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News Releases
No. 102/05
November 15, 2005
EU PLEADS FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH AS INSTRUMENT TO BRIDGE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AT THIS WEEK'S WORLD SUMMIT IN TUNIS
The question of how the World Wide Web is run, and
how it can best safeguard basic freedoms and drive
economic growth around the globe, will dominate the
second
World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
that starts tomorrow in Tunis and will end on 18
November. The discussions of more than fifty Heads of State
or Government, or their representatives, and of many
non-governmental organizations and representatives of
civil society, will also focus on financial mechanisms
to bridge the digital divide.
 “I
hope that Tunis will mark an important step forward in
the internet’s long evolution away from government
control and towards truly international governance,”
said
Viviane Reding
(pictured at left),
EU Commissioner for Information
Society and Media, who is leading the Commission
delegation in Tunis. “We are almost there. We already
have consensus on more than two-thirds of the package
and I call on all participants to make sure that this
agreement is not called into question. A policy
agreement in Tunis is within our grasp and it would be
an important signal that democratic nations are
genuinely committed to bridging the worrying divide
between the world’s digital ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ and
to building a genuinely open and inclusive global
information society.”
Background:
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) that
officially starts tomorrow is a formal UN Summit at the
level of Heads of State and Government. The EU is
represented at the WSIS by the
EU Presidency and the
European Commission, with Members of the
European
Parliament included in the EU delegation. The process is
divided into two phases (Geneva, 10-12 December 2003; Tunis,
16-18 November 2005). The talks in Tunis this week will
focus on internet governance and financial mechanisms to
bridge the digital divide. For the EU, discussions with
civil society and private industry will parallel the
official summit.
Further Contact Information
Press and Media Relations
Delegation of the European Commission
2300 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
http://www.eurunion.org/PressRoom
Tel: 202-862-9552
Fax: 202-429-1766
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