Lisbon injects urgency into eEurope, says Liikanen
The Lisbon Summit provided Europe with the urgency it needs to take the lead in the digital economy, said Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen, promising to follow through on the commitments made. Speaking at a meeting of ministers in Lisbon on 10 April, he said European leaders made a strong commitment at the Council summit on employment, economic reform and social cohesion to ensure Europe 'becomes the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world'. To achieve this, the Council called on the Commission to draw up an action plan for the implementation of its eEurope initiative, a bundle of measures designed to accelerate Europe's transition to the digital economy. 'There is unlimited potential in digital technologies. Not only for growth, competitiveness and jobs, but also for societal progress,' he said. 'When we launched eEurope last December, it was clear that Europe had great potential and numerous assets, but there was no sense of urgency. The Lisbon summit is now showing us the way. EU leaders have identified the real issues and they have made a strong commitment. 'The Commission's duty is now clear: we have to deliver.' Liikanen listed several preconditions for a healthy digital economy including building a seamless communication infrastructure connecting all regions. A reform of the educational systems and the provision of skills for all ages are also needed to ensure Europeans are sufficiently digitally literate. The Enterprise Commissioner would also like to see a more entrepreneurial culture encouraged to nurture fast moving, innovative companies. Europe is well positioned in the new economy, he said pointing to successes in digital television and GSM, the second-generation global system for mobile phones, where Europe is the world's largest service provider. However much work remains to be done, both by government and industry. Liikanen identified Europe's 'roadblocks' as high communication prices, underdevelopment of Internet sector, slow take-up of digital technologies among smaller enterprises and a digital skills gap. The Commission has put several measures in place to address these discrepancies. Notably, a favourable legal framework for telecommunications has been established and an e-commerce framework will be in place by the end of the year. The eEurope action plan will build on these measures. Priorities include ensuring universal access to a low-cost, high-speed communications infrastructure, and reducing access costs. Digital literacy and social inclusion were also identified as important social concerns to be addressed if the Information Society is to be inclusive. The Enterprise Commissioner also promised to simplify the business environment, cutting red-tape and ensuring the availability of venture capital. The real e-commerce revolution will take place in the business to business sector, he said, where Europe currently lags behind the US in terms of Internet penetration and e-commerce growth. He issued a challenge to EU business leaders to step up the pace of transition. Over 80 per cent of Europe's managers are expecting to use e-commerce intensively by 2004, according to an Anderson Consulting survey, but Liikanen says this date is very late. 'My guess is too late,' he said. His comments added to those made a few days earlier at the British Futures 2000 conference in London, where he said government and industry must work together to ensure Europe takes the lead in the digital economy. 'If Lisbon is carefully followed up by EU countries, we can catch up in the Internet and e-commerce', he said. 'We have a unique chance to lead in the second generation of e-commerce and that is mobile e-commerce.'