EUROPEANACCESSIBILITY ACTIMPROVING THE ACCESSIBILITY OF PRODUCTS
AND SERVICES IN THE SINGLE MARKET
Employment,
Social Affairs& Inclusion

Why a European Accessibility Act?
Around 80 million people in the EU are affected by a disability in some degree. Accessibility is aprecondition to ensure their full and equal participation in society. The European Accessibility Act(EAA) aims to improve the functioning of the internal market for accessible products and services
by removing barriers created by divergent legislation.
The EU and most of the Member States have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities (UN CRPD). As such they have committed to create a legislative framework foraccessibility in line with Article 9 of the Convention. Accessibility is considered as a wide conceptthat includes the prevention and elimination of obstacles that pose problems for persons withdisabilities in using products, services and infrastructures.
Member States have started to legislate on accessibility independently, increasing regulatory fragmentation. The Commission table the Accessibility Act to help dismantle barriers between Member
States due to different national accessibility requirements that are emerging. The Accessibility Act
will establish European-wide functional requirements. This means requirements establishing accessibility principles instead of prescribing the detailed technical solutions.

What will it cover?
The European Accessibility Act will cover the following products and services:
••
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

computers and operating systems
ATMs, ticketing and check-in machines
telephones and smartphones
TV equipment related to digital television services
telephony services and related equipment
audiovisual media services, such as television broadcast and related consumer equipmentservices related to air, bus, rail and waterborne passenger transportbanking services
e-books
e-commerce

What will it do and what it will not do?
The Directive will tell “What” needs to be accessible in terms of functional requirements but will
not impose detailed technical solutions telling “How” to make it accessible, allowing for innovation.
•uses a set of common accessibility requirements at EU level for a number of products and services•

creates an obligation for Member States to ensure that the selected products andservices placed in the market comply with accessibility requirements•uses the same accessibility requirements to define the accessibility obligation laid
down in existing EU law, in particular in the areas of public procurement, Structural& Investment Funds and transport•

supports Member States implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights ofPersons with Disabilities•ensures that all products and services complying with accessibility requirements will
circulate freely in the internal market•does not prescribe to the level of technical details how to render a product or service
accessible. However, it provides for the development of standards or technical implementing measures wherever more detail is needed•

does not set obligations for all manufacturers and service providers, but only for
those working on a selected list of products and services•

does not impose burdensome requirements by providing safeguards on disproportionate burden and fundamental alteration•

does not amend existing EU sectorial legislation on accessibility

What will be the impact of the EAA?
For EU citizens
The EAA is a step forward in reducing barriers for people with disabilities within the EU: better
accessibility of products and services that citizens use every day, such as phones, transport orbanking services, will help people with disabilities to be able to fully participate in society on anequal basis with others, to have better access to education and to enter more easily the open labour market. Accessibility is also necessary for older people to maintain an active role in society,including extending their working lives. In general, accessibility is beneficial to all EU citizens.
For example, people trying to hear travelling information in noisy environments like train stations,or trying to get money from ATMs on a sunny day, or employees working with enlarged documents to avoid eye strain will also greatly benefit from further accessibility.
7 in 10 Europeans believe better accessibility of products and services would very much
improve the lives of people with disabilities, the elderly and others with accessibility needs:

Q5. In your opinion, better accessibility of goods and services would improve:
Life of people with disabilities
and the elderly
Life of people with disabilities,
the elderly and others(pregnant women, people travellingwith luggage, etc...)

72

23212

69

25

3123647

Opportunities for industry to sell
products to persons with disabilitiesand the elderly

Very much

Somewhat37

Not very much

7Not at all

Don’t know

Source: Eurobarometer on Accessibility (2012). Croatia is not included as it was not an EU Member State at the timeof the survey.

For businesses
Businesses — and in particular SMEs — will benefit from the elimination of barriers caused bya fragmented market thanks to the creation of a single set of requirements. Cross-border
trade will thus be easier for them. The market costs for companies and Member States due
to divergent requirements are estimated at € 20 billion in 2020. The proposed EU action is estimated to reduce it by 45% to 50%. The extra production costs introduced with the EAA will bevery low or even non-existent. The potential benefits are expected to be higher than the potential
accessibility-related costs for all economic operators.
SMEs are generally favourable to the introduction of EU-level accessibility requirements:

Favourable to general obligations for
manufacturers and providers to provide
accessible products and services

65%

Favourable to compulsory purchaseof accessible products and services
in public procurement

65%

Favourable to common EU standards

74%

Source: SME Panel conducted by Enterprise Europe Network

78% of Europeans think that having common rules on accessibility in the EU will makeit easier for companies to operate in another EU country:

Do you think that having common rules on accessibility in the EU
will make it easier for companies to operate in another country?

9%

5%
Yes, definitely

8%

38%

Yes, to some extent
No, probably notNo, not at all

40%3025 3020 15201520 201010 100 201420152016

Source: Eurobarometer on Accessibility (2012).

Don’t know