Program :: Jan-Willem Blankert /Opening Ceremony

South eastern Europe Conference on Policy and Co-operation in Telecommunications

Summary of Speech to be given on behalf of Mr Liikanen

Important motivations for promoting the Information Society are to improve productivity, increase inclusion, and accelerate innovation. With productivity growth, incomes will rise, profits will grow, and governments can invest more in public services for all.

The European Union's Information Society policy aims at increasing competition by creating an environment where obstacles for the provision of new services to the consumer will be removed, where entrepreneurship and innovation are rewarded and where the consumer benefits from cost effective services.

Policy for the information society is only credible if supported by commitment at the highest level. In the European Union such commitment was expressed in March 2000 by the Heads of State and Government at the Lisbon Summit.

To translate the political commitment of Lisbon, now still referred to as the " the wake up call ", into practical results the EU developed the eEurope 2002 Action Plan and its successor, eEurope 2005. These provided a concrete set of actions as well as indicators and benchmarking to accelerate the Information Society in the EU.

Such Action Plans for the Information Society can only be implemented through the contributions of all sectors of society, government, business and people.

The Commission therefore welcomes the Statement of Intent which was signed by ministers at Ljubljana. This has been followed up with the eSEE Agenda which sets out actions which can be undertaken with deadlines.

The EU and the countries of the region are already working together to develop the Stabilisation and Association Agreements which will provide a framework for our future co-operation on many fronts including the Information Society.