First reactions: Digital Agenda for Europe 2010─2020

After presenting the “raw materials” in Digital Agenda for Europe 2010─2020 (25 May 2010), we turn to the first euroblog reactions we have encountered with regard to this blueprint for the information society in Europe.

On 19 May 2010 the European Commission published:



The Communication from the European Commission: A Digital Agenda for Europe; Brussels, 19.5.2010 COM(2010)245 final (42 pages)



Euroblogs



Datonomy looked at the preceding resolution by the European Parliament in: Wiping the slate clean... (10 May 2010).




Intellectual Property Watch mentioned the digital competitiveness reports, published two days ahead of the Digital Agenda: EU Previews Digital Agenda To 2020 (17 May 2010).





Pirate MEP Christian Engström has asked for contributions from net activists and interested citizens: EU’s Digital Agenda – Request For Comments (19 May 2010).





In a first appraisal, La Quadrature du Net found the Communication generally to be in the public interest, but open standards had suffered a setback and dangers continue to loom with regard to the fundamental freedoms of net users: Caution equired for the future EU Net policies (19 May 2010).



La Quadrature du Net also published a complementing press release: Digital Agenda: Caution equired for the future EU Net policies (press release) (19 May 2010).




Netzpolitik.org, Jörg-Olaf Schäfers, has a brief comment on the absence of an unequivocal commitment to net censorship on grounds of child pornography (in German): 5 + 1 vor elf (EU-Agenda, JMStV, romantische Verkläring, böses Netz)(19 May 2010).



Spreeblick, Simon Columbus, offers critical comments about net censorship aspirations within the Commission and the power of industrial lobbies (in German): Europas digitale Zukunft (19 May 2010).



Erika Mann commented on a related study on markets: Some comments on the EPC report on a Digital Single Market (25 May 2010).




On a lighter note, Julien Frisch compared the rhetoric of Neelie Kroes and Martin Luther King Jr, in: Kroes & King (20 May 2010).




Neelie Kroes



Yesterday, the information society commissioner Neelie Kroes presented the reasons for the Digital Agenda, saying that none of the pressing challenges of our time will be solved without a strong ICT component, referring to the transformative potential of ICTs: Address at ‘World Congress of Information Technology’ Amsterdam 25 May 2010 (SPEECH/10/258).




Kroes spoke at the World Congress of Information Technology (WCIT 2010) in Amsterdam, a huge gathering of business leaders, public officials and opinion leaders. In addition to plenums, the following themes or “tracks” are discussed: Creative industries, eGovernment, eHealth, eInclusion, Energy, Mobility, Security and safety, Sharing space (geo information), Water and Finance.



Bloggingportal.eu




Look out for new posts on the Digital Agenda and various aspects of the information society in Europe on multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, the aggregator of EU facts and opinions.




Ralf Grahn