Minden negyedik válaszadó úgy ítélte meg, hogy internetkapcsolatának letöltési/feltöltési sebessége nem felel meg az aláírt szerződésben szereplő feltételeknek (ezt a problémát a Bizottság hálózatsemlegességről szóló közleménye is említi, lásd IP/11/486), és minden harmadik válaszadó jelezte, hogy tapasztalt már üzemzavart az internetes kapcsolatban. A 2011. május 25-től alkalmazandó új uniós szabályozás előírja, hogy a szolgáltatóknak előre – még a szerződés aláírását megelőzően – átfogó és pontos információkkal kell ellátniuk a fogyasztókat a szolgáltatások minimálisan elvárható minőségi szintjeit, így többek között az internet-hozzáférés tényleges sebességét és annak lehetséges korlátozásait illetően (lásd MEMO/11/319). A Bizottság jelenleg foglalkozik a széles sávú átviteli sebességgel, valamint az átláthatóság és a szolgáltatás minőségének egyéb kérdéseivel (lásd IP/11/486).

Neelie Kroes, az Európai Bizottság digitális menetrendért felelős alelnöke így nyilatkozott: „A fogyasztók határozottan és egyértelműen hangot adtak azzal kapcsolatos aggodalmuknak, hogy nem valósul meg a szolgáltató által ígért internet-hozzáférési sebesség és szolgáltatásminőség. A nemzeti hatóságoknak megfelelő intézkedésekkel gondoskodniuk kell arról, hogy a szolgáltatók betartsák azon új uniós szabályokat, amelyek az internetkapcsolat sebességére és a szolgáltatás minőségére vonatkozó átláthatóságot írnak elő a számukra. Amennyiben ez nem bizonyul elégségesnek, normatívabb útmutatás, szükség esetén pedig akár jogszabály formájában további lépéseket fogok tenni.”

A felmérésből az is kiderül, hogy az uniós polgárokat aggasztja az adatvédelem kérdése. A válaszadók 88 %-a szeretne értesülni arról, ha a távközlési szolgáltató által összegyűjtött személyes adatai elvesznek, azokat ellopják vagy valamilyen módon megváltoztatják. A 2011. május 25-től alkalmazandó új uniós szabályok értelmében (lásd MEMO/11/320) a távközlési és az internetes szolgáltatóknak szigorú biztonsági intézkedéseket kell hozniuk ügyfeleik adatainak – név, e-mail cím és bankszámla-információk – valamint az ügyfelek által lebonyolított minden egyes telefonhívásra és internetes hozzáférésre vonatkozó információknak a védelme érdekében. Az új szabályok azt is előírják, hogy a biztonság megsértése és/vagy a személyes adatok elveszítése, illetve ellopása esetén a szolgáltatóknak indokolatlan késedelem nélkül értesíteniük kell ügyfeleiket és az adatvédelmi hatóságokat.

A felmérés rámutatott továbbá a következőkre:

• Az európai uniós háztartások 98%-ának van valamilyen telefon-hozzáférése, és a háztartások egyre növekvő hányada (jelenleg 89%-a) rendelkezik mobiltelefonnal. 62%-ának van vonalas és mobiltelefon-hozzáférése is, és csupán 9% azok aránya, akik csak vonalas telefonnal rendelkeznek.

• A háztartások 98%-ában van televízió. A TV-vétel legnépszerűbb módja a kábel (35%), amelyet a digitális földi műsorszórás követ (30%, ami 2009 novembere-decembere óta 7 százalékpontos növekedést jelent).

A több telekommunikációs szolgáltatást tartalmazó kombinált csomagok

• A háztartások 42%-a rendelkezik kombinált előfizetéssel, az internet-hozzáférések 61%-ára és a vonalas telefonszolgáltatások felére a háztartások csomag részeként fizetnek elő.

• A háztartások 41%-a szerint e csomagok legnagyobb előnye az a kényelem, amit az egyetlen szolgáltató és az egyetlen számla jelent. 33% gondolja úgy, hogy az egyes szolgáltatások csomagban olcsóbbak, mint külön előfizetések formájában.

• 16% azonban úgy véli, hogy a csomagok számukra felesleges szolgáltatásokat is nyújtanak, 10% pedig úgy gondolja, hogy az egyes szolgáltatások árával és feltételeivel kapcsolatos információk nem eléggé átláthatóak és egyértelműek.

Szolgáltatók közötti váltás

• Tíz háztartás közül hat nyilatkozott úgy, hogy még sosem gondolt a szolgáltatóváltásra.

• A háztartások 77%-a „passzív”, vagyis csomagjával nem váltana szolgáltatót. 12% aktívan él a szolgáltatóváltás lehetőségével, további 12% pedig ugyan szeretne váltani, de valamilyen oknál fogva akadályozva van ebben.

A váltás akadálya lehet például annak kockázata, hogy a váltás miatt átmenetileg nem áll rendelkezésre egy adott szolgáltatás vagy hogy a szolgáltatóváltás alatt több szolgáltatónak is fizetni kell, valamint a váltáshoz szükséges lépések körüli tisztánlátás hiánya.

A szolgáltatás minősége sokaknak okoz gondot

Az internet-hozzáférés sebességével és az üzemzavarral összefüggő problémákon kívül minden negyedik válaszadó számolt be a mobilhálózatra való csatlakozáskor tapasztalt nehézségekről, és hasonló az aránya azoknak, akik mobiltelefon-összeköttetése a hívás során megszakadt.

A mobiltelefonok és okostelefonok használatának megfizethetőségével kapcsolatos aggodalmak

• A válaszadók 65%-a költségokokból kevesebbet telefonál mobilján (ez 4%-os emelkedés a 2009. november-decemberi legutóbbi felméréshez képest).

• Az internetkapcsolattal rendelkező okostelefonok tulajdonosainak fele a magas díjak miatt korlátozott mértékben internetezik a telefonjával.

• Növekedik a számítógéppel, illetve WiFi-összeköttetéssel rendelkező eszközzel lebonyolított – ingyenes vagy olcsóbb – internetes hívások népszerűsége: az internetkapcsolattal rendelkező háztartások 28%-a telefonál ilyen módon, ami 6%-kal több mint a legutóbbi felméréskor.

Csak mobil

A háztartások 27%-a csak mobiltelefonnal csatlakozik a nyilvános telefonhálózathoz: ez az arány a legutóbbi felmérés óta 17 tagállamban növekedett, öt országban (Cseh Köztársaság, Finnország, Lettország, Litvánia és Szlovákia) pedig már meghaladja az 50%-ot.

Mit tesz az ügyben a Bizottság?

A Bizottság felkérte az Európai Elektronikus Hírközlési Szabályozók Testületét (BEREC), hogy végezzen alapos tényfeltárást a szolgáltatóváltás akadályaival, az internetes forgalom blokkolásával és a sávszélesség szabályozásával (például az internetprotokollon keresztüli hangtovábbítás tekintetében), valamint az átláthatósággal és a szolgáltatás minőségével kapcsolatban. A Bizottság 2011 végéig közzéteszi a BEREC által végzett vizsgálatok megállapításait, beleértve az adatforgalom bizonyos típusainak blokkolására vagy sávszélesség-szabályozására vonatkozó eseteket. Amennyiben a BEREC megállapításai vagy más visszajelzések megoldatlanul maradt problémákra derítenek fényt, a Bizottság megvizsgálja, hogy szükség van-e szigorúbb intézkedésekre (IP/11/486).

A Bizottság továbbá összehasonlító tanulmány formájában vizsgálja az internet-hozzáférés reklámokban szereplő és tényleges sebességét. Az adatok 2011 végén lesznek elérhetőek.

További információk:

A felmérés teljes szövege megtekinthető a következő weboldalon:

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/digital-agenda/scoreboard/library/index_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/whatsnew2011_en.htm

A digitális menetrenddel foglalkozó weboldal:

http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda

Neelie Kroes honlapja: http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/kroes/

Ismerje meg Neelie Kroes gondolatait a Twitteren is:

http://twitter.com/neeliekroeseu

Melléklet

A kulcsfontosságú távközlési szolgáltatások igénybevétele (penetráció)

EU legislation is already in place to ensure that people with disabilities are not discriminated against at work. Proposals are also in the pipeline to extend protection against discrimination beyond the workplace.

