A SECOND COMMUNITY PLAN OF ACTION IN THE FIELD OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTATION AS SET OUT IN ANNEX I IS HEREBY ADOPTED FOR A PERIOD OF THREE YEARS WITH EFFECT FROM 1 JANUARY 1978 . THE CEILING FOR EXPENDITURE COMMITMENTS SHALL BE FIXED AT 9 * 5 MILLION EUROPEAN UNITS OF ACCOUNT , THE EUROPEAN UNIT OF ACCOUNT BEING DEFINED BY THE RELEVANT FINANCIAL REGULATIONS .
ARTICLE 2
THE COMMISSION SHALL IMPLEMENT THE PLAN OF ACTION , ASSISTED BY THE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTATION COMMITTEE ( STIDC ) , THE DUTIES AND METHOD OF OPERATION OF WHICH ARE DEFINED IN ANNEX II . THIS COMMITTEE AND THE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL RESEARCH COMMITTEE ( CREST ) SHALL BE KEPT REGULARLY INFORMED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE PROGRESS OF THE WORK . THE COMMISSION SHALL ALSO SUBMIT EACH YEAR TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT A FULL REPORT ON THE SUBJECT WHICH WILL BE INCORPORATED IN THE GENERAL REPORT .
ARTICLE 3
1 . IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 228 OF THE TREATY , THE COMMUNITY MAY CONCLUDE COOPERATION AGREEMENTS WITH THIRD COUNTRIES PARTICIPATING IN THE EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF POSTAL AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS ADMINISTRATIONS ( CEPT ) . IN PRINCIPLE , SUCH AGREEMENTS SHALL BE CONCERNED WITH THE EXTENSION OF EURONET AND SHALL DETERMINE THE CONDITIONS FOR THE CONNECTION OF THE TERMINALS AND HOST COMPUTERS OF THIS NETWORK AND THE RELATED TECHNICAL ARRANGEMENTS . EXCEPTIONALLY , HOWEVER , THEY MIGHT ALSO BE CONCERNED WITH OTHER ASPECTS OF THE PLAN OF ACTION .
2 . THE COMMISSION SHALL BE AUTHORIZED TO NEGOTIATE THE COOPERATION AGREEMENTS REFERRED TO IN PARAGRAPH 1 AFTER HAVING SOUGHT THE OPINION OF THE STIDC FOR THIS PURPOSE IN ACCORDANCE WITH ANNEX II ( 3 ) ( C ) .
DONE AT LUXEMBOURG , 9 OCTOBER 1978 .
FOR THE COUNCIL
THE PRESIDENT
H.-J . VOGEL
ANNEX I
SECOND THREE-YEAR PLAN OF ACTION IN THE FIELD OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTATION
THE PLAN'S MAJOR OBJECTIVES ARE THE FOLLOWING :
1 . TO TURN EURONET INTO A PUBLIC OPERATIONAL ON-LINE INFORMATION NETWORK
CONTINUING TO TURN EURONET INTO A PUBLIC OPERATIONAL ON-LINE INFORMATION NETWORK IS TO BE A TOP-PRIORITY ACTION IN THE PERIOD 1978-80 . MOREOVER , THE DATA TRANSMISSION NETWORK SHOULD BE IMPROVED AND TRANSFORMED INTO A PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK FALLING UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF EUROPEAN POSTAL AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS ADMINISTRATIONS . THE NETWORK SHOULD ENABLE USERS TO GAIN DIRECT ACCESS VIA THEIR OWN TERMINALS TO INFORMATION OF ALL KINDS IN DATA BASES MOUNTED ON A NUMBER OF COMPUTERS AT CENTRES OF EXPERTISE WIDELY DISTRIBUTED IN MEMBER COUNTRIES . AMONG THE ESSENTIAL ACTIVITIES TO BE UNDERTAKEN ARE :
_ THE PREPARATORY LAUNCHING OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES ,
_ TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND ADAPTATION WORK RELATING TO THE CONNECTION OF HOST COMPUTERS AND USER TERMINALS ,
_ COMMERCIAL EXPLOITATION OF THE POSTAL AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK ,
_ LINKING UP TO OTHER NETWORKS ,
_ DEVELOPING COOPERATION WITH THE POSTAL AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS ADMINISTRATIONS .
PRIORITY WILL BE GIVEN TO