Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on Future eAccessibility legislation
Date: 2007-05-30
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: Internet, access to information, drafting of EU law, information society, information technology, telecommunications

27.7.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 175/91

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on ‘Future eAccessibility legislation’

(2007/C 175/22)

On 26 February 2007, the European Commission asked the European Economic and Social Committee,
under Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, to draw up an opinion on Future
eAccessibility legislation.

The Section for Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society, which was responsible for the
Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 7 May 2007. The rapporteur was Mr Hernández
Bataller.

At its 436th plenary session, held on 30 and 31 May 2007 (meeting of 30 May 2007), the European
Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 136 votes in favour with three absten-
tions.

1. Conclusions and recommendations

2. Introduction

The EESC supports

1.1
initiative on
eAccessibility, and urges it to further its work in the field. Given
the strong interest raised by this topic, the Committee reserves
the right to issue an additional opinion.

the Commission's

The EESC believes that the Commission should adopt a

1.2
series of initiatives at EU level, as follows:

— strengthening existing legislation, making it consistent and
binding, so as to avoid the disparities and discrepancies that
currently exist between Member States, especially in the
fields of electronic communications (particularly universal
service) and public procurement; and boosting the corpus of
legislation by adopting new supranational measures based
on Articles 13 and 95 TEC, in order to protect accessibility
requirements as public service obligations;

— extending eAccessibility, horizontally,

to other EU policy

areas;

— adopting non-binding measures on eAccessibility which
would improve quality of life for people with disabilities and
older people.

1.3
The involvement of civil society organisations is a key
factor in the implementation of a proper eAccessibility policy,
through the promotion of support measures, for example, with
regard to codes of conduct or co-regulation.

The EESC has received a letter from the Commission
2.1
requesting that it draw up an opinion on the future legislative
framework for eAccessibility, with particular focus on older
people.

‘eAccessibility’ refers to the ability to overcome the technical
barriers and difficulties that people with disabilities and other
groups face when trying to access the information society under
equal conditions. This concept falls within the broader issue of
‘eInclusion’, which also covers other, economic, geographical or
educational barriers.

2.2
The overall aim is to identify the type of secondary legis-
lation that will form the basis for the EU to achieve its objective
of a fully inclusive society, within today's context of rapid
economic and social change.

It is clear that this draft legislation is firmly rooted in the
2.3
fundamental legal texts which express the values and principles
of the EU, such as Article 13 TEC, and the specific references to
the participation of ‘all
in democratic life and
its inhabitants’
social progress in paragraphs 2 and 4 of the Treaty establishing
a Constitution for Europe and, inter alia, in Articles I-3(3), II-81
and II-86 thereof.

1.4
Support measures should focus on areas which make it
easier for people with disabilities and older people to access the
information society, and introduce them to new technologies as
an ideal means to become socially integrated, prevent exclusion
from the digital world and improve their quality of life.

2.4 Moreover, the EU institutions and bodies have already
built up a significant corpus of positions and decisions which,
although disparate, are helping to establish EU policies proac-
tively committed to combating discrimination, and to eAccessi-
bility. For instance:

1.5
The public authorities in Member States should, in line
with supranational guidelines, adopt various support measures
to make it financially possible for disabled or elderly people's
organisations to be involved in the digital world, and to facilitate
their access to it.

— the Council Resolution of 2.12.2002 on eAccessibility —
improving the access of people with disabilities to the knowledge-
based society called upon the Commission to tap the Informa-
tion Society's potential for people with disabilities and, in
particular, tackle the removal of all types of barriers;

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— meanwhile, the Telecommunications Council expressed the
need to improve eAccessibility in Europe (1), and the Social
Policy Council,
in its Resolution on eAccessibility of
2003 (2), called on Member States to take all necessary
actions towards an open, inclusive knowledge-based society
accessible to all citizens.

2.4.1
In 2005, the Commission issued its i-2010 Communi-
cation (3) with the aim of establishing a new strategic framework
for a European information society. This was followed by its
Communication on eAccessibility (4), which proposed a series of
political initiatives in order to promote the issue.

