Brussels, 25/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - Over the next few months, the Portuguese presidency will pursue the agenda of the European Commission's action plan on the i2010 strategic framework for the information society, network security and the general theme of internet governance. With this in view, and following the action of the Commission and previous presidencies, Digital Inclusion (eInclusion), electronic Government (eGov) and Research & Development for the information society will be main priorities for the Portuguese presidency. On eInclusion, the presidency priorities will have three main themes: access to internet, the challenge posed by the ageing of the population and combating illiteracy. “ICTs are a powerful instrument for social inclusion, opening up new horizons to social policies and actions promoting inclusion. Hence, these technologies can and should be social cohesion factors, combating exclusion,” the Portuguese stress. Electronic government improves the quality and convenience of services, and increases the ways of playing one's role as a citizen. It reduces costs and contributes to the modernisation of states. That is why the Portuguese presidency will continue the efforts made by the European Union in the field of electronic government, and will stimulate the visibility of national policies and the sharing of best practice at European level. With regard to Research and Development for the information society, the presidency notes that the “wider usage of internet created possibilities for the dissemination, sharing of information, and knowledge transfer without precedent”. It will promote the debate for a European policy on publishing and scientific and technical information, namely in the field of scientific digital libraries, involving all interested stakeholders, “whose mutual trust must be established”.
At a time when the Commission is preparing a mid-term review of the European strategy for Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies, the presidency will highlight this area and focus, in particular, on coordinating efforts between national and European initiatives. (il)