Second EU/CEEC Forum on the Information Society

Prague, 12-13 September 1996

Chairman's conclusions

The meeting was conducted on the basis of the results of the Panels instituted by the First EU/CEEC Forum on the Information Society, held in Brussels, 23rd June 1995; these panels, dealing respectively with Financing of Infrastructure, Legal and Institutional Framework, Standardisation and Technical Regulation, and Cooperation in Research and Development, have met in March 1996 to produce conclusions and recommendations in their respective domains.

The Forum recognised

1. the vital importance to all European countries of the global information society made possible by new services and applications based on modern telecommunications and information technologies, which will have an impact on almost all sectors of the economy, the public administration, and the social and cultural life of the citizens, including the contribution that it can bring to the safeguarding of cultural diversity
2. the fact that the transition to the Information Society is a relevant part of the CEECs socio-economic development, and an indispensable part of their pre-accession activities towards joining the EU
3. the role of governments in creating a stable regulatory environment contributing to a climate of confidence which will stimulate the introduction of these services and applications
4. the priority that must be given to the modernisation and expansion of the basic information and communications infrastructures in CEECs using, inter alia, privatisation schemes as a means to increase investment in the sector, and the need to promote inward investment by making each country "investor friendly"
5. the potential for information and communication technologies to bring the scientific and industrial communities closer together, and to establish new forms of R&D co-operation between the public and the private sector as well as across national boundaries
6. the need for actions, including demonstrations and pilot trials, to raise the awareness of the potentialities of information and communications technologies and to demonstrate the opportunities in the Information Society to citizens, administrations and business alike; the role that universities and other research institutions can play in this
7. the value of technical and other forms of assistance in the execution of many of the actions contemplated;
   the progress that has already been made in the framework of the follow-up to the White Paper on the Preparation of the Associated Countries of Central and Eastern Europe for their Integration into the Internal Market of the Union, the relevant collaborative work already in hand or planned under the auspices of the PHARE multi-country telecommunications programmes as well as national PHARE programmes, the fourth Framework Programme of Research and Technological Development, etc.
8. the need to make policy in relation to the Information Society through administrative arrangements that are especially designed or adapted for the purpose both at national and European level; the role of accurate statistical information in following the development of the information technology and telecommunications sector

The European Commission is invited

1. to continue to provide advice in relation to regulatory and standardisation aspects of information and communications, in order to facilitate the process of liberalisation and harmonisation of legislation, standards, regulatory procedures etc. in the sector, in full co-ordination with the other interested bodies, including the International Financing Institutions, and ETSI
2. to extend the scope of the Information Technology Observatory as well as the Information Market Observatory to include all CEECs, and to involve the CEECs in the creation of inventories of existing national and international projects, studies etc., relating to the Information Society
3. through the steering committee of the PHARE multi-country telecommunications programmes, to urge all CEECs to participate in the relevant PHARE projects planned, such as the ones on cost based tariff tools, on regulatory authorities, type approval and licensing
4. to introduce further measures for the adaptation of telecommunications regulations in particular in the field of type approval and mutual recognition of their conformity
5. to use its influence to maximise access by CEECs participants to EU programmes, in particular the specific programmes of the fourth Framework Programme of Research and Technological Development, and for this, to strengthen the institutional contacts at all levels; to encourage, where appropriate, the use of matching PHARE funds for this purpose; to extend experimental pilot actions to the CEECs according to their national priorities

The CEECs governments are invited

1. to develop national strategies and action plans for the Information Society, creating a favourable and supportive environment for its development, and to designate effective official national co-ordinators for Information Society activities, who could serve as contact points for any party interested in co-operation, and contribute to the development of these strategies
2. to promote the adoption of a regulatory framework for the Information Society, and to ensure rapid implementation of the relevant recommendations of the White Paper on Preparation of the Associated Countries of Central and Eastern Europe for their Integration into the Internal Market of the Union
3. to develop a national policy for the telecommunications sector, including investment strategies, taking account of the necessary tariff evolution, tariff reform, efficiency gains, competitive procurement, deployment of new technology, increases in capital and increases in debt, in conformity with the overall national macro-economic strategies and priorities, and to take, as soon as practicable, the measures necessary for further development of the regulatory authorities, for the introduction of cost based tariffs, for the adaptation of telecommunications regulations in particular in the field of type approval and mutual recognition of their conformity, as well as licensing regimes
4. to consider the impact of their telecommunications strategies upon economic disparities between regions in their countries and take measures aimed at improving access to advanced telecommunications services in their less favoured regions, in order to overcome the vicious circle of low demand and lack of infrastructure and thereby contribute to a successful liberalisation of the telecommunications market
5. to establish the independence of their standardisation organisations and to support their integration into the European system, to expedite the transposition of European standards by minimizing the need for translating them into the national language, and to establish a single correspondent point for the exchange of information with the EU on draft technical regulations
6. to accept the principle that accredited testing laboratories should be free to offer services on a pan-European basis and that plans for any individual testing service must take account of market conditions; the aim being to arrive at a basis for mutual recognition of test reports and certificates
7. to ensure the availability of an adequate information infrastructure and facilities to the science system at national level
8. to strengthen the role of R&D and education and professional training in the field of infomation and communications technology, to make effective use of existing schemes for R&D co-operation and other activities relevant to the Information Society, e.g. experimental pilot actions, and to provide support enabling domestic organisations to participate in these activities

The participants agreed to continue their co-operation by starting concrete Information Society activities with a European dimension using the opportunities and mechanisms described in the Action Plan and by exchange of information and further reflection among all interested parties within working groups and new panels as appropriate, and in particular on the following subjects

1. strategy and policy formulation for the Information Society; to examine how EU and CEECs policy making in this field could best be co-ordinated; to consider the information needs of governments for this purpose and to propose related actions, including the harmonisation of statistical data on the Information Society
2. implementation of demonstrations, pilot trials and projects and other actions designed to raise awareness of the potentialities of the Information Society in CEECs; to make recommendations and to find sponsors
3. education and training
4. application of Information and Communications Technologies in public administrations

At the close of the meeting, the Ministers of the CEEC and the member of the Commission agreed to meet again in Brussels, in October 1997, in order to review the situation

Prague, 13th September 1996