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The EU Commission's Digital Agenda Plan

By Pamela Jones et al.

The EU Commission has just announced its 5-year plan for IT, which they call its Digital Agenda:

The Agenda outlines seven priority areas for action: creating a digital Single Market, greater interoperability, boosting internet trust and security, much faster internet access, more investment in research and development, enhancing digital literacy skills and inclusion, and applying information and communications technologies to address challenges facing society like climate change and the ageing population. Examples of benefits include easier electronic payments and invoicing, rapid deployment of telemedicine and energy efficient lighting. In these seven areas, the Digital Agenda foresees some 100 follow-up actions, of which 31 would be legislative.

What interests us at Groklaw the most on that list of seven areas is interoperability, I'd wager, and here's the goal they set for that:

Improve ICT standard-setting and interoperability

To allow people to create, combine and innovate we need ICT products and services to be open and interoperable.

I can't help but think of Microsoft's recent bragging about not being fully interoperable with Google Docs. I think they're not yet on the interoperability train that is already leaving the station, and I hope they hop on board before it's too late. Meanwhile, ECIS has issued a statement, commending the EU Commission on its Digital Agenda, particularly the part about interoperability:

We're pleased the European Commission has given broad support to interoperability, and gratified it believes government acquisition of software should adhere to open standards.

Full post as published by Groklaw on May 19, 2010 (boomark / email).