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News Releases
No. 113/05
November 16, 2005
EU BROKERS DEAL ON PROGRESSIVE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF INTERNET GOVERNANCE AT TUNIS WORLD SUMMIT
A worldwide political agreement providing for
further internationalization of Internet governance, and
enhanced intergovernmental cooperation to this end, was
brokered at the
World Summit on the Information Society
(WSIS) in Tunis last night. The compromise text agreed was
based largely on EU proposals presented in the
discussions since June. As a first important element of
the agreement, a new international Internet Governance
Forum (IGF) will be created to deliberate among
governments, the private sector and civil society at
large in a multi-stakeholder policy dialogue related to
Internet Governance. A first meeting of this Forum will
be convened by the Secretary-General of the United
Nations by the second quarter of 2006 and take place in
Greece. The texts agreed in Tunis also include language
that will allow for enhanced cooperation among
governments, on an equal footing, on public policy
issues. Such cooperation should include the development
of globally applicable principles on public policy
issues associated with the coordination and management
of critical Internet resources. This cooperation will
make use of relevant international organizations. There
was also a consensus in Tunis yesterday that countries
should not be involved in decisions regarding another
country’s Top Level Domain, thus meeting requests made,
in particular, by the EU in the negotiations.
 “I welcome the texts now agreed in Tunis. They pave
the way for a progressive internationalization of
Internet governance,” commented
Viviane Reding
(pictured at left), EU
Commissioner for
Information Society and Media, who is
leading the European Commission delegation in Tunis. “This
agreement was possible because of the strong belief of
all democratic nations that enhanced international
cooperation is the best way to make progress towards
guaranteeing the freedom of the Internet around the
globe and also to enhance transparency and
accountability in decisions affecting the architecture
of the Web. The fact that the EU spoke with one voice in
Tunis, and had stood by its case for more cooperation on
Internet governance in the run-up to the summit,
certainly strongly influenced this positive agreement.”
The text finalized last night reflects a consensus of
all participants of the Tunis summit. It will now be
officially adopted by the Heads of State or Government,
or their representatives, in the course of the World
Summit on Information Society that officially started
today and will last until Friday, November 18. For the
European Commission,
the days to come will focus on gaining the support of
other nations for the EU’s policy of investing in
Information and Communication Technology, as a means to
overcome the “digital divide.” In addition, the
Commission will reiterate its position on the need to
safeguard human rights, and in particular freedom of
speech, in order to build a truly global Information
Society.
Further information, please visit:
http://www.eurunion.org/newsweb/HotTopics.htm#digdiv.
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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