Annexes to COM(2003)66 - EEurope 2002 Final Report - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2003)66 - EEurope 2002 Final Report. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2003)66  |
| date | February 11, 2003 |
[23] http://europa.eu.int/comm/ employment_social/news/2002/jul/145_en.html
[24] http://europa.eu.int/comm/ employment_social/knowledge_society/tw_commerce.pdf ; http://europa.eu.int/comm/ employment_social/knowledge_society/tw_telecoms.pdf .
[25] Source: Eurobarometer November 2000, October 2002.
Public Internet access points (PIAPs) represent an important tool not only for accessing the web but also for training and e-working. There has been considerable progress in the setting up of these centres, used by about 8% of European Union citizens
2.3.3 Participation for all in the knowledge-based economy
The eEurope 2002 Action Plan was subtitled 'an Information Society for All' and aimed at ensuring a truly inclusive Information Society. e-Inclusion is now addressed in both the European Employment Strategy and the Social Inclusion Process, on the basis of a report [26] developed with the support of ESDIS. A detailed presentation of achievements in the domain of e-Accessibility is given in the Working Document "Delivering e-Accessibility - Improving disabled people's access to the Knowledge Based Society" [27] and by the reports for each of the actions in the action plan, summarising the main results achieved, remaining issues and proposed solutions [28].These are summarised below:
[26] SEC(2001) 1428. http://europa.eu.int/comm/ employment_social/knowledge_society/eincl_en.pdf The report identified gaps in Internet use, threads and opportunities for social cohesion, and presented policies and best practices, leading the way to Council Resolution 2001/C 292/02.
[27] SEC(2002) 1039 - http://europa.eu.int/comm/ employment_social/knowledge_society/eacc_en.pdf
[28] http://europa.eu.int/information_society/ topics/citizens/accessibility/index_en.htm.
(a) Adoption of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) guidelines for public web sites, as proposed by the Commission [29], and largely supported by the Council and the Parliament [30].
[29] COM(2001) 529 final, eEurope 2002:accessibility of public web sites and their content
[30] Resolutions CR 7087/02 of 20th march 2002 and EPR P5_TA(2002)0325 of 13 June 2002.
(b) Review of relevant legislation and standards to ensure conformity with accessibility principles; The report recommends the monitoring of the progress of the situation in Europe through the development of relevant indicators.
(c) The Network of Centres of excellence in Design for all, EdeAN, was launched in July 2002 and now has around hundred members.
(d) Publication of "Design for all" standards for accessibility of information technology products, in particular to improve the employability and social inclusion of people with special needs.
Under eEurope 2002 a standardisation common work programme has been revised every year permitting the implementation of the main priorities and activities in this area.
2.3.4 Accelerating e-commerce
Demand from consumers for electronically-traded goods and services (B2C) is continuing to grow be it less fast than business-to-business (B2B). In October 2000, 18.5% of Internet users made purchases online 'frequently' or 'occasionally'. This increased to 23% by November 2002. Internet users from the UK are by far the most likely to purchase online and the only other Member States where more than a quarter of Internet users purchase online are Germany and Luxembourg (Chart 4).
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Business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce makes up only around 1% of total retail sales and cross-border B2C inside the EU is still only a fraction of total e-commerce activities. The bulk of e-commerce activity is represented by business-to-business (B2B), which makes up more than two-thirds of the total value of e-commerce transactions.
According to the e-Business W@tch survey (conducted in mid 2002), many more European enterprises are buying online than selling online. In some sectors (ICT services, business services, electronics, publishing & printing), more than 45% of companies buy online. In comparison, slightly more than 1 in 10 enterprises sell online and this percentage has even decreased between 2001 and 2002 in some Member States according to the latest available Eurostat data.
Differences between large and smaller enterprises also exist with respect to the quality of access to the Internet. More than a quarter of small enterprises still connect to the Internet with an analogue dial-up modem. Larger enterprises are better equipped with fixed network connections and more than half of those having access to the net with more than 2 Mbps (according to the e-Business W@tch data). Such significant differences have been observed not only between companies from different Member States or of different size, but also between companies operating in different sectors.
