Commissioner Wulf-Mathies stresses the importance of the regions' role in the development of the Information Society
In a recent address to the Committee of the Regions, Mrs. Monika Wulf-Mathies, Commissioner responsible for regional policy, stressed the importance of the regions' role in the development of the Information Society. The Commissioner commented that the European Union (EU), and especially its remoter regions, must be more prepared for the development of the Information Society than Europe was for the industrial revolution and commented that the priority of regional policy in the coming years must be to avoid the creation of a two-class telecommunications society: "From a regional point of view, the ideal of the European information society would be attained when, in all regions, the EU citizen, businesses and organizations would have access to the networks, be able to afford and use them, and have the qualifications that allow them to participate efficiently and profitably". The Commissioner further supported the Committee of Region's recent call for universal services to be guaranteed after telecommunications liberalization takes place. In the Commissioner's view, this means that if the basic infrastructure is not available in all regions after liberalization then, as a compromise, telecommunications networks should at least provide universal services at the level of local authorities. For example, schools and public libraries should have access to services such as electronic post, data transfer systems, on-line access to data bases, and video services. The First Vice-President of the Committee, Pasqual Maragall, suggested that the European Commission propose "tele-cohesion" plans that would help regions and local authorities develop pilot training projects aimed at preparing citizens for the Information Society.