# EUR-Lex - 52012PC0721 - EN

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# 52012PC0721

**Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the accessibility of public sector bodies' websites /* COM/2012/0721 final - 2012/0340 (COD) */**

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.           CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

This explanatory memorandum presents in further detail
the proposal for a new Directive aiming at the approximation of the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions of the Member States on the
accessibility of websites from public sector bodies.

The Directive
supports Member States to achieve their national commitments regarding
web-accessibility as well as their commitment to the United Nations Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities regarding websites of public sector
bodies.

Web-accessibility refers to principles and techniques to be obeserved
when constructing websites, in order to render the content of these websites
accessible to all users, in particular those with disabilities[1].

1.1.        Objectives and context of
the Proposal

In 2009, the
website-developer market consisted of some 175.000 enterprises in the 27 EU
Member States. It employed some 1 million people and the generated turnover was
€ 144 billion[2].

The European
market for web-accessibility related products and services is estimated at € 2
billion. It could grow significantly, as less than 10% of websites are
accessible. The number of citizens with functional limitations or disabilities (15%
of the EU working age population or 80 million people) may increase
significantly as the Union population ages.

Web-accessibility is of great importance
for public sector bodies, to extend their reach and to fulfil their public
responsibilities. The number of websites providing e-government services (about
380.500 in EU) and public sector websites (over 761.000 in EU) grow rapidly. Most
Member States have already either enacted legislation, or taken other measures
on web-accessibility. However, significant differences exist between these laws
and measures.

The non-harmonised national approaches to
web-accessibility create barriers in the Internal Market. Suppliers that
operate cross border face additional production costs. Competition,
competitiveness and economic growth are hampered because enterprises, SMEs in
particular, lack the knowledge and capacity to cope with all the specifications
and procedures.

National
authorities and business actors face uncertainties concerning the selection of
'web-accessibility’ specifications for potential cross-border services, and
concerning the most appropriate policy framework for web-accessibility.

Harmonisation
of national measures for the public sector at EU level is being proposed as a necessary
condition to put an end to this fragmentation and lack of confidence in the
web-accessibility market.

This Directive addresses public sector bodies'
websites, because they provide information and services that are essential for
citizens, and public expenditure in itself can create already
a secure and sizable market for web-developers.

The compliance costs for administrations
have been assessed. The analysis concluded that benefits outweigh these costs.

As web-developers are encouraged to achieve
economies of scale, this measure will contribute to create a cascade of
'spill-overs', beginning with all other public sector websites.

Harmonisation
will lead to better market conditions, more jobs, cheaper web-accessibility and
more accessible websites: a triple win for governments, businesses, and
citizens.

1.2.        Technical background

Stakeholders
world-wide currently widely use techniques based on the Success Criteria and
Requirements for Conformance Level AA of version 2.0 of the Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) issued by the World Wide Web Consortium
(W3C)[3].

A European
standard that includes web accessibility in line with WCAG 2.0 (including its
use at level AA and associated compliance assessment methods) is under
development within the Commission mandate M/376 to the European Standardisation
Organisations CEN, CENELEC and ETSI. A harmonised standard to provide
presumption of conformity with the web-accessibility requirements laid down in
this Directive should be built upon the outcome of this work.

The international standard ISO/IEC
40500:2012[4],
on web accessibility was adopted by the International Standardisation
Organisation and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). ISO/IEC
40500:2012 is exactly the same as the original WCAG 2.0.

1.3.        Policy background

Many political initiatives at European
level relate to web-accessibility: the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020
(ICT accessibility); the eGovernment Action Plan 2011-2015 (inclusive and
accessible eGovernment services); the ‘Digital Agenda
for Europe’ (Commission proposes to ensure fully-accessible public sector
websites by 2015), EU funding programmes (FP7, CIP) support of R&D on
technological web-accessibility solutions. Web-accessibility will also be
stimulated by the revision of the Public Procurement Directives.

1.4.        Consistency with other
policies and objectives of the Union

Article 9 of the United Nations Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)[5] obliges Member States and the
EU to take appropriate measures to ensure access for persons with disabilities,
on equal basis with others, to inter alia information and communication
technologies, including the Internet. This Directive would ensure the effective
use of the harmonised standard for web-accessibility that should be built upon
the outcome of Commission mandate M/376[6].

