Suchergebnisse

Although the correlation of welfare and democracy is not direct, it is possible to sustain that the problems related with democracy satisfaction could be solved by public policy measures. Lithuanian's who reflect themselves as the losers of the transition reforms are unsatisfied with their socio-economic status and their anticipation of the prompt life improvement is rather high. If such tendencies start to dominate in the society of Lithuania, the question of political stability arises. Therefore social security, welfare network and infrastructure development as well as the increase of the redistribution amounts look like inevitable reforms in nowadays Lithuania. All appropriate compensatory measures could be related to the development of the welfare state in Lithuania. The liberal model of the welfare state should be the most suitable option for Lithuania at first sight. The Lisbon Strategy is implicitly based on this kind of welfare state model. Lithuania was trying to apply active labour market policy nevertheless the efforts were restrained by the small resources. The structural policy of the EU, mainly the measures financed by the European Social Fund, should increase the amount of funds allocated to the active labour market policy. Considering public policy in Lithuania an exclusive attention should be paid to the reduction of regional inequalities, establishment of the workplaces and social security infrastructure. Due to the Lithuanian budget restrictions it's necessary to develop a tax base and to improve tax administration. The second important component is partial decentralisation of programming and implementation of the EU funds by means of the EU Cohesion policy reform. The third component is the implementation of horizontal regional policy in Lithuania. Legal and organisational premises for the aforementioned steps are already established.

Although the correlation of welfare and democracy is not direct, it is possible to sustain that the problems related with democracy satisfaction could be solved by public policy measures. Lithuanian's who reflect themselves as the losers of the transition reforms are unsatisfied with their socio-economic status and their anticipation of the prompt life improvement is rather high. If such tendencies start to dominate in the society of Lithuania, the question of political stability arises. Therefore social security, welfare network and infrastructure development as well as the increase of the redistribution amounts look like inevitable reforms in nowadays Lithuania. All appropriate compensatory measures could be related to the development of the welfare state in Lithuania. The liberal model of the welfare state should be the most suitable option for Lithuania at first sight. The Lisbon Strategy is implicitly based on this kind of welfare state model. Lithuania was trying to apply active labour market policy nevertheless the efforts were restrained by the small resources. The structural policy of the EU, mainly the measures financed by the European Social Fund, should increase the amount of funds allocated to the active labour market policy. Considering public policy in Lithuania an exclusive attention should be paid to the reduction of regional inequalities, establishment of the workplaces and social security infrastructure. Due to the Lithuanian budget restrictions it's necessary to develop a tax base and to improve tax administration. The second important component is partial decentralisation of programming and implementation of the EU funds by means of the EU Cohesion policy reform. The third component is the implementation of horizontal regional policy in Lithuania. Legal and organisational premises for the aforementioned steps are already established.

Although the correlation of welfare and democracy is not direct, it is possible to sustain that the problems related with democracy satisfaction could be solved by public policy measures. Lithuanian's who reflect themselves as the losers of the transition reforms are unsatisfied with their socio-economic status and their anticipation of the prompt life improvement is rather high. If such tendencies start to dominate in the society of Lithuania, the question of political stability arises. Therefore social security, welfare network and infrastructure development as well as the increase of the redistribution amounts look like inevitable reforms in nowadays Lithuania. All appropriate compensatory measures could be related to the development of the welfare state in Lithuania. The liberal model of the welfare state should be the most suitable option for Lithuania at first sight. The Lisbon Strategy is implicitly based on this kind of welfare state model. Lithuania was trying to apply active labour market policy nevertheless the efforts were restrained by the small resources. The structural policy of the EU, mainly the measures financed by the European Social Fund, should increase the amount of funds allocated to the active labour market policy. Considering public policy in Lithuania an exclusive attention should be paid to the reduction of regional inequalities, establishment of the workplaces and social security infrastructure. Due to the Lithuanian budget restrictions it's necessary to develop a tax base and to improve tax administration. The second important component is partial decentralisation of programming and implementation of the EU funds by means of the EU Cohesion policy reform. The third component is the implementation of horizontal regional policy in Lithuania. Legal and organisational premises for the aforementioned steps are already established.

