Commission discusses ICT with both USA and China

Brussels, 16 April 2002

The information society and telecoms regulations have been the subjects of discussion between the Commission and both the USA and China at the beginning of April. EU Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen attended a telecom regulatory workshop in Beijing, China, after Information Society DG Director-General Robert Verrue had met with representatives from the US government.

Mr Verrue met with representatives from the US State Department, the Federal communications commission and the national telecommunications and information administration in Brussels on 11 and 12 April.

In this first meeting between the two parties since the inauguration of George Bush's US administration, delegates discussed a number of issues, including the creation of a new regulatory framework for electronic services and networks, electronic commerce, Internet governance, privacy protection, cybercrime and network security. Talks also touched upon the new generation Internet protocol Ipv6, which will replace Ipv4. Both parties declared that there had been a 'meeting of minds' on the issues discussed.

Telecoms regulatory experts from Brussels and Beijing met in China on 15 April. Speaking before the meeting, Commissioner Liikanen welcomed recent developments in China's regulatory framework, and said that 'a number of aspects [...] still need to be clarified' between the EU and China.

Mr Liikanen provided an outline of the EU's Information society programme and stressed the importance of market liberalisation. 'Europe's Information society programme rests solidly on the foundation of an open and competitive telecom market, which ensures prices are reduced, and high speed networks are put in place,' he said.

For further information on information society issues, please consult the following web address: http://europa.eu.int/information_societ y/index_en.htm http://www.cordis.lu/ist