The coverage
of the proposal below is limited to website-based online services provided by
public sector bodies.

The proposal
is in synergy with the European Accessibility Act[7] (EAA), which is currently in
preparation and addresses accessibility of goods and services including ICT.
This EAA, subject to the outcome of the ongoing Impact Assesment, by focusing
on the private sector, will facilitate the realisation of the full web-accessibility
commitment of the Digital Agenda for Europe, by ensuring also the accessibility
of private-sector websites from providers of basic services to citizens. These
websites offer information and interaction, e.g. for contracting, booking, billing
and payment, and for obtaining support.

2.           RESULTS OF CONSULTATIONS WITH THE
INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS

2.1.        Consultations with the
interested parties

Numerous public consultations and studies were
carried out to identify problems and needs, addressing Member States, industry and
civil-society:

–
Benchmarking Study 2010-2011 “Monitoring
eAccessibility”[8].

–
Study on “Economic Assessment for Improving
e-Accessibility Services and Products”[9].
Workshops on web-accessibility (2008).[10]

–
Public consultation via the Commission’s
interactive Internet platform “Your voice” (2008)[11].

–
Survey on “Web-accessibility in European
countries”.[12]

–
Benchmarking Study “Measuring Progress of
eAccessibility in Europe” (2006 – 2008)[13].

–
Member State expert groups on ‘e-inclusion’ and ‘Inclusive
Communications’[14].

–
Direct consultations and meetings with
representatives of major civil society organisations such as the European
Disability Forum and the European Blind Union, AGE and ANEC, and with software
industries and a European industry association[15].

2.2.        Impact assessment

An Impact Assessment Steering Group, led by
the Directorate General for the Information Society and Media, was established
with a wide representation of services and departments of the Commission. These
included the Legal Service, the Secretariat-General, and the DGs Communication;
Economic and Financial Affairs; Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion;
Enterprise and Industry; Eurostat; Health and Consumers; Informatics; Internal
Market and Services; and Justice. The Steering Group had the task to analyse
and discuss the different issues and perspectives relevant to this proposal.

The final version of the Impact Assessment
incorporates the responses to the Impact Assessment Board's recommendations.

3.           LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL

3.1.        Legal basis

Article 114(1) of the Treaty on the
Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

3.2.        Subsidiarity Principle

The subsidiarity principle applies insofar
as the issues addressed by this proposal do not fall under the exclusive
competence of the EU.

The objectives of the proposal cannot be
sufficiently achieved by the Member States for the following reason(s):

It entails transnational aspects that
cannot be dealt with by individual Member States actions. Actions at national
level are not enough for the approximation of national measures and a coordinated
implementation of a harmonized approach, as is confirmed by the studies and
consultations;

National differences in approach put
burdens and barriers on companies that seek to interact across borders. This
limits the scope for a mature public market for web-accessibility products and
services and may place mobility constraints on those citizens that use
assistive technologies.

A more efficient use of resources would be
achieved by using harmonised requirements, and by participating in a
cooperation scheme for the sharing of good practices, know how and responses to
technological developments.

3.3.        Proportionality Principle

The proportionality principle is guarded by
limiting the proposal to a minimum list of (types of) websites, giving Member
States the option of extending this list.

Furthermore, significant implementation
parameters, such as the choice of the authority to be responsible for verifying
compliance, are left to the discretion of Member States.

3.4.        Proposal

Article 1 - Subject matter and scope

The Directive aims at approximating the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions of the Member States on the
accessibility of public sector bodies' websites, by defining harmonised
requirements.

The proposal lays down the technical
provisions whereby Member States shall make accessible the content of certain
types of websites of public sector bodies (hereafter ‘websites concerned’). The
listed types of websites comprise information and services provided by public sector
bodies, that are essential for citizens' participation in economy and society,
and enjoyment by EU citizens of their rights. The list is provided in the Annex
and is drawn from the 2001 E-government benchmarking exercise[16].

Member States may decide to extend this
list of types of websites.

