Wallonie-Isoc1.gif (2328 octets)


Informal meeting of
the European Industry Ministers

Oulu, Finland
2-3 July 1999

- Minister Erkki Tuomioja at the Press Conference on 3 July 1999
- Main Points of the Opening Address of Minister Tumioja
-
Atelier Isoc Wallonie 2000 Workshop

Dear colleagues,

The ICT Partnership of DG XIII, European Commission, welcomes the recent creation by ISOC of the "ISTF" Internet Society Task Force with Vint Cerf as initial Chair.

As you know common work are already launched with several ISOC chapters to develop ideas and concepts around "Communities, cultures and languages of Internet" and "Distance learning on the Internet".

As it was presented at INET 99 by Marie-Anne and Marianne, these works will be expanded and a first event will be organised Spring next year in Wallonie, Belgium, with ISOC members, researchers and actors of the Internet.

I would like to draw the attention of ISTF to the recent conclusions and press releases coming from the Informal meeting of the European Industry Ministers held in Oulou, Finland, 2-3 July 1999.

Many issues related to the usage, skills shortages and diffusion of best practices in the Information Society were discussed during these two days. A follow-up meeting on the employment potential of the information society will be organised jointly by the Commission and the ECOSOC (Conseil Economique et Social)in September.

All these ideas and recommandations are widely reflected in the press release proposed on its website by the Minister of Trade and Industry in Finland (http://www.vn.fi/ktm/eu-presidency/english/kokous/index.html) which could very well constitute a first background for the ISTF programme of work.

 Best regards to all

Richard Delmas

Informal Meeting of Ministers of Industry in Oulu on 3 July 1999:
Minister Erkki Tuomioja at the Press Conference on 3 July 1999

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Ministers of Industry have had a very useful meeting here in Oulu. We have discussed openly and in a good spirit on our theme “Competitiveness in the Information Society”. Our views on this subject are very similar. This is a good starting-point for the work to be done in the future Industry Council meetings.

The Ministers agreed on the scenario that knowledge and skills will be the basis for economic competitiveness and the well-being of the whole society in the next millennium. All have agreed on the stressing of the importance of ICT, but many have at the same time pointed out that ICT is not the only nor maybe not even the most significant factor of competitiveness. I interpret this to mean that ICT, nor other factors, for instance, competitive factors related to common economic policy, cannot be examined as separate issues out of context, but competitiveness is created and improved specifically due to the balanced joint effect of various factors.

The use of ICT will become ever more important in the global economy. This imposes challenges for industrial policy, which still partly reflect the structures of the manufacturing society. Government actions directed at the enhancement of the use of ICT improve competitiveness throughout the whole economy. These actions concern, along modern industrial policy, all enterprises regardless their size, field of operation, or location. We think that this constitutes a modern and horisontal economic and industrial policy.

The meeting also indicated the fact that investment in ICT is by no means a value as such and does not alone lead to improvement of competitiveness and the creation of a long-lasting competitive advantage. Adjustment and changes in the operating methods and structures of a company are inevitable next steps in improving its performance.

Research and training must be directed at the development of the working methods and flexibility of companies. It is essential to make information gained from research available to small and medium-sized enterprises in particular in an easily utilisable form. The meeting considered it important to ensure that these challenges will also be faced with in the 5th Framework Programme for Research. The biggest individual action in the 5th Framework Programme is IST (Information Society Technologies) - “A User-friendly Information Society”.

As the ICT industry and the exploitation of ICT suffer at the moment from loss of labour, up-to-date skills for the achievement of positive employment effects holds a key role. We shared, on the whole, the view that the education system must be flexible and it must encourage to life-long learning. Training tailored to companies and to specific functions will also be required to reach a sufficient level of skills.

In our discussions, we came to the conclusion that in Europe the legislative framework for the needs of the information society is still rather undeveloped in many aspects. It is particularly important to improve the functioning of the internal market and the harmonisation of the operating conditions of companies especially by developing standardisation. The adoption process of directives on electronic commerce in particular should be urged.

For individuals, the take-up of ICT related services is influenced, in addition to economic factors, by reliability, safety and knowledge of the advantages provided by ICT. The public sector can accelerate their take-up of ICT, for instance, by offering the possibility of direct electronic access to the public administration and by using ICT extensively in their own actions.

The European Council that convened in Cologne charged the Commission and the Member States with the task of identifying, in cooperation with representatives of the business sector, the factors obstructing the rapid development and application of information technology and of making proposals for solving the problems. The European Council referred to the specific need to take into account the importance of deregulation and standardisation. Appropriate and sufficient measures will have to be found in order to proceed in the fulfilment of the assignment given by the European Council. We hope to examine the progress of this work in the Industry Council meeting in November.

