The European Union (EU) countries recommend a ‘less elaborate’ an...
The European Union (EU) countries recommend a “less elaborate” and “lighter” preparatory process for the Tunis phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), which starts this month with a discussion on next steps. In a preliminary…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
statement sent to the WSIS Executive Secretariat last week, the EU warns that the “prepcoms” should be kept within the “budgetary resources available,” be accurately costed out and not be too expensive. To reduce costs, 2 preparatory meetings could be in Geneva, where ITU and UN facilities could be used, it said. The EU itself probably won’t hold regional meetings, but instead would prefer to have the points of the Declaration of Principles (DoP) and the Plan of Action (PoA) be referenced at thematic conferences. As for the hotly debated digital solidarity fund, the EU said it had “yet to be convinced of the need for the creation.” Statements of other WSIS participants aren’t as strong on specific questions. Canada, like the EU, said it wants to avoid lengthy negotiations over a new document, instead building on the 2 documents produced by the first WSIS, and aim for a short inspirational chair’s communique with accompanying leaders’ statements, substantive reports and announcements. But at least on funding and internet governance more debates are expected, officials said.