Although the correlation of welfare and democracy is not direct, it is possible to sustain that the problems related with democracy satisfaction could be solved by public policy measures. Lithuanian's who reflect themselves as the losers of the transition reforms are unsatisfied with their socio-economic status and their anticipation of the prompt life improvement is rather high. If such tendencies start to dominate in the society of Lithuania, the question of political stability arises. Therefore social security, welfare network and infrastructure development as well as the increase of the redistribution amounts look like inevitable reforms in nowadays Lithuania. All appropriate compensatory measures could be related to the development of the welfare state in Lithuania. The liberal model of the welfare state should be the most suitable option for Lithuania at first sight. The Lisbon Strategy is implicitly based on this kind of welfare state model. Lithuania was trying to apply active labour market policy nevertheless the efforts were restrained by the small resources. The structural policy of the EU, mainly the measures financed by the European Social Fund, should increase the amount of funds allocated to the active labour market policy. Considering public policy in Lithuania an exclusive attention should be paid to the reduction of regional inequalities, establishment of the workplaces and social security infrastructure. Due to the Lithuanian budget restrictions it's necessary to develop a tax base and to improve tax administration. The second important component is partial decentralisation of programming and implementation of the EU funds by means of the EU Cohesion policy reform. The third component is the implementation of horizontal regional policy in Lithuania. Legal and organisational premises for the aforementioned steps are already established.

This paper examines EU's migration policy development. The paper presents a short review of literature and current discussions about the appropriate balance of powers between EU institutions and member states in migration issues. The paper argues that mechanical shift of the responsibility from national to supranational agencies, will not provide satisfactory solutions to the challenges related to migration issues both within the EU area and the world in general. Migration is changing our understanding of regional integration processes, challenging the idea of a united states of Europe. It is almost impossible to regulate migration, especially by hard measures such as border control. Instead concentration upon migration limitations, mass deportations, \"border-walls\", active migrant detention and assimilation, EU has to examine other possible alternatives of police measures to provide better and more effective aid directed towards the reasons for migration. Migration issues must to a larger degree be incrementally transferred from security issues and connected to the development and neighbourhood policy agenda as well as Lisbon strategy objectives (problems of competitiveness, demographical tensions etc.). Especially when it comes to the developing world EU should increase their effort on poverty reduction, brain drain and facilitate political stability and circular migration. The neo-liberal dominance on political and economical policies, lead to a perception of the world without borders, but this has to be confronted by the realities and further a more diverse understanding of the state's role in redistribution of the global economy. Human beings are not goods, although they are also free to move anywhere. The nation-state still provides the only effective protection to the individuals in terms of human rights and especially social rights criteria. This should be taken into account when shaping future migration regulations.

This paper examines EU's migration policy development. The paper presents a short review of literature and current discussions about the appropriate balance of powers between EU institutions and member states in migration issues. The paper argues that mechanical shift of the responsibility from national to supranational agencies, will not provide satisfactory solutions to the challenges related to migration issues both within the EU area and the world in general. Migration is changing our understanding of regional integration processes, challenging the idea of a united states of Europe. It is almost impossible to regulate migration, especially by hard measures such as border control. Instead concentration upon migration limitations, mass deportations, \"border-walls\", active migrant detention and assimilation, EU has to examine other possible alternatives of police measures to provide better and more effective aid directed towards the reasons for migration. Migration issues must to a larger degree be incrementally transferred from security issues and connected to the development and neighbourhood policy agenda as well as Lisbon strategy objectives (problems of competitiveness, demographical tensions etc.). Especially when it comes to the developing world EU should increase their effort on poverty reduction, brain drain and facilitate political stability and circular migration. The neo-liberal dominance on political and economical policies, lead to a perception of the world without borders, but this has to be confronted by the realities and further a more diverse understanding of the state's role in redistribution of the global economy. Human beings are not goods, although they are also free to move anywhere. The nation-state still provides the only effective protection to the individuals in terms of human rights and especially social rights criteria. This should be taken into account when shaping future migration regulations.

