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EUROPEAN REVIEW

ISSUE 37 - Page 8

THE EUROPEAN FOUNDATION FOR THE Improvement of Living and Working Conditions is no more. From now on the EU-funded research body, located in Dublin, will be known as Eurofound. The Director, Jorma Karppinen, announced that ‘To strengthen our brand, increase visibility and to avoid any confusion over the long official name in growing number of EU languages, the Foundation will be promoted as Eurofound from now on’. The new name will be complemented by a clearer web site where the four specialist sections will be co-ordinated to provide a common look and feel, and improved to include Google search technology and better accessibility for disabled people.
After a previous redesign there was a significant increase in overall usage: 2.6 million users in 2006 representing a rise of 36%. Among the specialist sections the European Monitoring Centre on Change (EMCC) at 28% and the European Working Conditions Observatory (EWCO) at 24% did well. They were eclipsed, however, by the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) which leaped ahead by 54%. The re-vamped site aims to cater for ‘former EU15 countries, new EU Member States and … the EU acceding and candidate countries’ and Eurofound claims that the now 27 Member States are covered ‘in the majority of the Foundation’s web products’. Clearer and shorter reports with more graphics are also promised.
When the European Review accessed the site the banner at the top of the home page still proclaimed the old name and the feel of the site was much the same as after the last redesign. However the EIRO and EMCC home pages had acquired tasteful pastel colours which fitted in with the ‘corporate look’. The most recent articles also appeared to be shorter than usual though graphics still seemed to be rare. Let’s hope that the re-branding increases still further the number of researchers, particularly from trade unions, using this valuable resource.

Web sites mentioned on this page are available at:
Eurofound - Front page	http://www.eurofound.eu.int/index.htm
Interactive content and convergence: Implications for the information society	http://europa.eu.int/information_society/eeurope/i2010/docs/ studies/interactive_content_ec2006_final_report.pdf
EUlisses	http://ec.europa.eu:80/employment_social/social_security_schemes/eulisses/jetspeed/portal/ media-type/html/language/en/user/anon/page/homepage.psml

Online content could spark boom in Euro ICT sector

EU-wide pensions web site goes online

2010 IS NOT FAR AWAY SO WHEN AN EU COMMISSION report predicts that €8.3 billion will be earned from the sale of music, computer games and other content online in that year a massive expansion in the industry is implied. In fact the figure represents 400% growth over the five years before that date. As broadband and advanced mobile networks spread and more and more people acquire digital devices, such as iPods, ‘digital convergence’ is upon us. This means that most devices can access most content so that, for instance, games can be played on mobile phones, radio stations heard on digital television and tv programmes and newspapers watched and read on many different types of device. Millions of new owners will want to use these new technologies ‘creating great opportunities for Europe's consumers, content providers and technology industries’ said Viviane Reding, Commissioner for Information Society and Media. However the report identifies 36 ‘roadblocks’ which could hinder the boom. Chief among them is still connectivity. Although 12.6% of EU citizens had broadband at the end of 2005, the actual speed at which it worked varied from an average of 9.2 Megabits per second in Sweden to 0.6 in Greece. At 1 Mb/s a two-hour film takes 3 hours to download. Other obstacles included piracy, security of payment, licensing, legal liability and differences in VAT across the EU. Until these are solved the report forecast that Europe will still lag behind Japan and the US and the promised bonanza will not materialise.

AS PART OF ITS DRIVE TO MAKE ITSELF AS RELEVANT to EU citizens as possible the European Commission has started another web site which seeks to help their daily needs. The EUlisses portal will provide information on pension rights in seven languages and a glossary of the often complicated pension terminology. Conceived as part of the 2006 Year of Workers’ Mobility it will enable users to find the institution that is responsible for payment and the competent authority if they move to another Member State. There are plans to extend the information to other social security benefits in due course.