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[FYI] EUROPEAN-CANADA JOINT STATEMENT
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- Subject: [FYI] EUROPEAN-CANADA JOINT STATEMENT
- From: "Axel H Horns" <horns@t-online.de>
- Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1999 21:32:40 +0200
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- Organization: PA Axel H Horns
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Ottawa, 16 December 1999
14075/99 (Presse 420)
PRESS RELEASE
Subject :
EUROPEAN-CANADA JOINT STATEMENT
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE IN THE GLOBAL INFORMATION SOCIETY
The European Union and the Government of Canada attach great
importance to the development of an information society and economy,
and recognise the importance of working together, both bilaterally
and through multilateral efforts to create a co-ordinated and
consistent international approach aimed at maximising benefits for
all. Electronic commerce, in particular, will be an integral part of
the information economy - enhancing productivity, creating jobs,
fostering new markets and offering consumers greater choice.
EU and Canada share a vision for the development of a global
information society, and recognise the need for an international
environment, which supports the growth of electronic commerce and
maximises social potential for citizens. In order to foster this
environment, they will actively work in concert with the private
sector, civil society and international organisations to:
Promote trust and confidence in the global marketplace by ensuring
that the frameworks and safeguards address such issues as privacy,
security, and consumer protection.
Ensure that relevant legal and commercial frameworks apply to
electronic transactions and do not unduly impede the potential of
electronic commerce.
Encourage the growth of, and access to, high quality information
infrastructure and services through effective competition.
Maximise the social and economic benefits resulting from the
emergence of a digital economy and a global information society.
Promote cultural and linguistic diversity in the information society
by enabling wider access to cultural heritage and content such as new
audio-visual services.
Stimulate the development and diffusion of the Information Society
through government practices including on line access to government
information, electronic procurement, and promotion of open and
interoperable systems.
Privacy: EU and Canada consider that legislative frameworks for the
protection of privacy and personal information are a vital component
of electronic commerce strategy and beneficial to the evolution of an
information society. Internationally, EU and Canada will support a
standards-based approach to complement national frameworks.
Security: EU and Canada agree on the necessity of policies to
facilitate the use of technologies for authentication and for the
conduct of secure electronic commerce. To this end, they will discuss
the various technological options for providing authentication. EU
and Canada will explore mechanisms to enhance international co-
operation to combat illegal activities and to empower users with
regards to potentially harmful content.
Consumer protection: EU and Canada believe that measures to provide
consumers with a means to exercise choice, settle grievances and have
lawful recourse to the resolution of disputes in an electronic
environment (including online dispute settlement schemes) are central
to the orderly development of electronic commerce. Consequently, they
will discuss approaches to increase consumer confidence, protection
and education.
Partnerships: Given the acknowledged need for collaboration with the
private sector and civil society in the development of global
electronic commerce, EU and Canada will endeavour to include
stakeholder interests in these activities. Particular attention will
be given to the facilitation of self-regulatory and co-regulatory
approaches within appropriate or regulatory frameworks.
The EU and Canada also recognise the importance of business
partnerships to the growth of global electronic commerce, and
continue to support the collaboration by European and Canadian
private sectors through broader co-operation initiatives, in
particular in the area of research and development in information and
communications technologies.
Co-operation in Multilateral fora: EU and Canada will continue to
make use of multilateral fora to pursue shared objectives for a
global information society. In this regard, EU and Canada will
especially:
_ continue to collaborate to establish frameworks within the OECD on
taxation, consumer and privacy issues
_ collaborate on WIPO initiatives related to intellectual property
and electronic commerce
_ Co-operate in the ongoing development of Internet governance, in
particular by contributing to the work of ICANN.
_ work actively to further the WTO Work Program on Electronic
Commerce with a view to reaching consensus on what is needed to
realize the potential contribution of electronic commerce to all WTO
members and to achieving a comprehensive review of the implications
of electronic commerce and its means of delivery for the application
of WTO agreements and future negotiations, agreeing as they do that
electronic commerce falls within the existing body of trade rules.
Follow up: Canada and the EU agree to pursue the issues contained in
this statement as part of their regular bilateral consultations on
telecommunications and electronic commerce as key elements in the
development of the global Information Society. A progress report will
be submitted to the next Canada-EU Summit.
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