Document ID: 32001D0048

Council Decision
of 22 December 2000
adopting a multiannual Community programme to stimulate the development and use of European digital content on the global networks and to promote linguistic diversity in the information society
(2001/48/EC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 157(3) 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),
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions(4),
Whereas:
(1) The evolution towards an information and knowledge society should influence the life of every citizen in the European Union by, inter alia, affording new means of gaining access to knowledge and new ways of acquiring knowledge.
(2) The Lisbon Summit stressed the need to bridge the digital divide in the emerging information society and to strengthen social cohesion.
(3) Digital content plays a predominant role in this evolution. Four million Europeans are currently employed in the content sector. Content production has given rise to rapid job creation in recent years and continues to do so. Most of these jobs are created in small emerging companies. This will radically change the conditions of access to knowledge or acquisition of it, and thus constitutes an essential asset for economic growth, enterprise and employment, and enhancing the professional, social and cultural development, and the creativity and innovative capacity of the citizens of Europe now and in the future.
(4) The economic and social potential of the development of digital content extends to the culture, education, training and leisure sectors.
(5) The structures and business environment of the content industries are changing fast.
(6) Respect for intellectual property and labelling of works are preconditions for increased distribution and exploitation of digital content on global networks.
(7) There are numerous barriers to the full development of the European content industries and markets.
(8) The Bonn ministerial declaration, issued at the conference of 6 to 8 July 1997 on the role of global networks for the information society, devotes special interest to the Internet commercial developments, thus forming the basis for the continuing discussions on Internet content, management issues and electronic commerce.
(9) On 8 December 1999 the Commission adopted the eEurope initiative which was subsequently welcomed by Member States at the Helsinki European Council of 10 and 11 December 1999.
(10) The Council has underlined, in its conclusions adopted on 17 December 1999(5) on culture industries and employment in Europe, that progress in communication technology and the information society has substantially increased the number of distribution channels, which has boosted demand for new programme content.
(11) On 23 and 24 March 2000 the European Council in Lisbon specifically recognised the role of the content industries in creating added value by exploiting and networking European cultural diversity.
(12) Community actions undertaken concerning the content of information should respect the Union's multilingual and multicultural character and encourage initiatives that facilitate access to digital information in the languages of present and candidate countries.
(13) The interim evaluations of the INFO2000 programme established by Council Decision 96/339/EC(6) and the multilingual information society initiative (MLIS) established by Council Decision 96/664/EC(7) call for a vigorous follow-up of the actions in the area of digital content and linguistic and cultural diversity.
(14) Measures should be taken encouraging participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in information society developments.
(15) The different rates of development on the provision and use of information services as well as of new communication techniques and the related content in the present Member States and in the candidate countries deserve special consideration, having regard to the internal cohesion of the Community and the risks associated with a two-tier information society. The presence of content in different languages promotes equality of access for citizens to the information society and reduces discrimination.
(16) The Commission has published in January 1999 a Green Paper on public sector information in the information society, launching a European debate on this topic.
(17) Access to information originating in the public sector must respect the particular obligations of those authorities and the need to protect the confidentiality of personal data as provided for in Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(8).
(18) The use of public sector information should respect provisions set by Member States on property rights of digitised material.
(19) The removal of barriers to access to public sector information should be encouraged, inter alia, by encouraging the exchanges of best practices.
(20) Since the objectives of the proposed actions cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States due to the transnational character of the issues at stake and can, therefore, by reason of the European scope and effects of the actions be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Decision does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.
(21) Any content policy action should be complementary to other ongoing Community initiatives, and be performed in synergy with actions under the fifth framework programme for research and development, the framework programme for culture, the media programmes, with Community education actions, SME actions, with the Structural Funds, with the eEurope action plan and the risk capital action plan.
(22) Complementarity and synergy with related Community initiatives and programmes should be ensured by the Commission through appropriate coordination mechanisms.
(23) Progress of this programme should be continuously and systematically monitored with a view to adapting it, where appropriate, to developments in the digital content market. In due course there should be an independent assessment of the progress of the programme so as to provide the background information needed in order to determine the objectives for subsequent content policy actions. This interim assessment report should be submitted in time to allow corrective actions in the second phase of the programme. At the end of this programme, there should be a final assessment of the results obtained and a report to the European Parliament as to the future content policy and success/impact of this programme in achieving the objectives set out in this Decision.
