93/512/EEC: Council Decision of 21 September 1993 on a Community technology initiative for disabled and elderly people (TIDE) (1993 to 1994)

COUNCIL DECISION of 21 September 1993 on a Community technology initiative for disabled and elderly people (TIDE) (1993 to 1994)
(93/512/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 the Council resolution of the representatives of the Governments of the Member States of the European Communities, meeting within the Council, of 21 December 1981 on the social integration of handicapped people (4) stresses the importance of  promoting the development and availability of technical aids, the pooling of information and experience in the field and the application of new technologies, so as to facilitate the communication, mobility and employment of handicapped people;
Whereas the Commission has carried out the technology initiative for disabled and elderly people (TIDE) pilot action (5) to provide data on the necessity of launching a Community initiative in this field;
Whereas the European Parliament, in its resolution of 17 September 1992 on the TIDE programme (6), called on the Community to launch an initiative for 1993 and 1994 based on the results of the pilot phase of TIDE and further to allocate sufficient  resources for such an initiative;
Whereas 10 to 15 % of European people experience the handicapping effects of disability in their daily life and consequently do not enjoy an equal level of personal and socio-economic opportunity;
Whereas old people and particularly very old people constitute a very high proportion of people with disabilities and the proportion of these people will increase substantially in the Community population in the future, with a resulting large increase  in the overall cost of care;
Whereas new technologies can offer many opportunities to assist disabled and old people to live more independently, satisfying their aspirations, furthering social and economic cohesion, and helping to contain the cost of care, thereby also greatly  benefiting social security systems by reducing the need for expensive residential and nursing care;
Whereas the current market for this technology to assist independent living and socio-economic integration is very fragmented, by technical area, by national regulation, by culture and by impairment, leading to poor provision of technological solutions  across the Community and high prices to individends and funding agencies;
Whereas greater and convergent efforts are required to develop further coherence and cost effectiveness in the market for rehabilitation technology, both supporting the interconnection of rehabilitation devices with mainstream technology devices and  progressively improving access to mainstream technology for disabled and elderly citizens;
Whereas an initiative at Community level, in accordance with the prinicple of subsidiarity, is justified in terms of added value, by bringing together and developing expertise in Member States, thus avoiding duplication of efforts, and in terms of scale  and whereas the arguments on coordination of effort at industrial level and lack of technological development and standardization, provide justification for Community action in terms of the effect of stimulation of the internal market in rehabilitation  technology and of the improvement of the basis for the international competitiveness of the European rehabilitation technology industry;
Whereas, pursuant to Article 130a of the Treaty, in order to promote its overall harmonious development, the Community is to develop and pursue its actions leading to the strengthening of its economic and social cohesion;
Whereas a committee should be set up to assist the Commission in carrying out the responsibilities conferred on it by this Decision;
Whereas the Treaty does not provide for the adoption of this Decision powers other than those of Article 235,