Resolution of the Committee of the Regions on 'The information society: from Corfu to Dublin - The new emerging priorities` and 'The implications of the information society for European Union policies - Preparing the next steps` (97/C 42/07)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

Having regard to the Commission Communications on 'The implications of the information society for European Union policies - Preparing the next steps` and 'The information society: from Corfu to Dublin - The new emerging priorities` (COM(96) 395 final), in which the Commission proposes an updated, reinforced EU Information Society Action Plan, with particular emphasis on 'improving the business environment`, 'investing in the future`, 'people at the centre` and 'meeting the global challenge`;

Having regard to its decision on 18 October 1996 to instruct COR Commission 3 to draw up a Resolution (rapporteur: Mr Henning Jensen),

unanimously adopted the following Resolution at its 15th plenary session on 13-14 November 1996 (meeting of 14 November).

The Committee of the Regions

1. acknowledges the impact of the existing Action Plan 'Europe's way towards the information society`;

2. expresses its support for a revised EU information society Action Plan;

3. calls for the new Action Plan to be rooted in the individual citizen's needs and aspirations;

4. stresses the need for more effective coordination between the Plan's actions and other EU initiatives as well as EU Funds and programmes.

The Committee of the Regions

5. would point to the constructive contribution that can be made by local and regional authorities, in the shape of advice and guidance, projects and exchanges of experience, along with dialogue and cooperation with the region's political, business and social players in addition to close contacts with the individual citizen, to developing and carrying through a successful response to the challenges of the information society;

6. with this in mind, urges that local and regional authorities, in line with the subsidiarity principle, be assigned a more prominent role in the Action Plan's drive to harness the potential and master the problems of the information society as well as in planning and implementing EU actions in this sector;

7. would also advocate that the Action Plan place greater emphasis on projects and actions involving local and regional authorities, for instance in connection with cooperation with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), education and training schemes and actions to facilitate the individual citizen's access to, and use of, information technology.

The Committee of the Regions

8. welcomes the liberalization of the telecommunications sector but stresses the need to secure global services so as to ensure that the entire EU - including the remote and outermost regions - is provided with key telecommunications and information technologies at a cost which does not distort terms of competition or aggravate regional disparities;

9. agrees on the importance of fostering a better business environment, especially for SMEs, and would point out that the Commission's Confidence Pact proposes territorial pacts for employment, where local and regional authorities can play a major role in boosting SMEs' development and adjustment potential;

10. therefore recommends that the new Action Plan involve local and regional authorities in providing much-needed advice and guidance to SMEs on matters relating to organization and financing, networking and exchange of experience in the information society;

11. further advocates that top political and economic priority be given to EU actions and programmes that focus on the potential for growth inherent in the service and information technology sectors.

The Committee of the Regions

12. stresses that all EU action to regulate the information society, such as the draft directive on the transparency of single market legislation on information services or possible Community initiatives in the field of pluralism and media concentration, must observe the subsidiarity principle and take due account of the responsibilities and tasks of the local and regional authorities;

13. echoes the European Parliament's call for the retention of the concept of broadcasting and the special legislative decisions and authorization procedures which this will entail, including graded approval criteria for new services, where appropriate; stresses, again echoing the European Parliament, the need to safeguard and develop broadcasting at regional, national and EU level as an important opinion-forming medium.

The Committee of the Regions

14. calls for particular attention to be given to ensuring satisfactory coordination within the Commission, between the relevant directorates-general, so that the outside impression is not one of disjointed and fragmented activities;

15. observing the speed of change in telecommunications and information technologies, urges that a position on this sector be adopted without delay so that projects can be implemented as swiftly as market constraints permit.

The Committee of the Regions

16. stresses the importance of ensuring that the entire population is provided with a broad knowledge base and flexible, lifelong education and training facilities;

17. acknowledges the scope and responsibility of local and regional authorities for coordinating local and regional interests with the needs and expectations of education and training establishments and the business sector;

18. therefore advocates that the Action Plan and other education and training initiatives draw on these authorities' close contacts with the wide range of local and regional players as a natural springboard for dialogue and cooperation in providing effectively targeted education and training facilities;

19. also calls for the future Fifth Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development to prioritize innovative technology in determining areas of action, selection criteria, etc.

The Committee of the Regions

20. would point out that the information sector will merely aggravate regional discrepancies unless care is taken to avoid certain regions being left without technical facilities and information technology resources;

21. therefore recommends that, for instance, use be made of the Structural Funds' potential for improving information technology infrastructure and resources in disadvantaged and very remote regions of the EU; and that regional programmes be established to subsidize these technologies so as to give the inhabitants of these regions access to these basic telecommunications services, which will also make the areas more attractive to sectoral investment;

22. would also highlight the key importance of providing the population at large with know-how and training in the use of technology and practical and financial access to new opportunities;

23. therefore calls for the Action Plan (e.g. via the Irisi programme) to provide scope for development, pilot projects and exchanges of experience concerning the drive to provide open, user-friendly access to information technology in the shape of such facilities as information kiosks, readily accessible data rooms, libraries and public education and training establishments;

24. further advocates that the Action Plan place people more clearly at the centre of the Information Society by focusing to a greater extent on ways in which information technology can improve public services, conditions for disabled people, equal opportunities and health policy.

Brussels, 14 November 1996.

The Chairman of the Committee of the Regions

Pasqual MARAGALL i MIRA