COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2018/1524

of 11 October 2018

establishing a monitoring methodology and the arrangements for reporting by Member States in accordance with Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies

(notified under document C(2018) 6560)

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies (1), and in particular Article 8(2) and Article 8(6) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Directive (EU) 2016/2102 establishes common accessibility requirements in order to ensure that websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies are made more accessible by making them perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.

(2) In order to help public sector bodies meet the accessibility requirements, the monitoring should also raise awareness and encourage learning in Member States. For that reason, and in order to enhance transparency, the overall results of the monitoring activities should be made publicly available in an accessible format.

(3) In order to extract meaningful and comparable data, a structured presentation of the results of the monitoring activities where different clusters of public services and levels of administration are identified is necessary.

(4) In order to facilitate the sampling of the websites and mobile applications to be monitored, Member States should be allowed to take measures to maintain up-to-date lists of the websites and mobile applications that belong to the scope of Directive (EU) 2016/2102.

(5) In order to enhance the social impact of monitoring, a risk-based approach may be followed when selecting the sample by considering, among others, the influence of specific websites and mobile applications, the notifications received in the feedback mechanism, previous monitoring results as well as input from the enforcement body and contribution from national stakeholders.

(6) As the technology for automated monitoring of mobile applications is foreseen to gradually improve, Member States should consider applying the simplified monitoring method, established in this Decision for websites, also to mobile applications, taking into account the effectiveness and affordability of the available tools.

(7) The standards and technical specifications referred to in Article 6 of Directive (EU) 2016/2102 should form the basis of the methodology for monitoring.

(8) In order to promote innovation, to avoid imposing barriers on the market and to ensure that the monitoring methodology is technology neutral, it should not define the specific tests to be applied for measuring the accessibility of websites and mobile applications. Instead, the monitoring methodology should be limited to establishing the requirements for the methods to verify compliance and to detect non-compliance with the accessibility requirements provided for in Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2016/2102.

(9) If the provisions included in the legislation of the Member State exceed the requirements in the standards and technical specifications referred to in Article 6 of Directive (EU) 2016/2102, in order to enhance comparability of the monitoring, Member States should monitor and report in a way that provides distinguishable results regarding the compliance with the requirements in the standards and technical specifications referred to in Article 6 of Directive (EU) 2016/2102.

(10) Comparability of the monitoring results should be ensured through the use of the monitoring methodology and reporting laid down in this Decision. In order to foster the sharing of best practices and to promote transparency, Member States should make public how they monitor, as well as make publicly available a mapping, in the form of a correlation table, demonstrating how the monitoring and the tests applied cover the requirements referred to in the standards and technical specifications provided for in Article 6 of Directive (EU) 2016/2102.

(11) If Member States use the possibility provided for in Article 1(5) to exclude websites or mobile applications of schools, kindergartens or nurseries from the application of the Directive, they should use the relevant parts of the monitoring methodology to monitor the accessibility of the content of such websites and mobile applications, relating to essential online administrative functions.

(12) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the committee established by Article 11(1) of Directive (EU) 2016/2102,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1 Subject matter and scope This Decision establishes a methodology for monitoring the conformity of websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies with the accessibility requirements laid down in Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2016/2102. This Decision establishes the arrangements for reporting on the outcome of the monitoring, including the measurement data, by Member States to the Commission.

Article 2 Definitions For the purposes of this Decision, the following definitions shall apply: (1) ‘accessible format’ means an electronic document complying with the accessibility requirements provided for in Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2016/2102; (2) ‘monitoring period’ means the period of time within which Member States shall execute the monitoring activities to verify compliance or non-compliance with the accessibility requirements of the websites and mobile applications in the sample. The monitoring period may also include the definition of the samples, the analysis of the monitoring results and arrangements for reporting to the Commission.

Article 3 Periodicity of the monitoring 1. Member States shall monitor the compliance of websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies with the accessibility requirements provided for in Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2016/2102 on the basis of the methodology set out in this Decision. 2. The first monitoring period for websites shall be between 1 January 2020 and 22 December 2021. After the first monitoring period the monitoring shall be carried out annually. 3. The first monitoring period for mobile applications shall be between 23 June 2021 and 22 December 2021. In the first monitoring period, the monitoring of mobile applications shall include results based on a reduced sample for mobile applications. Member States shall use their reasonable efforts to monitor at least one third of the number established in point 2.1.5 of Annex I. 4. After the first monitoring period the monitoring of mobile applications shall be carried out annually, on a sample established in point 2.1.5 of Annex I. 5. Following the first monitoring period, the annual monitoring period for both websites and mobile applications shall be between 1 January and 22 December.

Article 4 Scope and baseline of monitoring 1. Member States shall monitor the compliance of websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies with the accessibility requirements provided for in Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2016/2102 on the grounds of requirements identified in the standards and technical specifications referred to in Article 6 of Directive (EU) 2016/2102. 2. Where accessibility requirements in the provisions of the legislation of a Member State exceed the requirements in the standards and technical specifications referred to in Article 6 of Directive (EU) 2016/2102, the monitoring shall be conducted in a way that provides results that distinguish between compliance with the requirements in the standards and technical specifications referred to in Article 6 of Directive (EU) 2016/2102 and the requirements exceeding those.

Article 5 Methods of monitoring Member States shall monitor the conformity of websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies with the accessibility requirements provided for in Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2016/2102 using: (a) an in-depth monitoring method to verify compliance, conducted in accordance with the requirements laid down in point 1.2 of Annex I; (b) a simplified monitoring method to detect non-compliance, conducted in accordance with the requirements laid down in point 1.3 of Annex I.

Article 6 Sampling of the websites and mobile applications Member States shall ensure that the sampling of the websites and mobile applications to be monitored is done in accordance with the requirements laid down in points 2 and 3 of Annex I.

Article 7 Information on the monitoring results If deficiencies have been identified, Member States shall ensure that the public sector bodies are provided with data and information on compliance with the accessibility requirements in relation to the deficiencies of their respective websites and mobile applications, within a reasonable time and in a format helping public sector bodies to correct them.

Article 8 Format of the report 1. Member States shall submit the report referred to in Article 8(4) of Directive (EU) 2016/2102 to the Commission in an accessible format in an official language of the European Union. 2. The report shall include the outcome of the monitoring relating to the requirements in the standards and technical specifications referred to in Article 6 of Directive (EU) 2016/2102. Results related to requirements exceeding those requirements may also be included in the report and, in case they are included, shall be presented separately.

Article 9 Content of the report 1. The report referred to in Article 8(4) of Directive (EU) 2016/2102 shall contain: (a) the detailed description of how the monitoring was conducted; (b) a mapping, in the form a correlation table, demonstrating how the applied monitoring methods relate to the requirements in the standards and technical specifications referred to in Article 6 of Directive (EU) 2016/2102, including also any significant changes in the methods; (c) the outcome of the monitoring of each monitoring period, including measurement data; (d) the information required in Article 8(5) of Directive (EU) 2016/2102. 2. In their reports, Member States shall provide the information specified in the instructions set out in Annex II.

Article 10 Periodicity of the reporting 1. The first report shall cover the first monitoring period for websites and mobile applications as set out in Articles 3(2) and (3). 2. Thereafter, the reports shall cover the monitoring periods for websites and mobile applications between the previous and the following reporting deadlines established in Article 8(4) of Directive (EU) 2016/2102.

Article 11 Further arrangements for reporting Member States shall make the report public in an accessible format.

Article 12 Entry into force This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Done at Brussels, 11 October 2018. For the Commission The President Jean-Claude JUNCKER

(1) OJ L 327, 2.12.2016, p. 1.