"Developing broadband networks" across the continent to "boost economic progress and social inclusion", with special attention to "the rural areas, the islands and the mountain regions". The EU Parliament, gathered in Strasbourg, highlights, in a report by the Swedish MEP Gunnar Hökmark, "the opportunities offered by a domestic market of about 500 million people, that make up an unprecedented mass of users"; the development of such technology would boost "a more modern and competitive knowledge economy", "essential to develop productivity and establish new small-size companies in different lines of business". The broadband technology would also benefit the health-care industry, the public administration and the schools. The MEP does not rule out the possibility that such technology might be funded by the public sector, provided competition is guaranteed and "internet connections are offered at affordable prices". The work of the assembly was slightly changed because of the situation in the Palestinian Territories. A report will be given today by the Greek MEP Maria Panayotopoulou-Cassiotou, about facilities for studying parents and teenage mothers for "a better work/life balance".