Article 2 – Definitions

In the Directive terms related to websites,
standards and public entities are clarified. The terminology related to web
content and user interface is similar to that of W3C in the context of their
Web Accessibility Initiative and in line with the draft standard from Mandate
376.

Article 3 – Requirements for
web-accessibility

The requirements for web-accessibility are defined along two dimensions:

–
User orientation.

–
Market orientation and interoperability.

Considering that
requirements may change due to more disruptive technological and social
evolutions, the Commission shall be empowered to
adopt delegated acts to specify further, where appropriate, the harmonised
requirements necessary to ensure the accessibility of the websites concerned.

In order to achieve promptly current
political commitments, the above provisions are to be implemented by 31
December 2015.

Article 4 – Harmonised standards and
presumption of conformity

This Directive is in line with Regulation (EU)
No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European
Standardisation, amending Council Directives 89/686/EEC and 93/15/EEC and
Directives 94/9/EC, 94/25/EC, 95/16/EC, 97/23/EC, 98/34/EC, 2004/22/EC,
2007/23/EC, 2009/23/EC and 2009/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council and repealing Decision 87/95/EEC and Decision No 1673/2006/EC which
sets legal basis for the Commission to request European standardisation
organisations to develop harmonised standards to assist stakeholders in
providing presumption of conformity. The reference to these standards would be published in the Official Journal of the European Union,
indicating, as appropriate, the options that need to be observed when applying such standards.

The Directive indicates in a recital that
the Success Criteria and Requirements for Level AA conformance specified in the
version 2.0 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) issued by
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), are expected to be taken into account in the European
standard resulting from Mandate 376 and subsequently in the harmonised standard
that should be built upon the outcome of this work. These technology neutral
specifications provide the basis for the requirements for web-accessibility.

Article 5 – European and international
standards and presumption of conformity

In the absence of harmonised standards, the
Directive provides a solution for presumption of conformity with the
web-accessibility requirements to the websites concerned which meet European
standards or parts thereof that have been determined by the Commission by
delegated acts. Mandate 376 is preparing a European Standard that includes web-accessibility..

In the absence of such European standard,
the Directive also provides a solution for presumption of conformity with the
web-accessibility requirements to the websites concerned which meet the parts
of the ISO/IEC 40500:2012 covering the Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements for Level AA conformance.

Article 6 – Additional measures

Additional measures are requested to
contribute to awareness-raising, the establishment of cooperation arrangements
and market growth.

Member States are called upon to facilitate
the extension of web-accessibility to public sector websites
other than those concerned, as this will accelerate market growth and
the achievement of web-accessibility for EU citizens.

Article 7 – Reporting

The accessibility of a website should be
continuously monitored, in the light of regular updates of web content. Member
States are requested to monitor the
public sector bodies' websites concerned, using the methodology established by Commission in
accordance with the procedure laid down in the Directive. The methodology will use procedures and
technical assessment approaches from the harmonised standard, if available and
adequate, and will be published in the Official
Journal of the European Union.

Member States would be free to arrange a suitable mechanism for
these verifications, in assigning the responsible authorities.

Member States shall annually report on the
results of such monitoring. Reports should also include the possible extension
of the list of types of websites concerned, as well as any additional measures
pursuant Article 6 that have been taken.

The arrangements for Member States to
report to the Commission shall be determined in accordance with the procedure indicated in this
Directive.

Article 8 – Exercise of delegation

The Directive contains the provisions for
the exercise of delegated acts in line with Article 290 of the TFEU, which
allows the legislator to delegate to the Commission the power to adopt
non-legislative acts of general application to supplement or amend certain
non-essential elements of a legislative act. Such a procedure would be used in
order to specify further the requirements for web-accessibility laid down in
the Directive as indicated in Article 3 and to determine the European standard
or parts thereof which provide presumption of conformity with the
web-accessibility requirements for the websites concerned that meet them.

Article 9 – Committee

The Commission shall be assisted by a committee as described in Regulation (EU) No
182/2011. References are made to the procedures, advisory or examination, that
are distinctively applied under the articles of this Directive.

Article 10 – Transposition

The Directive sets out the date of entry into force of the laws,
regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this
Directive by 30 June 2014 at the latest.