The concept of flexicurity is based on the idea that two goals – more flexibility and more security – in the labour market are not contradictory but mutually supportive and can be implemented simultaneously. It is also promoted by the EU as a solution for coping with various challenges labour markets face. The official EU documents (the main is Lisbon Strategy50) state that in order to remain competitive, reduce segmentation and combat the high unemployment level, the Member states have to implement the flexicurity strategy in four spheres. First, more flexible and reliable contractual arrangements have to be guaranteed. Second, comprehensive lifelong learning strategies should be developed in order to ensure the adaptability and employability of workers. Third, effective active labour market policies that help people to cope with transitions to new jobs have to be implemented. Fourth, modern social security systems that provide adequate income support, encourage employment, and facilitate labour market mobility must be assured. The object of this article is the implementation of the Flexicurity Strategy on the Lithuanian labour market. The aim of this study was to analyse the EU impact on Lithuania's national employment policy in the area of flexicurity and the role of political parties' ideology in this process. In order to achieve the goal, the concept of flexicurity and its evaluation model were introduced. Then the Europeanization theoretical approach and main factors influencing the of the EU impact on national policies were overviewed. Finally, a piece of the input–process–output model was used to quantify the implementation of the Flexicurity Strategy in Lithuanian labour market. Also, an analysis of legislative initiatives in the Parliament was conducted. It helped to evaluate whether the ideology of ruling parties influenced the content of the law initiatives (in the flexicurity area). The main findings of this article are as follows: – the EU impact on national employment policy in the area of flexicurity was minimal despite the favourable attitude of political parties towards the EU. The analysis of various indicators revealed that the biggest change happened in the input stage of flexicurity and all trials were about the promotion of the functional and numerical aspects of flexibility. As regards the other dimensions and levels, the situation mostly remained status quo; – political parties in the government were quite active in proposing various bills connected with flexicurity. However, only about half of them reflected the EU attitude to flexicurity. Also, employment policy reform measures were chosen selectively, and flexicurity as a strategy was not implemented. One of the reasons was a high selectivity of implemented measures and the lack of approach to flexicurity as a strategy. It could be changed by starting to initiate public debates and discussions about the principle of flexicurity (until now, no public debates on this topic have been organized in the country). This could help to increase public awareness, deepen understanding and to find an appropriate solution; – the left wing government was more active in implementing the income security dimension in the labour market. Most of the accepted decisions contradicted the EU attitude to how security should be promoted: they were connected with a more active use of passive labour market policies. Meanwhile, the right-wing government was more active in promoting flexibility in the labour market. Also, it accepted more "EU-friendly" laws. This confirmed the statement that the ideology of the ruling parties has an explanatory impact while choosing and initiating legislative proposals on flexicurity. However, this statement requires further research, because during the analysis it was impossible to limit the impact of the economic crisis on legislative initiatives. An additional analysis revealed that this factor had also an impact on adopting laws related to the labour market flexibility.

The concept of flexicurity is based on the idea that two goals – more flexibility and more security – in the labour market are not contradictory but mutually supportive and can be implemented simultaneously. It is also promoted by the EU as a solution for coping with various challenges labour markets face. The official EU documents (the main is Lisbon Strategy50) state that in order to remain competitive, reduce segmentation and combat the high unemployment level, the Member states have to implement the flexicurity strategy in four spheres. First, more flexible and reliable contractual arrangements have to be guaranteed. Second, comprehensive lifelong learning strategies should be developed in order to ensure the adaptability and employability of workers. Third, effective active labour market policies that help people to cope with transitions to new jobs have to be implemented. Fourth, modern social security systems that provide adequate income support, encourage employment, and facilitate labour market mobility must be assured. The object of this article is the implementation of the Flexicurity Strategy on the Lithuanian labour market. The aim of this study was to analyse the EU impact on Lithuania's national employment policy in the area of flexicurity and the role of political parties' ideology in this process. In order to achieve the goal, the concept of flexicurity and its evaluation model were introduced. Then the Europeanization theoretical approach and main factors influencing the of the EU impact on national policies were overviewed. Finally, a piece of the input–process–output model was used to quantify the implementation of the Flexicurity Strategy in Lithuanian labour market. Also, an analysis of legislative initiatives in the Parliament was conducted. It helped to evaluate whether the ideology of ruling parties influenced the content of the law initiatives (in the flexicurity area). The main findings of this article are as follows: – the EU impact on national employment policy in the area of flexicurity was minimal despite the favourable attitude of political parties towards the EU. The analysis of various indicators revealed that the biggest change happened in the input stage of flexicurity and all trials were about the promotion of the functional and numerical aspects of flexibility. As regards the other dimensions and levels, the situation mostly remained status quo; – political parties in the government were quite active in proposing various bills connected with flexicurity. However, only about half of them reflected the EU attitude to flexicurity. Also, employment policy reform measures were chosen selectively, and flexicurity as a strategy was not implemented. One of the reasons was a high selectivity of implemented measures and the lack of approach to flexicurity as a strategy. It could be changed by starting to initiate public debates and discussions about the principle of flexicurity (until now, no public debates on this topic have been organized in the country). This could help to increase public awareness, deepen understanding and to find an appropriate solution; – the left wing government was more active in implementing the income security dimension in the labour market. Most of the accepted decisions contradicted the EU attitude to how security should be promoted: they were connected with a more active use of passive labour market policies. Meanwhile, the right-wing government was more active in promoting flexibility in the labour market. Also, it accepted more "EU-friendly" laws. This confirmed the statement that the ideology of the ruling parties has an explanatory impact while choosing and initiating legislative proposals on flexicurity. However, this statement requires further research, because during the analysis it was impossible to limit the impact of the economic crisis on legislative initiatives. An additional analysis revealed that this factor had also an impact on adopting laws related to the labour market flexibility.

