Industry Council of 8 October 1996 - The Information Society
The Council of Industry Ministers of 8 October 1996 was devoted to the theme of the Information Society. Items on the agenda included the adoption of a Resolution on new policy priorities regarding the Information Society, adoption of the proposed multiannual programme for the promotion of linguistic diversity in the Information Society (MLIS) and the first joint meeting, on the Information Society, with Ministers from the ten associated CEECs. The proposed Resolution on new policy priorities regarding the Information Society was agreed following a debate on the Commission's recent communication on "The Information Society - from Corfu to Dublin", presented to the Council by Commissioners Martin Bangemann, Padraig Flynn and Mario Monti. Formal adoption will take place at a future Council meeting, following finalization of all the language versions. In its Resolution, the Council notes the progress made so far in the implementation of the Information Society Action Plan, adopted in 1994, and welcomes the Commission's initiatives for further development of the Plan. It also recognizes the challenges and dangers presented by developments in information and communications technologies and acknowledges the need for action in Europe. The Council calls on the Member States, the Commission and industry, within their respective fields of competence, to take the necessary actions to encourage the use and development of information and communications technologies (ICT). In particular, Ministers are concerned that European competitiveness in ICTs is improved in order to generate employment. The resolution calls for the development of an Information Society to benefit all citizens of the European Union, including those in less-favoured regions and those disadvantaged for other reasons. In addition, the resolution calls for measures to be taken to stimulate the use of ICTs in SMEs, and to encourage the use of ICTs in public administration, including in the European institutions. The proposed multiannual programme for the promotion of linguistic diversity in the Information Society (MLIS) was also formally adopted at this Council meeting. This programme, with a budget of ECU 15 million over three years, aims to promote the provision of multilingual services, reduce the costs of information transfer between languages, and contribute to the promotion of linguistic diversity. In the framework of the Structured Dialogue with the associated Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC), Ministers held the first joint meeting with their counterparts from the ten associated CEECs on the Information Society. The meeting, based on the outcome of the EU-CEEC Information Society Forum, held in Prague in September 1996, covered the following themes: - Strategy and policy formulation; - Implementation of demonstrations and pilot projects to raise awareness of the Information Society in the CEECs; - Education and training; - Application of ICTs in public administration.