Article 11 – Review

A review shall be carried out of the
application of this directive within three years from its entry into force.

4.           BUDGETARY IMPLICATION

No budgetary implications for the budget of
the Union.

2012/0340 (COD)

Proposal for a

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AND OF THE COUNCIL

on the accessibility of public sector
bodies' websites

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE
COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the
Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 114 (1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the
European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative
act to the national Parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the
European Economic and Social Committee[17],

Having regard to the opinion of the
Committee of the Regions[18],

Acting in accordance with the ordinary
legislative procedure,

Whereas:

(1)       The trend towards a
digital society provides users with new ways of accessing information and
services. The providers of information and services, such as public sector bodies,
rely increasingly on the Internet in order to produce, collect and provide a
wide range of information and services online, which are essential to the
public.

(2)       Web-accessibility refers
to principles and techniques to be observed when constructing websites in order
to render the content of these websites accessible to all users, in particular people
with functional limitations, including persons with disabilities. The content
of websites includes textual as well as non-textual information, and also the
downloading of forms and two-way interaction, e.g. the processing of digital
forms, authentication, and transactions like case handling and payments.

(3)       The Commission's
eGovernment Action Plan 2011-2015[19]
calls for action to develop eGovernment services that ensure inclusiveness and
accessibility.

(4)       In its Communication ‘A Digital Agenda for Europe’[20] the Commission announced that public sector
websites should be fully accessible by 2015.

(5)       The Framework Programme
for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration[21] and the Competitiveness and
Innovation Programme[22]
support research on and the development of technological solutions to accessibility
problems.

(6)       By ratifying the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ('the UN
Convention'), the majority of the Member States and the Union, by its
conclusion, have committed themselves "to ensure to persons with
disabilities access, on equal basis with others, to inter alia information and
communication technologies" and "to take appropriate measures [...] to promote
access for persons with disabilities to new information and communications
technologies and systems, including the Internet."

(7)       The European Disability
Strategy 2010-2020[23]
builds on the UN Convention and contains actions in several priority areas,
including web accessibility, with the objective "to ensure accessibility
to goods and services including public services and assistive devices for
people with disabilities."

(8)       The Council Regulation
(EC) No 1081/2006 laying down general provisions on the European Regional
Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund[24]contains provisions on the
accessibility of ICT. It does not, however, address specificities of
web-accessibility.

(9)       The fast growing web-accessibility
market comprises a range of economic operators such as those developing
websites or software tools to create, manage and test web pages, developing
user agents such as web browsers and related assistive technologies,
implementing certification services and training providers.

(10)     Several Member States have
adopted measures based on internationally-used guidelines for the design of
accessible websites, but the guidance provided often refers to different
versions or compliancy levels of those guidelines, or technical variations at
national level have been introduced.

(11)     Suppliers of web-accessibility
include a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). Suppliers
and SME in particular are discouraged from entering business ventures outside
their own domestic markets. Due to the differences in web-accessibility
specifications and regulations, their competitiveness and growth are hampered by
the additional costs they would incur in the development and marketing of cross-border
web-accessibility related products and services.

(12)     Buyers of websites and
related products and services are faced with high prices in service provision
or dependence on a single supplier, due to limited competition. Suppliers often
favour variations of proprietary 'standards', hindering later scope for interoperability
of user agents, and Union-wide ubiquitous access to website contents. Fragmentation
among national regulations reduces the benefits that could result from sharing
experiences with national and international peers in responding to societal and
technological developments.

(13)     The approximation of
national measures at Union level, based on an agreement on accessibility requirements
for public sector bodies' websites, is necessary in order to put an end to
fragmentation. It would reduce uncertainty for web-developers and would foster
interoperability. By using accessibility requirements which are technology
neutral, innovation will not be hampered and may possibly even be stimulated.

(14)     A harmonised approach
should also allow Union public sector bodies and enterprises to gain economic
and social benefits from extending the provision of on-line services to include
more citizens and customers. This should increase the potential of the internal
market for web-accessibility products and services. The resulting market growth
should allow undertakings to contribute to economic growth and jobs creation
within the Union. Strengthening the internal market should make investment in
the Union more attractive. Governments should benefit from cheaper provision of
web-accessibility.

