The College of EU Commissioners approved (on 5 June) the action Plan “eEurope 2005: an information society for everyone”. The Plan, the continuation of “eEurope 2002”, currently in force, is the follow-up given by the Executive to the appeal launched by the European Council in Barcelona for the formulation of a programme that would permit each European citizen to participate in, and benefit from, the world information society. The new Plan, which will be presented to the European Council in Seville (21-22 June) to obtain the political backing of the heads of state and of government of the Fifteen, has the objective of creating an environment favourable to private investment and the creation of new jobs, of stimulating productivity and improving the quality of the services provided by the public sector, in particular education, training and healthcare. “eEurope 2005” lays down the timetable for the Commission and the member states for the next four years. There are two main priorities: first, the qualitative and quantitative improvement of services, applications and contents; second, making available “wide band” access to a large public at competitive prices. The final objective is access for everyone to a huge range of public services on line, to simplify and accelerate bureaucracy, and to provide services for electronic training, “telehealth” and e-business activities. G.A.G.
