Liikanen points the way on e-commerce
The European Commission could be on course to beat its self-imposed deadline of December 2000 for introducing a new regulatory framework to stimulate the development of e-commerce in Europe, according to Erkki Liikanen, Commissioner for Enterprise and the information society. Speaking at the Kangaroo group conference in Brussels on barriers in cyberspace on September 19, Mr Liikanen reiterated points he made at the European IT forum 2000 in Monaco the previous week, outlining progress in the review of EU telecommunications policy. The Commission was proposing a package of five directives and a regulation which would have three principal goals, he said. Firstly, it was intended to provide a flexible legal framework which could adapt to accommodate future changes resulting from technological developments and ensure fair competition between existing suppliers and new entrants to the industry. The second goal was to increase Internet penetration to allow all Europe's citizens to benefit from the increasingly wide range of access technologies. The key obstacle was the high cost of Internet access caused by lack of competition in the control of local communications networks. The Commission plans to remedy this problem with a regulation on unbundling 'the local loop' which would be presented to the European Parliament and Council by the end of the year. The third element consists of measures intended to safeguard user rights and ensure adequate standards of privacy and data protection. The proposals would also include provisions to limit the growth of 'cybercrime' through better co-ordination of the efforts of enforcement agencies at a European and international level. In all its efforts the European Commission was keen to stimulate, rather than restrict, the growth in electronic commerce by applying a minimum set of common rules, Mr Liikanen said. Under the eEurope action plan it was intended to complete the new regulatory framework before the end of 2000 and the Commission was well on its way to meeting that target. Directives on electronic signatures, legal aspects of e-commerce and the trade in encryption products were already adopted and awaiting implementation by Member States, while a directive on the control of copyright was being prepared. At the same time, discussions were underway with the Internet industry and other interested parties on a mechanism to be known as the Alternative Dispute Resolution procedure. This was intended as a method for resolving cross-border disputes and would form the basis of a new system based on self-regulation by the industry.