(15)     Citizens should benefit
from wider access to online public sector services and should receive services and
information which will facilitate the enjoyment of their rights across the
Union, notably their right to move and reside freely within the territory of
the Union and their freedom of establishment and to provide services.

(16)     The web–accessibility
requirements defined in this Directive are technology neutral. They only
indicate which basic functionalities have to be fulfilled for the user to
perceive, operate or understand a site and its content. They do not
specify how this has to be achieved or what technology should be selected for a
particular site, on-line information or application. As such they do not hamper
innovation.

(17)     Interoperability related to
web-accessibility should be based on commonly adopted and used specifications
that maximize the compatibility of the web-content with current and future user
agents and assistive technologies. More specifically, web-content should
provide user agents with a common internal coding of natural language, structures,
relations, and sequences, as well as data of any embedded user-interface
components. Interoperability thus benefits the users, allowing them to employ
their user agents ubiquitously to access websites: they might also benefit from
greater choice and reduced prices across the Union. Interoperability would also
benefit the suppliers and buyers of web-accessibility related products and
services.

(18)     As underlined in the
Digital Agenda for Europe, public authorities should play their part in
promoting markets for online content. Governments can stimulate content markets
by making public sector information available under transparent, effective and
non-discriminatory conditions. This is an important source of potential growth
of innovative online services.

(19)     The
Directive should aim at ensuring that certain types of public sector bodies'
websites that are essential to the public are made accessible according to
common requirements. Such types were identified in the 2001 E-government
benchmarking exercise[25]
and have been used as a basis for the list in the Annex.

(20)     This Directive lays down
web-accessibility requirements for certain types of public sector bodies'
websites. In order to facilitate the conformity of websites concerned with those
requirements it is necessary to provide presumption of conformity for the
websites concerned that meet harmonised standards that are drawn up and
published in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European
Parliament and of the Council on European Standardisation, amending Council
Directives 89/686/EEC and 93/15/EEC and Directives 94/9/EC, 94/25/EC, 95/16/EC
97/23/EC, 98/34/EC, 2004/22/EC, 2007/23/EC, 2009/23/EC and 2009/105/EC of the
European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Decision 87/95/EEC and
Decision No 1673/2006/EC, for the purpose of expressing detailed technical
specifications for those requirements. Pursuant to this Regulation, Member
States and the European Parliament shall be able to object to the harmonised
standards which they consider that do not entirely satisfy the web accessibility
requirements laid down in this Directive.

(21)     The Commission has already
issued a mandate M/376[26]
to the European Standardisation Organisations, to develop a European standard
specifying the functional accessibility requirements for ICT products and
services, including web content, which could be used in public procurement as
well as for other purposes like procurement in the private sector. To this end,
the European Standardisation Organisations are required to establish close
co-operation with relevant industry standards forums and consortia including
the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C/WAI). A harmonised standard that would provide
presumption of conformity with the web-accessibility requirements laid down in
this Directive should be built upon the outcome of this work.

(22)     Until the references of
such a harmonised standard or parts thereof are published, presumption of
conformity with the web-accessibility requirements should be provided for the websites
concerned which meet the European standards or part
thereof that have been determined by the Commission by delegating acts. A
candidate could be the European standard which should be adopted on the basis
of mandate M/376

(23)     In
the absence of such a European standard, presumption of
conformity with the web-accessibility requirements should be provided for the websites
concerned which meet those parts of the international standard ISO/IEC
40500:2012 covering the Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements for Level
AA conformance. The international standard ISO/IEC 40500:2012 is exactly the
same as the original Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. The Success
Criteria and Requirements for Level AA conformance specified for web pages in
the version 2.0 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) from the
W3C are broadly recognised by stakeholders both internationally and at European
level, to provide the basis for adequate web-accessibility specifications. This
has been underlined in the Council Conclusions on Accessible Information
Society[27].

