1. European Commission Information Society Directorate-General «Regional aspects; International Co-operation» olivier.pascal@cec.eu.int Regional priorities in information society policy

2. 7 priority areas Infrastructure access, in particular broadband E-government Measuring regional disparities : regional indicators and benchmarking Regional networking: exchange of best practices/ contribution to policies

3. 7 priority areas (cont’) The international dimension Enlargement RTD and innovation 7 priority areas (cont’)

4. Broadband infrastructure Strategies for broadband deployment beyond urban areas Third party infrastructure provider that constructs and manages broadband infrastructure: competitive access to operators on a cost-oriented basis A multi-platform approach and a strict technological neutrality Partnership with private sector

5. Broadband infrastructure : Structural Funds support Compliance with telecom regulations and ) competition rules (state aids and antitrust) Passive/active infrastructures Co-financing is accepted on principle, where there is no market response Regional information society strategy/ cost-benefit analysis of projects

6. E-Government New forms of governance with a specific role for local authorities Benchmarking progress in Europe, incl at regional level A major Community commitment from the start on : - defining a political perspective - sharing experiences - developing the trans-European dimension

7. E-Government : main challenges Re-organising for e-Government and decentralising Governance Exploiting broadband at all territorial levels Equal access and transparency

8. E-Government : main challenges Pan-European services, incl interregional cooperation Trust and confidence

9. Regional benchmarking Essential for measuring disparities and for evaluating public service policies Consistent with eEurope indicators, European projects (BISER), and regional plans (..) (Emilia-Romagna, Aquitaine..) A common framework for indicators and data collection at regional level

10. Regional networking Essential for exchanging best practices and defining framework on priority issues Participation to policy definition Already existing organisations: Erisa/Ianis, CEMR/Elanet, Telecities, GCD..

11. International dimension and the WSIS Objective: to cooperate in order to reinforce regions global competitiveness and fight digital divide World Summit on Information Society: Geneva Dec 2003/ Tunis 2005 Growing recognition of the role of “local authorities” in the diffusion of IS globally

12. Enlargement A new challenge for regional policies: 25% of population will live in LFRs, among which 60% in new MS Assessing candidate countries operational programmes for the period 2004-2006 and preparing for the next SFs Towards a single IS integrated strategy and co-ordination mechanism

13. Research and innovation policies Promoting innovation is key to regional policy efforts and competitiveness in the knowledge economy Requires new policy instruments and policy delivery systems incl active public private partnerships Regional innovation strategies are a first step, incl analysing innovation needs from SMEs and building human capital Improved regional dimension in FP6