2.4.2
out three different approaches for tackling the problem:

Specifically, the Communication on eAccessibility set

— promoting the establishment of accessibility requirements in

public procurement;

— guaranteeing accessibility certification;

— making better use of existing legislation.

3. General comments

3.1
The EESC welcomes the Commission's invitation to draw
up this exploratory opinion and points out that, while Com-
munity initiatives to promote inclusion in the information
society should generally apply to all, there are some groups,
such as older people or people with disabilities, who require
particular attention in order to be included effectively within the
information society (6).

Moreover, given the particular interest of the topic in question,
the Committee reserves the right to issue a supplementary or
additional opinion.

that:

This is also in line with point 8 of the Riga Ministerial
3.1.1
Declaration (7), which states
‘To convincingly address
eInclusion, the differences in Internet usage between current
average use by the EU population and use by older people,
people with disabilities, women, lower education groups, unem-
ployed and “less-developed” regions should be reduced to a half
from 2005 to 2010.’

The EESC believes that, owing to the major political and social
changes which have occurred in recent years, Community action
on eAccessibility must become a priority and access to ICT
must be confirmed as a civil right within public services.

The Commission Communication was to be followed up two
years after its publication in order to consider whether addi-
tional measures should be adopted.

This Community action should combine a legal instrument that
legislation with other non-binding
would reinforce current
measures in various policy areas, given the added value that EU
action can have.

2.4.3
The Committee adopted an opinion on the Communi-
cation (5), covering aspects relating to harmonised standards and
interoperability, public procurement, certification and third
party testing versus self-declaration, use of legislation, integra-
tion, Web accessibility, legislation and the new strategic frame-
work for the European Information Society.

2.5 More recently, point 6 of
the Council Resolution of
22 March 2007 on A Strategy for a Secure Information Society in
Europe states that ‘particular consideration should be given to
[ICT] users that have special needs or have low awareness of
network and information security issues’, and this includes older
people and people with disabilities.

The EESC supports this Community action, given that:

— in social terms,

it improves citizens' rights;

in economic
terms, it improves economies of scale, the operation of the
internal market, competitiveness in a key sector and innova-
tion;

— the

and

diversity

fragmentation of Member

States'
approaches cause certain problems, particularly due to their
differing transposition of existing directives. These need to
be clarified, particularly as regards public procurement and
universal service;

— none of the above should prevent any support measures

adopted from being effectively applied.

(1) Council Resolution on the eEurope Action Plan 2002: accessibility of

public websites and their content. OJ C 86 of 10.4.2002.

(2) Council Resolution 14892/02.
(3) COM(2005) 229 final EESC opinion on the Communication from the
Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions —
i2010 — A European Information Society for growth and employ-
ment. OJ C 110 of 9.5.2006, p. 83.

(4) COM(2005) 425 final.
(5) Opinion CESE 404/2006, adopted at the plenary session of 15.3.2006.

Rapporteur: Mr Cabra de Luna. OJ C 110 of 9.5.2006.

(6) At the same time it is fair to say that the main impairment groups
facing accessibility difficulties in ICT are: ‘persons with cognitive and
learning disabilities, persons with sensory disabilities (deaf and hard of
hearing, blind and visually impaired persons, deaf blind persons,
persons with speech disabilities) and persons with physical disabilities.’
OJ C 110 of 9.5.2006.

(7) The EU Ministerial Declaration on e-Inclusion, adopted in Riga on
11 November 2006 in the context of the i2010 initiative, recon-
firmed the political committment to improving e-Accessibility.
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/events/ict_riga_2006/
index_en.htm

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3.2 With regard to the legal basis of the legislation governing
eAccessibility issues, it is recommended that the following be
applied:

— firstly, Article 13 TEC, which gives the Council the general
power to adopt any type of Community act which combats
discrimination;

— secondly, Article 95 TEC, which deals with aspects relating
to the establishment and operation of the internal market,
so that proposals are ensured a high level of protection.