Despite the fact that their rights are enshrined in both EU and national legislation, many people with disabilities still face difficulties in their everyday lives.

They are on average poorer and more socially excluded than most other Europeans. They are also more likely to be jobless and have to cope with limited access to goods and services such as education, health care, transport, housing and technology.

Catalyst for change

In a bid to change this situation, the Commission has adopted a new European Disability Strategy covering the years 2010 to 2020.

The Commission wants the strategy to act as a catalyst that can empower people with disabilities so that they can enjoy their full rights as citizens. It therefore sets out a range of actions across eight key areas, which are: accessibility; participation; equality; employment; education and training; social protection; health; and external action.

To move forward in these areas, the strategy has established a number of activities for its first five years.

The Commission will consider drafting a European Disability Act in 2012. The aim here will be to improve the accessibility of goods, services and public infrastructure through the development of accessibility standards, and by enhancing the use of public procurement to buy accessible goods and services.

Efforts to improve accessibility in this way should be good for the economy as well as society. The market for assistive devices in the EU is worth about €30 billion a year. Greater standardisation and access to an EU-wide market allows for economies of scale and will help businesses sell their goods and services more easily across national borders.

In addition, public procurement calls that include accessibility requirements could make public infrastructure, such as railway stations and council buildings, more accessible.

The strategy seeks to improve the participation of people with disabilities in the political process. Actions include making election facilities and campaign material more accessible through, for example, an increase in the use of sign language and Braille.

Many EU member states issue disability cards that allow holders access to a range of goods and services. The strategy promises action will be taken to study and promote the possibility of mutual recognition of such cards and related entitlements.

The strategy will also address the need to ensure that EU programmes are used to help people with disabilities.

The European Social Fund and other financing instruments will be expected to continue to support projects for people with disabilities. And the Commission will develop education and training policies to meet the needs of youngsters with disabilities through its new ‘Youth on the Move’ initiative.

Making sure that the European Platform Against Poverty is harnessed to help poor people with disabilities is also high on the agenda.

In a bid to improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities, the strategy lays down a timetable to improve data collection and monitoring and to suggest new courses of action.

The rights of people with disabilities must also be a guiding light in the EU’s external relations activities, particularly through the enlargement process and via the development programmes.

A city recognised for setting an example

The Commission has also established the Access City Award to honour European cities that make changes to their urban environments in order to provide greater opportunities for people with disabilities.

The Spanish city of Ávila became the first winner of this award. The judges were impressed by the way that a medieval city like Ávila has improved access to public buildings, developed accessible tourism facilities and improved job opportunities for people with disabilities.

The award was announced at the “European Day of People with Disabilities Conference”, which took place in Brussels on 2 December 2010.

Delegates explored the experiences of people with disabilities in relation to EU citizenship, studying and working abroad, social security and mobility, and access to leisure and culture.

Source: Europa.eu

Consumers – putting the digital world at your fingertips

The Broadband package aims to ensure that people have access to the very fast internet that will enable citizens to shop, create, learn, socialise and interact online and play a full part in today’s digital society. At the moment too many people in Europe find themselves stuck in the internet slow-lane because they don’t have access to a high-speed internet connection.

For example, with connection speeds over 50Mbps per second it is possible to offer remote diagnostic examinations. This could make it possible to offer the world’s best diagnostics to a patient wherever they are in the EU, and to ensure always-on remote back-up to the health professionals looking after frail or ill people living at home.

The proposal to ensure EU-wide coordination in radio spectrum management would safeguard the growth of innovative wireless broadband services in rural areas (where fixed high speed broadband networks may not be economically viable) and elsewhere. These offer an extra dimension to consumer choice on the internet. Moreover, wireless services can be personalised for each user, which is not just convenient but can for instance offer a safer means of making online payments. They are available at any time and any place and bring simple practical advantages – knowing when the bus will arrive; turning on the heating on the way home; having a local map combined with information on all services in the area.

The Commission’s NGA Recommendation will encourage the vital investment in very high speed fibre networks because it provides regulatory certainty to telecom operators, ensuring an appropriate balance between the need to encourage investment and the need to safeguard competition. As a result, people will be able to access fast and ultra-fast internet services at competitive prices.

People in rural and remote areas – connecting communities

One of the Digital Agenda’s objective is to bring basic broadband internet to all of Europe’s citizens, including people living in isolated areas, by 2013 and to ensure that, by 2020, all European have access to internet with higher speeds (30 Mbps or higher). However, the high costs of building new infrastructures combined with the lower density of demand means that telecoms companies may be deterred from installing the necessary broadband infrastructure, especially in these tough financial times.

The Commission’s proposed Radio Spectrum Policy Programme would ensure that part of the digital dividend – the radio frequencies freed up by the move from analogue to digital broadcasting – were earmarked for use by for wireless broadband technologies. This is particularly important because wireless broadband can bring high-speed connection to people in remote areas, or others, where it is not economically viable to install a fixed line.

The Commission is asking Member States to step up a gear by issuing quickly licences to operators to use spectrum bands which have already been technically harmonised at EU level for the use of wireless broadband and to open up the 800 MHz band to wireless broadband by 2013.

Finally, the broadband Communication outlines how best to encourage private and public investment in high and ultra-high speed networks, inter alia by using the EU’s Structural Funds and the European Investment Bank.

Small and medium sized businesses– faster access to "the cloud"

Many SMEs are not able to afford the high costs of some business software applications – which means they are not able to benefit from the productivity gains this software can trigger.

High speed broadband connections would enable SMEs to connect to "cloud" services. These are applications or tools that are stored on an internet server and can be accessed as and when a business needs them. This is frequently far more cost effective than if a company itself purchases expensive software which they would only use occasionally.

Businesses need the guaranteed higher bandwidth, speed, reliability and security of next generation connectivity, to fully exploit the possibilities of cloud computing.

The Commission has also committed to develop an EU-wide strategy on "cloud computing" notably for government and science as part of the Digital Agenda for Europe.

Telecoms operators – encouraging investment and opening up networks for incumbents and alternative operators

According to Commission estimates, the private and public sectors would have to invest between €180 and €270 billion to ensure that at least half of all European households can subscribe to broadband connections of 100 Mbps or higher by 2020. A large proportion of this would be for investment in fibre networks to complement or replace the traditional copper-based wire networks that can offer only limited internet speeds.

The Commission’s Recommendation on Next Generation Access networks has indicated how national telecoms regulators should regulate access to ultra-fast fibre networks, ensuring an appropriate balance between the need to encourage investment and the need to safeguard competition.

Under article 19 of the telecoms Framework Directive (2002/21/EC), national regulators are obliged to take "utmost account of the Commission’s Recommendation, justifying any departure from it". The Recommendation provides regulatory certainty for established and newer telecom operators across the EU, and so gives a stable environment for investment.

For example, when setting cost-oriented access prices for companies with dominant positions in national broadband markets, regulators will have to take into account the significant risks taken by companies which invested heavily in fibre networks, normally in the form of granting a risk premium.

The Commission also wants to ensure that alternative providers have the access and incentives they need to compete in broadband markets. The Recommendation preserves competition in NGA markets by granting new market entrants reasonable access to the new fibre infrastructures. This will enable alternative operators to establish their business and invest progressively in their own infrastructure. The Recommendation gives national regulators sufficient leeway to support fair market entry and infrastructure-based competition.

The Commission has also indicated that regulators can be flexible when they tackle market differences in urban and rural areas. For example where competition is strong, or market dynamics change, national regulators will be able to adapt or withdraw their regulatory measures to reflect this.

Finally, the Recommendation strongly supports arrangements for co-investment in NGA networks and allows setting lower access prices to the unbundled fibre loop in return for up-front commitments on long-term or volume contracts

Regions – making the best use of EU funding

European Union rural development and structural funding is available to support the construction of broadband infrastructure and encourage internet take-up in Europe’s region. For example, for the 2007-2013 financing period of the EU Structural Funds, a total of €2.3 billion was allocated to broadband infrastructure investments and € 12.9 billion to information society services; and a further €360 million through the Fund for Rural Development was used for broadband funding. This follows last year’s clarification of state aid rules on use of public funds for broadband deployment which gave national and regional authorities the confidence to plan their own infrastructure projects (see IP/09/1332).

