GREECE’S COURSE TOWARDS THE INFORMATION SOCIETY A study submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Information Management at THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD by STAVROS FOUNTZOULAS September 2007 ABSTRACT Contemporary Europe is gradually becoming an information society, and the impact of this change is felt on all sectors of human activity. The adoption of new integrated information systems and the broad diffusion of information and communication technologies lead to dramatic changes in society and economy. The rate for the diffusion of new technologies is a mark of development within a society. The present paper examines Greece's course towards the information society, through the study of European and Greek action plans developed in the past and up to date. The theoretical approach followed highlights the technological dimension of the information society, without however disregarding the fact that the information society is above all a sociological phenomenon. We also describe the expectations and expected impact from the implementation of a global policy on information society. There follows a concise analysis of the European and Greek approach, through the analysis of actions plans, initiatives and overall strategies on the information society. Special emphasis is placed on the identification of the contemporary problems and challenges faced by Greece. A special mention is made on the prevailing situation within the public sector and on how e-Government can contribute to the modernization of public administration. Through the presentation of secondary statistical data and the comparison of Greek ratings with the respective European scores in certain indicators, we determine Greece’s position in Europe. The results support the finding that, although Greece is facing various problems, it is heading in the right direction. We suggest actions to activate the necessary mechanisms to aid the improvement of its performance. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One 1. Introduction..............................................................................................................4 Chapter Two 2. Theoretical Framework…………………………………………………………...9 Chapter Three 3.1 Information Society as a Global Phenomenon: Expectations and Consequences...……………………………………………………………………..15 3.2 The European Union’s Approach to Information Society............................. 18 3.2.1 The White Paper 1993 and the Bangenmann Report……………………...19 3.2.2. e-Europe 2002………………………………………………………………..20 3.2.3 e- Europe 2005………………………………………………………………..22 3.2.4 i2010...................................................................................................................23 3.3 The Greek Approach to Information Society………………………………...24 3.3.1 Policy Text 1995………………………………………………………………24 3.3.2 The White Paper 1999………………………………………………………..25 3.3.3 Information Society Operational Programme 2000-2006………………….26 3.3.4 The Greek Digital Strategy 2006-2013………………………………………28 3.4 Challenges for Greece…………………………………………………………. 29 3.5 e-Government as an Agent of modernization in Public Administration……33 3.6 Public Administration in Greece: the Present Situation……………………..35 Chapter Four 4. Methodology……………………………………………………………………...37 Chapter Five 5. Defining Greece’s position in the European Information Society…………… 41 5.1 Computer Availability and Level of Internet Access – Households………... 45 5.2 Computer Availability and Level of Internet Access – Enterprises………... 49 5.3 Broadband Access……………………………………………………………....51 5.4 eGovernment Figures…………………………………………………………..54 5.5 General Comments……………………………………………………………..57 Chapter Six 6. Conclusion..……..………………………………………………………………...61 7. Appendix………………………………………………………………………….65 8. References.…...……………………………………………………………..........78 9. Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………….88 3 CHAPTER 1 "All persons are entitled to participate in the Information Society. Facilitation of access to electronically handled information, as well as of the production, exchange and diffusion thereof constitutes an obligation of the State, always in observance of the guarantees of articles 9, 9A and 19." Article 5a § 2 of the GREEK CONSTITUTION 1. Introduction It is generally accepted that the contemporary European society is one where restrictions as to the traffic of goods, passengers, ideas and, even more, information, have now vanished. The digital revolution of the World Wide Web and the adoption of modern information and communication technologies (ICTs) have had a huge impact on European societies and helped them realize the urgent need for the implementation of a comprehensive strategy on information society, which will enable modernization in all sectors of their socioeconomic activities and render them more competitive. Anastasiadis follows this opinion and he adds that this would allow their equal, rightful participation in the new globalized arena, while limiting the danger of exclusion from international developments (Anastasiadis, 1999). The term information society is fairly recent and describes societies in which a broad spectrum of everyday human activity is linked to the use of ICT applications (Strategy Paper, 2002). The term is more popular in Europe, while the United States prefers that of the information superhighway (Anastasiadis, 1999). While both term stress the significance of information in everyday citizen life, the European term is described as more socio-centric, as it is based on the values of European integration aiming to a social state and social cohesion (Servaes and Burgelman, 2000). Why though is such great significance placed on what is termed the digital revolution, and, in the end, what is so revolutionary that it diversifies this type of revolution from all preceding revolutions (Castells, 1996)? In an attempt to answer this question, Castells focuses on the fact that information can easily be disseminated, while having the capacity to self-expand and reform (Castells, 1996). This reformation and expansion of information, Burke adds, can only take place in a networked society that encourages the dissemination of information, bearing a broader social and economic impact (Burke, 2006). 4 Arguing in the same direction, Anastasiadis supports that the primal relationship between humans and information is revolutionized as the role of information now concern its use as a tool for economic or social development (Anastasiadis, 1999). Thus, in order to use information efficiently and take advantage of it to improve all levels of society, we must identify an information policy that will aid states and societies to achieve their goals. For Burger, an information policy is a type of social mechanism used to control information while, for Weingarten, “a sum of laws, regulations and policies encouraging, discouraging or regulating the creation, use, storage and communication of information” (Priftis and Oppenheim, 1999). Taking these facts into account, near the beginning of the previous decade, the European Union (EU) initiated an overall policy aiming primarily to boost the development and competitiveness of European economies, whilst supporting social cohesion. As Figel notes, the role of ICTs in this ambitious aspiration is significant (Figel, 2004). However, while the EU has repeatedly supported specific policies for the establishment of a Pan-European strategy on the information society, some countries have failed to respond to this lengthy procedure. For example, Greece failed to fully adopt these EU policies. As a result, today it heads the rear, behind most of its European counterparts (Buhalis and Deimezi, 2003). We should note however that, albeit belatedly, Greece developed national strategies on the information society, already from the end of the past decade. Thus, the particularity of the Greek case lies in the inability of all Greek governments to create the necessary infrastructures and conditions to establish and support the implementation of an information policy leading to an information society (Liargovas and Tsipouri, 1997). As the Greek state has exhibited its interest in the specific field, and as the required political will for innovation and modernization was present, other factors must have hindered this process, in which case, we ought to investigate their nature. The present study investigates Greece’s course towards the information society through the examination of the European framework and the Greek initiatives developed in the past and up to date, with a comparative presentation of statistical data on Greece deriving from relevant indicators and the respective EU percentages. 5 Special focus shall be placed upon the determination of the factors impeding the development process, while particular mention will be made of the existing situation in Greek public administration. We shall also examine the role of e-Government in the effort to modernize the public sector, and as a factor able to contribute to the creation of an interactive relationship between the state and its citizens, leading to a qualitative upgrading of their communication (Hahamis et. al, 2005). Previous studies have proven that the particularity of the Greek strategy towards the information society lies in the role played by the state in the implementation of the strategy and the adoption of interventive policies (Iosifidis and Leandros, 2003). Another research also focused on the examination of the eccentric Greek attitude towards the information society and on how exactly the state’s extremely