This should not hinder the horizontal effect that eAccessibility
issues should have.

the Council

3.2.1
Unfortunately, because the Constitutional Treaty is not
in force, such acts cannot be adopted under Article III-124(1),
which states that
is to act unanimously ‘after
obtaining the consent of the European Parliament’. As Article
13 TEC only provides for the Council to adopt such acts unani-
mously ‘after consulting the European Parliament’, they will be
denied the possibility of a full democratic debate and the greater
legitimacy enjoyed by EU acts adopted via the co-decision proce-
dure.

Nonetheless,

3.2.2
the express provision for unanimous
adoption by the Council does prove particularly useful, given
that all the legislative acts in question must respect the principle
from the EU
of subsidiarity. Logically, unanimous support
governments will ensure that national administrations are more
effectively involved in their domestic implementation and devel-
opment. This will also mean that the measures to be applied
will not be restricted to removing obstacles that exist in this
field, but will actively help to promote inclusion, thus displaying
the pro-activeness required of Community actions under Arti-
cles 13 and 95 TEC.

3.2.3
The appropriate type of legislative act would therefore
be a directive, given the ample room for discretion that it gener-
ally allows Member States in choosing how to accomplish the
objectives set at supra-national level.

3.3
As regards the specific content of the future Community
legislative framework, it is essential that the following objectives
be included, distinguishing between those with a general scope
and those which are more specific.

3.4

The following should be considered as general objectives:

— strengthening provisions on eAccessibility in the direc-
tives on electronic communications,
in line with the
recommendations of INCOM (Inclusive Communications
group) (8), while promoting eAccessibility in areas such
as the reform of the Directive on audiovisual services (TV
without frontiers), as already stated by the Committee (9),
or the Directive on Copyright in the Information Society;

b) simplifying access to ICT networks by providing hardware
infrastructure and equipment in areas and regions of Europe
where the digital divide is felt. The Structural Funds, Rural
Development Fund and recently created R&D Fund should
earmark specific amounts for inclusion, in order to ensure
that 90 % of the EU has access to ICT by 2010;

c) ensuring that ICT products and services benefit all members
of society, and that their design and operation cater for the
most underprivileged sectors of society, particularly disabled
and older people. To this end, there should be two levels of
responsibility, shared by both public authorities and the
private sector.

Firstly, depending on their respective powers, the EU's
3.4.1
and Member States' authorities should set criteria for action
aimed at businesses working in the ICT sector within the single
market, particularly in fields such as standardisation, and should
ensure that these criteria are properly met.

3.4.2 Wherever possible, these requirements should apply to
the Common Commercial Policy so that the benefits of accessi-
bility can be felt not just in Europe, but universally. Secondly,
codes of conduct should be promoted in accordance with the
needs of each underprivileged group, in order to create a culture
of corporate social responsibility in this field.

society players

The relevant civil

should also be
3.4.3
involved in technological innovation and the sharing of good
practices for ICT access and use, by creating transnational
networks which link up university research centres and the
research centres of companies in the sector. Inter alia, the EU
and national administrations should set up annual co-financed
projects with this aim, and a culture of excellence in research
should be promoted, including the creation of a European prize
for high-quality new technologies which facilitate eInclusion.

a) promoting the interoperability of ICT services via common
standards and specifications, to ensure that the European
standardisation bodies take accessibility into account when
adopting and implementing the standards concerned;

(8) The Inclusive Communications group (INCOM) was set up in 2003,
and consists of representatives of the Member States, telecoms opera-
tors, user associations and standardisation bodies.
(9) Opinion CESE 486/2006. OJ C 185 of 8.8.2006.

