EN

Brussels, 8.11.2007

COM(2007) 694 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

European i2010 initiative on e-Inclusion


"To be part of the information society"



[SEC(2007) 1469]
[SEC(2007) 1470]

1.executive summary

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have become of key importance for many people throughout Europe. Active use of ICT often means better prospects for work, information or social relations for individuals. ICT helps to realise major advances in social services, healthcare or education, is a major contributor to productivity growth, and opens up many business opportunities.

e-Inclusion refers to the actions to realise an inclusive information society, that is, an information society for all. The aim is to enable every person who so wishes to fully participate in the information society, despite individual or social disadvantages. e-Inclusion is necessary for social justice, ensuring equity in the knowledge society. It is also necessary on economic grounds, to fully realise the potential of the information society for productivity growth and reduce the cost of social and economic exclusion. Finally an inclusive information society brings large market opportunities for the ICT sector.

e-Inclusion is a key enabler of the goals of economic and social progress of the i2010 initiative an information society for growth and jobs 1 , and thus of the Lisbon agenda. Indeed, bridging broadband and accessibility gaps, or improving digital competences, translates into new jobs and services. Initial estimates indicate that benefits from e‑Inclusion in the EU could be in the order of €35 to €85 billion over five years.

The importance of e-Inclusion was recognised in i2010 and Member States, the European Commission, industry, and NGOs representing users have undertaken several actions to advance e-Inclusion. A landmark was the 2006 Ministerial “Riga Declaration” on ICT for an inclusive information society 2 , which set concrete targets for Internet usage and availability, digital literacy, and accessibility of ICT by 2010.

However, despite all these valuable initiatives, progress is still lacking and most of Riga targets may not be achieved. Fragmentation of efforts and lack of collaboration continue to persist.

Given the importance of ICT, this failure to access or use ICT increasingly constitutes a major form of social and economic exclusion. Persistent digital divides affect cohesion and prosperity.

Therefore much more must be done to achieve e-Inclusion and realise the Riga targets. EU intervention is justified to guarantee equal rights in the information society, internal market coherence and e-Inclusion co-ordination actions.

Firstly, the visibility of e-Inclusion should be increased and the level of political and stakeholder commitment should be raised. Secondly, enabling conditions (affordable and accessible technologies and the competences to use ICT) must be put in place, where needed with legislative support. In addition, stakeholders' efforts to deliver effective and inclusive ICT-enabled services must focus on concrete priorities with increased coherence.

Consequently, this Communication proposes a European Initiative on e-Inclusion 3 comprising:

A) an e-Inclusion campaign "e-Inclusion, be part of it!" to raise awareness and connecting efforts during 2008, to be concluded by a Ministerial Conference, to demonstrate concrete progress and reinforce commitments, and

B) a strategic framework for action to implement the Riga Ministerial Declaration by:

1. Enabling the conditions for everyone to take part in the information society by bridging the broadband, accessibility and tackling competences gaps.

2. Accelerating effective participation of groups at risk of exclusion and improving quality of life.

3. Integrating e-Inclusion actions to maximise lasting impact.

2.Setting the scene: state of play and challenges ahead

The 2006 Riga Ministerial Declaration set targets to be achieved by 2010. If current trends continue, it will be very difficult to achieve most of these targets at overall EU level, although there are wide divergences across Europe and some regions are performing well. Social differences in ICT use persist and in some cases are even widening.

All the main categories of actors – individual users, ICT industry, service providers, public authorities - remain confronted with a series of barriers that hamper progress.

2.1.Users and non-users: many do not take an active part in the information society

ICT use, especially of mobile telephony and internet services, has rapidly spread across many segments of the population. Over recent years, digital gaps have been reduced in relation to gender, age, or the unemployed versus the working force. But there are structural divides that do not disappear and major challenges remain ahead. In particular:

·ICT has enabled significant progress for many. However, there is still insufficient supply of accessible ICT, due to market or other barriers.

·Differences in digital competences persist. As ICT uses and ICT-enabled services expand some people lag further behind, notably those outside the labour force or with low education levels. Lack of available content in languages understandable to potential users remains also a barrier.

·There are also disparities between schools in terms of broadband connections, computer availability and ICT skills of teachers and between SMEs in reaping ICT benefits.