The concept of flexicurity is based on the idea that two goals – more flexibility and more security – in the labour market are not contradictory but mutually supportive and can be implemented simultaneously. It is also promoted by the EU as a solution for coping with various challenges labour markets face. The official EU documents (the main is Lisbon Strategy50) state that in order to remain competitive, reduce segmentation and combat the high unemployment level, the Member states have to implement the flexicurity strategy in four spheres. First, more flexible and reliable contractual arrangements have to be guaranteed. Second, comprehensive lifelong learning strategies should be developed in order to ensure the adaptability and employability of workers. Third, effective active labour market policies that help people to cope with transitions to new jobs have to be implemented. Fourth, modern social security systems that provide adequate income support, encourage employment, and facilitate labour market mobility must be assured. The object of this article is the implementation of the Flexicurity Strategy on the Lithuanian labour market. The aim of this study was to analyse the EU impact on Lithuania's national employment policy in the area of flexicurity and the role of political parties' ideology in this process. In order to achieve the goal, the concept of flexicurity and its evaluation model were introduced. Then the Europeanization theoretical approach and main factors influencing the of the EU impact on national policies were overviewed. Finally, a piece of the input–process–output model was used to quantify the implementation of the Flexicurity Strategy in Lithuanian labour market. Also, an analysis of legislative initiatives in the Parliament was conducted. It helped to evaluate whether the ideology of ruling parties influenced the content of the law initiatives (in the flexicurity area). The main findings of this article are as follows: – the EU impact on national employment policy in the area of flexicurity was minimal despite the favourable attitude of political parties towards the EU. The analysis of various indicators revealed that the biggest change happened in the input stage of flexicurity and all trials were about the promotion of the functional and numerical aspects of flexibility. As regards the other dimensions and levels, the situation mostly remained status quo; – political parties in the government were quite active in proposing various bills connected with flexicurity. However, only about half of them reflected the EU attitude to flexicurity. Also, employment policy reform measures were chosen selectively, and flexicurity as a strategy was not implemented. One of the reasons was a high selectivity of implemented measures and the lack of approach to flexicurity as a strategy. It could be changed by starting to initiate public debates and discussions about the principle of flexicurity (until now, no public debates on this topic have been organized in the country). This could help to increase public awareness, deepen understanding and to find an appropriate solution; – the left wing government was more active in implementing the income security dimension in the labour market. Most of the accepted decisions contradicted the EU attitude to how security should be promoted: they were connected with a more active use of passive labour market policies. Meanwhile, the right-wing government was more active in promoting flexibility in the labour market. Also, it accepted more "EU-friendly" laws. This confirmed the statement that the ideology of the ruling parties has an explanatory impact while choosing and initiating legislative proposals on flexicurity. However, this statement requires further research, because during the analysis it was impossible to limit the impact of the economic crisis on legislative initiatives. An additional analysis revealed that this factor had also an impact on adopting laws related to the labour market flexibility.