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3.5

The following should be considered as specific objectives:

a) extending the scope of the Universal Service Directive (which
covers access to public pay telephones, emergency and
subscriber information services) to include broadband tech-
nology and mobile telephones, as called for by the EESC on
several occasions;

b) ensuring that public administrations are prohibited from
using ICT products and services which do not comply with
the accessibility rules in force, and that future EU legislation
on public procurement includes mandatory provisions on
accessibility;

principle) in order to encourage the inclusion of older people
and people with disabilities in the information society, with the
aim of ensuring equality and improving their quality of
life,
optimising services and promoting their involvement in the
information society, and removing obstacles to digital training
and free software.

By making it easier for people with disabilities and older people
to access the information society,
intellectual activity can be
stimulated, and life can be made easier through the provision of
services such as:

c) harmonising accessibility requirements for the use of

IP
networks which include emergency services and the use of
interactive digital television;

— free advice,

— provision of documentation at home,

d) ensuring, as already urged by the Committee (10),

that
Member States fully adopt version 2 of the Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines and incorporate these into public
websites;

e) encouraging the use of ‘authoring tools’, provided that they
comply with version 2 of the abovementioned Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines.

— legal advice for individuals or at centres for the retired or

disabled,

— recreational and leisure activities,

— special services for older people and contact with regional

social services,

4. Specific comments

4.1
The over-65 age group is growing in relation to the rest
of the population, mainly as a result of low birth rates and
greater quality of life and life expectancy. For this reason, the
Council presidencies have included population ageing as a topic
for discussion in the joint presidency programme.

4.2
In the new society in which older people live, there are
various factors which can lead to solitude, such as the disappear-
ance of the extended family and the emergence of the single-
parent family. The information society provides new opportu-
isolation,
nities for older people to break free from social
promoting actions that reduce the existing digital divide.

This is particularly evident when it comes to eAccessibility. As
stated in the Ministerial Declaration adopted unanimously in
Riga, only 10 % of European residents over the age of 65 use
the Internet.

— training via virtual classrooms,

— holiday programmes, and

— optional telemedical services.

The EESC stresses the importance of
ICT in fostering the
economic and social involvement of older people and people
in
with disabilities, through their representative organisations,
order to improve the situation in the EU. The involvement of
organised civil society could be useful in areas such as co-regu-
lation, drafting of codes of conduct and corporate social respon-
sibility.

4.4
The EESC believes that support measures for projects
facilitating the access of
and initiatives should be adopted,
disabled and older people to the information society, and intro-
ducing them to new technologies as an ideal means to become
socially integrated, prevent exclusion from the digital world and
improve their quality of life. In particular, these measures would
include:

4.3
Along with universal Internet access, cross-sectoral social
policies should be proposed (in accordance with the subsidiarity

(10) Opinion CESE 404/2006, point 7.5.1:

‘The EESC calls on all EU
Member States to formally adopt, unchanged, Version 2 of the Web
Accessibility Initiative Guidelines and to fully incorporate the Version
2 across all public websites.’ OJ C 110 of 9.5.2006.

— the creation and promotion of digital networks to help
make the management systems of the various bodies and
associations more professional and effective. These networks
should be properly equipped and able to cater to the needs
of the various populations of older and disabled people;

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— pilot schemes based on applications and tools to help
people with disabilities and older people live an active and
independent life through their involvement in the informa-
tion society.

4.5
Economic, social and territorial cohesion can be strength-
ened by applying the UN Principles for Older Persons in policies
implemented by the EU, and promoting adequate access to
education and training programmes.

4.6
carried out by the Commission,

In the context of the review of the ‘new approach’ to be
legislation being drawn up

should take account of the needs of older people, in order to
simplify the services provided through products being devel-
oped. Meanwhile,
standardisation bodies and the industry
should take these circumstances into consideration in their own
areas of activity.

4.7
In terms of environmental protection, there is potential
for increasing the use of digital technology in order to cut down
on travel, by receiving certain services ‘in situ’. The Commission
should explore this possibility in order to propose more ambi-
tious supranational eAccessibility measures.

Brussels, 30 May 2007.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Dimitris DIMITRIADIS