No C 328/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 22. 12. 86
2.7. Annex
2.7.1. The Committee notes that Annex I lists four
groups of foods for which specific provisions shall be
laid down, but that two of these groups — infant
formulae and follow-up milk — are already the subject
of a proposal for a single Directive covering both. The
information in the Annex is therefore confusing and
should be corrected perhaps by a footnote thereto.
2.7.2. Furthermore, the terms used in the different
Community languages on follow-up milks present some
anomalies and need to be re-examined and stan-
dardized.
Done at Brussels, 17 September 1986.
The Chairman
of the Economic and Social Committee
Gerd MUHR
Opinion on the proposal for a Council recommendation on the coordinated introduction of
the integrated services digital network (ISDN) in the European Community^)
(86/C 328/05)
On 9 June 1986 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee,
under Article 100 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the
abovementioned proposal.
The Section for Industry, Commerce, Crafts and Services, which was responsible for preparing
the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 3 September 1986 in the light
of the report by Mr Nierhaus.
At is 239th plenary session (meeting of 17 September 1986) the Committee adopted the
following opinion unanimously:
1. Introduction
1.1. The further development of telematics in the
Community will have considerable economic and social
repercussions which are difficult to gauge at the
moment: the creation of a standardized Community-
wide integrated services digital network (ISDN) for the
transmission of information will play a key role here.
This is the only way in which it will be possible in the
medium and long-term to attain the main goals of
the Community's policy towards telecommunications
which were approved by the Council on 17 December
1984. These goals include, above all,
— creating a Community-wide market for telecom-
munication terminals and equipment, and
— improving the development of advanced telecom-
munication services and networks.
1.2. In consequence, the need to establish a Com-
munity-wide ISDN is set out in more or less explicit
terms in all important Commission documents on the
subject of telematics.
1.3. The Economic and Social Committee has point-
ed out, especially in its opinions on the Commission
communication to the Council on telecommunications
and the report and proposal for a Council Decision on
a preparatory action for RACE, that the development
of a Community-wide integrated services digital net-
work is of primordial importance for telecommuni-
cations.
1.4. This plan represents one of the major challenges
in the field of technology: using existing telephone
networks as its basis, it is likely to be phased in by
the end of the century and will require considerable
investment.
(J) OJ No C 157, 24. 6. 1986, p. 3.
1.5. One reason why the Commission's plan acquires
a special significance is that comparable developments
22. 12. 86 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 328/11
in, say, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA),
could give EFTA countries the chance to cooperate
more closely with the Community.
2. General comments
2.1. The Committee gives its express support to the
proposal because:
— users will be provided with vast new possibilities for
satisfying their growing demand for information,
— the large markets created will give the telematics
industry the chance to increase production, reduce
prices and thus improve sales in the face of USA
and Japanese competition,
— the considerable investment required may also give
employment a boost.
2.2. . However, the Committee thinks that the Com-
mission's plan to create a cross-border integrated ser-
vices digital network could be implemented more read-
ily if the proposal were to take the form of a directive
instead of a recommendation.
2.3. Since funds will mainly have to be provided by
national PTTs, the Member States will have to put
considerable effort into coordinating the timing of the
changeover and launch of the new services.
2.4. Irrespective of this, the Committee calls on
Member State Governments to use the recommendation
to reach agreement on standardized bearer services,
teleservices and supplementary services and on the
requisite specifications for transmission protocols,
interfaces and equipment standards. If possible, this
should be an international agreement.
3. Specific comments
3.1. The Committee considers that a good basis has
been created for the future because all Member States
already agree that the basic aim should be to create an
ISDN with three-channel basic access (2 x 64 Kbit/s +
16 Kbit/s) or a primary rate access for PABXs with
2 Mbit/s. It will thus be possible to convert the present
telephone network gradually in such a way that the
new services will be available, via the present network,
to both private and business subscribers.
3.2. Because of the considerable investment required
to change over from analogue to digital transmission
and switching, there is a danger that the gaps between
the more and less developed regions of the Community
will widen. Therefore, the possibility of Community
funds being used to even out the advances made in the
Community should be considered.
The Committee points out in this connection that the
funds earmarked for the STAR programme should not
be reduced but that their deployment should be care-
fully linked to the introduction of the ISDN.
