The strategy outlines where action is needed, from knowledge and innovation, to affordable healthcare, solutions for aging population, jobs and skills and action on climate change. It is a mandate for action by all Europeans. We are particularly encouraged by the prominence and focus applied to information and communication technologies through the Digital Agenda. This agenda is a call to action for all sections in society, including industry, to engage on how technology can help deliver against these critical policy goals. Perspective and insight from industry may seem like an obvious contribution, but it is vital that the new reality in the technology industry is reflected in the policy-making process.

The declaration this week issued by European Ministers of Telecommunications in Granada, Spain, covered several important areas such as cyber security, eHealth, good eGovernment and interoperability that will require a response from industry. Microsoft is a committed industry partner in this endeavour and has taken significant steps to support policy goals in each of these areas.  In particular, with respect to interoperability, Microsoft has made enormous strides over the last ten years, from our Interoperability Principles, our extensive collaborative work with many open source vendors, and the opening of widely used formats and other technologies that were formerly closed.  With the Granada Declaration, the EU looks to Microsoft and all other IT vendors to meet the challenges of the market and needs of consumers, to ensure the wide variety of existing legacy as well as new technologies work together.  We encourage the Commission to seek consistent interoperability practices across industry towards this aim.

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