The steady integration of ICTs into business processes may have a significant impact on the economy as a whole, in terms of efficiency expected to materialise into productivity gains. In this context, focus is already shifting to e-business as a wider concept encompassing not only e-commerce activity but also the electronic integration of internal processes.
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SMEs are still lagging behind large firms in integrating e-business technologies into normal business practices to realise their full potential. All Member States are taking measures to help their SMEs to Go Digital. The EU benchmarking initiative of national and regional policies in support of e-business for SMEs, identified about 180 such public-funded initiatives, and suggested 19 examples of good policies in support of e-business. The benchmarking exercise demonstrated that further efficiency gains could be reaped from networking national and regional initiatives, sharing information and experience and learning from each other. This is taken up in the eEurope 2005 Action Plan.
2.3.5 A more secure Internet
For computers and communication networks everywhere, security has become a major concern. During the short period of eEurope there has been a visible increase in threats and security incidents. Virus attacks in particular have become much more common as shown in the chart .
Actions are underway in a number of areas to improve protection against security threats. An electronic signatures Directive [31] was adopted but use of this form of authentication is limited. The roll out of a more secure Internet Protocol is only slowly progressing. eEurope also triggered a major industry-led smartcard initiative backed by EUR100m research funding. This initiative achieved it's target of establishing a smart card charter which was launched at under the Danish Presidency in December 2002 [32].
[31] Directive 99/93/EC, entry into force 19.07.2001
[32] Open Smart Card Infrastructure for Europe (previously known as "Common Specification") http:// www.eeurope-smartcards.org)
The security work begun under eEurope has now developed into a more comprehensive approach of network and information security. On the basis of a Communication by the Commission [33] and a Council Resolution [34], Commission and Member States will take a series of measures in 2002 encompassing awareness-raising, technological support, regulation, international co-ordination. The establishment of a network and information security agency is envisaged and will allow the Union to give a more efficient response to security challenges of tomorrow.
[33] COM(2001) 289 of 6 June 2001.
[34] 14378/01 of 6 December 2001.
2.3.6 Government On-line
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The eEurope 2002 Action Plan set a target for basic public services to be available online by the end of 2002. A definition of 20 basic services was agreed in Council and used a basis for surveys of online services provision by 10,000 national, regional and local service providers. In October 2002, it was found that all Member States at least partly offered all 20 basic services online. Services provided from central administrations are online and for the eEurope target to be fully achieved requires the few local providers not yet online to develop their e-services .
A more detailed analysis of the sophistication of service provision showed that there has been rapid progress. Chart 6 shows the relative position of Member States and the progress towards fully interactive service delivery. Measured as a percentage (where 25%= information only; 50%=information plus one-way interaction i.e. downloadable forms; 75% = two-way interaction and 100%= full electronic case handling), the average for all services in all Member States has increased from 45% to 60%. Four Member States have an average rating above 75% i.e. services can be applied for fully online and a further 8 had an average over 50% meaning information is available online and application forms can be downloaded.
2.3.7 Health Online
The principle targets of the Health Online Chapter were twofold:
*
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to encourage Member States to set targets for the use of information technologies within healthcare; and,
* to develop a basis for supporting citizens in identifying high quality health care information on the Internet.
Since eEurope was launched, there have been considerable advances in the provision of health services online. All Member States have now adopted detailed plans to implement information technology in the provision of healthcare. Furthermore, Eurobarometer surveys have showed a steady rise in the rate of Internet connections by general medical practitioners. The 2002 survey showed that, on average, 78% of EU medical general practitioners were connected to the Internet, with almost 100% connected in the UK and in the Nordic countries.
The use of the Internet to deliver patient care is also growing. On average, 48% of medical practitioners use Electronic Health Care Records and 46% use the Internet to transmit patient data to other care providers for the purposes of continuity of care. However, a fully interactive use of the Internet to deliver care to patients through the provision of, for example, e-mail consultation (12%) or allowing patients to book appointments on line (2%) would appear to be in its early stages.