(24)     The conformity with
web-accessibility requirements should be continuously monitored from the
initial construction of the public sector bodies' website to all subsequent
updates of its content. A harmonised monitoring methodology would cover a way
of verifying, on a uniform basis in all Members States, the degree of compliance
of the website with the requirements for web-accessibility, the collection of representative
samples and the periodicity of the monitoring.. Member States should report
annually on the outcome of the monitoring and more generally on the list of
actions taken in application of this Directive.

(25)     In a harmonised framework, the
web-developers industry should face fewer barriers to operate in the internal
market, while costs for governments and others procuring web-accessibility
products and services should be reduced.

(26)     In order to ensure that the
websites concerned are made accessible in accordance with the requirements for
web-accessibility laid down by this Directive, the power to adopt acts in
accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Union should be delegated to the Commission to specify further, where
appropriate, these requirements and to determine the European standard or parts
thereof which, in the absence of harmonised standards, would provide
presumption of conformity with the web-accessibility requirements for the
websites concerned which meet such standard or parts thereof. It is of
particular importance that the Commission carries out appropriate consultations
during its preparatory work, including at expert level. The Commission, when
preparing and drawing up delegated acts, should ensure a simultaneous, timely
and appropriate transmission of relevant documents to the European Parliament
and to the Council.

(27)     In order to ensure uniform
conditions for the implementation of the relevant provisions of this Directive,
implementing powers should be conferred to the Commission. The examination
procedure should be used for the definition of the methodology that Member
States should use for monitoring the conformity of the websites concerned with
those requirements. The advisory procedure should be used for the determination
of the modalities according to which Member States should report to the
Commission on the result of this monitoring. Those powers should be exercised
in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and
the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles
concerning mechanisms for control by the Member States of the Commission's
exercise of implementing powers.

(28)     Since
the objective of this Directive, namely, the establishment of a harmonised market for the accessibility
of public sector bodies' websites, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, because it requires the harmonisation of different
rules currently existing in
their respective legal systems and can, therefore, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures,
in accordance with the
principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on the European Union. In accordance with
the principle of proportionality,
as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Subject matter and scope

1.
This Directive aims at approximating the laws,
regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States related to the
accessibility of the content of public sector bodies' websites to all users, in
particular people with functional limitations including persons with
disabilities.

2.
It lays down the rules according to which Member
States shall make accessible the content of websites belonging to public sector
bodies, the types of which are specified in the Annex.

3.
Member States may extend the application of this
Directive to other types of public sector websites than those referred to in
paragraph 2.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions shall
apply:

(1)
‘Websites concerned’ means those referred to in
Article 1(2) of this Directive.

(2)
‘Content of websites’ means information to be
communicated to the user by means of a user agent, including code or mark-up
that defines the content's structure, presentation, and interactions.

(3)
‘User agent’ means any software that retrieves
and presents web contents for users, including web browsers, media players,
plug-ins, and other programs that help in retrieving, rendering, and
interacting with web content.

(4)
‘Standard’ means a technical specification,
adopted by a recognised standardisation body, for repeated or continuous
application, with which compliance is not compulsory as defined in Article 2(1)
of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012.

(5)
‘International standard’ means a standard adopted by an international
standardisation body as defined in Article 2(1)(a) of Regulation
(EU) No 1025/2012.

(6)
‘European standard’ means a standard adopted by
a European standardisation organisation as defined in Article 2(1)(b) of Regulation
(EU) No 1025/2012;

(7)
‘Harmonised standard’ means a European standard
adopted on the basis of a request made by the Commission for the application of
Union harmonisation legislation as defined in Article
2(1)(c) of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012.

(8)
‘Public sector body’ means the State, regional or local
authorities, bodies governed by public law as defined
in Article 1 (9) of Directive 2004/18/EC, and
associations formed by one or several such authorities or one or several such
bodies governed by public law.

Article 3

Requirements for web-accessibility

1.
Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the websites concerned
are made accessible

(a)
in a consistent and adequate way for users'
perception, operation and understanding, including adaptability of content
presentation and interaction, when necessary, providing an accessible
electronic alternative;

(b)
in a way which facilitates interoperability with
a variety of user agents and assistive technologies at Union and international
level.

