germany  plans  full  broadband 
coverage by 2010 and at least 50 Mbps to 75% 
of  its  households  by  2014.  Several  Member 
States also focus on the need for broadband at 
affordable  prices.  France  aims  to  have  full 
broadband coverage with a maximum monthly 
fee  of  €35  by  2012.  Portugal  focuses  on 
optical 
advanced 
broadband  services  and  high-speed  research 
networks. 

infrastructure, 

fibre 

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obligation or on bringing fibre infrastructure to homes. 

Newer strategies address new areas, going beyond the priorities of broadband, public online 
services and digital literacy shared by all Member States. Many of the smaller Member States 
now aspire to become top European players. 

Some countries are bringing new topics to the ICT agenda, such as green IT, charters for e-
rights,  legal  measures  of  non-discrimination  and  accessibility  or  new  ways  to  develop 
eGovernment  services,  skills  and  digital  literacy  or  models  to  stimulate  the  development  of 
digital content. 

4. 

LOOKING AHEAD — FUTURE POLICY CHALLENGES 

Europe’s  successes  to  date  have  been  built  on  a  consistent  drive  for  fair  competition  in 
telecoms  markets  and  a  borderless  market  for  digital  content  and  media  services.  Europe’s 
technological leadership stems from its continuous efforts to establish a critical mass of R&D 
in emerging fields of ICT. It has a great capacity to capitalise on its cultural resources, such as 
its vibrant and successful film and media sector and the European digital library. This overall 
policy thrust remains valid for the future. 

However,  the  success  of  the  EU  ICT  strategy  over  the  last  four  years  needs  to  be  put  in  a 
global  perspective.  Today  it  is  becoming  apparent  that,  even  in  areas  where  it  has  global 
leadership,  Europe  is  at  risk  of  losing  its  competitive  edge  when  it  comes  to  new, 
innovative  developments.  For  instance,  Europe  has  positioned  itself  as  a  world  leader  for 
broadband internet but dramatically lags behind Japan and South Korea in high-speed fibre. 
Similarly,  Europe’s  mobile  communications  success  has  not  spilled  over  into  wireless 
broadband,  where  Asia  is  emerging  as  the  world  leader.  In  addition,  Europe  is  sidelined 
regarding internet services and applications, with the US dominating the new interactive web 
habitat, especially blogs and social networks. 

Therefore  Europe  needs  a  new  digital  agenda to  meet  the  emerging  challenges,  to  create  a 
world beating infrastructure and unlock the potential of the internet as a driver of growth and 
the  basis  for  open  innovation,  creativity  and  participation.  The  European  Council  in 
December  2008  called  for  a  European  plan  for  innovation  where  ICT  would  be  a  key 
technology. Europe needs to raise its game with growth strategies to boost economic recovery 
and stay world class in high-tech sectors; to spend research budgets more effectively so that 
bright  ideas  are  marketed  and  generate  new  growth;  to  kick-start  ICT-led  productivity  to 
offset GDP stagnation as the labour force starts to shrink when the baby boomers retire12; to 
foster new, smarter, cleaner technologies that can help Europe achieve a factor four growth13 
and to use networking tools to rebuild trust in Europe as an open and democratic society. 

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13 

Employment in the EU is projected to shrink by about 19 million people by the year 2060, due to the 
fall  of  the  working  age  population.  This  means  that  productivity  will  have  to  be  the  source  of  future 
economic growth. A recent estimate is that EU labour productivity growth would converge to a long-
term  historical  average  of  1¾%,  from  COM(2009)  180  -  Dealing  with  the  impact  of  an  ageing 
population in the EU: 2009 Ageing Report. 
‘Doubling Wealth, Halving Resource Use’ E von Weizsäcker, A. Lovins and H. Lovins (1995). 

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The  Commission  is  about  to  launch  a  public  online  consultation  on  nine  key  areas  for 
Europe’s future ICT and media policies14: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

Unleashing  ICT  as  a  driver  of  economic  recovery  and  as  a  lead  contributor  to  the 
Lisbon growth and jobs agenda. This is crucial in the current economic and financial 
crisis and to achieve Europe’s longer-term economic goals. 

Increasing  the  role  of  ICT  in  the  transition  to  a  more  sustainable  low-carbon 
economy. Focusing on ICT to promote responsible energy consumption in households, 
transport,  energy  generation  and  manufacturing  and  reveal  the  potential  to  make 
substantial  energy  savings.  Smart  meters,  efficient  lighting,  cloud  computing  and 
distributed  software  will  transform  usage  patterns  of  energy  sources.  ICT-based 
solutions will be essential to Europe’s efforts to manage the transition to a sustainable 
economy. 