The initiative to support citizens in obtaining good quality health information on the Internet was based on the recognition that European citizens are avid consumers of health related information on the Internet. Accordingly, the eEurope 2002 Action Plan proposed the development of a core set of Quality Criteria for Health Related Websites. A Communication, Quality Criteria for Health related Websites [35], was adopted following consultation with representatives from government, industry and NGOs as well as an online public consultation.
[35] COM(2002 667.
The Communication outlines six quality criteria: transparency and honesty, authority, privacy and data protection, updating of information, accountability, and accessibility. It states the need to tailor these criteria according to particular audiences and describes the methods of implementing quality criteria including codes of conduct, self applied codes or quality labels, user guidance tools, filtering tools, and third party quality and accreditation systems. The Communication invites Member States and national and regional health authorities to implement the quality criteria, develop information campaigns, localise available information, and exchange information on how quality standards are implemented. It also notes that consideration will be given to the possibilities of establishing a system of recognisable Community seals of approval for Internet sites as part of the implementation of the European Union public health programme.
3. Conclusions
This evaluation has shown that eEurope 2002 achieved its main objectives and that these represent important steps towards the knowledge-based economy which is at the centre of the Lisbon strategy.
As access prices have fallen, the number of households connected to the Internet in Europe has risen to over 40%. More than 90% of schools and 90% of businesses are nowadays connected. With Géant, Europe now has the world's fastest backbone research network connecting nearly all universities and research institutes and representing a test-bed for future Internet technologies. Development of competition is likely to further drive down prices, in particular for broadband access, to increase innovation and broaden the range of services.
Moreover, new services and the Internet have opened up new opportunities for society as a whole, helped by the creation of a comprehensive legal framework in e-commerce, and will be further stimulated by the upcoming transposition and implementation of the new regulatory framework for electronic communications. There is an increasing number and higher quality of e-government services becoming available online across the whole of Europe.
The upward trend in the use of information and communication technologies and services (ICTs) in the economy and society is very encouraging. The starting point is now better than ever for Europe to draw the full benefits of digital technologies and the Internet in terms of productivity gains, economic growth, employment and social cohesion. Yet conditions ought to be even better, in particular with regard to the existing gaps in Internet use among the different groups and to the use of ICT and e-business by European SMEs. Therefore, Europe ought to realise the efficiencies and opportunities intrinsic to the adoption of these technologies.
Basic e-government services are online. Now they need an increasing degree of interactivity and require back-office reorganisation to fully achieve efficiencies. Most schools are now connected. The next step is to use computers more effectively to improve education and skills. The work of medical practitioners at all levels is becoming more information intensive. The development of health information networks with broadband connectivity is becoming a critical infrastructure for the provision of health services. Much work has been done to improve the security of information infrastructures by both the private and public sector but threats remain and the consequence of attacks are increasingly costly. It is essential for security work to continue and a centre of competence be established to stimulate e-commerce and Internet use in general. Internet connections have greatly improved, obviously initially mainly narrowband. Europe must now move broadband; a leading-edge infrastructure being a prerequisite for a competitive knowledge economy. In general, the pervasive use of ICTs across a wide range of economic and social activities supported by broadband networks can bring about a profound and long-term impact on productivity growth and eEurope 2002 has initiated this process.
The next stage in the development of the information society and its contribution to the Lisbon objectives is already underway in the form of the eEurope2005 Action Plan [36] which covers the period 2003-2005. The objectives of the new Action Plan were endorsed by Heads of State and Government at Seville in June 2002 and is already providing an effective response to many of the issues highlighted in this Report.
[36] eEurope 2005 Action Plan, COM(2002) 263.
The new Action Plan focuses on a more limited number of key targets where government action can make a genuine difference: the modernisation of public services to make them more productive, accessible and equitable; the further promotion of a favourable environment for e-business; and a secure broadband information infrastructure. Cutting across these priorities is the necessity to create an inclusive information society for all of Europe's citizens.
The extensive use of a wide range of different ICT applications, content and services, both by the public and private sectors, is expected to improve productivity and competitiveness in the EU economy as a whole, creating a favourable environment to private investment, and making an important contribution to meeting the Lisbon agenda.