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eEurope+  

A co-operative effort to Implement the Information Society in Europe

Action Plan

prepared by the Candidate Countries for launch during the Göteborg European Summit

15-16 June 2001

- draft outline –

version 0, 23 March 2001

The context

The accelerated use of information and communication technologies and the advent of the Internet has put very powerful tools within the reach of citizens, governments as well as large and small businesses everywhere.  This is resulting in profound changes in the internal organisations of governments and  business as well as in the relationships amongst businesses, trading partners, citizens and governments. We now know that these technologies are considered to have a considerable impact on the whole of the economy and that policies which govern their use and implementation are decisive in the modernisation of these economies.

At the European Council held in Lisbon on 23-24 March 2000, the Heads of Government and State of the EU-15 set the ambitious goal for Europe for the next decade to become “the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world”.  It recognised the urgent need for Europe to quickly exploit the opportunities of the New Economy and in particular the Internet. As a result, the eEurope Action Plan was launched in Feira on the 19-20 June 2000

At the European Ministerial Conference held in Warsaw on 11-12 May 2000, Central and Eastern European Countries recognised the strategic goal set by the EU-15 in Lisbon and agreed to embrace the challenge raised by the EU-15 with eEurope and decided to launch an “eEurope-like Action Plan” by and for the Candidate Countries. 

The initiative, named eEurope+, mirrors the priority objectives and targets of eEurope  but provides for actions which tackle the specific needs of the Candidate Countries. It should not be perceived as a substitute for or interfering with acquis negotiations.

Like eEurope,  the eEurope+ Action Plan aims to accelerate reform and modernisation of the economies in the candidate countries, encourage capacity and institution building, and improve overall competitiveness.

The objective

The eEurope+ Action Plan adopts all the priority objectives and targets of eEurope but provides for actions which address the specific needs of the Candidate Countries.

To facilitate comparison and exchange of information not only amongst the Candidate Countries but also with EU Member States, actions are clustered around three main objectives, and the indicators selected by the EU-15 have been adopted for monitoring and benchmarking.  However, [the Prime Ministers of] the Candidate Countries recognise that, if the full benefits of the actions are to be achieved, a further acceleration in the implementation of the acquis communautaire in areas related to information society, as far as this is possible, is required.

0.  Accelerate the putting in place of the basic building blocks for Information Society

a)  Accelerate and complete the liberalisation of the telecommunication’ sector

b) Transpose and implement the acquis relevant to the Information Society

1. A cheaper, faster, secure Internet

a) Cheaper and faster Internet access

b) Faster Internet for researchers and students

c) Secure networks and smart cards

2. Investing in people and skills

a) European youth into the digital age

b) Working in the knowledge-based economy

c) Participation for all in the knowledge-based economy

3. Stimulate the use of the Internet

a) Accelerating e-commerce

b) Government online: electronic access to public services

c) Health online

d) European digital content for global networks

e) Intelligent transport systems