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From...
European Commission sounds Y2K alarm
December 4, 1998
Web posted at: 10:00 AM EST
by Elizabeth de Bony
(IDG) -- The European Commission has warned member countries and European businesses that efforts to bring systems in line with the year 2000 problem simply aren't sufficient -- particularly in the electricity and road transport sectors and the local and regional government levels.
A 25-page report issued today, "How the European Union is tackling the Year 2000 Computer Problem," also highlights areas of potential problems, including water and waste management, health and the food supply chain.
To draw attention to the current situation, the European Commission will present the report to European Union heads of state and government officials during a meeting in Vienna on Dec. 12.
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The European Commission will ask heads of state to form a working group of national officials to provide high-level coordination to battle the millennium bug. The group also will help focus member nations' attention on weak links in the preparation chain.
Although the report acknowledges that considerable effort has been made over the past year by central administrations as well as the air traffic, telecommunications and financial services sectors, it stresses that the considerable uncertainty in Europe is the result of a total lack of information available about certain sectors and administrations. The U.K. represents a notable exception to the lack of information, the report found.
The European Commission indicated that in the coming year, considerable emphasis will be placed on information disclosure. The report sets out a list of action points for national administrations, including the need to monitor and report progress in the energy sector and to exchange information about the readiness of all transport sectors.
In the telecommunications sector, the report points out that operators in Sweden, Germany, the U.K., Norway and the U.S. are actively involved in inter-carrier tests to check compliance, but that not all major EU operators are cooperating fully with this group. The European Commission declined to identify which countries were balking at working with the group.
The report also reveals that, while a majority of countries have specific year 2000 offices or programs that take an active role in coordinating and encouraging compliance efforts, ministries in Germany, Finland, Austria, Luxembourg and Portugal are playing mostly information exchange roles.
Elizabeth de Bony is a correspondent for the IDG News Service in Brussels, Belgium.