ICT Task Force: Commission answers Hammerstein MEP question
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- Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission The Commission made an announcement(1) regarding the composition of the Task-Force on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Competitiveness and ICT uptake in association with its first meeting, which took place on 6 June 2006. The ICT Task-Force is one of several cross-sectoral and sector-specific initiatives, announced in the communication(2) on industrial policy adopted on 5 October 2005, that collectively aim to help improve the coherence between different policy dimensions, increase their relevance to individual sectors, and hence help create a more favourable business environment. As indicated by the Honourable Member, the specific mandate of the ICT Task-Force is to: identify major obstacles to enhancing the ICT sector's competitiveness. help mobilise the sector and draw the attention of Member States to the obstacles identified. recommend possible policy responses. To this end, the Commission, following discussions with seven industry associations(3) and involving representative bodies from civil society, has recently issued invitations to a group of 25 stakeholders. (A list of these 25 stakeholders is sent direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliaments Secretariat). With respect to the Honourable Member's first point regarding the exclusion of relevant European stakeholders, the Commission has established a reasonable balance between industry and civil society, industry sub-sectors, incumbents and new entrants, and big and medium/small players: 11 out of the 17 companies invited are European firms, of which 3 are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and all 17 are established in the EU. On the non-industry side, members represent trades unions, SMEs, chambers of commerce, consumers and investors, and include two academics active in the ICT competitiveness and general innovation fields. Furthermore, the work of the Task-Force will be taken forward by a number of working-groups whose composition is, as a matter of principle, open to further stakeholders. The Commission follows a policy of constructive engagement with all industry players active in the European ICT market. In response to the Honourable Member's specific questions: (i) As explained above, the composition of the ICT component of the Task-Force is a fair reflection of the diversity of the ICT sector and, on this basis, qualifies the ICT group, and the Task-Force as a whole, to fulfil its mandate. (ii) All the companies involved are significant players in the European ICT market and are stakeholders whose performance helps shape the competitiveness of the sector. That is why the Commission invited them to join the Task-Force. (1) IP/06/731. (2) COM(2005)474, Implementing the Community Lisbon programme: A policy framework to strengthen EU manufacturing towards a more integrated approach for industrial policy. (3) BSA (Business Software Alliance), ECTA (European Competitive Telecommunications Association), EICTA (European ICT Association), ESA (European Software Association), ESIA (European Semiconductor Industry Association), ETNO (European Telecommunications Network Operators Association),
ObjectWeb (open-source software. The GSME (European interest grouping of GSME, the global GSM Association), was invited for discussions but did not respond.