2.
Member States shall apply the provisions of
paragraph 1 by 31 December 2015 at the latest.

3.
The Commission shall be empowered to adopt
delegated acts in accordance with Article 8, to specify further, where
appropriate, the requirements for web-accessibility referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 4

Presumption of conformity with harmonized
standards

1.
The websites concerned that meet harmonised
standards or parts thereof the references of which have been drawn up and published
by the Commission in the Official Journal of the European Union, in accordance
with Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012, shall be presumed to be in conformity with
the web-accessibility requirements covered by those standards or parts thereof,
set out in Article 3.

Article 5

Presumption of conformity with European or
international standards

1.
As long as the references of the harmonised standards referred to in Article 4 have not yet been
published, the websites concerned that meet European
standards or parts thereof that have been determined
pursuant to paragraph 2 shall be presumed to be in conformity with the
web-accessibility requirements covered by those standards or parts thereof, set
out in Article 3.

2.
The Commission shall be empowered to adopt
delegated acts in accordance with Article 8, in order to determine the European
standards or parts thereof referred to in paragraph 1.

3.
As long as the references of the European
standards referred to in paragraph 1 have not yet been determined, the websites
concerned that meet the parts of the ISO/IEC 40500: 2012 covering the Success
Criteria and Conformance Requirements for Level AA conformance, shall be presumed to be in conformity with the
web-accessibility requirements set out in Article 3.

Article 6

Additional measures

1.
Member States shall promote
that the websites concerned provide a statement on their accessibility, in
particular on their compliance with this Directive and with possibly additional
accessibility information in support to users.

2.
Member States shall take measures to facilitate
the application of the web-accessibility requirements as defined in Article 3 to
all public sector bodies' websites beyond those concerned, in particular, to public
sector bodies' websites covered by existing national laws or relevant measures
on web-accessibility.

3.
Member States shall support appropriate
mechanisms for consultations on web- accessibility with relevant stakeholders
and make public any developments in web-accessibility policy together with the experiences
and findings from the implementation of conformity of web-accessibility
requirements.

4.
Member States shall cooperate at Union level
with industry and civil society stakeholders, with facilitation by the
Commission, in order to review, for the purpose of the annual reporting
referred to in Article 7(4), market and technological developments and progress
in web-accessibility and to exchange best practices.

Article 7

Monitoring and reporting

1. Member States shall monitor the compliance of
the websites concerned with the requirements for web-accessibility on a
continuous basis, using the methodology provided for in paragraph 4.

2. Member States shall report annually on the
outcome of the monitoring carried out according to paragraph 4 including the
measurement data and, where appropriate, the list of the websites referred to
in Article 1(3).

3.
This report shall also cover
the actions conducted pursuant to Article 6.

4.
The Commission establishes, by way of
implementing acts, the methodology for the monitoring of the conformity of the
websites concerned with the requirements for web-accessibility as set out in
Article 3. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the
examination procedure referred to in Article 9(3). The methodology will be
published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

5. The methodology referred to in paragraph 4 shall include:

(a)
the periodicity of the monitoring and the
sampling of the websites concerned that shall be subject to monitoring; and

(b)
at website level, the description of how
compliance with the requirements for web-accessibility referred to in Article 3
is to be demonstrated, directly referencing - whenever available - to the
relevant descriptions in the harmonised standard, or in their absence in the
European or international standards referred to in Articles 4 and 5 respectively.

6. The arrangements for
reporting by Member States to the Commission shall be established by the Commission by way of
implementing acts. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in
Article 9(2).

Article 8

Exercise of the delegation

1.
The powers to adopt the delegated acts shall be
conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this
Article.

2.
The powers to adopt the delegated acts referred
to in Article 3 and 5 shall be conferred for an indeterminate period of time
from the date of entry into force of this Directive.

3.
The delegation of power referred to in Article 3
and 5 may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council.
A decision of revocation shall put an end to the delegation of the power
specified in that decision. It shall take effect on the day following that of
the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European
Union or on a later date, specified therein. It shall not affect the
validity of any delegated acts already in force.

4.
As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the
Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the
Council.

5.
A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 3
and 5 shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by
the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two months of
notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if,
before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have
both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be
extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or the
Council.

