In the diversity of Information Society technologies, standardization takes on a particularly important role; it can help prevent the duplication of effort and ensure interoperability between the resulting technical solutions.  Standardization can create trust and confidence in the products and increase market relevance.  It is an essential requirement for the open exchange of information; without it, the network will simply not work. 

There are various players who are actively involved in the standardization work necessary to realise eEurope.  Those players are CEN, CENELEC and ETSI, the so-called European Standards Organizations (ESOs).  In the field of Information and Communications Technologies these three organizations have extensive interests, products and programmes and currently work very closely in developing the ICT field throughout the European Union.
Detailed information about the standardization achievements of the ESOs regarding eEurope, is available under Technical Activities: see CEN, CENELEC, ETSI pages.

The ICT Standards Board (ICTSB) is an initiative from the three recognized European standards organizations (CEN,CENELEC & ETSI) with the participation of specification providers as partners to co-ordinate specification activities in the field of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT).

To ensure that all of Europe reaps the benefits of the Information Society, the European Commission launched in 1999 a new initiative – "eEurope 2002 - An Information Society for All". It aims to secure equal access by all of Europe's citizens, to promote computer literacy and, crucially, to create a partnership environment between the users and providers of systems, based on trust and enterprise.

On 28 May 2002 the European Commission adopted the Communication "eEurope 2005: An Information Society for all - An Action Plan". This Action Plan succeeds eEurope 2002 and builds on its achievements.  The target is that by 2005, Europe should have: modern on-line public services, e-government, e-learning services and e-health services; a dynamic business environment; and, as an enabler for these, a widespread availability of broadband access and competitive prices with a secure information infrastructure.
A News Release on "New Standards Guidelines for Europe" and its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities n° 2003/C 91/04 of 16 April 2003 can be viewed under the following addresses:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/standards_policy/document/guidelines/joint_news_release.pdf and http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/standards_policy/

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