Luxembourg, 05/06/2003 (Agence Europe) - After a lengthy discussion on points still outstanding, the Transport/Telecommunications Council finally managed, Thursday late morning, to define a general approach (failing the Parliament's opinion expected for the autumn) on the proposal of regulation aimed at establishing a European Network and Information Security Agency (see EUROPE of 28 May, p.18 and 11 February, p.10). Most delegations would have liked to see the Article 308 of the Treaty adopted (EU action in areas not specifically covered by the treaty - Council decision by unanimity after consultation of Parliament) as a legal base for the regulation, instead of Article 95 proposed by the Commission. However, given the opposition expressed by the latter and Finland and Belgium's reservation, they finally agreed to accept the legal base recommended in the proposal, with the United Kingdom and Germany abstaining during the vote. The text of broad guidelines is divergent, however, on several points of the Commission's text: - it limits the activities of the Agency to an advisory role and does away with the provisions relating to the advisory board; - it amends the composition of the management board providing for: one representative per Member State, three representatives designated by the Commission, one representative for the information technology industry, one consumer representative and one "academic" representative from the information society sector, these three last representatives not having the right to vote; - and it extends the functions of the management board and involves it in the daily management of the Agency. Commenting on these results during a press conference, her European Commissioner responsible for Information Society, Erkki Liikanen, welcomed that fact that the EU is going to create "an agency for information technology security" and explained that certain details would be decided under the Italian Presidency. He believed that the agency would employ around thirty or forty people. The Commission , like the Greek Secretary of State for Transport and Communications, Monolis Stratakis, who chaired the Council ,underlined the fact that the agency would have to be "flexible, operational, with supple procedures". Mr Liikanen highlighted the fact that the private sector had to be "closely associated with" the agency for which the objective was to create "ac entry of excellence, a basis for cooperation between experts from Member States" in information exchange, collecting and analysing data. Mr Stratakis said that he was very satisfied with these results, which would "allow for further acceleration in the implementation of the Lisbon objectives in order to obtain, by 2010, a genuine knowledge area".
The Council also adopted a series of conclusions on the World Information Society Summit (WSIS) for which the initial phase would take place in Geneva on 10-12 December. this supports the principle of open dialogue with all concerned parties, taking into account the guidelines of European policy, notably in connection with the conditions assisting the information society, the development of adequate instruments or implementing "e-strategies" and the conquest of benefits pertaining to the information society for "countries and individuals". The Council is calling on Member States "to seek close cooperation with the Commission and acceding Member States to enable the EU to play "a constructive and leadership role, through the Presidency or the Commission, where Community competencies are concerned, in particular in contributing to the Political Declaration and WSIS Plan of Action". It is demanding that the Commission provides it with regular reports on the preparations for the summit as well as on the results of its first phase