No L 306/40 Official Journal of the European Communities 28. 11. 96 COUNCIL DECISION of 21 November 1996 on the adoption of a multiannual programme to promote the linguistic diversity of the Community in the information society (96/664/EC) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 130 (3) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Par- liament ('), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3), Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (%), (1) Whereas the advent of the information society provides industry and in particular the language industry with new prospects for communication and trade on European and world markets which are marked by a rich linguistic and cultural diversity; (2) Whereas industry and all other players concerned must work out specific and adequate solutions to overcome the linguistic barriers if they are to benefit fully from the advantages of the internal market and remain competitive on world markets; (3) Whereas the private sector in this field consists mainly of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which face considerable difficulties in addressing different language markets and must thus be supported, especially when their role as a source of employment is considered; (4) Whereas it is necessary to encourage the use of tech- nologies, tools and methods which reduce the cost of transferring information between people or applica- tions using different languages, while also assuring the quality of translations, particularly in the case of literary translation, which requires a specific creative effort; (5) Whereas the European Council, meeting in Corfu on 24 and 25 June 1994, stressed the importance of the (") OJ No C 198, 8. 7. 1996, p. 248. () O] No C 212, 22. 7. 1996, p. 19. (*) Opinion delivered on 13 June 1996 (O] No C 337, 11. 11. 1996). (6) ) ®) (10) (11 (12) cultural and linguistic aspects of the information society, and whereas the European Council in Cannes on 26 and 27 June 199§ restated the im- portance to the European Union of its linguistic diversity; whereas the G7 Conference of Ministers meeting in Brussels on 25 and 26 February 1995, drew attention to the importance of linguistic and cultural diversity in the global information society; Whereas the emergence of the information society could afford the citizens of Europe greater access to information and offer them an outstanding oppor- tunity for access to the cultural and linguistic wealth and diversity of Europe; Whereas language policies are a matter for the Member States, taking account of Community law; whereas, however, promoting the development of modern language-processing tools and their use is a field of activity in which Community action is neces- sary in order to achieve substantial economies of scale and cohesion between the various language areas; whereas the measures to be taken at Com- munity level must be commensurate with the objec- tives to be attained and concern only those fields which are likely to produce an added value for the Community; Whereas the Member States could envisage using the structural funds within the present regulatory frame- work to develop linguistic skills within the informa- tion society; Whereas the Community should take into account the cultural and liguistic aspects of the information society; Whereas efforts must be made to ensure that all European citizens have equal opportunities to parti- cipate in the information society, irrespective of their social, cultural, linguistic or geographical situation; Whereas it is essential to provide citizens with equitable access to information; whereas this infor- mation should be available to them in their language; Whereas languages that remain excluded from the information society would run the risk of a more or less rapid marginalization;