However, the EU regions sometimes find it hard to target available funds. For example, only 18% of the structural fund allocation has so far been committed to broadband compared to an average of 27% for all other areas covered by the fund. In 2011 the Commission will publish guidance on broadband investment for local and regional authorities to encourage the full absorption of EU funds. It will also invite stakeholders to an EU-wide event on good practice in ICT implementation in regions and rural areas. Exchange of good practice in broadband project implementation will be encouraged and supported through the multilingual re-launch of the European Broadband Portal (www.broadband-europe.eu/)

Investors – developing broadband finance instruments

Unfortunately many potential investors in fibre-based high speed broadband networks are put-off by the very long pay back period and uncertainties on the rates of return. Local broadband projects pushed by regional bodies also tend to be too small and /or inexperienced to attract the interest of large financial institutions

The European Investment Bank (EIB) already lends an average of €2bn each year to economically viable broadband projects. EIB involvement is planned to increase as the Bank re-focuses its lending strategy on the Europe 2020 priorities. The Bank’s direct capital contribution is usually exceeded by the positive catalytic effect that EIB involvement has on private sector investment – the banking sector and other potential private investors are much more like to invest in a broadband project if it has won the endorsement of the EIB.

The Commission’s Broadband Communication announces new cooperation between the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission, which will set out concrete proposals for broadband financing instruments to complement existing broadband infrastructure financing by spring 2011.

By the end of 2013, the Commission will also reinforce and rationalise the use of funding of high-speed broadband through EU instruments under the current financial framework (e.g. ERDF, ERDP, EAFRD, TEN, CIP).

The environment – a greener and safer Europe

The Radio Spectrum Policy programme would also ensure that spectrum was available for policy priorities including environmental protection, the fight against global warming, public protection and disaster relief and transport. For example, Member States would have to protect the radio frequencies necessary for monitoring the Earth’s atmosphere and surface and make spectrum available for wireless technologies with a potential for improving energy saving, including smart energy grids and smart metering systems.

Forrás: Europa.eu

The EU is in a process of significant population ageing. From 2012, the European working-age population will start to shrink, while the over-60 population will continue to increase by about two million people a year. The strongest pressure is expected to occur during the period 2015-35 when the so-called baby-boom generation will enter retirement.

This presents challenges for sustainable public finances, in particular the financing of health care and pensions, and could weaken the solidarity between generations. But this view neglects the significant actual and potential contribution that older people — and the baby-boom cohorts in particular — can make to society.

The proposed European Year for Active Ageing is designed to serve as a framework for raising awareness, for identifying and disseminating good practice and, most importantly, for encouraging policymakers and stakeholders at all levels to promote active ageing. The aim is to invite these players to commit to specific action and goals in the run-up year 2011 so that tangible achievements can be presented during the European Year itself in 2012.

Active ageing includes creating more opportunities for older people to continue working, to stay healthy longer and to continue to contribute to society in other ways, for example through volunteering needs to be supported by a wide range of policies at all levels of governance. The EU has a role to play in areas such as employment, social protection and inclusion, public health, information society and transport, but the primary role is for national, regional and local governments, as well as civil society and the social partners.

Source: Europa.eu

Neelie Kroes said: "Today’s decision is an important step towards our collective aim to create a Single Market for telecoms services. The expertise of BEREC will help us deliver the Digital Agenda for Europe and tackle the remaining obstacles to cross-border telecoms services for European businesses and citizens."

The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) is made up of the heads of the 27 national telecoms regulators and is assisted by an Office (see SPEECH/10/15). The BEREC Office provides professional and administrative support to BEREC’s work in assisting the Commission and national telecoms regulators on a wide-range of regulatory tasks, for example the Article 7 consultation process (see MEMO/09/539), the scope of the universal service provisions and Next Generation Access networks. BEREC will also give advice to other European institutions. In addition, the BEREC Office will collect and share information from national regulators and share best regulatory practice.

The establishment of the BEREC Office is foreseen in the revised telecoms rules adopted in 2009 (MEMO/09/513). The contribution of the BEREC Office towards improving the functioning of EU telecoms markets, as foreseen in the Digital Agenda for Europe (see IP/10/581, MEMO/10/199, MEMO/10/200), will be essential. In particular, BEREC has a very important role in making progress towards a Single Market in telecoms services instead of the current patchwork of 27 different national markets identified by the latest Commission report on the Single European Electronic Communications Market (see IP/10/602).

Background

BEREC replaces the "European Regulators Group", a national regulators group that could operate on the basis of consensus alone and was not formally integrated into the EU’s regulatory process.

The setting up of a new regulatory body involves a number of administrative preparations, such as selecting buildings in the host country and recruiting new staff.

Today’s designation of the seat is an important step in this process, which will facilitate the BEREC Office in fulfilling its tasks. It is expected that the first Administrative Manager of the BEREC Office will start working in the autumn of 2010.

For more information on BEREC:

http://berec.europa.eu/

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/ecomm/implementation_enforcement/berec/index_en.htm

European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes will present the Digital Agenda for Europe, the first flagship initiative under the EU2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, to EU Telecoms Ministers at the EU’s Council of Transport Telecommunications and Energy Ministers in Brussels on 31st May. The Digital Agenda for Europe (see IP/10/581, MEMO/10/199, MEMO/10/200) proposes ways to boost job creation, promote economic prosperity and improve the daily lives of EU citizens and businesses via the wider and smarter use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Neelie Kroes will invite Ministers to join the European Parliament and the Commission in working to implement the Digital Agenda, and the Council is due to adopt conclusions welcoming the Digital Agenda. Vice-President Kroes is also due to exchange views with Ministers on promoting an EU Code of Online Rights to boost consumer trust and the take-up of digital services and will present the European Digital Competitiveness Report (see IP/10/571) and the 15th Progress Report on the Single European Electronic Communications Market (see IP/10/602). In the margins of the Council, EU ministers are also due to agree on the seat of the new Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) (see SPEECH/10/15).

Vice-President Kroes will present the key areas of the Digital Agenda for Europe, which foresees some 100 follow-up actions, of which 31 at least would be legislative, to harness the true potential of ICTs for the benefit of Europe’s citizens, businesses and the economy as a whole. She will emphasise to Ministers that Europe has the industries, the researchers and the markets but they need to join forces across all 27 Member States to make sure the Digital Agenda for Europe becomes a reality. The seven key objectives are the following:

A new Single Market to deliver the benefits of the digital era

Citizens should be able to enjoy commercial services and cultural content across borders. But EU online markets are still separated by barriers which hamper access to pan-European telecoms services, digital services and content. Today there are four times as many music downloads in the US as in the EU because of the lack of legal offers and fragmented markets. The Commission intends to open up access to legal online content by simplifying copyright clearance, management and cross-border licensing. Other actions include making electronic payments and invoicing easier and simplifying online dispute resolution.

Improve ICT standard-setting and interoperability

To allow people to create, combine and innovate we need ICT products and services to be open and interoperable.

Enhance trust and security

Europeans will not embrace technology they do not trust – they need to feel confident and safe online. A better coordinated European response to cyber-attacks and reinforced rules on personal data protection are part of the solution. Actions could also potentially oblige website operators to inform their users about security breaches affecting their personal data.

Increase Europeans’ access to fast and ultra fast internet

The 2020 target is internet speeds of 30 Mbps or above for all European citizens, with half European households subscribing to connections of 100Mbps or higher. Today only 1% of Europeans have a fast fibre-based internet connection, compared to 12% of Japanese and 15% of South Koreans. Very fast internet is essential for the economy to grow strongly, to create jobs and prosperity, and to ensure citizens can access the content and services they want. The Commission will inter alia explore how to attract investment in broadband through credit enhancement mechanisms and will give guidance on how to encourage investments in fibre-based networks.

Boost cutting-edge research and innovation in ICT

Europe must invest more in R&D and ensure our best ideas reach the market. The Agenda aims to inter alia leverage private investments with European regional funding and increasing EU research funding to ensure that Europe keeps up with and even surpasses its competition. EU investment in ICT research is less than half US levels (€37 billion compared to €88 billion in 2007).

Empower all Europeans with digital skills and accessible online services

Over half of Europeans (250 million) use the internet every day, but another 30% have never used it. Everyone, young and old, irrespective of social background, is entitled to the knowledge and skills they need to be part of the digital era since commerce, public, social and health services, learning and political life is increasingly moving online.