The concept of flexicurity is based on the idea that two goals – more flexibility and more security – in the labour market are not contradictory but mutually supportive and can be implemented simultaneously. It is also promoted by the EU as a solution for coping with various challenges labour markets face. The official EU documents (the main is Lisbon Strategy50) state that in order to remain competitive, reduce segmentation and combat the high unemployment level, the Member states have to implement the flexicurity strategy in four spheres. First, more flexible and reliable contractual arrangements have to be guaranteed. Second, comprehensive lifelong learning strategies should be developed in order to ensure the adaptability and employability of workers. Third, effective active labour market policies that help people to cope with transitions to new jobs have to be implemented. Fourth, modern social security systems that provide adequate income support, encourage employment, and facilitate labour market mobility must be assured. The object of this article is the implementation of the Flexicurity Strategy on the Lithuanian labour market. The aim of this study was to analyse the EU impact on Lithuania's national employment policy in the area of flexicurity and the role of political parties' ideology in this process. In order to achieve the goal, the concept of flexicurity and its evaluation model were introduced. Then the Europeanization theoretical approach and main factors influencing the of the EU impact on national policies were overviewed. Finally, a piece of the input–process–output model was used to quantify the implementation of the Flexicurity Strategy in Lithuanian labour market. Also, an analysis of legislative initiatives in the Parliament was conducted. It helped to evaluate whether the ideology of ruling parties influenced the content of the law initiatives (in the flexicurity area). The main findings of this article are as follows: – the EU impact on national employment policy in the area of flexicurity was minimal despite the favourable attitude of political parties towards the EU. The analysis of various indicators revealed that the biggest change happened in the input stage of flexicurity and all trials were about the promotion of the functional and numerical aspects of flexibility. As regards the other dimensions and levels, the situation mostly remained status quo; – political parties in the government were quite active in proposing various bills connected with flexicurity. However, only about half of them reflected the EU attitude to flexicurity. Also, employment policy reform measures were chosen selectively, and flexicurity as a strategy was not implemented. One of the reasons was a high selectivity of implemented measures and the lack of approach to flexicurity as a strategy. It could be changed by starting to initiate public debates and discussions about the principle of flexicurity (until now, no public debates on this topic have been organized in the country). This could help to increase public awareness, deepen understanding and to find an appropriate solution; – the left wing government was more active in implementing the income security dimension in the labour market. Most of the accepted decisions contradicted the EU attitude to how security should be promoted: they were connected with a more active use of passive labour market policies. Meanwhile, the right-wing government was more active in promoting flexibility in the labour market. Also, it accepted more "EU-friendly" laws. This confirmed the statement that the ideology of the ruling parties has an explanatory impact while choosing and initiating legislative proposals on flexicurity. However, this statement requires further research, because during the analysis it was impossible to limit the impact of the economic crisis on legislative initiatives. An additional analysis revealed that this factor had also an impact on adopting laws related to the labour market flexibility.

European Union language policy is developed considering a strategy point intended in the Lisbon strategy to turn the most competitive and dynamic economy of knowledge, create better work conditions for a wider social cohesion. Multilingual section of European committee implementing this point, fitted in with the open method of coordination and made ready the plan of acts for 2004-2006: "To prompt language learning and lingistic variety". This sheduled to prompt life-long language learning, improve language teaching quality, create favourable settings for language learning. This atitude of language policy is also recorded in Educational provisions of Lithuania (2003-2012). It is out for every citizen to know 2-3 foreign languages except native language consequently schoolchildren are bound to study two foreign languages. The subject of the second foreign language learning at school is very topical for all Lithuania and Europe. Nevertheless the estimation range of studying marches (at the exploratory level exactly) stays researched imperfectly. It is a new phenomenon in Lithuania. The object of this master thesis is second foreign (Russian) language learning. Schoolchildren were given the questionaires (615 respondents participated). The teachers of the second foreign language were questioned (15 respondents) from 17 schools. Quolitative analysis of the test's results showed that language gains satisfy second foreign (Russian) language demands based on Common Framework and Educational standarts. The evaluation of the schoolchildren's (from the 10th forms) atitude to second foreign (Russian) language learning estimated that a majority of schoolchildren has a high level of motivation. Schoolchildren understand the importance of Russian language learning for their future life. More than 90 percent of all schoolchildren participated in this research reached pre-intermediate, intermediate and upper-intermediate levels. The achievements of schoolchildren are influenced by the nationality of their parents, linguistic tone in the family (what languages are used for communication), and the type of school. The facts of Russian language learning experience evaluation show that more than the third of the interrogated schoolchildren got the 10th form standarts. Exploratories evaluate their learning success adequatelly enough. Connections with results of tests prove that. Teacher's forms analysis was accomplished. It must be emphasized that teachers evaluate their expertises very or quite well. The best developed abilities are to control information, to studt and tune up to new situations. More difficult is leading and enterprising, communication with specialists from other areas, care of quality. The most difficult expertise for teachers is to create projects and enterprise them.

