Austrian Presidency lends its support to i2010 initiative
'The European Commission's 'i2010' programme is an indispensable initiative for making it easier for all European citizens to take part in the information society,' according to Austria's Secretary of State for Media and the Arts, Franz Morak. Mr Morak was speaking to journalists in Vienna on 10 February following an e-government conference on the topic of 'Trust in the Net'. He expressed his belief that the Internet should be for all citizens, and that the public sector in Europe should work to provide efficient and non-bureaucratic e-government services. 'The information, communication and media industry is one of the strongest growing sectors of the economy. Between 2000 and 2003 alone the rate of growth in the ICT sector contributed in excess of 25 per cent to Europe's growth in productivity,' revealed Mr Morak. 'As President of the EU Council, Austria is therefore actively supporting the European Commission in implementing the i2010 strategy.' In particular, Mr Morak emphasised the importance of developing systems for identity management in Europe, which involves 'finding the right balance between technical possibilities, what is politically and socially desirable and acceptance by the population. [...] How we communicate with each other is a cultural and political topic. The themes of digitalisation and the information society are too important to be entrusted solely to engineers and technicians,' he believes. Several Austrian initiatives in this area were presented at the press conference, including the 'e-card' and 'A1 Signature' projects. Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding praised Austria for its 'exemplary initiatives' and said that it was time to put trust in e-government services on the political agenda. 'For me, the promotion of technology, for example, in the area of e-health, human rights and democracy is work for the benefit of citizens. Both citizens and companies require reliable and trustworthy government services,' said the Commissioner. Ms Reding finished by announcing a new initiative that will start in the spring entitled 'Access for all', which she will launch with her Commission colleagues Neelie Kroes (Competition), Mariann Fischer Boel (Agriculture and Rural Development), and Danuta Hübner (Regional Policy).
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Austria