3.3. The Committee would stress in particular the
openings which reasonably-priced ISDN basic accesses
may create for small and medium-sized enterprises. The
high speed transmission and utilization of data and the
numerous technical possibilities afforded will put SMEs
in a better position to compete with large enterprises
and will thus go some way towards putting them on
an equal footing.
3.4. The introduction of the ISDN will also require
workers to learn new job skills. This should be taken
into consideration by the Commission in good time.
Suitable openings for basic and further training should
be created in the countries of the Community with the
support of Community projects.
3.5. The development and launching of a narrow-
band ISDN based on the present analogue network is
the subject of the present proposal. Although this goal
represents a considerable technological challenge and
will necessitate enormous expenditure, it is likely to
be only one step on the road to a Community-wide
broadband ISDN. Apart from offering further private
services (e.g. TV, phone and video conferencing) the
broadband ISDN will also make it possible to integrate
public radio and TV broadcasting in full. Since this
will have considerable technical, economic and social
consequences, the Committee suggests that a discussion
be held in the Community here and now on the relevant
goals and their effects. At all events the goals must be
defined at an early stage, because they will have a
considerable impact or> the strategy for extending the
network. Thus, regardless of any move to expand the
ISDN further, it is debatable whether broadband tree
networks should be constructed on a large scale for TV
transmissions.
3.6. The development of the ISDN and the fully
integrated broadband network will benefit the economy
but may also pose considerable social problems and
threaten privacy (e.g. rationalizing effects of home-
banking, aggregation of personal data from various
No C 328/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 22. 12. 86
data banks, recording of telephone data, automatic
speech recognition, monitoring of TV viewing). On the
other hand, these networks will also make it technically
possible to improve the protection of personal data.
3.6.1. The Committee advocates more information
from the relevant bodies and more public discussion on
this subject so that the public's fears and mistrust
can be dispelled and the requisite legal basis for the
protection of privacy and personal data can be
improved. The political feasibility of the new openings
created by the ISDN will also depend on these matters
being settled. The more intensive marketing campaign
called for in the recommendation should cover this
aspect more fully at a very early stage, on the basis of
sound legal and social provisions.
3.6.2. On the other hand, the Committee considers
that advanced integrated services networks will, for
example, help to improve crime-detection methods and
protect natural resources (e.g. saving of paper due to
the use of electronic catalogues and records, long-term
conservation of energy due to the replacement of TV
transmitters, replacement of copper by silicon). These
aspects should also be borne in mind in the marketing
plans.
3.7. The Committee, like the Commission, sees a
close link between the acceptance of the new services
and the fixing of charges. During the switchover from
the analogue to the digital network, the present level
of charges should be maintained in principle despite the
need for more investment. An unjustifiable increase in
charges is likely to stifle demand considerably and make
it difficult to reduce unit costs by producing terminals
in large quantities.
Done at Brussels, 17 September 1986.
The Chairman
of the Economic and Social Committee
Gerd MUHR
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 85/611/EEC as regards
jurisdiction in disputes arising from the marketing of units of undertakings for collective
investment in transferable securities (UCITS) (*)
(86/C 328/06)
The Council decided on 7 May 1986 to ask the Economic and Social Committee, under
Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, for an opinion
on the abovementioned proposal.
The Section for Industry, Commerce, Crafts and Services, which was responsible for the
preparatory work, adopted its opinion on 9 July 1986 (rapporteur: Mr De Bruyn).
At its 239th plenary session (meeting of 17 September 1986), the Economic and Social
Committee adopted unanimously the following opinion:
The Committee approves the proposal, subject to the
following comments:
1. Under Section VIII of the Council Directive of
20 December 1985 coordinating the laws, regulations
and administrative provisions concerning certain under-
(!) OJ No C 129, 28. 5. 1986, p. 5.
takings for collective investment in transferable securi-
ties (UCITS), such organisations had certain obligations
to carry out in Member States other than that in which
they were situated when marketing their units in those
states. A purchaser of UCITS units may bring disputes
relating to compliance with the provisions contained in
Section VIII before the relevant court in the country
where the UCITS' head office is located under Article 2
of the Brussels Convention of 27 September 1968 on
jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil
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