Unleash the potential of ICT to benefit society

We need to invest in smart use of technology and the exploitation of information to seek solutions to reduce energy consumption, support ageing citizens, empower patients and improve online access for people with disabilities. One aim would be that by 2015 patients could have access to their online medical records wherever they were in the EU. The Agenda will also boost energy saving ICT technologies that use less energy than standard lighting systems.

EU Code of Online Rights

Neelie Kroes will also exchange views with Ministers on how to best promote consumers’ trust on the web to stimulate the take-up of digital services such as online shopping and banking. European consumers need to trust the technology they are using in order to widely enjoy online services. Informing them about their online rights under EU law is crucial to increase their awareness and confidence in the digital environment. This is why the Commission will work on a Code of EU Online Rights informing EU citizens about their digital rights in a transparent and understandable way.

European Digital Competitiveness Report

Neelie Kroes also will present the European Digital Competitiveness Report adopted by the Commission on 17 May (see IP/10/571). Europe’s digital economy is growing in strength, spreading throughout all sectors of the economy and reaching into all areas of our lives. Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) have driven half of the productivity growth in Europe over the past 15 years. Six out of ten Europeans regularly use the internet. However, the report notes that if Europe wants to fully exploit the potential benefits of the digital economy, it must step up a gear and provide faster broadband and an internet people trust, improve citizens’ skills, and encourage even more ICT innovation, which is why the Commission proposed specific measures in these areas in the Digital Agenda for Europe (see IP/10/581, MEMO/10/199, MEMO/10/200).

Citizens and businesses pay the price for inconsistent application of EU telecoms rules

The European Commission’s latest report on the Single European Electronic Communications Market (see IP/10/602) will also be presented by Vice-President Kroes. The report shows that consumers, businesses and the EU economy as a whole are denied the full economic benefits of a truly single and competitive EU-wide telecoms market because of inconsistent application of EU telecoms rules. It also indicates that most Member States’ markets have become more competitive, but remain national in dimension and that the level of competitiveness varies strongly between Member States. This is why the Commission’s Digital Agenda for Europe (see IP/10/581, MEMO/10/199, MEMO/10/200) calls for swift and consistent enforcement of existing telecoms rules and indicates that the Commission intends to propose appropriate steps to reduce the cost of the absence of a Single Market in telecoms services.

A Digital Agenda for Europe press pack is available at:

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/digital-agenda/index_en.htm

Styled as ‘the digital agenda for Europe’, the Commission’s blueprint aspires to see more than half of households with broadband connections of more than 100Mbps by 2010. Private homes tend to have broadband speeds of less than 10Mbps. Concerned that the roll-out of the next generation of fibre-optic broadband networks in Europe is lagging behind the US and Japan, the Commission wants to increase funding and introduce regulatory rules to stimulate private investment. It also aspires to reduce the difference in tariffs between roaming and home-country mobile-phone calls to near zero by 2015.

The agenda includes removing legal barriers to the availability of creative online content (eg, music and videos). The Commission will present draft legislation in 2011 to simplify copyright licensing, and will legislate this year to remove barriers to the digitisation of orphan works (books whose copyright holder cannot be located).

Industry backing

The agenda was welcomed by the information and communication technology (ICT) industry. Bridget Cosgrave, director-general of the industry group DigitalEurope, said that the agenda, and the Commission’s accompanying report on digital competitiveness, should be “required reading” for ministers in all member states.

Graham Taylor, chief executive of the industry group OpenForum Europe, said: “The Commission is right to see the reform of ICT standardisation as an essential and urgent requirement.”

The Commission plans to launch a consultation this year on other steps to promote online distribution of audiovisual content, with legislative proposals to follow in 2012.

Source: European Voice

Half of European productivity growth over the past 15 years was already driven by information and communications technologies (see IP/10/571) and this trend is likely to accelerate. The Agenda outlines seven priority areas for action: creating a digital Single Market, greater interoperability, boosting internet trust and security, much faster internet access, more investment in research and development, enhancing digital literacy skills and inclusion, and applying information and communications technologies to address challenges facing society like climate change and the ageing population. Examples of benefits include easier electronic payments and invoicing, rapid deployment of telemedicine and energy efficient lighting. In these seven areas, the Digital Agenda foresees some 100 follow-up actions, of which 31 would be legislative. The Digital Agenda is the first of seven flagship initiatives under the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth (see IP/10/225).

Full press release

Text of the communication

Digital Agenda for Europe: what would it do for me?

Digital Agenda for Europe: key initiatives

A Digital Agenda for Europe – Opening remarks at press conference in Brussels on 19th May 2010 by Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission, responsible for the Digital Agenda

European Digital Agenda website

Background analysis/Studies

Additional Information

Commission Press Room: IP/10/581

See also: Europe’s Digital Agenda website

Other:

• Press Packs

The draft of the paper, seen by European Voice, describes the EU‘s online single market as “seriously incomplete”. It outlines legislative plans to improve “the governance and transparency” of online copyright management by 2011, to create a framework for the digitisation of orphan works (books in copyright but with untraceable rights holders), and to introduce “pan-European licences” for online use of creative content.

The Commission envisages an EU-wide “online dispute resolution system”, EU “trust marks” for internet retailers, and revised legislation on e-signatures to give consumers more confidence to shop on websites based in other member states. There are also plans for increasing research and development spending on ICT, developing e-health applications, and tackling cybercrime.

The Commission warns in the paper that Europe is “lagging behind” in rolling out next generation broadband (that is, in replacing copper networks with fibre). It plans to “reinforce” funding for high-speed broadband from the EU budget, including through “credit enhancement” schemes linked to the European Investment Bank. The Commission will also issue a recommendation (expected in June) clarifying the financial conditions that telecoms companies can impose on rival firms that want to share their networks. Operators have long complained that a lack of clarity in this area has prevented them from installing fibre networks.

“The roll-out and development of high-speed internet…could stimulate the creation of one million jobs, and spur €850 billion of economic activity,” the paper says. The digital agenda is one of the “flagship initiatives” included in the Europe 2020 strategy for growth and jobs that the Commission unveiled in March.

Coverage concerns

Erzsebet Fitori, senior manager for regulatory affairs at the European Competitive Telecommunications Association, is concerned, however, that the paper abandons a Europe 2020 target that at least 50% of households should be subscribers to internet connections above 100Mbps by 2020. The draft says that 50% of households should be able to access these networks – a target linked to coverage, rather than to the level of subscription. “This ignores the main problem of lack of competition leading to high price services,” she said.

Fitori is also concerned at mentions of “co-investment” and “risk-sharing” agreements between telecoms companies to spur the roll-out of fibre networks. Agreements of that type, granting companies flexibility in setting the price of access to their networks, can allow larger firms to keep competitors out of the market, she says. “[The recommendation] should not give any room to dominant operators to game the system,” she said.

The European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO), which represents larger telecoms firms, has argued that flexibility in pricing access to networks (including the ability to offer a lower price to companies willing to sign a longer-term access contract) is needed if companies are to take the risk of investing in new fibre networks.

“Next-generation networks require new access rules that take into account the high investment risks involved,” Michael Bartholomew, the director of ETNO, said.

Source: European Voice

Source: i-policy

Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou added: “The cultural sector is going through an enormous transition. We have to make sure that it reaps benefits from technological advances. This means finding new business models for the creative industries, and expanding the traditional role of cultural institutions to the digital world, to give –access to cultural content and to preserve it for future generations “.

The Reflection Group (“Comité des sages”) will consist of Maurice Lévy (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the French advertising and communications company Publicis), Elisabeth Niggemann (Director-General of the German National Library and chair of the European Digital Library Foundation) and Jacques De Decker (Belgian writer and journalist).

The Group has been invited to provide a set of recommendations for the digitisation, online accessibility and preservation of Europe’s cultural heritage. It will look at how to fund digitisation, including the possibilities and conditions for public-private partnerships. It will also address copyright issues and licensing practices to facilitate the digitisation of copyrighted material – in particular out-of-print works and the so-called orphan works, which represent a large part of Europe’s collections.

Of course, the current digitisation challenges go beyond the need to put online our cultural heritage. We thus need to address subsequently in a second phase the broader question of digital (i.e. online) distribution and accessibility of all cultural content in Europe. Setting up the Reflection Group is part of a broader strategy that will also include the search for new and effective business models as well as a favourable environment for creative industries and a fair remuneration for creators.

