THE EU Council of Industry Ministers has approved the drawing up of new priorities for the development of the information society in Europe. The meeting, chaired by the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Bruton, also agreed a new programme to promote the use of technology in reducing the cost of transferring information between languages.

Mr Bruton said there was a major need to improve the competitiveness of Europe's information and communications technologies both to reposition themselves in the face of global competition and to boost employment.