88/524/EEC: Council Decision of 26 July 1988 concerning the establishment of a plan of action for setting up an information services market

COUNCIL  DECISION
of 26 July 1988
concerning the establishment of a plan of action for setting up an information services market
(88/524/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 235 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),
Whereas it is essential to adopt measures with the aim of progressively establishing the internal market over a period expiring on 31 December 1992; whereas the internal market comprises an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured;
Whereas application of the Community programme for the development of the specialized information market in Europe, adopted by the Council by Decision 84/567/EEC (4), has revealed that a much more comprehensive Community information market policy is necessary;
Whereas the Heads of State and of Government, meeting within the European Council in Brussels on 29 and 30 March 1985, approved the creation of a Community information market as a specific objective;
Whereas the Council on 18 March 1986 gave a favourable reception to the communication from the Commission comprising a work programme for creating a common information market;
Whereas the Commission, having consulted representatives of users and suppliers of information services as well as the Senior Officials Advisory Group for information market policy, has been able to draw up an agreed definition of the principle objectives and lines of action of a Community policy which is designed to tackle on a broad front the complex, diverse and overlapping questions arising out of the evolution of the information market;
Whereas it is recognized that information plays a role of fundamental importance in the development of trade and industry, giving strength and coherence to the European economy as a whole, as well as being an essential component of both the cultural identity of the Community and the fabric of a modern society;
Whereas the rapid development and convergence of new technologies has led to considerable difficulties in defining the exact scope of the information market sector;
Whereas fuller statistics on the Community information market are vitally needed to match those for more traditional sectors;
Whereas, by virtue of the economic importance of information, the creation of a common information services market occupies an essential place in the completion of the internal market by the end of 1992;
Whereas there exist numerous technical, administrative and legal barriers to the creation of an internal information market which are hindering the setting-up of new services and causing in some cases distortions of competition;
Whereas the need for simplification of procedures as well as harmonization in the field of database access should undergo priority scrutiny;
Whereas the development of information resources and information-based services requires the application of new technologies and the achievement of economies of scale;
Whereas the Community has a competitive position which is strong in some areas of the information market but which needs to be strengthened in others;
Whereas public authorities in the Member States are carrying out to a varied extent different activities in the field of the information market;
Whereas the growing importance of information in international transactions, and of the related problems concerning services, is receiving increasing attention in international fora and this fact serves to emphasize the necessity for Member States to develop common positions in those fora;
Whereas the needs and legitimate demands of users of information services, and particularly of those in small and medium-sized enterprises and in the less-favoured regions of the Community, merit special attention;
Whereas the Community already possesses potentially useful instruments for the implementation of the above policy;
Whereas the Community's financial engineering mechanisms may contribute to the implementation of the present plan of action, in particular with regard to the pilot and demonstration projects designed to exert a catalytic effect on the development of the information services market;
Whereas that part of the amount deemed necessary which is intended to finance pilot and demonstration projects may be used, in particular, to attract any necessary additional sources of funding from the partners concerned, thereby having a multiplier effect on the development of the European information services market;
Whereas any information market policy must be complementary to other ongoing Community initiatives, notably in the field of telecommunications,