·Even though internet penetration continues to increase, about 50% of the European population does not use the internet regularly. The non-users are predominantly among the low-educated, economically inactive or elderly people.

·Users can also step up efforts: their voice is still fragmented and relatively weak in Europe compared to e.g. the USA.

e-Inclusion goal: bridging the digital availability, accessibility, affordability and ability gaps

2.2.ICT industry and service providers: inclusive ICT solutions remain insufficient and fragmented

A number of industry players are making significant efforts to improve e-Inclusion, e.g. e‑Accessibility or training. 4 However, there is still insufficient supply of ICT solutions which are affordable and adapted to particular individual needs. Specific problems, where industry and providers should play a stronger role, are:

·Broadband connections are still not available in some parts of Europe, gaps remain between urban and rural areas, and there are significant differences in the price of broadband services.

·Lack of e-Accessibility persists in many countries, e.g. regarding websites, digital television, phone access to emergency services, or public information terminals, and new barriers appear. This is often due to structural market failures and lack of common approaches in the internal market which pose serious barriers for industry. Mass-market technologies and services often continue to ignore inclusive design/ design for all. An e-Accessibility business of many billions is left untapped (disabled people are estimated at 15% of EU population).

·Overall, the e-Accessibility situation is better in countries with strong regulation, which does not constitute a barrier to a fully competitive ICT market. On the contrary, legal requirements on e-Accessibility have set a level playing field for companies and led to new business opportunities.

e-Inclusion goal: stimulate and enable inclusive ICT as a viable and thriving business

2.3.Public authorities: policy action is not sufficiently co-ordinated and effective

Many public authorities at all levels carry out initiatives that favour e-Inclusion. These range from acknowledging legal rights for ICT access and accessibility, to financial support for e-Inclusion actions. The EU has also been very active through its policy agendas on the information society, data protection, social inclusion and employment, public procurement, research, education, culture, and standardisation. e-Inclusion is one of the cornerstones of the i2010 initiative, which was followed up by concrete policy actions 5 . The 2006 Riga Ministerial Declaration prepared the ground for a comprehensive policy, identifying priorities and committing to specific targets. However, much remains to be done:

·Awareness, evidence of the impact and understanding of the link of ICT usage with social and economic participation all remain insufficient. 6  

·e-Inclusion considerations are still not common place in social, economic and technological policy agendas, and strategic approaches for stakeholders’ cooperation around common goals are often missing or insufficient.

·Activities are often fragmented, without sufficient co-ordination of public actions with the efforts of civil society and business. This partly is due to the multi-faceted nature of e‑Inclusion, where several ministries can be involved.

·There is a lack of effective legislative frameworks to firmly safeguard rights of users at risk of exclusion in the internal market. This is particularly visible for e-Accessibility: legislation is fragmented across Europe and of a limited impact. Relevant EU provisions are implemented inconsistently or not at all, mainly due to their non-binding nature, and national approaches can diverge significantly. 7 This hinders common e‑Accessibility features to the detriment of many users and of the ICT industry, which is confronted with fragmented markets and diversity of requirements.

e-Inclusion goal: coherent and efficient e-Inclusion policies and legislation

3.Addressing the challenges: the european initiative on e-Inclusion

Acting on the problems identified in the previous section will lead to tangible progress towards the i2010 and Riga targets on e-Inclusion. The European Initiative on e-Inclusion therefore firstly aims to increase the sense of urgency and raise the visibility of the important contribution that e-Inclusion can make to quality of life, economic growth and jobs and to reinforce the main commitments made in Riga. The Initiative does not impose administrative or financial burden at EU level.

Secondly, the European Initiative on e-Inclusion provides a framework for action, which builds on existing activities seeking synergies between them, fills gaps and ultimately aims at better e-Inclusion impact through a coherent set of actions in three areas:

·Enabling the conditions for everyone to take part in the information society

·Accelerating effective participation of groups at risk of exclusion and improving quality of life

·Integrating e-Inclusion actions to maximise lasting impact.

