Industry Council (Meeting) (Hansard, 24 May 1984)

§ Mr. Kenneth Baker

I circulated a memorandum to the Council stressing the importance of open systems interconnection standards for the future development of information technology and to protect the interests of users and suppliers who want equipment to interconnect effectively across telecommunications networks. I stressed the need for political leadership by the Council, effective co-ordination of national efforts within the Community and in international standards-making bodies, and a programme of action to pull through practical implementation of these standards.

It was agreed that a high level group should be established to develop, as a matter of urgency, a programme of action. This should include:

(i) the co-ordination of the activities of member states and the Commission in pressing forward the development of OSI standards;
(ii) the harmonisation of the practical implementation of such standards;
(iii) the establishment of a network of test and reference centres with arrangements for mutual acceptance of approvals;
(iv) the setting up, within existing resources, of a number of demonstrator projects in both public and private sectors.

I urged that public procurement both by members states and by the Commission should have maximum regard to these emerging standards and be actively used to promote their development and implementation where practicable.

Action on these lines will be an important step by the Community to help create a European market for IT products which will increase choice for the user and enable European suppliers to compete more effectively from the basis of a larger home market.

The Council also discussed various facets of advanced manufacturing technology and broadly endorsed an interim progress report by the Commission on action in the telecommunications sector, notably in relation to standards and the opening of telecommunications equipment markets in the Community.