Background

Europeana was launched in November 2008 (IP/08/1747). Its website allows internet users to search and get direct access to digitised books, maps, paintings, newspapers, film fragments, and photographs from Europe’s cultural institutions. About 7 million digitised objects are currently available and the number is expected to rise to 10 million in the course of 2010.

The Group was created following a suggestion made by the French Minister of Culture and Communication at the Education, Youth and Culture Council of 27 November 2009 (MEMO/09/526). The analysis of the Group will build on the work of the High Level Group on Digital Libraries set up between 2006 and 2009.

Source: Europa.eu

EU Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: “In these days of economic uncertainty, Europe must boldly invest in its future. The European Commission wants to double the budget for FET research by 2015 and I urge Member States to match this effort with their own investments.”

What is FET?

Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) is part of the ICT programme of the European Commission. FET aims at promoting long-term research, laying the scientific foundations of radically new next generation technologies. FET helps identify and develop future research in ICT and into uncharted areas such as the interdisciplinary field of quantum information science (quantum physics and computer science combined), often inspired by and in close collaboration with other scientific disciplines.

How is FET financed?

FET receives research funding under the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). The European Commission is increasing the FP7 budget for FET research by 20% per year up from €100 million today, and Member States are invited to match this effort with similar increases. The Commission intends to fund FET research with a total budget of around €500 million for 2010-2013.

What are the projects financed by the FET programme?

Biologists, neuroscientists, specialists in nanotechnologies and computer scientists are all paving the way to the most advanced research in FET. Here are just some of the projects that will be exhibited at the European Parliament:

CyberHand and SmartHand have developed an artificial hand that is capable of behaving and feeling like a real hand. It can be used for hand amputees. eMorph and Brain-i-Nets explore the way in which a brain processes information by recording the changes that take place during the learning process. The goal is to gain new understanding of how the brain works. Megaframe has developed a high speed digital camera which is fast enough to capture impulses travelling between brain cells and broadcast them in high resolution video.

Other FET projects can pioneer solutions for global challenges such as climate change, social problems, energy consumption and spread of diseases (GSD) and design of epidemic forecast infrastructures (EPIWORK).

What is the future of FET?

The European Commission will continue to support ambitious, science-driven flagship initiatives to tackle the scientific challenges of the 21st century. These projects will reduce fragmentation and increase the effectiveness of the European research efforts. They also have the potential to meet some of the society’s big needs if they receive political support and backing from the stakeholders involved.

FET will encourage young researchers by empowering them to jointly explore their boldest visions for future technologies.

A targeted initiative will be launched to engage more closely high-tech research intensive small and medium-size enterprises in FET research. In this way, research results will turn more quickly into a true innovation potential for the future.

In all its activities, FET will promote collaboration of European researchers with the best research teams worldwide.

Neelie Kroes’ speech at FET exhibition will be available: SPEECH/10/168.

More on FET:

FET website: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/programme/fet_en.html

European Commission Communication to the European Parliament and Council: “Moving the ICT frontiers – a strategy for research on future and emerging technologies in Europe” (http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/events/fet/2009/documents/fetcom.pdf)

Annex: Summary of projects on show at the exhibition on “Science beyond Fiction – An excursion into Future and Emerging Technologies.

Theme: better living

CLONS battles vestibular disorders by developing neural prosthetic devices that are directly connected to the inner ear. Vestibular disorders are very stressful with symptoms such as disorientation, dizziness, jerky movements and seeing illusory movements. CLONS aims to radically improve the quality of life for the many people affected. The implantable neural prostheses foreseen are to restore and control vestibular function digitally. Will fixing vestibular disorders become standard practice in the near future? CLONS gives us good reasons for thinking that the answer could well be in the affirmative. Moreover, the new models of the human vestibular system that are developed in this project are inspiring completely new types of sensors.

http://www.clons-project.eu/

The objective of the CyberHand and SmartHand projects is to develop an intelligent artificial hand that looks and feels like a real hand. This is a challenging and visionary goal. However, recent development in the field and several converging scientific areas makes it possible to state that the perfect artificial hand is no longer a fantasy. SmartHand aims to integrate recent advances in nanobioscience, cognitive neuroscience and information technologies in order to develop such an intelligent artificial prosthetic hand with all basic features displayed by a real one. While making a prosthesis that can directly be used by hand amputees, it also works towards a highly advanced neural interface, aiming to achieve a better knowledge in cognitive neuroscience, and thus also contribute to the field of nerve injuries in general.

http://www-arts.sssup.it/newCyberhand/smarthand/index.htm

Theme: Brain Inspired Technologies

Brain-i-Nets seeks to understand how the brain modifies itself during learning. What are the rules for synaptic change and neural network reorganisation that describe the adaptive processes of a learning brain? New experimental techniques in neurobiology (such as 2-photon laser-scanning microscopy, optogenetic cell activation and dynamic clamp techniques) are now making it possible to record the changes that take place in the brain during learning, even ‘in vivo’. The goal is to use such tools to gain new understanding of how the brain works. This understanding can then help us to engineer so called neuromorphic hardware that mimics the brain, such as developed by the FACETS project. Traditional work in the field has focused on studies of isolated samples of neural tissue taken entirely out of context. The amazing fact about Brain-i-Nets is that it builds on analysis of actual living brains. This holistic thinking with the deepest respect for biology could revolutionise neuromorphic engineering.

http://brain-i-nets.kip.uni-heidelberg.de/

Biological neural systems vastly outperform conventional digital machines in almost all aspects of visual perception tasks. Despite its dramatic progress, information technology has not yet been able to deliver artificial systems that can compare with biology. The eMorph project is designing novel, data-driven, biologically inspired, analog visual sensing devices, based on technology developed in the Caviar project as well as developing new computational paradigms for them.  The system will adapt to the dynamics of the real world in order to develop a new way to process sensory signals. This will be tested in on the advanced iCub humanoid robotic platform.

http://www.emorph.eu/

Theme: Observing and Learning from Nature

Closing your eyes and exploring your surroundings with your fingertips provides an experience that is rich and immediate. While vision supplies information about distant objects, touch is invaluable in sensing the nearby environment. However, in designing intelligent, life-like machines, such as robots, the touch modality has been largely overlooked. Biology, by contrast, reveals an abundant use of tactile sensing in the animal kingdom. Indeed, in nocturnal creatures, or those that inhabit poorly-lit places, touch is widely preferred to vision as a primary means of discovering the world.

The BIOTACT project aims to build new technologies inspired by the whisker morphology and neural processing systems of two such tactile specialists: the Norwegian rat and the Etruscan shrew. The project is developing  two biomimetic artefacts: a novel active tactile sensing array with many whisker-like sensing elements; and an autonomous whiskered robot that can seek-out, identify, and track fast-moving target objects.

http://www.biotact.org/

Megaframe gives a new meaning to the term slow motion video. The project team develops a camera fast enough to capture impulses traveling between brain cells in high resolution video. It might seem that it would be impossible to capture these signals in neuronal networks, traveling at 180 kilometers and lasting only for a millisecond or two. But this is no match for the Megaframe camera. It captures one million frames per second. This is forty thousand times faster than standard digital video. As if this was not enough, the camera is also sensitive enough to detect single photons of light. To get a sense of what this means think of yourself as looking at a normal candle one hundred meters away. The light sensitive areas of your eyes would be receiving millions of photons per second from this weak source of light. With extremely high frame rate, terrific resolution and single photon sensitivity we will be able to see new worlds of biological and other scientific phenomena on video for the first time. There is no doubt that Megaframe is making Europe a world leader in high speed digital video.

http://www.megaframe.eu

Theme: Human Computer Confluence

IMMERSENCE aims to enable people to freely act and interact in highly realistic virtual environments with their eyes, ears and hands. Human senses are integrated into a single experience allowing comprehensive immersion. While most of today’s systems receive the user merely as a passive observer, IMMERSENCE enables users of Virtual Environments to manipulate items of various shapes, sizes and textures as well as to interact with other users including physical contact and joint operations on virtual objects. The development of new techniques of signal processing creates a synthesis of all sensory modalities  to provide a feeling of “being there”, allowing full multi-modal feedback.