3.1.Enabling the conditions for everyone to take part in the information society

Pre-conditions for participating in the information society are the availability of affordable and accessible ICT, and the ability of individuals to use them. Still today, there are many people who do not have the possibility to fully benefit from ICT possibilities, because those pre-conditions are not met. Some have no physical access to ICT products and services, notably broadband, for others the use of ICT is not affordable. Moreover, to fully reap the benefits of the information society, it is essential to ensure that broadband with sufficient speed is provided. In a few years time a minimum speed of 20 Mbit/sec will be needed for services such as telemedicine that are of great importance for many people at risk of exclusion, in particular for the growing population of elderly persons. It is also important to raise awareness of the risks involved in processing personal data through ICT networks and educate users in this field, e.g. risks of identity theft, discriminatory profiling or continuous surveillance. 8  

For many people with disabilities, e-Accessibility barriers remain a major obstacle. The 2005 e-Accessibility Communication 9 announced that further measures could be proposed in 2007, including new legislation, if appropriate. Pan-European surveys and the public consultation to prepare this Communication indicate that progress remains unsatisfactory. Though several countries have adopted measures, including legislation, their impact is sometimes limited because they are poorly implemented. It is therefore important to set clear EU rules and mechanisms, as recently called for by the European Economic and Social Committee 10 . And this must be done now, before divergent national intervention continues to further fragment the market, and before new mass-market technologies such as digital TV are massively rolled out. Legal action and non-regulatory support (pilots, research, promotion) should go together. International cooperation in e-Accessibility should continue to be pursued as well.

Finally, the fact that many people at risk of exclusion still do not have the necessary digital competences needs to be addressed.

3.2.Accelerating effective participation of target groups at risk of exclusion and improving quality of life

Ensuring that the enabling conditions are in place is necessary but not sufficient. It is also necessary to stimulate effective use of ICT-enabled services and provide competence building opportunities via education and training services. e-Inclusion actions must focus on people at risk of exclusion, and on those who tend not to use ICT and are losing out on potential benefits to their quality of life. The Riga Declaration identified several target groups including elderly people, people with disabilities and cultural minorities. Learning resources for special needs education on the internet are relevant in this context.

3.3.Integrating e-Inclusion actions to maximise lasting impact

In order to have a full and lasting impact it is necessary to align policy agendas at EU and national level, mainstream e-Inclusion across relevant policies and better co-ordinate actions. Voluntary industry agreements relevant to e-Inclusion should receive full support from European and national authorities. User organisations must reinforce reinforce their e-Inclusion.

4.Conclusions

The role of the information society for economic and social participation should be firmly put on Europe’s economic and social agenda. Reinforcing the Lisbon agenda, solidly based on i2010, and building on the Riga e-Inclusion Ministerial Declaration, this Communication presents a comprehensive e-Inclusion strategy, to take away the barriers in the information society itself, to maximise the contribution of ICT to economic and social inclusion and to stimulate business opportunities in this context.

The Commission now calls upon the European Parliament, Member States, regions and stakeholders to put words into action and make e-Inclusion a reality, with the support of the policy actions outlined in this Communication. These joint efforts will contribute to business opportunities and to achieve an accessible and inclusive information society in which each and every one of us can participate on equal terms.

(1)    COM(2005)229.

(2)    Riga Ministerial conference "ICT for an Inclusive Society"(11-13.6.2006).

(3)    Based on feedback from the i2010 high-level group and the i2010 e-Inclusion subgroup, consultations with stakeholders, online public consultation, studies and impact assessment.

(4)    E.g. see EICTA paper “Moving Towards a Fully Inclusive Digital Europe”

(5)    Government COM(2006)173, ICT and ageing COM(2007)332, and e-skills COM(2007) 496.

(6)    However, the Disability Action Plan (COM/2003/650) has since its launch addressed ICT.

(7)    See reports from the INCOM-COCOM group on e-Accessibility EU legal provisions, and study "Measuring e-Accessibility in Europe".

(8)    These are addressed in the Communication on Privacy Enhancing Technologies (COM (2007) 228).

(9)    COM(2005)425.

(10)    EESC opinion on Future eAccessibility legislation (TEN/295. 30 May 2007).

(11)    COM(2006) 675 final.

(12)    Recommendation by Council and Parliament 2006/962/EC.

(13)    COM(2007) 332.

(14)    Non-legislative Resolution on Consumer confidence in the digital environment (INI/2006/2048).