EU Commissioners Kuneva, Reding + Orban to "EuroFora" : "Enormous Potential to boom on-line !"

EU has an "enormous Potential" for on-line Media, and EU intends to make it "boom" by "targetting the whole (European) on-line Market, and not just a segment", in order to "sell better for consumers and businesses" by facilitating EU Citizens' access through the promotion of their Rights,  Multi-linguism, etc. including by facing the challenge of Better Networks and Technologic Innovations, replied in substance EU Commissioners Meglena Kuneva, Viviane Reding and Leonard Orban, to "EuroFora"'s questions.

Observing that "some previous attempts to create On-line Media, even in Big EU Countries, did not work enough for the moment, at least not as in the USA" etc., "EuroFora" asked EU Commissioners about their views on the new perspectives opened now, thanks also to "EU efforts to help", "for the developpement of new On-line Media, on the entire EU-level".

-  "The EU On-line Market has an enormous potential, that we don't utilize enough", replied from the outset Reding

- "We (EU) want to bring this Market to a Boom", EU Commissioner on Information Society and Media stressed in her reply to "EuroFora"'s question on the development of new European On-line Media.

F.ex. about 50% of EU households already have a broadmand access, but less than ...7% of them use it to buy on the Internet, so that the current 106 Billion € on-line EU market income, even if huge, in fact doesn't represent but only a small fraction of what is possible in the EU, Reding observed.

"That's why we have to inform both businesses and users", she concluded in reply.

EU Commissioner for Consumers' protection, Meglena Kuneva, also replied positively to "EuroFora"'s question on the current prospects for the development of On-line Media ;

- "It fits", Because "we (EU) are targetting the whole single on-line market" throughout all Europe. "As you can see, this is in the framework of our efforts : " "Digital Agenda for the entire On-line Market", as it's quite right written on screen".

 - So, "this is, indeed, our purpose  : To sell better to the On-line Market, both for Consumers and for Businesses", EU Commisioner Kuneva concluded in her reply to "EuroFora"'s question.

Statistics reveal that, until now, the main obstacle was the lack of "Trust" by consumers to trans-border transactions on-line, mainly because they were afraid that the good they bought might not be as shown in the screen, or not delivered at all, as she said earlier. But, even if Kuneva added to "EuroFora" that "we are not targetting one or another segment of the on-line market,...so that she "wouldn't outline just one sector", in fact, this problem should normally not affect the on-line Media : Because there, the "delivery" is made not physically, at a later Date, but immediately on-line. (Fex. simply by opening access to part or all the content of "News", interactive exchanges, etc).

Reding and Kuneva had just presentented in a Press Conference at EU Parliament in Strasbourg the "EYouGuide", a Practical, easy to read and use, EU Guide to Citizens' Rights in order to "Trust" as tranOn-line consumers at the Internet, available both in Leaflets and at : ec.europa.eu/eyouguide

EU Commissioner for MultiLingualism, Leonard Orban, obviously was also Key-person for another main original characteristic behind "EuroFora" project, and any on-line Media that would target the entire EU, including also interactive content for its Readers with "Forums", etc.: The inevitable use of many Languages at the same time in parallel :

Questioned later by "EuroFora" on that precise point, EU Commissioner Orban said that "the challenge is huge, because EU has 23 official Languages to manage", and already the need for qualified interpretators is felt, particularly in many specialized fields, for qualified persons able to master even a scientific or legal terminology. Paradoxically, there is a problem for English speaking interpretors, but also others, since we face also the Competition of a Global Market, including fex. Afrika, Asia, etc.

- But Orban revealed to "EuroFora" that, recently, he had "brought together Scientists, Researchers, the Industry, Businesses, Experts, Politicians, Administrations, NGOs, etc. in order to find out all together what are the needs and the possibilities for the developpement of efficient New Technologies able to do Automatic Translations", including on-line.

Accurately multiply each sentence's automatic translation in 23 languages, as EU has to do, is obviously an immense task.

-"But we hope to arrive to an acceptable average level, mainly through Innovative technologies and organisation, in the following 5 Years", EU Commissioner Orban concluded to "EuroFora".

"EuroFora"'s members, users and readers would certainly urge EU Commission to try to do even better, and mainly faster, (even if it starts, at the beginning, at least in the main 3 or 5 EU Languages, to be followed later on by all the others). Because the practical needs for an easy, simple and efficient, on-line automatic translation is obviously vital for the free and good communication between EU Citizens, as well as for the development of a common European consciousnes.