FITUG e.V.
Förderverein Informationstechnik und Gesellschaft
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Results of the Telecom Council of Ministers, Brussels on 27 March 2003
DN: MEMO/03/75 Date: 28/03/2003
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MEMO/03/75
Brussels, 28 March 2003
Results of the Telecom Council of Ministers, Brussels on 27 March 2003
The following points were discussed at the Council:
The Council took positively note of the presentation by Commissioner Erkki Liikanen of the proposal for a European Parliament and Council regulation for the establishment of a 'Network and Information Security Agency'.
Re-use and commercial exploitation of public sector documents. The Council reached unanimous political agreement on a future common position on the proposal for a Directive on re-use and commercial exploitation of public sector documents.
Multi-annual programme (2003-2005) for monitoring eEurope, dissemination of good practices and the improvement of network and information security (MODINIS) This item was adopted. The MODINIS programme, adopted by the Commission on 26 July 2002, provides for financial support to accompany the Member States' actions transforming the EU into a knowledge based economy. MODINIS followed on from the PROMISE programme, which expired at the end of last year. MODINIS will equally finance activities for the preparatory work for the creation of the future Network and Information security Agency. The following declaration was included in the Council's minutes: "The Commission reaffirms its intention to set up a temporary interdisciplinary working group in close co-operation with, and composed of, Member States representatives to conduct preparatory actions with a view to the establishment of a network and information Security Agency. The work of this group will start on 1st July 2003 at the latest and end at the end of the year 2003, which is the target date for the creation of this Agency".
Electronic communications: the Road to the Knowledge Economy Followed by a presentation of Commissioner Erkki Liikanen and the Greek Presidency on the situation of electronic communications in Europe, the Telecommunications Ministers were invited to intervene on the following three issues: "the timely implementation of the new regulatory framework"; "broadband strategies"; deployment and use of 3G mobile communications". This was a good and focused debate during which all Member States expressed their appreciation of the recent Communication of the Commission on this issue (see IP/03/418). In this context, the Presidency announced three major meetings that will offer opportunity to conduct further discussions on
eHealth 22 - 23 May 2003 Brussels (see IP/03/425)
eGovernance 2 - 3 May 2003 Athens
eInclusion 11 - 12 April 2003 Heraklion (Crete) Also the eGovernment Ministerial Conference of 7-8 July, jointly organised by the forthcoming Italian Presidency and the European Commission was mentioned. After the debate, Commissioner Erkki Liikanen made a brief comment on the availability of broadband access in rural and remote regions. As a recent study by Commissioner Michel Barnier shows, structural funds make a major contribution to promoting the information society (see IP/03/396).
UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) The first UN World Summit on the Information Society is scheduled to take place in Europe. The first session takes place in Geneva, 10 to 12 December 2003, a few days before the European Summit in Brussels. Commissioner Erkki Liikanen gave the key message that because of the impact of EU Information Society policies world-wide the EU should be present in Geneva at the levels of Heads of State and Government, accompanied by Chief Executive Officers (CEO's) of the EU industry, and the leaders of civil societies in Europe. The EU can contribute with its experiences, in particular with eEurope and the new electronic communications regulatory framework. Finally the Greek Presidency suggested organising a debate on the future Communication of the Commission related to the subject. The debate shall take place at the General Affairs, Transport & Telecom Council, 16-17 June 2003.
World Radio Conference 2003 (WRC-03) The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 'World Radio Communication Conference' will be held from 9 June to 4 July 2003 in Geneva and will seek a global agreement on how radio frequencies are used. The Commission will come forward with a Communication to Council and the European Parliament on WRC-03. The Commission would like to encourage Council to study the Communication and to support its line so that a clear political message issued in time before the start of the WRC-03.