Brussels, 01/04/2005 (Agence Europe) - Public procurement should stipulate accessibility for older and disabled people of goods and services linked to information and communication technologies (ICTs). This is the view of 90% of participants (public bodies, ICT goods and service providers, universities, professional associations and user-groups) in the first public consultation launched by the European Commission in January on the theme “Information Society for All”. The people asked also think that the European institutions should take the lead on these measures (88%), that ICT goods and services should be made more fully interoperable (74%) and that, to achieve this, technical requirements should be harmonised within and beyond the EU (84%). Although there is clear support for some form of product certification or “labelling” scheme (72%), opinion is divided on whether the scheme should be mandatory,; voluntary and/or have a self-certification system with checks. The results of this consultation will enable the Commission to research the best way to enable the largest possible number of citizens to benefit from new technologies. The procedure highlighted three key areas which are not yet fully used in Europe and in which the European Union could enhance accessibility of electronic services and products and encourage voluntary harmonisation of Member States' rules: public procurement, certification and specific legislative provisions. Commissioner Viviane Reding, whose portfolio is information society and audiovisual, welcomed the high level of response to this public consultation, which will allow her to gain a more precise idea of the needs of all European citizens: “Making the information society accessible for all is for me both a social necessity and an economic objective. The more accessible new technologies can be made, the bigger the potential markets for them”, she commented. The Commission's proposals will be presented in a communication planned for September 2005. The full results of the consultation are available on the website of the Commission's DG Information: http: //europa.eu.int/information_society.