http://www.immersence.info/

The PRESENCCIA project has as its major goal the delivery of presence in wide area distributed mixed reality environments. This environment includes an installation that understands and learns from its interaction with people, either physically or virtually present, or with virtual beings with their own goals and capabilities for interacting with one another and with embodiments of real people. Key elements studied are the cerebral mechanisms for presence in conjunction with advances in the underlying technology for mixed reality display and interaction, with special attention to the interaction between people, and also between people and virtual people.

http://www.presenccia.org/

Theme: Understanding Global Systems

EPIWORK aims to develop the appropriate framework needed for the design of epidemic forecast infrastructures. This should seize the opportunity offered by the huge flow of social, demographic and behavioural data becoming available nowadays, and use it to improve traditional disease-surveillance systems. For the first time, ICT and computation enable the study of epidemic in a comprehensive fashion addressing the complexity inherent to the biological, social and behavioural aspects of health related problems. This includes for example mathematical and computational methods to predict the disease spreading in complex social systems and the design and implementation of original data-collection schemes through innovative Web and ICT applications.

http://www.epiwork.eu/

GSD stands for ‘Global System Dynamics’. This project takes on critical global challenges – climate change, sustainable cities, social problems, energy consumption and spread of diseases. These challenges involve dynamics which no single group in society controls, but that affect everybody. Our global systems are changing rapidly and issues such as the prediction of climate change and the appearance and wide-spread diffusion of HIV are pressing. There is a need for establishing an efficient and accessible cooperation network for scientists and policymakers. GSD takes important steps in this direction and explores how complex systems analysis can support policy making by providing new insights into global systems dynamics.

http://www.globalsystemdynamics.eu

Theme: Data Deluge and Privacy

GeoPKDD maps and analyzes human activity in our mobile world. We live in times of wasted opportunities for collecting, storing and analyzing data on human activities. These opportunities come from location aware devices such as mobile phones, GPS devices and devices connected to the mobile internet. To take advantage of them GeoPKDD explores how to discover facts and knowledge within mobility data through automated data mining. This research also calls for reflection on how technologies are changing our social lives. The shift towards human knowledge discovery comes with unprecedented opportunities but also risks. Mobility analysis could be of societal benefit and help tremendously with anything from controlling traffic flow to urban planning, but it could also endanger our privacy. To put us on the right track GeoPKDD takes preservation of privacy as a key issue and stimulates discussion of the topic.

http://www.geopkdd.eu/

Vismaster tackles a fundamental challenge of our digital age: to effectively use information for planning and decision making. On the one hand, the appropriate use of available information offers large potential to realise progress and innovation in society. On the other hand, there is the problem of information overload. Vismaster captures the opportunities and avoids information overload by stimulating research in visual analytics. Visual analytics is an emerging research discipline for making the best possible use of large information loads in a wide variety of settings. The approach combines the strengths of intelligent automatic data analysis with the capability of human vision for directly seeing and understanding complex information.

http://www.vismaster.eu/

Source: Europa.eu

We are living in the midst of an unprecedented transition: The European Union is facing a rapid ageing of its societies, accompanied by a diminishing number of young people. This demographic change will have an immense impact on national economies in general and health systems in particular. It is assumed that new information and communication technologies for elderly people will play a decisive role in solving some of these future challenges. This is exactly where Ambient Assisted Living comes into place.

Originally performed on behalf of the European Commission, the present study gives a status quo analysis of the research landscape and products in the scope of Ambient Assisted Living. The investigations have been undertaken in all 27 member countries of the European Union.

Hence, this study provides the first comprehensive data collection in this field. It includes about 1,000 organisations all over Europe, 180 products and 150 research projects. Based upon this data, estimations of central topics, stakeholders, national and European research activities and the orientation of existing products have been prepared. All information is illustrated by significant figures. The study is completed by recommendations useful for policy makers, economic players and other stakeholders relevant in this research field.

Download the report here: http://www.aal-deutschland.de/deutschland/dokumente/ict_for_elderly_webversion.pdf

In order for the Commission to draw up a policy on net neutrality, Kroes told the audience that she plans ”to launch a public consultation before the summer”.

Net neutrality broadly refers to the enforced equality of different types of internet traffic. Those in favour want all types treated the same by ISPs, so no type of traffic has its performance deliberately degraded. However, opponents of net neutrality want ISPs to be able to charge users premium rates for delivering services such as video at full quality, or to charge content providers such as the BBC for carrying their high-bandwidth video content.

“Net neutrality is a subject that stirs emotions,” Kroes said, adding that the debate had seen people voice fears over government censorship and the increasing commercialisation of the web.

The commissioner noted, however, that many of the ISPs she had met wanted to be able to ”charge a form of rent to content providers for what they see as extensive use of their networks”. They also wanted to offer differentiated levels of service to their customers, she said.

“All parties are passionate in their view,” Kroes said. “This does not mean there are clear answers, but it suggests that each party knows that the internet is not an inherently neutral platform; that there are choices to be made.”

Many technology policy issues were closely linked with the outcome of the net neutrality debate, including high-speed internet access, quality, affordability, innovation, competition and “more generally, our democracy”, the commissioner pointed out.

The net neutrality debate is less advanced in Europe than it is elsewhere, Kroes said, because European regulations enforce a high level of competition between ISPs.

The commissioner said she is supportive of most of the net neutrality principles offered by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) in the US. In addition, she fully subscribes to the FCC’s four tenets of consumer rights, as set out in 2005: for consumers to be able to access lawful internet content of their choice; to run applications and services of their choice; to connect devices of their choice; and to have competing services available to them.

However, Kroes was more circumspect about the FCC’s more recent proposal that non-discrimination between traffic types be enforced.

“Some are interpreting the non-discrimination principle as essentially preventing telecom operators from seeking commercial payments or agreements with content providers which deliver their highly capacity-consuming services through broadband networks and require a certain level of service for their transmission to be effective,” Kroes said.

“That prospect raises a number of delicate and complex issues. These issues must be very carefully assessed before the EU gives any possible regulatory response,” she continued.

In contrast, Kroes was fully supportive of the FCC’s other recent proposal, which is for carriers to be transparent about their traffic management policies.

Whatever the outcome of the European consultation, Kroes said any policy she draws up will respect principles such as freedom of expression, investment in efficient and open networks, fair competition and support for innovation.

The Commission’s net neutrality consultation is likely to coincide with a consultation on the same issue conducted by Ofcom, the UK telecoms regulator. When the Ofcom consultation was announced in March, the regulatory body’s chief Ed Richards said it was unlikely the outcome would call for “a highly interventionist net neutrality policy”.

Similarly, Kroes said on Tuesday that Europe should “avoid taking unnecessary measures which may hinder new efficient business models from emerging”.

Source: ZDNet

This document defines the Spanish contribution to For a Digital Europe: The Granada Strategy. With this strategy Europe will continue to promote the development of the Information Society (IS) from 2010 to 2015, in order to position citizens, companies and the public sector in the center of the digital revolution.

The concepts forming the backbone of the Spanish Presidency, Equality and Innovation, are fully aligned with the recommendations articulated by the new digital strategy. With regards to citizens, the principle of equality does not only imply putting a definitive end to the digital gap and main factors that affect it (age, location, education and gender), but more importantly overcome a new gap that is becoming increasingly relevant. This second gap differentiates basic users of new technologies from those making a more sophisticated use of ICT that maximize the advantages offered by the digital economy. This challenge can only be overcome through
training, e-Inclusion and rollout of new technologies.

The Information Society improves the quality of life of citizens both in the private environment of their homes and social relations and in business or interacting with the public sector. It is therefore fundamental to reinforce the existing legal confidence through a Charter of Citizen Rights as ICT users to strengthen their security and trust in the digital environment.

With regards to companies, the main objective of this new strategy must be to create a Digital Single Market (DSM), taking into account a suitable balance between consumer rights and online content distribution services. In order to create a Digital Single Market that is real, we must guarantee equal access of companies, eliminating the barriers that still exist in each country that
prevent the consolidation of the so called “fifth freedom”. Some of these barriers include, due to their relevance, the lack of a sufficiently harmonized regulatory framework regarding intellectual property rights (IPRs) in the digital environment, and a shortage of transparency to support, for example, cross-border transactions. Only an ambitious plan, combining effective regulatory measures and resources to promote demand, will encourage the development of the content industry and digital services making DSM a reality. Promoting demand will largely depend on future investment in next generation access networks (NGAs), necessary for new digital content and services.

