EU Presidency Statement - ICTs

Mr. President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union.

We welcome the beginning of a new era, marked by the birth of the Information Society, which is causing a transcendental change in our way of life. It will be a new civilization with similar characteristics and consequences as the Industrial Revolution had in its time. The responsibility now falls on us to take this opportunity so that technological advances could promote a better welfare for the entire society, granting a better quality of life to all citizens. Progress must reach all the humanity.

The Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have been the motor for growth of the world economies since the beginning of the 70s, and probably one of the most powerful tools of globalization. The world is witnessing a transformation in the concept of what information is: it is no longer the patrimony of a few; it has become a primary product for economic and social development.

These technologies are creating a "new economy" in which the greatest challenge is to make accessible to 4 billion people the great benefits of the Information Revolution. We cannot permit ourselves that the digital darkness in which 2/3 of humanity live in continue progressing. We must fight with determination against "information poverty", in which we need the political leadership and commitment at the highest level possible in the developing countries.

The ITCs can bring great advantages to humanity. They are a tool in the fight against poverty and they offer an opportunity for wealth creation, social cohesion and cultural diversity. Furthermore, they offer individuals, also in least developed countries an opportunity to access information and knowledge, which is essential in advancing in the economic situation, education and health.

Mr. President,

The United Nations system has a fundamental role to play in the Information Society given that it is a unique framework for the design of the adequate mechanisms to combat the digital breach that divides humanity. In this regard, this Forum, conscious of its responsibility, adopted the transcendental resolution 2000/29 in which the ECOSOC decided to create the Information and Communication Technologies "Task Force" under the leadership of the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The EU considers that the creation of this Task Force was a timely and necessary initiative, since the Information and Communication Technologies constitute a valuable instrument to contribute to the eradication of poverty. However, as the challenge is great, the Task Force must mobilize governments as well as civil society and private sector in order to reach precise objectives on the path we must travel to fight against the digital divide.

We are witnessing one of the breakthroughs in this process right here at this Session. It is an extraordinary arena to exchange ideas in order to identify the actions that must be taken in promoting the Information Society.

Mr. President,

The EU is convinced that this Session along with its panels, will contribute to enrich the work of the World Summit of the Information Society which will take place in Geneva in 2003 and in Tunisia in 2005, with the ultimate objective of developing a strategic Plan of Action in this area. It will be a UN Summit on the level of Heads of State and government, to which the EU grants a crucial role in the design of tomorrow's society. The EU will spare no efforts to ensure its success.

However, the UN Member States are not alone responsible for the positive results of the Summit. To this effect, the Non-Governmental Organizations, the private sector and civil society in general have a crucial role to play. In this regard, the EU considers that the Summit must not limit participation to Heads of State or government, but on the contrary, must be open from the preparatory process to the participation of private sectors and civil society.

In addition, the EU considers that the Summit should be organized in such a way that all the sectors that have some responsibility in the ICTs will be able to contribute to reach a beneficial outcome. I am referring to a variety of actors that go from academia to the financial sector. In our view, the Summit must be the forum in which the following key issues should be addressed:

- The design of appropriate policies and regulatory frameworks to promote the growth of the ICT sector, and reduction of the digital divide,

- the role of the ICT in alleviating poverty and creating economic welfare, as well as the potential of ICT applications in making governments more transparent and accountable to their citizens, ensuring freedom of speech, and improved democracy,

- the promotion of the access to information and knowledge, where transcendental issues, such as a secure Internet, must be included,

- and lastly, the establishment of new mechanisms for the governance of technologies, in sum, what has been denominated as the "regularization of globalization."

Mr. President,

A good example of how the EU has been concerned with the grave problems that the digital divide presents can be found in 1995, when the EU decided to sponsor the G-7 Conference on "The Information Society", held in Brussels in that year. Since then, the EU has expressed on several occasions its ambition to share the benefits of the new technologies globally. In this context, we must place the "Okinawa Charter", adopted by the G-8, which established the "digital opportunity Task Force" informally known as the Dot Force.

Mr. President,

Allow me to refer, for a few moments, to the efforts that the EU is conducting in order for the ICT benefits to reach all of its citizens, including the EU candidate countries.

To this effect, one of the most important priorities of the EU is the adoption of policies directed to strengthen a "European Society of Information", which has ended in adopting a concrete initiative known as E-Europe, whose goal is to bring closer information to citizens, always keeping in account their cultural diversity. As they provide new spaces for free speech, communication and intercultural dialogue, the ICTs can contribute to the expression of cultural diversity and language.

On the other hand, in the EU Council of Barcelona, Member States requested to the Commission the drafting of an Action Plan E-Europe 2005, which included the three pillars of the Information Society: E-Education, E-Health and E-Government. In this context, the International Conference on "E-Government for Development" was held in Palermo, Italy the 11th of April underlining that ICTs should not be considered in an isolated approach, but that they should belong to an overall strategy for development that the Union wishes to bolster in its Cooperation programs.

The European Union considers that ICTs are a very useful tool to eradicate poverty, contributing to reaching the Millennium Goals. The EU is working closely with the international community to provide support for the use of ICTs, particularly in the context of capacity building, by means of developing policies and regulatory frameworks. ICTs will become a cross-cutting theme in all EU development programs. Significant resources are already available in the LIS Program for Latin America, IT&C for Asia and EUMEDIS for the Mediterranean countries. A program for the ACP countries is in its conceptual phase.

In this sense, the EU understands that International Telecommunications Union is a Forum in which Member States can exchange views on the "access" issue. Therefore, the Union considers that in its global strategy to fight against the digital divide, cooperation mechanisms must also be established with UNESCO, (to tackle matters related with E-Education), WHO (to exchange experiences on E-Health), as well as with the other development agencies of the UN system, not forgetting the Economic Commissions of the UN, searching the commitment of public and private actors that can contribute to a more balanced share of the digital opportunity.

Mr. President,

Allow me to conclude these words with a call to realism. It is true that new technologies are not the panacea for the solution of the major problems that humanity has to confront. Notwithstanding, they can help in a decisive manner the developing countries to face the challenge of poverty eradication, contributing in the achievement of the Millennium Declaration Goals.

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• L'Union Européenne et la société de l'information (29/4/2002)
• EU Presidency Statement - 24th Session of the Committee on Information (22/4/2002)