 


copyright 1999 © Ministry of Trade and Industry
P.O.Box 230, FIN-00171 Helsinki, Finland
tel. +358 9 160 9800, fax +358 9 160 3996
eu.tiedotus@ktm.vn.fi

 

Informal Meeting of Ministers of Industry in Oulu on 3 July 1999:
Main Points of the Opening Address of Minister Tuomioja

Knowledge and Know-how are the Basis for our Welfare

In the next millennium, knowledge and know-how will be the basis for economic competitiveness and the well being of the whole society. Information society is both a demanding challenge and a new possibility for the citizens, companies and the public administration. A genuine information society must be within the reach of all citizens. Development must not lead to the inequality and exclusion of people.

It is very important to examine the development of the information society in a multi-faceted way from many different viewpoints and to conduct an open dialogue on the role, functions and responsibilities of the public authorities, the economic and industrial life, and research. This meeting will provide the possibility of viewing the development of the information society from one important standpoint - that of the competitiveness of companies.

Link to Globalisation

The information society and globalisation are closely linked to one another. The Commission’s extensive and wide-ranged Communication on globalisation and its effects on the competitiveness of companies is an important opening to the discussions. One significant challenge for competitiveness is, according to the Commission’s estimates, the little use of information technology: “The number of investments made by European companies in equipment and infrastructure has, on the average, been smaller than that of investments by U.S. or Japanese companies for several years now. In addition, employment of information technology is too often only traditional, even though this technology has become the instrument for trade and commerce and for decision-making”.

Globalisation will advance rapidly and its influence on the competitiveness of companies is evident. Therefore measures are needed now that the market structures are forming. European competitiveness requires that here are strong actors: producers, users, developers, researchers, and so forth.

This meeting will also continue the discussion on globalisation and its effects on competitiveness. Discussions are needed, because the economic and industrial policy will have to follow its time. The information society will provide the means to develop working methods and to create new business opportunities.

ICT Needs People

In the discussions on the information society one seems very often to forget the fact that the information and communications technology (ICT) equipment and installations are by no means a value as such but they have only value as tools. Computers nor information systems do not contain any such data that man had not created directly or indirectly. Thus man, a user, is needed before technologies are of any use.

I want to stress that investments in information and communications technology do not automatically enhance the competitiveness of companies: full exploitation of the ICT requires changes both in organisational structures and functions as well as in relations to customers and business partners. At least equally important as investments in equipment and software are at the same investments made in order to change the operating methods of a company. Business management will hold the key position as a driving force for this change.

Employment Potential in the Information Society

The issue of competitiveness of companies forms a single whole with employment. The information society provides a considerable employment potential, which is to be underlined in connection with the European employment strategy.

The ICT is an indispensable instrument in the creation of jobs in the future. In the short and medium term, the ICT can also be seen as one reason affecting employment problems in a way that arouses suspicion about the ICT in particular, if it is felt to contribute to the growth of income differences and, generally speaking, the increase in inequality. It is therefore important to focus both our macroeconomic policy and our microeconomic reforms on restoring full employment and on implementing those educational and socio-political measures that are required to target job opportunities for those who cannot otherwise be employed on market conditions, not at least during the transition period.

The growth of employment in the ICT sector can be extended to other fields, too. Innovativeness is the key driving force behind employment. Studies show that companies that have built up their activities on innovative production and have introduced information technology as well as have developed at the same time their organisational structure and working methods have been major employers compared to other companies. In addition, employment effects have been better than average in companies where the possibilities for development and training of the personnel have been supported and where the focus has been on operative flexibility instead of quantitative flexibility, that is to say, instead of manipulating the external conditions of work and the continuity of work.

Information Society Calls for Education

My own opinion is that the function of the public administration is to support such training that corresponds to the needs of the information society. The basis of learning should be a high-standard basic training that is available to all. Know-how must be continuously developed in accordance with the principle of life-long learning. In this connection the importance of the cooperation between working life and the educational system must be stressed. Furthermore, cooperation between working life and the research sector must be promoted.

As an example of this, I would like to mention that in order to respond to the increased need for labour in the Finnish industrial sectors, an action programme has been launched in 1998. With this programme, the volume of training in the ICT sector will be raised in the universities and institutes of vocational higher education by about 30% from the 1998 level by the year 2002.

Conclusions of the Cologne European Council

The European Council that convened in Cologne at the beginning of June charged the Commission and the Member States with the task of identifying, in cooperation with representatives of the business sector, the factors obstructing the rapid development and application of information technology and of making proposals for solving the problems. Even if no decisions are made in informal ministerial meetings, I hope that true measures would be found here today in order to proceed in the fulfilment of the assignment given by the European Council.

 


copyright 1999 © Ministry of Trade and Industry
P.O.Box 230, FIN-00171 Helsinki, Finland
tel. +358 9 160 9800, fax +358 9 160 3996
eu.tiedotus@ktm.vn.fi

Page mise à jour le mercredi 15 mars 2000