European Union language policy is developed considering a strategy point intended in the Lisbon strategy to turn the most competitive and dynamic economy of knowledge, create better work conditions for a wider social cohesion. Multilingual section of European committee implementing this point, fitted in with the open method of coordination and made ready the plan of acts for 2004-2006: "To prompt language learning and lingistic variety". This sheduled to prompt life-long language learning, improve language teaching quality, create favourable settings for language learning. This atitude of language policy is also recorded in Educational provisions of Lithuania (2003-2012). It is out for every citizen to know 2-3 foreign languages except native language consequently schoolchildren are bound to study two foreign languages. The subject of the second foreign language learning at school is very topical for all Lithuania and Europe. Nevertheless the estimation range of studying marches (at the exploratory level exactly) stays researched imperfectly. It is a new phenomenon in Lithuania. The object of this master thesis is second foreign (Russian) language learning. Schoolchildren were given the questionaires (615 respondents participated). The teachers of the second foreign language were questioned (15 respondents) from 17 schools. Quolitative analysis of the test's results showed that language gains satisfy second foreign (Russian) language demands based on Common Framework and Educational standarts. The evaluation of the schoolchildren's (from the 10th forms) atitude to second foreign (Russian) language learning estimated that a majority of schoolchildren has a high level of motivation. Schoolchildren understand the importance of Russian language learning for their future life. More than 90 percent of all schoolchildren participated in this research reached pre-intermediate, intermediate and upper-intermediate levels. The achievements of schoolchildren are influenced by the nationality of their parents, linguistic tone in the family (what languages are used for communication), and the type of school. The facts of Russian language learning experience evaluation show that more than the third of the interrogated schoolchildren got the 10th form standarts. Exploratories evaluate their learning success adequatelly enough. Connections with results of tests prove that. Teacher's forms analysis was accomplished. It must be emphasized that teachers evaluate their expertises very or quite well. The best developed abilities are to control information, to studt and tune up to new situations. More difficult is leading and enterprising, communication with specialists from other areas, care of quality. The most difficult expertise for teachers is to create projects and enterprise them.

SUMMARY: EU's Information Society Programmes in the Context of Knowledge Economy Globalization and rapid Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development are main reasons for information and knowledge becoming of a great importance. In the present day market scenario of intense competition, every country needs to know what they know and be able to leverage on its information and knowledge base to gain competitive advantage. Because of the rapid information use in the society's everyday life, every country has to create new information society, which is able effectively use information and ICT. One of the European Union (EU) objectives is to make sure that Europe's business, governments and citizens continue to play a leading role in shaping and participating in the global knowledge and information based economy The world economy is moving from a predominantly industrial society to a new set of rules - the information society. What is emerging is often referred to as the new economy. It has tremendous potential for growth, employment and inclusion. Yet Europe is not fully exploiting this potential as it is not moving fast enough into the digital age. The underpinning dynamics of the new economy are strong. Digital technologies make accessing, processing, storing and transmitting information increasingly cheaper and easier. The sheer scale of information available creates huge opportunities for its exploitation through the development of new products and services. Transforming digital information into economic and social value is the basis of the new economy, creating new industries, changing others and profoundly affecting citizens' lives. However, technologies and markets today move at a much faster pace than perhaps ever before in economic history. There is no time to wait until these policies deliver. The change happening now will reshape the European economy and society within the lifetime of this Commission. A major effort has to be made to advance certain policies ahead of the current schedule. This is why an initiative – eEurope - needs to be taken now. The objective of the eEurope initiative is ambitious. It aims to bring everyone in Europe - every citizen, every school, and every company - online as quickly as possible. In launching the partnership for growth and jobs as a new start for the Lisbon strategy, the 2005 Spring European Council called knowledge and innovation the engines of sustainable growth and stated that it is essential to build a fully inclusive information society, based on the widespread use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in public services, SMEs and households. Information and communication technologies are a powerful driver of growth and employment. Differences in economic performances between industrialised countries are largely explained by the level of ICT investment, research, and use, and by the competitiveness of information society and media industries. ICT services, skills, media and content are a growing part of the economy and society.

