ACTIVITIES :: International Relations :: Global Issues :: World Summit
WSIS
LATEST
New
Communication: Follow-up to Tunis (27 April 2006):
EN
Press release:
Follow-up to Tunis (27 April 2006) EN
Press
Q&A (27 April 2006) EN
Press
release DE
Press
release FR
Tunis Commitment (18 November 2005)
Tunis Agenda for the
Information Society (Agreement) (15 November 2005)
Chronology of
the EU´s position on Internet
Governance (including links to important documents)
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) took place as a formal UN Summit pursuant to a Resolution of the UN General Assembly adopted in 2001, aiming “to address the whole range of relevant issues related to the information society, through the development of a common vision and understanding of the information society”. It was organised in two phases: Geneva, 10-12 December 2003; Tunis, 16-18 November 2005.
The Geneva Summit adopted, on 12 December 2003, a political Declaration of Principles and a Plan of Action which constitute the basis for a global common approach towards the Information Society of all UN Member States: the Declaration of Principles presents a vision of ICTs as an essential foundation for an inclusive Information Society. The accompanying Plan of Action provides guidance to stakeholders on how to implement the WSIS goals.
After Geneva, the Tunis phase concentrated on the translation of these principles into actions. Furthermore, it dealt with the unsettled issues of the first phase: Internet governance, financing access to the Internet in developing countries, and the implementation of the WSIS acquis. The Tunis Summit adopted an Agenda for the Information Society and a Tunis Commitment which provide solutions to these questions.
The Commission has been an active supporter of the WSIS throughout the whole process. After the Tunis meeting, it is currently undertaking a substantive assessment of the WSIS outcome that will be subject of a Communication to be adopted during the first quarter of 2006.
This section on the World Summit on the Information Society gives an overview of the European Union and European Commission’s contribution to the Summit. For more general information, please refer to the official ITU WSIS website. Point of contact in the Information Society and Media Directorate-General: International Relations Unit, e-mail: INFSO-/A4@ec.europa.eu
Related Speeches:
Speech of Commissioner Reding, eSkills Workshop, 16 November 2005
Speech of Commissioner Reding, WSIS Plenary Session, 16 November 2005 (FR)
Speech of Commissioner Reding "Opportunities and Challenges of the Ubiquitous World and some words on internet governance", Brussels (Global Business Dialogue on electronic commerce) 17 October 2005
Speech of Commissioner Reding "On Internet Governance", Luxembourg (ICANN Conference) 11 July 2005
Documents:
Tunis Agreement on Internet Governance, 15 November 2005
EN
Documents related to the Agreement on Internet Governance, 15 November 2005
Commission press release and memo on WSIS (15 November 2005)
Chronology of the EU´s position on Internet Governance
EN
Communication from the Commission of 2 June 2005 on the EU's contribution
to the second phase of WSIS:
EN
FR
DE
Press release on the WSIS Communication (6 June 2005):
EN
FR
DE
Statement of the Luxembourg Presidency at the third meeting
of the UN Working Group on Internet Governance,
14 April 2005
Conclusions of the Council on financial mechanisms,
17 February 2005
Conclusions of the Telecommunications Council,
9 December 2004
Communication of the Commission on proposals for the second phase of WSIS (13 July 2004)
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EN
(132 kb) -
FR
(127 kb) -
DE
(123 kb)
Press Release on the WSIS Communication (14 July 2004)
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EN
(38 kb) -
FR
(35 kb) -
DE
(35 kb)
Communication of the Commission on the WSIS follow-up
(text
(75 kb) and press release
(30kb).
First Phase of WSIS, Geneva, 10-12 December 2003:
World Summit Declaration of Principles
(344kb) and
Plan of Action
(228 kb)
adopted on 12 December 2003 and Mr Liikanen's speech at the Plenary Session
(64 kb).
Communication of the Commission on the WSIS, 19 May 2003:
"Towards A Global Partnership In The Information Society: EU Perspective In The Context of The United Nations World Summit on The Information Society (WSIS)"
The Communication aims to assist in clarifying the context by setting out the main objectives of the WSIS and identifying the key issues for the EU, thereby allowing the EU to adopt a position in order to:
- Prepare the co-ordination of EU contributions to and positions on the preparatory process and the Summit;
- Propose orientations to the Council and the European Parliament to prepare conclusions that will form the basis for the EU position during the negotiations on the WSIS Declaration and Plan of Action.
The Communication is available in PDF format:
Last update: 23/10/2009