§ Mr. WoodwardTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which targets announced following the European Council meeting in Lisbon on eEurope in March and agreed to by the United Kingdom have been fully implemented; and what is the timetable for implementing the remaining targets. [122444]
§ Mrs. LiddellI have been asked to reply
The Special European Council in Lisbon in March reached a number of conclusions under the heading of "An information society for all". The chief conclusions with targets were:
The adoption as rapidly as possible during 2000 of pending legislation on the legal framework for e-commerce, on copyright and related rights, e-money, distance selling of financial services, jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments, and the dual-use export control regime; and also the promotion of consumer confidence in e-commerce, in particular through alternative dispute resolution systems;The conclusion as early as possible in 2001 of work on legislative proposals following the Commission's 1999 review of the EU's telecoms regulatory framework; meeting the frequency requirements for future mobile communications systems in a timely and efficient manner; and completing fully integrated and liberalised telecommunications markets by the end of 2001;Work towards introducing greater competition in local access networks before the end of 2000 and unbundling the local loop;Ensuring that all schools in the EU have access to the Internet and multimedia resources by the end of 2001, and that all teachers needed are skilled in the use of the Internet and multimedia resources by the end of 2002;Ensuring generalised electronic access to main basic public services by 2003;With the support of the EIB, making available in all European countries low cost, high-speed interconnected networks for Internet access and fostering the development of state-of-the-art information technology and other telecom networks as well as the content for those networks, with specific targets in the eEurope action plan.The Special European Council asked the Commission to produce a comprehensive action plan with targets as part of its eEurope initiative, which identifies ways to reinforce a digital culture among European businesses, schools, individuals and public administrations. The Commission is expected to publish shortly a draft action plan with targets, for agreement by Heads of State and Government at the Feira European Council in June. We expect the action plan to include these and other areas related to developing the information society.
156WAs the earliest of the targets identified above is the end of this year, most of the related activity is still in progress. However, the Council and the European Parliament have given an important lead by fast tracking the adoption of the E-Commerce Directive, which sets the legal framework for e-commerce in Europe by removing barriers to cross-border electronic business and providing legal certainty on issues such as the liability of intermediary service providers, e-contracts and information to be provided to consumers. Adoption is expected in the next few weeks, with implementation in all member states to follow within 18 months.