The European Accessibility Act is a directive of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

which took effect in April 2019. This directive aims to improve the trade between members of the EU for

accessible Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i.e ...

products and services, by removing country specific rules. Businesses benefit from having a common set of rules within the EU, which should facilitate easier cross-border trade. It should also allow a greater market for companies providing accessible products and services.

Persons with disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...

and

elderly people Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

will benefit from having more accessible products and services in the market. An increased market size should produce more competitive prices. There should be fewer barriers within the EU and more job opportunities as well. Originally proposed in 2011, this act was built to complement the EU's

Web Accessibility Directive The Directive on the accessibility of websites and mobile applications also known as Directive (EU) 2016/2102 was adopted by the EU in 2016. This Directive applies to public sector organizations of member states of the European Union. The goal was ...

which became law in 2016. It also reflects the obligations of the UN's

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights treaty of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. Parties to the convention are required to promote, ...

. It includes a wide range of systems including personal devices such as

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

e-books An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...

, and TVs, as well as public services like

television broadcast A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid-1 ...

, ATMs, ticketing machines, public transport services, banking services and

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain manageme ...

sites. The laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive have to be adopted and published by the

Member States A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation. Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign states ...

by 28 June 2022. Three years later, in 2025, the requirements of the European Accessibility Act must have been implemented. The requirements and obligations of this Directive do not apply to microenterprises providing services within the scope of this Directive – whereby ‘microenterprise’ means an enterprise which employs fewer than 10 persons and which has an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 2 million or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 2 million. The "Design for all” principles on digital technology the creation of the European Harmonized Accessibility Standards

EN 301 549 EN 301 549 is a European standard for digital accessibility. It specifies requirements for information and communications technology to be accessible for people with disabilities. EN 301 549 was developed by CEN, CENELEC and ETSI to set requir ...

which defines "Accessibility requirements suitable for public procurement of ICT products and services in Europe".

References

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External links

European Accessibility Act: A Big Step On A Long Journey

Accessibility? Act!

EU Web Accessibility Compliance and Legislation

ACCESSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES / 2015-12

European Accessibility Act: final steps on the European level – first steps on the national level

All set for design for all! An update on the European Accessibility Act

Video by the European Commission explaining the benefits and background of the EAA

Lainey Feingold's Global Law and Policy: Europe
2019 in Europe 2019 in law Disability legislation Accessibility European Union directives Accessible Procurement

See also

References

External links