In terms of innovation, it is critical that European companies, especially SMEs due to their relative weight in the sector, are given the tools to compete in an increasingly globalized world. The existing European, national and regional ICT research and innovation instruments and programs must be qualitatively and quantitatively reinforced, focusing on a horizontal perspective, encompassing all
economy areas and with a clear international projection.

Finally, the use of ICT by governments and the public sector in general, must be the cornerstone for the development of this digital and knowledge society. This means that all citizens must have access to public digital services; especially education and healthcare services. e-Government and o-Government may be the initiatives that promote the definitive transformation of the public sector. Their relation with citizens in the upcoming years must be based on transparency, citizen involvement and the collaboration of all players (governments, citizens and companies).

Therefore, we have prepared a document describing the Spanish proposal for the new strategy For a Digital Europe: The Granada Strategy. This document identifies the most important steps the European Union must take in terms of Telecoms and Information Society between 2010 and 2015, which are:

1. Infrastructure (NGAs, spectrum and network neutrality).
2. Advanced use of Internet, security and trust.
3. European charter of rights of users of electronic communications.
4. Digital content and services (DSM).
5. Strengthening of the ICT sector and its contribution to sustainable development.

Download here

Gabor Dombi, Inforum, Hungary

The recently accessed EU countries expected a sudden improvement in their welfare, the continued democratisation of politics, and their integration into the Western culture. This did not happen, because the local powers were unable to attain the new civilisation level due to their cultural traditions. Therefore the EU institutions should establish partnerships not only with governments, but also with those non-governmental organisations, opinion forming entities that are committed towards European values, Union efforts, and local progress.

In South and East Europe still the most important task would be the realisation of a comprehensive information society and economy. The objectives of the 2006 Ministerial Conference of Riga have not been achieved either, the digital divide was not reduced by 50 per cent. The many and articulated “ageing well” calls also remained without any echo in this region. Wideband regional access, awareness raising campaigns, education and content service are all missing especially for the elderly (50+), the poor, and the rural inhabitants. In the lack of money the national e-Inclusion programs have not been completed, while the more developed Europe is already ready to take the next step. In Hungary, Inforum (Forum of the Hungarian IT Organizations for Information Society) a non governmental umbrella organisation, initiated that the Hungarian Parliament should issue a Parliamentary Decree, and uniquely in Europe it should establish a Parliamentary Committee for solving the problems of e-Inclusion. Soon the Parliamentary Committee faced that only civil organisations committed towards modernisation do hear its call, the state institutions do not. According to the opinion of Inforum significant resources and European support for the local civil forces would be required for modernisation, in order to achieve that the majority of all the classes of the society should become users of the digital world. Fewer declaration and more direct contacts between the competent DGs and the organisations would be needed, and an increasing number of Union tenders could contribute to the success of the local initiatives.

Inforum since 1997 considers it to be its task to achieve that IT be widely used by the society. Inforum in the interest of spreading digital literacy throughout the society through the publication of books, a series of intergeneration events (Grandchild-Grandparent IT Competitions: 2003 – …), by setting up a user protection office (Inforum-Infomediátor, 2004), a user supporting portal (50plusz.NET, 2008) and the establishment of a knowledge base (eInclusion.hu, 2007) assists the spreading of the information society and equal opportunities. In year 2007 Inforum initiated in Hungary the e-Inclusion Movement, and in year 2008 it launched the Digital Hungary Spring event series. Inforum actively participated in the establishment of the Office of the IT Commissioner (2000), the IT and Telecommunication Committee of the Hungarian Parliament (2000), the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication (2002), and the Special Parliamentary Committee for e-Inclusion (2008). In year 2009 Inforum prepared its first education film series, which introduces through 30 steps the use of computers, the internet and online services. Inforum recently published its new study: „Open points of view to new Strategy of Information Society: Standard of Living and Profit”. The European Community acknowledged the work of Inforum by awarding it an eInclusion Gold Medal in 2008.

What could be the real message of the e-skills week in the year of societal solidarity? e-skills is a part of the European e-Inclusion policy. For this reason it would be a mistake if the e-skills week would only address the enterprises. The ultimate target is to win the consumers. The consumers may be served at an increasingly higher civilisation level, and this can be achieved with training the service providers and the consumers. It would be important that service providers should not only care about the rich clients, but they should see the market opportunity in people living with disadvantages, in the elderly and in people living in rural regions. The enterprises have to participate in exploring the market and training the consumers. NGOs represent an example with their responsible behaviour and actions as regards changing the attitude of the companies, achieving a more global governmental approach, and the training of the consumers. Therefore NGOs are the key to the success of the European programs and the e-skills week.

Gabor Dombi
Inforum, Hungary

How many social networking sites have signed the Safer Social Networking Principles for the EU?

20 social networking sites in Europe have signed: Arto, Bebo, Dailymotion, Facebook, Giovani.it, Google/YouTube, Hyves, Microsoft Europe, MySpace, Nasza-klaza.pl, Netlog, One.lt, Piczo, Rate, Skyrock, Sulake, Tuenti, VZnet Netzwerk Ltd., Yahoo!Europe, and Zap.lu.

Which companies are monitored?

25 websites run by the 20 signatories have been tested: Arto, Bebo, Dailymotion, Facebook, Giovani.it, YouTube (Google), Hyves, Xbox Live (Microsoft), Windows Live (Microsoft), MySpace, Nasza-klaza.pl, Netlog, One.lt, Piczo, Ratee , Skyrock, SchülerVZ (VZnet), StudiVZ (VZnet), meinVZ (VZnet), Habbo Hotel (Sulake), IRC Galleria (Sulake), Tuenti , Yahoo!Answers, Yahoo!Flickr and Zap.lu

How are these companies monitored?

The Commission is closely monitoring the implementation of this agreement. It invited external experts to draw up a methodology and to assess the implementation of the Safer Social Networking Principles.

The report published today is based on a 2-step process:

1. An analysis of the self-declarations submitted by the signatories to explain their individual safety policies.

2. A test performed on each of the 25 websites. The test of the sites is conducted from a user/child-perspective by a team of 2 lead experts and 13 national experts testing all sites in their main language (e.g. One.lt was tested by a Lithuanian speaker, Tuenti by a Spanish speaker).

Tests assessed whether the information targeted at children is accessible and easy to understand; whether it is possible to block other users, remove comments and photos from the profile; whether the minor’s profile can be searched on the site and through a common search engine; and whether the default settings of the profile, if they exist, can be changed easily. A help request was also sent to the sites, and the speed and quality of the answer were analysed.

The tests were carried out in October-November 2009.

What are the main principles the industry agreed on when signing the agreement?

• Raise awareness of safety messages in a prominent, clear and age appropriate manner.
• Ensure that services are age appropriate for the audience.
• Empower users through options which make their online presence safer for example by making sure that the full online profiles and contact lists of website users who are registered as under 18 are set to “private” by default and are not searchable.
• Provide an easy to use and accessible “report” button, allowing users to report inappropriate contact or conduct by another user.
• Respond to notifications of illegal content or conduct.
• Enable users to employ a safe approach to privacy (in particular through making privacy setting options visible at all times).
• Review illegal or prohibited content/conduct through moderation tools, filtering software or community alerts.

How many people use social networking sites in Europe?

In December 2008, 211 million users older than 15 – almost 75% of internet users in that age group – visited a social networking site. In Europe, France’s social networking audience (21.7 million visitors in December 2008) was the third largest behind the U.K. (29.3 million visitors) and Germany (24.9 million visitors), according to the ComScore report of February 2009.

Facebook has taken a leading position in the social networking category across the majority of countries in Europe (11 out of 17 reported in ComScore report of April 2009). In parallel with successful companies based in the US like Facebook, Youtube and Myspace, European companies are doing well in this sector. Finland-based Sulake claims that 158 million registered users and 16.5 million unique users worldwide visit Habbo each month (December 2009).  Belgian-based Netlog claims more than 56 million members all over Europe, and Dailymotion 60 million unique visitors. Other European sites include Skyrock in France, Tuenti in Spain, Hyves in the Netherlands, Arto.dk in Denmark and Nasza-klaza in Poland.

What are the risks of an increased use of Social Networking Sites by children?

