The Commission also released the results of its latest survey of internet use, showing a 55% growth in internet penetration in the last six months. The figures indicate that internet penetration in EU households has risen from 18% in March to 28% in October.
"These figures are really very encouraging. The year 2000 has truly been the year of the internet in Europe" said Erkki Liikanen, Commissioner responsible for Enterprise and Information Society and in charge of implementing the eEurope Action Plan.
The Commission says that eEurope has had a strong impact on the speeding up of important legislation including assuring agreement on local loop unbundling and cutting red tape on export controls for encryption products.
Liikanen acknowledged the need for more effective protection against attacks on information service networks.