Considerations on COM(2000)323 - Multiannual Community programme to stimulate the development and use of European digital content on the global networks and to promote linguistic diversity in the Information Society - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2000)323 - Multiannual Community programme to stimulate the development and use of European digital content on the global networks and ... |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2000)323  |
| date | December 22, 2000 |
(2) The Lisbon Summit stressed the need to bridge the digital divide in the emerging information society and to strengthen social cohesion.
(3) Digital content plays a predominant role in this evolution. Four million Europeans are currently employed in the content sector. Content production has given rise to rapid job creation in recent years and continues to do so. Most of these jobs are created in small emerging companies. This will radically change the conditions of access to knowledge or acquisition of it, and thus constitutes an essential asset for economic growth, enterprise and employment, and enhancing the professional, social and cultural development, and the creativity and innovative capacity of the citizens of Europe now and in the future.
(4) The economic and social potential of the development of digital content extends to the culture, education, training and leisure sectors.
(5) The structures and business environment of the content industries are changing fast.
(6) Respect for intellectual property and labelling of works are preconditions for increased distribution and exploitation of digital content on global networks.
(7) There are numerous barriers to the full development of the European content industries and markets.
(8) The Bonn ministerial declaration, issued at the conference of 6 to 8 July 1997 on the role of global networks for the information society, devotes special interest to the Internet commercial developments, thus forming the basis for the continuing discussions on Internet content, management issues and electronic commerce.
(9) On 8 December 1999 the Commission adopted the eEurope initiative which was subsequently welcomed by Member States at the Helsinki European Council of 10 and 11 December 1999.
(10) The Council has underlined, in its conclusions adopted on 17 December 1999(5) on culture industries and employment in Europe, that progress in communication technology and the information society has substantially increased the number of distribution channels, which has boosted demand for new programme content.
(11) On 23 and 24 March 2000 the European Council in Lisbon specifically recognised the role of the content industries in creating added value by exploiting and networking European cultural diversity.
(12) Community actions undertaken concerning the content of information should respect the Union's multilingual and multicultural character and encourage initiatives that facilitate access to digital information in the languages of present and candidate countries.
(13) The interim evaluations of the INFO2000 programme established by Council Decision 96/339/EC(6) and the multilingual information society initiative (MLIS) established by Council Decision 96/664/EC(7) call for a vigorous follow-up of the actions in the area of digital content and linguistic and cultural diversity.
(14) Measures should be taken encouraging participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in information society developments.
(15) The different rates of development on the provision and use of information services as well as of new communication techniques and the related content in the present Member States and in the candidate countries deserve special consideration, having regard to the internal cohesion of the Community and the risks associated with a two-tier information society. The presence of content in different languages promotes equality of access for citizens to the information society and reduces discrimination.
(16) The Commission has published in January 1999 a Green Paper on public sector information in the information society, launching a European debate on this topic.
(17) Access to information originating in the public sector must respect the particular obligations of those authorities and the need to protect the confidentiality of personal data as provided for in Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(8).
(18) The use of public sector information should respect provisions set by Member States on property rights of digitised material.
(19) The removal of barriers to access to public sector information should be encouraged, inter alia, by encouraging the exchanges of best practices.
(20) Since the objectives of the proposed actions cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States due to the transnational character of the issues at stake and can, therefore, by reason of the European scope and effects of the actions be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Decision does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.
(21) Any content policy action should be complementary to other ongoing Community initiatives, and be performed in synergy with actions under the fifth framework programme for research and development, the framework programme for culture, the media programmes, with Community education actions, SME actions, with the Structural Funds, with the eEurope action plan and the risk capital action plan.
(22) Complementarity and synergy with related Community initiatives and programmes should be ensured by the Commission through appropriate coordination mechanisms.
(23) Progress of this programme should be continuously and systematically monitored with a view to adapting it, where appropriate, to developments in the digital content market. In due course there should be an independent assessment of the progress of the programme so as to provide the background information needed in order to determine the objectives for subsequent content policy actions. This interim assessment report should be submitted in time to allow corrective actions in the second phase of the programme. At the end of this programme, there should be a final assessment of the results obtained and a report to the European Parliament as to the future content policy and success/impact of this programme in achieving the objectives set out in this Decision.
(24) It may be appropriate to engage in international cooperation activities with international organisations and third countries for the purpose of implementing this programme.
(25) A financial reference amount, within the meaning of point 34 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission(9), is included in this Decision for the entire duration of the programme, without thereby affecting the powers of the budgetary authority as they are defined by the Treaty.
(26) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(10).