1. Information and Communication Technologies in EU Accession countries

2. General Importance for economy-wide spillovers innovation /knowledge/information Specific to EU accession countries Relevance in EU/WTO negotiations Access to information historically has been intentionally limited Presence of more barriers to introduce competition Even larger gains from information/knowledge 1. Relevance of the ITC sector

3. 2. Internet development in EU accession countries 2. Internet development in EU accession countries Source: ITU(2001) Internet hosts per 1000 inhabitants

4. 3. Implications of ITC for the rest of the economy Restructure existing businesses Leap-frog stages of technology development Narrow the income and technology gap between East and West -- not fall behind but catch up Access to information, democracy

5. 3.1 Internet bus users in EU accession countries Source: BEEPs, EBRD and WB, 1999.

6. 3.2 Impact of ITC on enterprise performance Source: BEEPs, EBRD and WB, 1999.

7. 3.2 Impact of ITC on enterprise performance (ctd) Source: BEEPs, EBRD and WB, 1999.

8. 4. Conclusions ITC represents a great opportunity for EU accession countries to accelerate progress in the transition process However, for the ITC to make a solid contribution to long term growths of markets, it must be allowed to work and not be held back by non-supportive regulatory frameworks.