Upping  Europe’s  performance  in  ICT  research  and  innovation.  Despite  the 
achievements of the past years, European R&D is constantly challenged. A strong ICT 
R&D base in Europe is crucial as ICT breakthroughs are key to solving a number of 
challenges, such as health care, the demands of an ageing society, security and privacy 
and managing the transition to a low-carbon economy. 

Creating a 100% connected economy through a high-speed and open internet for all. 
The  potential  of  high-speed  infrastructure  for  economic  recovery,  long-term  growth 
and  innovation  in  Europe  must  be  unlocked.  It  will  be  crucial  to  keep  high-speed, 
future-proof networks open to foster innovation in new services and content, for and 
by all users in the online sphere. 

Consolidating  the  online  single  market.  We  have  yet  to  achieve  an  online  single 
market,  despite  solid  progress  during  the  past  years.  Europe  still  faces  legal 
fragmentation,  with  payment  systems,  security,  privacy  and  other  obstacles  that 
discourage businesses and consumers to go digital. . This applies also to the market for 
digital content where fragmentation makes it difficult for European citizens to access 
the full span of rich and culturally diverse online offer available across the EU 

Promoting users’ creativity. The new digital habitat (WEB 2.0 and beyond) offers an 
unprecedented chance to unleash the creativity of Europe’s citizens. The internet today 
is  an  interactive  political  forum,  a  vibrant  social  network  and  a  vast  source  of 
knowledge. With new participative platforms and services, users have become active 
players,  producers  or  ‘prosumers’  and  it  is  essential  to  put  in  place  new  policies  to 
encourage users’ creativity and participation. 

Reinforcing  the  EU’s  position  as  a  key  player  in  the  international  ICT  arena.  The 
continued success of modern ICT depends on international openness and cooperation, 
an internet free of restrictions on traffic, sites, platforms and the type of equipment to 
be  attached,  and  free  of  censorship.  It  also  depends  on  our  ability  to  handle  global 
challenges,  such  as  international  governance,  security,  inappropriate  content  and 
malpractice,  privacy,  protection  of  persona  data  and  new  vast  address  spaces  (IPv6), 

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The consultation on themes (5) and (6) below will be run jointly by the Information Society and Media 
and the Internal Market Directorates-General. 

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multilingual  identifiers  and  so  on.  Many  of  these  issues  can  only  be  solved  at 
international level. But Europe’s voice often struggles to be heard. 

(8)  Making  modern  and  efficient  public  services  available  and  accessible  to  all. 
eGovernment  is  increasingly  a  reality  in    Member  States.  However,  efforts  must  be 
further pursued to increase interoperability among public administrations. On its side, 
to  achieve  this  goal  the  Commission  has  proposed  to  pursue  the  successful  IDABC 
programme  by  tabling  a  proposal  for  a  new  programme  aimed  to  promote 
Interoperability Solutions for public Administrations (ISA)15 and is pursuing its works 
to revise the European Interoperability Framework, aimed to define the general rules 
and principles for collaboration among the Member States' administrations and the EU 
Institutions16. The use of ICT in schools has increased significantly; the Lisbon targets 
to  equip  and  connect  all  schools  in  Europe  have  already  been  met.  eLearning  and 
eHealth  applications  can  greatly  improve  the  quality  of  education  and  health  care 
across  the  EU.  However,  the  benefits  of  all  these  applications  have  not  yet  been 
realised fully. We need to avoid opening up new digital divides. The participative web 
offers new opportunities but also challenges public administrations, enabling citizens 
to review their relationship with the authorities. 

(9) 

Using ICT to improve the quality of life of EU citizens by unlocking the storehouses of 
Europe’s  cultural  heritage  and  bringing  it  online.  The  2008  eInclusion  initiative 
showed  the  socio-political  and  economic  importance  of  this  and  the  ‘eInclusion 
business  case’  is  now  stronger  than  ever  to  overcome  the  main  aspects  of 
disadvantage,  such  as  age,  education,  gender  and  location.  In  the  current  economic 
downturn,  disenfranchised  people  in  particular  risk  being  further  excluded  from 
society and the labour market. 

5. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The  achievements  of  i2010  and  the  ways  it  has  been  implemented  in  the  Member  States 
provide  a  snapshot  of  the  dynamism  and  range  of  schemes  that  innovative  policies  can 
produce. i2010 has laid the building blocks for a modern ICT-enabled society. Broadband is 
today firmly on the political agenda. 

But  Europe  faces  important  decisions  about  how  to  build  a  seamlessly  connected  digital 
economy poised for recovery. In addition, over the coming years the internet is expected to 
become an essential service, crucial for us to participate fully in society. 

To seize these opportunities, the Commission calls on the Member States and on stakeholders 
to actively cooperate in the months ahead until early 2010 to draft a new digital agenda so that 
Europe can emerge from the current crisis with a stronger, more competitive and more open 
digital economy, driving European growth and innovation. 

15 
16 

See COM(2008)583. 
See http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/document/7728. 

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