Article 9

Committee

1.
The Commission shall be assisted by a committee.
That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No
182/2011.

2.
Where reference is made to this paragraph,
Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

3.
Where reference is made to this paragraph,
Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

Article 10

Transposition

1.
Member States shall bring into force the laws,
regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this
Directive by 30 June 2014 at the latest. They shall forthwith communicate to
the Commission the text of those provisions. When Member States adopt those
provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied
by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States
shall determine how such reference is to be made.

2.
Member States shall communicate to the
Commission the text of the main provisions of national law, they adopt in the
field covered by this Directive.

Article 11

Review

The Commission
shall carry out a review of the application of this Directive within three
years from its entry into force.

Article 12

Entry into force

This Directive
shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official
Journal of the European Union.

Article 13

Addressees

This
Directive is addressed to the Member States in accordance with the Treaties.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament                       For
the Council

The President                                                 The
President

class=Section4>

ANNEX

Types of public sector bodies' websites

(as referred to in Article
1(2))

(1)
Income taxes: declaration, notification of
assessment

(2)
Job search services by labour offices

(3)
Social-security benefits: unemployment benefits,
child allowances, medical costs (reimbursement or direct settlement), student
grants.

(4)
Personal documents: passports or driving license

(5)
Car registration

(6)
Application for building permission

(7)
Declaration to police, e.g. in case of theft

(8)
Public libraries, e.g. catalogues and search
tools

(9)
Request and delivery of birth or marriage
certificates

(10)
Enrolment in higher education or university

(11)
Notification of change of residence

(12)
Health-related services: interactive advice on
the availability of services, online services for patients, appointments.

[1]               According to the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities, persons with disabilities include
those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments
which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective
participation in society on an equal basis with others.

[2]               The website developer market is calculated as the sum
of the economic activities, NACE Rev. 2 classes J6201 – Computer programming
activities and J6312 – Web portals. Source: Eurostat, Annual detailed
enterprise statistics for services (NACE Rev.2 H-N and S95), online data code
sbs_na_1a_se_r2).

[3]               Source:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/

[4]               http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=58625

[5]               http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=150

[6]               http://www.mandate376.eu/

[7]               http://ec.europa.eu/governance/impact/planned_ia/docs/2012_just_025_european_accessibiliy_act_en.pdf

[8]               The study (procured in 2008 as SMART 2008/0066)
produced two annual reports, in 2010 and 2011. (http://www.eaccessibility-monitoring.eu/researchResult.aspx)

[9]               SMART 2009/00-72: http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/news/study-economic-assessment-and-evaluation-recommendations-improving-e-accessibility-services-and

[10]             http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/news/consultation-workshop-web-accessibility-10-june-2008

[11]             http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2008:0804:FIN:EN:PDF

[12]             Web-accessibility in European countries: level of
compliance with latest international accessibility specifications, notably WCAG
2.0, and approaches or plans to implement those specifications” (SMART
2008/0068). http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/news/study-report-web-accessibility-european-countries-level-compliance-latest-international

[13]             Benchmarking Study 2006-2008 – “Measuring Progress of
eAccessibility in Europe” (MEAC-1). See                Empirica, WRC, RNIB,
RNID, eWORX (2007), http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/news/assessment-status-eaccessibility-europe

[14]             http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/news/groups-supporting-e-inclusion-agenda

[15]             European Information & Communications Technology
Industry Association

[16]             http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/news/egovernment-indicators-benchmarking-eeurope

[17]             OJ C 110/26 ,9.5.2006 / (COM(2005) 425 final).

[18]             OJ C 009, 11/01/2012 P. 0065 - 0070.

[19]             COM(2010) 743 final – Not published in the Official
Journal

[20]             COM(2010) 245 final/2

[21]             OJ L 412, 30.12.2006, p. 1–43.

[22]             OJL L 310, 9.11.2006, p. 15 – 40.

[23]             COM( 2010) 636 final - Not published in the Official
Journal

[24]             OJ L 210, 31.07.2006, p.25.

[25]             http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/news/egovernment-indicators-benchmarking-eeurope

[26]             http://www.mandate376.eu/

[27]             http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/trans/107014.pdf