It is also important to support the careers of female engineers via networking, mentoring and measures to balance work and private life.

Similarly – and this is the last point that I would like to stress – we can assume that, in the future Member States of the European Union, which will be full members of the EU as from 1 May 2004, with this statutory text, which is for some of the new members part of the acquis that they have yet to take on board, we have created a European basis for ensuring that these parts of the overall European road network are also rapidly offered the degree of safety which must be guaranteed by road builders, road maintainers and road monitors, as we rightly believe.

T. whereas the EU and the Member States were called upon to review relevant legislation and standards to ensure conformity with accessibility principles at the end of 2002 and to ensure by then the establishment and networking of national centres of excellence in "design for all" and draw up recommendations for an European curriculum in "design for all" for designers and engineers,

S. Whereas the EU and the Member States were called to review relevant legislation and standards to ensure conformity with accessibility principles at the end of 2002 and to ensure by then the establishment and networking of national centres of excellence in “design for all” and create recommendations for an European curriculum in “design for all” for designers and engineers;

The eEurope action Plan also foresaw that the EU and its Members should review relevant legislation and standards to comply with accessibility principles by 2002, ensure the establishment and networking of national centres of excellence in design for all and create recommendations for an EU curriculum in ´design for all`, for designers and engineers.

ESPRIT II, the largest of the Community RD programmes, is on its own expected to contribute a potential user base of 6000 professional researchers and engineers for this network.