Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-07-06-Speech-4-250"
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"en.20060706.35.4-250"2
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".
Mr President, the motions for resolutions on freedom of expression on the Internet propose the means to promote access to the Internet free of repression by national authorities. These suggestions concentrate on measures to improve Internet governance and fight human rights violations.
The World Summit on the Information Society held in Tunis in November 2005 reaffirmed the links between the development of the Information Society and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of expression and opinion, as well as the freedom to receive and access information.
This consensus reached during the summit is a basis for us ‘to prevent and counteract threats, risks and limitations to human rights posed by the misuse of information and communication technologies’ as outlined in the Commission’s communication of April 2006 on the summit follow-up.
In this communication, the Commission ‘encourages the companies concerned to work on a code of conduct on this crucial issue, in close cooperation with NGOs’. This code of conduct would constitute an important step towards inspiring these countries to establish respective ethical standards.
The promotion of freedom of expression figures highly on the agenda of the Community’s corresponding external assistance programmes, in particular the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights. This will remain unchanged in the coming years under the new financing instrument for democracy and human rights.
Furthermore, we have a policy of bridging the digital divide between rich and poor countries. The more Internet use spreads, the more difficult it becomes for repressive governments to control it, despite the whole panoply of censorship methods. The Commission is actively promoting the summit’s recommendations in this area.
Before concluding, let me add a few more words on Internet governance. The Tunis Agenda called for the establishment of a forum for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue, the Internet Governance Forum, which will first meet at the end of October in Athens.
Europe should play a central role in this process. I am therefore hopeful that the European Parliament will take this opportunity to launch this dialogue with the representatives of European civil society before the Athens Forum."@en1
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