To increase Internet connectivity in Europe, open up all communications networks to competition and encourage Internet use by placing emphasis on training and consumer protection.

Commission Communication of 13 March 2001 on eEurope 2002: Impact and Priorities A communication to the Spring European Council in Stockholm, 23-24 March 2001 [COM(2001) 140 final - Not published in the Official Journal].

The eEurope 2002 Action Plan is an integral part of the Lisbon strategy for making the European Union the world's most dynamic knowledge-based economy by 2010.

The measures were grouped according to three key objectives to be met by the end of 2002:

The Action Plan notes that, despite the liberalisation of telecommunications services on 1 January 1998, there is still little competition where local calls are concerned and the market has been slow in producing new tariff models such as flat-rate or free access. The Action Plan therefore considers lower prices to be essential for a quick take-up of high-speed multimedia Internet access. To this end, eEurope 2002 recommends:

The Action Plan considers improvement of the use of electronic networks by Europe's scientific communities to be a priority. To this end, it proposes:

Secure networks and access, especially using smart cards, are essential for building user confidence in electronic commerce. To this end, the Action Plan seeks to improve the overall security of online transactions inter alia by:

As regards the security of smart cards, the Action Plan calls on the private sector and standards organisations, in cooperation with the European Commission, to ensure the availability of a core of common specifications for smart card interoperability and security. It also advocates that cost-effective smart card solutions be devised to enable secure electronic transactions.

The eEurope 2002 Action Plan recognises that visible progress is being made in connecting schools to the Internet but calls for more to be done in this area, including measures to:

The Action Plan stresses that primary responsibility for ensuring the employability and adaptability of workers in the new economy, particularly by providing skills and adapting the way work is organised, lies with the Member States and the social partners. Member States and the social partners are therefore called upon to:

One of the priorities of the eEurope 2002 Action Plan is to ensure that people have the widest possible access to information technologies. More specifically, the aim will be to boost participation in the IT field by people with disabilities, as well as by all those who fail to benefit fully from the information society. In particular, the Action Plan recommends:

The development of eCommerce depends on three factors: establishment of the internal market for e-commerce, boosting consumer confidence and bringing a substantial share of public procurement on line. In this context, the Action Plan proposes:

The Lisbon European Council conclusions called on Member States to provide generalised electronic access to all basic public services by 2003. The Action Plan proposes various measures to that end, including the development of a coordinated approach for public-sector information, the promotion of the use of open-source software in the public sector and simplified online administrative procedures for business.

In order to develop online health services, the eEurope 2002 Action Plan recommends ensuring that healthcare providers have an appropriate telematics infrastructure in place by the end of 2002 and establishing a set of quality criteria for health-related websites, as well as health technology and data assessment networks.

The Action Plan encourages the strengthening and renewal of initiatives which provide support to the content industries in the digital age. It therefore proposes that a programme (eContent) be launched to stimulate the development and use of European digital content on global networks. It also proposes that a coordination mechanism be created for digitisation programmes across Member States.

In order to respond to the problems posed by congestion, safety and the shortage of new transport services, it is necessary to develop new technological solutions and to speed up their deployment. The Action Plan therefore calls upon Member States and the European institutions to:

4) implementing measures

BENCHMARKING OF PROGRESS AT NATIONAL LEVEL

Communication of 5 February 2002 from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions eEurope Benchmarking Report eEurope 2002 [COM(2002) 62 final Not published in the Official Journal].

MONITORING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE eEUROPE 2002 ACTION PLAN

Communication of 11 February 2003 from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions eEurope 2002 Final Report [COM(2003) 66 final Not published in the Official Journal].

The eEurope evaluation shows that the Action Plan achieved its main objectives. Generally speaking, eEurope worked well in terms of raising the level of connectivity of the public and businesses to the Internet and creating a legislative framework for the development of a knowledge-based economy.

Internet connectivity grew rapidly over the period 2000-2002. In 2002 more than 90% of schools and businesses were online and over half of all European were regular users. While the majority of businesses have moved over to high-speed access, most private users are still using low-speed temporary telephone connections. Widespread availability of broadband access is one of the main objectives of eEurope 2005.

The advent of new Internet services has opened up new opportunities for society as a whole, helped by the creation of a comprehensive legal framework for eCommerce. These opportunities will be further stimulated by the transposition and application, by the end of 2003, of the new regulatory framework for electronic communications.

The eEurope 2002 action plan's objective was that basic administrative services should be supplied online before the end of 2002. In October 2002 all the Member States were offering at least some of these services online. They now need an increasing degree of interactivity and require back-office reorganisation to fully achieve efficiencies. Similarly, substantial progress has been made with the provision of online health care.

The next stage in the development of the information society in Europe was endorsed by the Heads of State and Government in June 2002 in Seville, in the form of the eEurope 2005 action plan. The new action plan focuses on a more limited number of key targets, including the development of high-speed Internet access, the modernisation of online public services, the creation of a dynamic environment for e-business and the gradual introduction of a secure information infrastructure.

Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament - eEurope 2002: Impact and Priorities - a communication to the Spring European Council in Stockholm, 23-24 March 2001 [COM(2001) 140 final Not published in the Official Journal].

Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament - The eEurope 2002 Update: Prepared by the European Commission for the European Council in Nice, 7 and 8 December 2000 [COM(2000) 783 final Not published in the Official Journal].

5) follow-up work

Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (Directive on privacy and electronic communications) [Official Journal L 201 of 31 July 2002];

Council Regulation (EC) No 876/2002 of 21 May 2002 setting up the Galileo joint undertaking [Official Journal L 138 of 28 May 2002];

Regulation (EC) No 733/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 April 2002 on the implementation of the .eu top level domain [Official Journal L 113 of 30 April 2002];

Communication of 28 May 2002 from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. eEurope 2005: An information society for all [COM(2002) 263 final Not published in the Official Journal];

Council Directive 2002/38/EC of 7 May 2002 amending and amending temporarily Directive 77/388/EEC as regards the value added tax arrangements applicable to radio and television broadcasting services and certain electronically supplied services [Official Journal L 128 of 15 May 2002];

Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (Framework Directive) [Official Journal L 108 of 24 April 2002];

Directive 2002/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on access to, and interconnection of, electronic communications networks and associated facilities (Access Directive) [Official Journal L 108 of 24 April 2002];

Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on the authorisation of electronic communications networks and services (Authorisation Directive) [Official Journal L 108 of 24 April 2002];

Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on universal service and users' rights relating to electronic communications networks and services (Universal Service Directive) [Official Journal L 108 of 24 April 2002];

Communication of 26 January 2001 from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Creating a Safer Information Society by Improving the Security of Information Infrastructures and Combating Computer-related Crime [COM(2000) 890 final Not published in the Official Journal];

Council Decision 2001/48/EC of 22 December 2000 adopting a 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 [Official Journal L 14 of 18 January 2001];

Regulation (EC) No 2887/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on unbundled access to the local loop [Official Journal L 336 of 30 December 2000].