(24) It may be appropriate to engage in international cooperation activities with international organisations and third countries for the purpose of implementing this programme.
(25) A financial reference amount, within the meaning of point 34 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission(9), is included in this Decision for the entire duration of the programme, without thereby affecting the powers of the budgetary authority as they are defined by the Treaty.
(26) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(10),
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
A multiannual programme "European digital content for the global networks" (hereinafter referred to as "eContent") is hereby adopted.
The programme has the following objectives:
(a) helping to stimulate the use of and access for all to the Internet by increasing the availability of European digital content on the global networks to support the professional, social and cultural development of the citizens of the European Union and facilitating the economic and social integration of nationals of the applicant countries into the information society;
(b) stimulating access to and use of European digital content potential and especially promoting more effective use of information held by the public sector;
(c) promoting cultural diversity and multilingualism, especially in the languages of the European Union, in digital content on the global networks and increasing the export opportunities of European content firms, and in particular SMEs, through cultural and linguistic customisation;
(d) creating favourable conditions for the reduction of market fragmentation and for the marketing, distribution and use of European digital content on the global networks to stimulate economic activity and enhance employment prospects.
Article 2
In order to attain the objectives referred to in Article 1, the following actions shall be undertaken under the guidance of the Commission, in accordance with the action lines set out in Annex I and the means for implementing the programme set out in Annex III:
(a) improving access to and expanding use of public sector information;
(b) enhancing content production in a multilingual and multicultural environment;
(c) increasing dynamism of the digital content market.
Article 3
1. The programme shall cover a period of four years from the date of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
2. The financial reference amount for the implementation of the programme for the period mentioned in paragraph 1 shall be EUR 100 million.
The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the budgetary authority within the limits of the financial perspective.
An indicative breakdown of expenditure is given in Annex II.
Article 4
1. The Commission shall be responsible for the implementation of the programme and its coordination with other Community programmes. The Commission shall draw up a work programme every two years on the basis of this Decision.
2. In the implementation of the programme, the Commission shall, in close cooperation with the Member States, ensure general consistency and complementarity with other relevant Community policies, programmes and actions that impinge upon the development and use of European digital content and the promotion of linguistic diversity in the information society.
3. The Commission shall act in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 5(2) for the purposes of the following:
(a) adoption of the work programme;
(b) determination of the criteria and content of calls for the proposals, in line with the objectives outlined in Article 1;
(c) assessment of the projects proposed under calls for proposals for Community funding of an estimated amount of Community contribution equal to, or more than EUR 700000;
(d) any departure from the rules set out in Annex III;
(e) acceptance of participation in any project by legal entities from third countries and international organisations other than those mentioned in Article 7(1) and (2).
4. Where the amount of the projects referred to in point 3(c) is less than EUR 700000, the Commission shall merely inform the committee established by Article 5(1) of the projects and the outcome of their assessment. This threshold can be reviewed in the light of experience at the end of two years from the date of publication of this Decision.
The Commission shall inform the committee of progress with the implementation of the programme as a whole on at least a half yearly basis.
Article 5
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee.
2. Where reference is made to this point, Articles 4 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply.
The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three months.
Article 6
1. In order to ensure that Community aid is used efficiently, the Commission shall ensure that actions under this Decision are subject to effective prior appraisal, follow-up and subsequent evaluation.
2. During implementation of projects and after their completion the Commission shall evaluate the manner in which they have been carried out and the impact of their implementation in order to assess whether the original objectives have been achieved.
3. The selected beneficiaries shall submit an annual report to the Commission.
4. After two years from the date of publication of this Decision and at the end of the programme, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions an evaluation report on the results obtained in implementing the action lines referred to in Article 2. The Commission may submit, on the basis of those results, proposals for adjusting the orientation of the programme.
Article 7
1. Participation in the programme may be opened to legal entities established in EFTA States which are members of the European Economic Area (EEA) in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement on the EEA.
2. The programme shall be open to participation of applicant countries on the following basis:
(a) those from central and eastern Europe (CEECs), in accordance with the conditions established in the Europe Agreements, in their additional protocols, and in the decisions of the respective Association Councils;
(b) Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, in accordance with bilateral agreements to be concluded.
3. Participation may be opened, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 5(2), without financial support by the Community from the programme, to legal entities established in third countries and to international organisations, where such participation contributes effectively to the implementation of the programme and taking into account the principle of mutual benefit.
Article 8
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 22 December 2000.

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