SUMMARY: EU's Information Society Programmes in the Context of Knowledge Economy Globalization and rapid Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development are main reasons for information and knowledge becoming of a great importance. In the present day market scenario of intense competition, every country needs to know what they know and be able to leverage on its information and knowledge base to gain competitive advantage. Because of the rapid information use in the society's everyday life, every country has to create new information society, which is able effectively use information and ICT. One of the European Union (EU) objectives is to make sure that Europe's business, governments and citizens continue to play a leading role in shaping and participating in the global knowledge and information based economy The world economy is moving from a predominantly industrial society to a new set of rules - the information society. What is emerging is often referred to as the new economy. It has tremendous potential for growth, employment and inclusion. Yet Europe is not fully exploiting this potential as it is not moving fast enough into the digital age. The underpinning dynamics of the new economy are strong. Digital technologies make accessing, processing, storing and transmitting information increasingly cheaper and easier. The sheer scale of information available creates huge opportunities for its exploitation through the development of new products and services. Transforming digital information into economic and social value is the basis of the new economy, creating new industries, changing others and profoundly affecting citizens' lives. However, technologies and markets today move at a much faster pace than perhaps ever before in economic history. There is no time to wait until these policies deliver. The change happening now will reshape the European economy and society within the lifetime of this Commission. A major effort has to be made to advance certain policies ahead of the current schedule. This is why an initiative – eEurope - needs to be taken now. The objective of the eEurope initiative is ambitious. It aims to bring everyone in Europe - every citizen, every school, and every company - online as quickly as possible. In launching the partnership for growth and jobs as a new start for the Lisbon strategy, the 2005 Spring European Council called knowledge and innovation the engines of sustainable growth and stated that it is essential to build a fully inclusive information society, based on the widespread use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in public services, SMEs and households. Information and communication technologies are a powerful driver of growth and employment. Differences in economic performances between industrialised countries are largely explained by the level of ICT investment, research, and use, and by the competitiveness of information society and media industries. ICT services, skills, media and content are a growing part of the economy and society.

SUMMARY: EU's Information Society Programmes in the Context of Knowledge Economy Globalization and rapid Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development are main reasons for information and knowledge becoming of a great importance. In the present day market scenario of intense competition, every country needs to know what they know and be able to leverage on its information and knowledge base to gain competitive advantage. Because of the rapid information use in the society's everyday life, every country has to create new information society, which is able effectively use information and ICT. One of the European Union (EU) objectives is to make sure that Europe's business, governments and citizens continue to play a leading role in shaping and participating in the global knowledge and information based economy The world economy is moving from a predominantly industrial society to a new set of rules - the information society. What is emerging is often referred to as the new economy. It has tremendous potential for growth, employment and inclusion. Yet Europe is not fully exploiting this potential as it is not moving fast enough into the digital age. The underpinning dynamics of the new economy are strong. Digital technologies make accessing, processing, storing and transmitting information increasingly cheaper and easier. The sheer scale of information available creates huge opportunities for its exploitation through the development of new products and services. Transforming digital information into economic and social value is the basis of the new economy, creating new industries, changing others and profoundly affecting citizens' lives. However, technologies and markets today move at a much faster pace than perhaps ever before in economic history. There is no time to wait until these policies deliver. The change happening now will reshape the European economy and society within the lifetime of this Commission. A major effort has to be made to advance certain policies ahead of the current schedule. This is why an initiative – eEurope - needs to be taken now. The objective of the eEurope initiative is ambitious. It aims to bring everyone in Europe - every citizen, every school, and every company - online as quickly as possible. In launching the partnership for growth and jobs as a new start for the Lisbon strategy, the 2005 Spring European Council called knowledge and innovation the engines of sustainable growth and stated that it is essential to build a fully inclusive information society, based on the widespread use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in public services, SMEs and households. Information and communication technologies are a powerful driver of growth and employment. Differences in economic performances between industrialised countries are largely explained by the level of ICT investment, research, and use, and by the competitiveness of information society and media industries. ICT services, skills, media and content are a growing part of the economy and society.