WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1314/97 by Amedeo AMADEO to the Commission. New technologies and employment
C 21/40 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 22. 1. 98 (98/C 21/116) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1314/97 by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) to the Commission (11 April 1997) Subject: New technologies and employment Having regard to The impact of the introduction of new technologies on employmentí (CES 1403/96), the public sectorís role must be reviewed and adjusted in response to the need to create the infrastructure required for the development and application of new technologies (particularly information and communication technologies) and to ensure that they rapidly spread throughout the production sector. Implementation of the trans-European networks programme is vital in order to provide properly-organized modern infrastructure at European level. The Commission is asked to ensure that national and Community R&TD policies are based on instruments providing forecasts and information regarding technology and employment scenarios. Such scenarios would then be used by those involved in research to formulate their R&TD priorities on the basis of a ábottom-upí approach and to organize integrated projects at European level. Joint answer to Written Questions E-1313/97 and E-1314/97 given by Mrs Cresson on behalf of the Commission (17 June 1997) The impact of technological progress, more particularly the development of information technology, on employment, is the subject of many concerns and is intensively studied at Community level. The overall conclusions of the work carried out on this issue are that the global effect of technological development on employment is a shift from less skilled and more repetitive jobs, to higher skilled and more creative ones. It is also agreed that investment in research and technological development (RTD) has a positive impact on growth and competitiveness, which is a major factor of job creation, through the development of new products and the opening of new markets. In order to benefit from these mechanisms, bearing in mind the concern to avoid social or regional marginalisation, the Community is making substantial efforts in the framework of social, regional, education and training and research policy, through a broad range of instruments and programmes, to stimulate both training and the mastering of new technologies, and the development of RTD activity. The results of this action can already be observed. The gap between more advanced and less advanced Member States in terms of economic performance, as well as the even more important gap in terms of technological potential and activity, are progressively narrowing. In order to strengthen the economic and social cohesion of the Community, and to maximise the impact of the actions undertaken, the Commission intends better to combine and fully exploit the possible synergies between RTD and regional policies, through a strengthening of the articulation between RTD programmes and structural funds. Such a development is explicitly foreseen in the Commission proposal for the fifth framework programme (1998-2002). In a forthcoming communication on economic and social cohesion, research and competitivity, the guidelines the Commission proposes to follow in this respect will be presented, as well as mechanisms it would be possible to use. (98/C 21/117) WRITTEN QUESTION P-1318/97 by Jose· Pome·s Ruiz (PPE) to the Commission (10 April 1997) Subject: Eurostat and entry into the third phase of EMU During the debate following his speech to the European Parliamentís Subcommittee on Monetary Affairs on 27 November 1996, the Director-General of Eurostat was requested to ensure that Eurostatís periodical publications included a reference to the TEU convergence criteria and, with regard to the CIT, separated the