Background

The network economy is developing fast, is changing market structures and will end in a complete market transformation. E-commerce is the buzz word and new IT applications are developing at full speed. But the development of economic structures is not a stand-alone process.

The public sector is challenged by the changes in the economy and will have to adapt to new realities. The transition into the information age requires optimal interaction between businesses and governments.

The 1998 CONDRINET report 'Content and Commerce Driven Strategies in Global Networks' has set a number of priorities for governments. These include facilitation of business-led self regulation efforts to develop basic business rules and standards on a world-wide basis; and development of educational policies that will provide sufficient numbers of skilled workers and stimulate employee mobility.

Additionally, sufficient market infrastructures must be provided, a positive attitude of society towards the new developments must be stimulated, and this also means that the place of the national culture in the evolving global culture must be re-defined.

Although e-commerce is appealing to lots of people, it is not a trade medium free of dangers. As the OECD states in its Policy Brief of November 1997: "Electronic commerce has many qualities that consumers find attractive. It also has properties that facilitate fraud and make prosecution difficult. In addition, its international nature means that the laws and regulations a consumer relies on for protection at home may not apply in the merchant's country. Electronic commerce thus may require novel protection and redress mechanisms, some of which will develop through competition, others of which will require international co-operation among industry and governments."

The global character of the new economic reality makes that international co-operation is indispensable to reach satisfactory results. At the moment the market is changing faster than new policy is developing, which puts extra pressure on the political institutions to act quickly and efficiently.

The European Internet Seminars analyse in depth the relationship between industry and the public sector from a European perspective. The programme aims at studying the most important developments in this area and in doing so providing a clear multi-disciplinary overview of followed strategies in building up the European network economy, including their successes and deficiencies.

To have a look at the programme of the European Internet Seminars, click here