Economy and Work :: eBusiness > Overview

A Dynamic eBusiness Environment for Europe

By enabling companies to sell to consumers and work with partners without being physically present, eBusiness is essential to helping European companies - particularly SMEs - take advantage of the Single Market, driving prices down and bringing "Europe's Best" to the world.

Overview ¦ Example Projects

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eBusiness is much more than eCommerce – buying and selling on-line. Companies are increasingly using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to link together their business processes and systems:

internally: hooking departments together to provide better products and more responsive services more efficiently;
with those of their suppliers, distributors and other partners, increasing efficiencies even further;
with public authorities, reducing red tape in both public and private sectors: see the eGovernment theme;
with their customers, allowing them to respond more directly to market trends and sell worldwide.

eBusiness therefore allows new forms of partnership, and improves both the way companies work and the products and services they offer.

"the opportunities are particularly attractive in Europe"

While the resulting innovation is creating jobs and economic growth around the world, the opportunities are particularly attractive in Europe, as eBusiness allows many companies - particularly SMEs - to benefit from the Single Market for the first time.

National legal systems across Europe therefore have to take these opportunities into account, with a European approach required on issues as diverse as taxation, copyright, consumer protection and privacy - see Policies, below.

Similarly, many of the technological and organisational challenges raised by eBusiness can best be met through European cooperation - see Activities, below.

Further Details and Quicklinks

Policies
Activities
See Also

Relevant Policies

See the following sites for more:

i2010: the Single European Information Space pillar of i2010 aims to create a modern, market-oriented regulatory framework for the digital economy:
- Trust, privacy and security are critical to eBusiness -hence the strategy for a secure European Information Society (31 May, 2006)
the EU's .eu domain allows everyone to have a European identity online - useful to businesses wanting to operate across the Single Market without setting up multiple websites;
eBusiness in Europe's Internal Market:
- The eCommerce Directive (2000) is Europe's basic legal framework for electronic commerce in the Internal Market;
- VAT Invoicing Rules ensure all Member States' tax authorities recognise the validity of electronic invoices;
- VAT rules on radio and television broadcasting services and certain electronically supplied services mean that EU suppliers no longer have to charge VAT when supplying digital products to countries outside the EU, as was the case before e-service existed;
- Find about more about the Commission's Online Tax and Customs Service Databases
The ICT Industries and eBusiness site provides analyses of European eBusiness and covers policy development in fields such as:
- the legal framework for e-business: the eCommerce Directive (2000) and subsequent developments;
- Business-to-Business electronic marketplaces;
- Measurements and analyses of eBusiness, including the eBusiness readiness index;
Consumer policy and e-commerce: part of wider EU consumer policy to improve consumer confidence in the internal market;
Online Financial Services: enabling consumers and retail investors to access on-line financial services from across the EU while being fully protected.
Distance Marketing of Financial Services: protecting consumers of retail financial services (insurance, banking, etc.) marketed by telephone, Internet or mail;
The Privacy Enhancing Technologies page covers projects in various Commission programmes aimed at minimising risks such as identity theft, discriminatory profiling, continuous surveillance and fraud.

Relevant Activities

Browse some relevant Example Projects or jump straight to the following sites for more details:

Research Activities: see the IS Research theme for an introduction, or visit:
- The New Working Environments site covers both policy development and research activities in the field of designing new working environments and organising the world of work in the networked, knowledge-based economy;
- Pervasive and Trusted Network and Service Infrastructures - one of the seven main challenges under the EU's new ICT research programme (FP7, 2007-2013) - is tackling the security threats which hold back eBusiness;
- This was also addressed by the ICT for trust and security Strategic Objective under FP6 (2002-2006);
- Other FP6 Strategic Objectives included Software technologies and ICTs for enterprise networking.

The new Competitiveness and Innovation framework Programme (CIP) includes two relevant specific programmes:
- ICT Policy Support Programme ('ICT PSP'): stimulating innovation and competitiveness through the wider uptake and best use of ICT by citizens, governments and businesses.
- Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme: will stimulate innovation through - among other things- promoting ICT uptake;
ICT PSP builds on - among others - the eTEN programme, which also prioritised Services for SMEs (eBusiness)
Europe's electronic customs environment:
- The Electronic customs project aims to replace paper format customs procedures with EU wide electronic ones, thus creating a more efficient and modern customs environment;
- The Excise Movement and Control System will simplify procedures for those who trade in alcohol, tobacco or oil products;
eBusiness Watch: monitoring e-activities and their implications in different sectors;
eBusiness Support Network for SMEs: a one-stop-shop for all public European e-business initiatives (national, regional or local level) promoting the adoption of ICT and e-business among SMEs;

See Also

In addition:

SMEs need support to adapt to this complex and challenging environment - see the SMEs theme
... as do workers across Europe - see the Digital Literacy theme.

Highlights from the eBusiness Newsroom and Library:

News: Consumers: Commission acts to boost confidence in digital world (8 February 2007)
Report: SME retailers take to e-commerce but it’s strictly national (8 February 2007)
Report: E-business in Europe 2006 (11 January 2007)
Statistics: internet and its use by European enterprises to do eBusiness (22 December 2006)
Conference: European legal framework for e-business and innovation (November 2006)
Fact sheet 24: Protecting privacy and fighting spam (January 2006);
Factsheet 11: Electrifying business (September 2005)
European Innovation Scoreboard 2005: analysing how well each EU country transforms their innovation assets into innovation results;
For the latest eBusiness news, publications and more from the Newsroom & Library, see right hand column, or select Society & Culture when you subscribe to the Portal Newsroom Update

Last Updated March 2007