The WLGA European Office monitors the latest developments in Europe concerning Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). EU actions in the field of ICT is important for local government in Wales as the European Commission believes that local and regional goverment should be the principal deliverers of new e-goverment technologies. The Commission also supports actions to harmonise the ways in which EU Member States address ICT issues, which may also affect the ways that local authorities in Wales work with ICT on a daily basis.
ICT and the Committee of the Regions
In late 2008 and early 2009 the WLGA European Office assisted our EU Committee of the Regions (CoR) member, Cllr Bob Bright, on his rapporteurship on the European Commission's Universal Service Directive for telecommunications. The CoR Culture, Education and Research Committee (EDUC) assigned Cllr Bright to lead on the response to the review of the 2003 Universal Service Directive, which currently ensures that regulators such as OFCOM guarantee phone lines and access to emergency numbers for all EU citizens.
Cllr Bright's Opinion supports the Commission's announcement to make broadband a common universal service, arguing that broadband should become the 'fourth utility' alongside the provision of electricity, gas, and water. In his Opinion, Cllr Bright calls for concrete legislation to address the infamous communication 'not spots', such as in rural Wales. Concluding his successful rapporteurship during the CoR plenary session on 13 February 2009, Cllr Bright has provided the Commission with a number of useful recommendations before a redraft of the Directive in 2010. Further information may be found in the press release on Cllr Bright's rapporteurship, as well as in the WLGA press releases section.
For more information contact: Iwan Williams