The Commission launches today a public consultation to help strengthen the global position of
“Our ICT industry in Europe needs to think and be global,” said the EU’s Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding. “While we have been working hard to create a single telecoms market in Europe, we must not lose sight of the global picture. There are further markets to take abroad for Europe’s ICT industry if we strengthen its competitiveness and remove barriers to trade in third countries. Today’s consultation therefore seeks to identify trade barriers and business opportunities that exist worldwide for Europe’s ICT industry.”
Internationally, the stakes are high for Europe’s ICT industry: the EU represents approximately 30% of the world ICT market. Electronic communications, embedded computing, micro- and nano-electronics, micro-systems and ‘smart’ integrated systems are Europe’s main industrial and technological strengths. Europe also has 6 of the world’s top 10 telecommunications providers and 4 of the top 10 equipment manufacturers (see list attached).
To help Europe’s ICT industries sell their products and services globally, and increase market share, the Commission believes in open markets and free trade. The Commission in particular is working for further progress in multilateral trade relations under the World Trade Organisation, especially regarding trade in services, which is essential for Europe’s ICT sector.Â
With the public consultation launched today, the Commission aims to formulate a more ambitious, targeted international EU strategy for ICT that explores new markets for EU industries, improves the competitiveness of Europe’s ICT industry in global markets and promotes EU interests worldwide.
To request input for this international strategy (which will be published in the first half of 2008), today’s consultation asks interested stakeholders for input in three areas:
·        Regulatory, market access, trade issues, looking at regulatory cooperation, standards, intellectual property rights, access to spectrum and smart radio tags (RFID);
·        Research and innovation, focusing on ICT research collaboration, research infrastructure and the role of ICT in global challenges such as energy efficiency, ageing, healthcare etc;
·        Social aspects, such as network and information security, internet governance, the digital divide between poor and rich countries, and improving existing bilateral agreements with non-EU countries.
Today’s public consultation is part of the overall i2010 initiative to create an information society for growth and jobs (see IP/05/643).
The public consultation document is available from:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/itemlongdetail.cfm?item_id=3475
For more on the EU’s Information Society’s international dimension: MEMO/06/461
Economic Background:
In 2006 the global telecom service market was worth €971 billion. The EU share was about €300 billion, compared to the US’ €245 billion and Japan’s €110 billion. The 2006 worldwide telecom equipment market was worth €216 billion. The EU share was €59 billion, compared to the US’ €52 billion and Japan’s €26 billion.Â
The world’s top 10 telecommunications providers
(in services sales)
|
1. AT&TÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
US |
|
2. NTT |
Japan |
|
3. Verizon |
US |
|
4. Deutsche Telekom |
EU (Germany) |
|
5. France Telecom |
EU (France) |
|
6. Telefónica |
EU (Spain) |
|
7. Vodafone |
EU (UK) |
|
8. Telecom Italia |
EU (Italy) |
|
9. BT |
EU (UK) |
|
10. Sprint Nextel |
US |
The world’s top 10 equipment manufacturers
(in equipment sales)
|
1. Cisco          |
US |
|
2. Alcatel Lucent |
EU (France), US |
|
3. Ericsson |
EU (Sweden) |
|
4. Nokia Siemens Networks |
EU (Finland) |
|
5. Nortel |
Canada |
|
6. NEC |
Japan |
|
7. Motorola |
Japan |
|
8. Huawei |
China |
|
9. Siemens |
EU (Germany) |
|
10. Fujitsu |
Japan |
Source: “DigiWorld2007. The digital world’s challenges”, IDATE Foundation, 2007, France
Â