75% of Europe’s youngsters were online in 2008 ( Eurobarometer survey ) and 50% of European teenagers give out personal information online ( EUKids online final report ). Photos and videos remain online and can be seen by anybody, even years after they have been posted. For example, the possibility of tagging people in pictures, offered by most social networking services, makes it very easy to search for a person’s photos online.

Additional risks children and teenagers face include grooming (where adults can pass for young people with the intent of abusing children), accidentally finding inappropriate content, abuse of personal or private information or cyber-bullying.

Therefore, children and teenagers need to be empowered to manage their online identity in a responsible way by using the privacy settings offered by social networking services, selecting friends online that they can trust, publishing their own photos after thinking carefully about the potential consequences, and pictures of their friends with their permission. This is why Safer Internet Day 2010 focuses on the motto: “Think before you post”.

For more information

http://ec.europa.eu/saferinternet

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/social_networking/index_en.htm

This strategy should enable the EU to make a full recovery from the crisis, while speeding up the move towards a smart and green economy. EU 2020 will build on the successes obtained by the Lisbon strategy since its 2005 relaunch, which focused on growth and jobs, but will also address some of the Lisbon strategy’s shortcomings.

The Commission has for this purpose drafted an evaluation document of the Lisbon strategy.

The Commission will shortly present a formal proposal for the EU 2020 strategy, with a view to the EU’s Heads of State and government adopting the strategy at their spring 2010 meeting. The Commission therefore launched a public consultation on the EU 2020 strategy in November 2009, which closed on 15th January 2010.

Around 1500 contributions have been received from a wide range of interested parties: Member States, European and national organisations, European and national social partners, regional and local authorities, business and professional federations, companies, NGOs, think tanks and academics and numerous European citizens. Some non-EU countries and stakeholders also responded.

A first overview of responses has been prepared by the Commission to provide preliminary indications as to the main trends emerging from the consultation. A more detailed analysis of the contributions will be issued by the Commission mid-February.

All responses to the consultation will be available soon on the consultation website.

• To identify and analyse good e-Inclusion practices driven by no-profit and private organisations;
• To derive recommendations for those involved in promoting e-Inclusion, including the European Commission and other authorities.

The study has used a combination of tools to perform the following tasks:

• Identification and selection of existing innovative e-Inclusion initiatives promoted by NGOs and/or private companies, mainly carried out through desk web research and a review of secondary sources available on the topic;
• Case study analysis of success factors, barriers and impact of the initiatives, carried out through telephone interviews and face-to-face meetings with practitioners across Europe;
• Design of recommendations on how to better align initiatives with policies at various level (including EU), which required analysis of gathered evidence and practitioners’ feedback collected through a consultation platform.

One key study finding is that NGOs and private companies play a key role in promoting e-Inclusion, both in terms of number of initiatives and achievements, especially from local initiatives that tend to better understand community needs and dynamics. Replicability of local initiatives at the national/regional level often maintains their originality while multiplying their impact.

The study recommends a combination of actions from stakeholders, e.g. authorities at various levels including the EC, NGOs and private companies. In this context, initiatives from civil society often struggle to find adequate public support because of the novel and cross-cutting nature of e-Inclusion actions tends not to match traditional silos of public authorities.

Download the report :

The official website of the Belarusian president say the decree he issued is “an attempt to protect the rights of Belarusian citizens, society and the state in the field of information.” Government websites claim the decree will help the country’s economy by developing the Internet.

But critics are crying foul. They say the decree, which is due to go into effect on July 1, is a poorly disguised attempt to shut down opposition media on the Internet during the campaign for the next presidential election in early 2011.

Indeed, the decree calls on all Internet providers in Belarus to store data on the Internet use of individuals for a full year and to hand that information over to law-enforcement agencies upon request.

It also requires Internet service providers to block access to any website within 24 hours of being asked to do so by government regulators — a provision that goes beyond antiterrorism security rules imposed under the most restrictive Internet laws in Western countries.

“Whatever the president is calling this decree, it is not done to improve the situation of Internet freedom in the country,” said Lucie Morillon, head of the Internet Freedom Desk at the Paris-based press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders.

“It is actually a way to tighten control online,” Morillon told RFE/RL. “It is a way not only to be able to track down dissidents and people who criticize the government, but it is also a way to intimidate those people who believe the Internet is a way to find and disseminate information that they cannot find in the traditional media.”

EU Weighs In

European Union foreign affairs officials have now weighed in on the issue, telling RFE/RL the decree is “a step in the wrong direction” at a time when Brussels is trying to gradually increase its engagement with Belarus.

“This new presidential decree on the Internet, if it comes into effect of course, would further curb the freedom of speech and information in Belarus,” said Lutz Guellner, the spokesman for EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton. “We would consider it, therefore, as a significant step in the wrong direction. We hope that the Belarusian authorities would look into this again.”

Guellner says one key issue for the EU in regard to the Eastern Partnership with Belarus is whether the decree is implemented in a way that silences political opposition or restricts the free flow of information or freedom of the press:

“The EU wants to gradually engage with Belarus but it depends on tangible progress in specific areas that have been identified,” he says.

“The EU has regretted the lack of progress, in particular, in the area of human rights and fundamental freedoms but also in how political action was dealt with — crackdowns on peaceful political actions; the continued denial of registration of many political parties and independent media,” he says. “That is exactly the context in which we are looking at this specific new decree.”

Guellner explains that for the Belarusian economy, what is at stake with the Eastern Partnership initiative is help toward unifying trade regulatory systems — a process that would open up possibilities for imports and exports, for business, and for investments on both sides.

“To give you a very tangible example, if Belarus is working toward what we call closer ‘regulatory convergence’ in the area of health standards for products that it is exporting — for dairy products, for example — when it gets there, then it can also export dairy products [to the EU]. It can export cheese. It can export yogurt and things like that. But it can only happen when this regulatory approximation has been done. And that applies for a whole range of goods and areas that are of potential interest to Belarus.”

What Do Belarusians Think?

Syarhei Balykin, a lawyer and business owner in Minsk, told RFE/RL he doesn’t think the new decree is going to cause any immediate problems for Belarusian firms trying to do business.

“I think there won’t be big difficulties in business because foreign investors are not specified in this law,” Balykin said. “The only problem I see is the requirement to have all Belarusian firms registered with the [Belarusian] domain name ‘by.’ It is much more expensive than registering with the dot-com domain name used internationally.”

But Kyril Paznyak — an Internet journalist and publisher of the Belarusian online publication “My” — sees the decree in the context of earlier government moves to close down traditional printed newspapers with opposition view and the ongoing state control over broadcast media in Belarus.

“I believe that the main purpose of this decree is to scare the Internet community into self-censorship,” Paznyak told RFE/RL. “It is understandable why authorities have ideological concerns about the Internet. It is the place where all independent press has been pushed.”

“The Internet is where civic journalism in Belarus is still developing with political blogs and publication of textual information and multimedia from ordinary citizens,” he said. “Most importantly, it is a virtual environment where the major part of alternative communications exist — where different communities are being created, including political groups and civic activism.”

Uladzimir, a young Internet user in Minsk, told RFE/RL he doesn’t believe the government’s claims that the decree will help clean up violent or sexually explicit content from the Internet in Belarus.

“All this legal language in the decree about fighting pornography and violence on the Internet is a folk tale,” Uladzimir said. “None of this kind of content will disappear. What will disappear are viewpoints that are different from the official government-propagated information in Belarus.”

OSCE Studying Decree

“Our office has been informed that this decree has been issued and as part of our normal monitoring procedures, we are looking into it,” said Roland Bless, director of the office of Miklos Haraszti — the Representative on Media Freedom at the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. “It will take a while before we come to a conclusion.”

One method the OSCE could use in its review would be to submit the decree to legal experts who would highlight any potential pitfalls of the document — including how it is implemented in practice as well as issues that may only come to light if the decree is challenged in the Belarusian courts.

The OSCE legal experts could measure the decree against international standards on media freedom. They also could refer to how similar legislation has developed or been implemented in other countries.

If they determine the decree violates the OSCE commitments of Belarus, delegates from the organization could approach the Belarusian government directly to recommend changes.

http://www.rferl.org/content/EU_Calls_Belarusian_Internet_Decree_A_Step_In_Wrong_Direction/1948755.html