Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European economic and social Committee and the Committee of the regions - "Towards an accessible information society"
Date: 2008-12-01
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Internet, access to information, austerity policy, information technology, learning, teaching curriculum

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 1.12.2008 
COM(2008) 804 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

"Towards an accessible information society" 

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   EN 

 
 
 
  
 
 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

"Towards an accessible information society" 

[SEC(2008) 2915] 

[SEC(2008) 2916] 

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1. 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY  

As  our  society  is  evolving  to  an  'information  society',  we  are  becoming  intrinsically  more 
dependent  on  technology-based  products  and  services  in  our  daily  lives.  Yet  poor  e-
accessibility means many Europeans with a disability are still unable to access the benefits of 
the information society. 

This issue of e-accessibility has received high policy visibility and attention in recent years. In 
2006,  European  Ministers  agreed  targets  in  their  'Riga  Declaration'  to  deliver  significant 
progress  by  2010.  In  2007,  benchmarking  showed  that  the  pace  of  progress  was  still 
insufficient  and  that  further  efforts  were  needed  in  order  to  achieve  the  Riga  targets.  Web 
accessibility, especially the accessibility of public administration websites, has emerged as a 
high priority due to the growing importance of the Internet in everyday life. 

The  Commission  considers  it  is  now  urgent  to  achieve  a  more  coherent,  common  and 
effective approach to e-accessibility, in particular web accessibility, to hasten the advent 
of an accessible information society, as announced in the Renewed Social Agenda1. Through 
this  Communication,  the  Commission  describes  the  current  state  of  play,  establishes  the 
rationale for European action and sets out key steps to be taken.  

To achieve a common and coherent e-accessibility approach:  

•  European  Standardisation  Organisations  (ESOs)  should  pursue  wider  e-accessibility 
standardisation activities to reduce market fragmentation and facilitate increased adoption 
of ICT-enabled goods and services.  

•  Member  States,  stakeholders  and  the  Commission  should  stimulate  greater  levels  of 
innovation  and  deployment  in  e-accessibility,  in  particular  through  the  use  of  the  EU 
research and innovation programmes and the Structural Funds.  

•  All stakeholders should make full use of the opportunities to address e-accessibility within 
existing  EU  legislation.  The  Commission  will  include  appropriate  e-accessibility 
requirements in revisions or new legislative developments. 

•  The Commission will boost stakeholder cooperation activities to enhance the coherence, 
coordination and impact of the actions. In particular, a new high-level ad hoc group will be 
mandated  to  provide  guidance  on  the  overall  coherent  approach  to  e-accessibility 
(including  web  accessibility)  and  propose  priority  actions  to  overcome  e-accessibility 
barriers.  

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COM(2008)412. 

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To speed up progress in the special case of web accessibility:  

•  ESOs  should  rapidly  adopt  European  standards  for  web  accessibility,  following  the 
establishment  of  updated  web  guidelines  (WCAG  2.0)  by  the  World  Wide  Web 
Consortium.  

•  Member  States  should  step  up  work  on  making  public  web  sites  accessible  and  jointly 

prepare for swift adoption of European web accessibility standards.  

•  The Commission will monitor and publish progress and may follow up at a later stage 

with legislative action. 

2. 

E-ACCESSIBILITY  

E-accessibility  means  overcoming  the  technical  barriers  and  difficulties  that  people  with 
disabilities,  including  many  elderly  people,  experience  when  trying  to  participate  on  equal 
terms in the information society.  

If everyone is to have equal opportunities for participation in today's society, the full range of 
ICT goods, products and services need to be accessible. This includes computers, telephones, 
TVs,  online  government,  online  shopping,  call  centres,  self-service  terminals  such  as 
automatic teller machines (ATMs) and ticket machines.  

2.1. 

State of play  

The  scale  of  the  accessibility  challenge  is  huge  and  growing:  around  15%  of  Europe's 
population  has  a  disability  and  up  to  one  in  five  working-age  Europeans  have  impairments 
requiring accessible solutions. Overall, three out of every five people stand to benefit from e-
accessibility, as it improves general usability2.  

E-accessibility has socio-economic implications for both individuals and Europe as a whole. 
For example, accessible ICT-enabled solutions can help older workers to stay in employment 
and enhance the take-up of online public services such as e-Government and e-Health. Lack 
of e-accessibility excludes significant sectors of the population and prevents them from fully 
carrying  out  their  professional,  education,  leisure,  democratic  participation  and  social 
activities. Strengthening e-accessibility will contribute to both economic and social inclusion 
goals.  

Many  countries  have  adopted  at  least  some  legislative  or  support  measures  to  promote  e-
accessibility  and  parts  of  the  ICT  industry  are  making  significant  efforts  to  improve  the 
accessibility of their products and services3.  

E-accessibility is also a key element in the European e-Inclusion policy4. In a broader context, 
ICT falls within the scope of the proposed Directive on equal treatment that refers to access to 
and supply of goods and services available to the public5. The European Community and the 

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The Demographic Change — Impacts of New Technologies and Information Society. 
See details in accompanying Staff Working Paper. 
i2010  Communication  COM(2005)  229,  Communication  on  e-accessibility  COM(2005)  425,  and 
Communication on e-Inclusion COM(2007) 694. 
COM(2008) 426.  

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Member  States  also  have  to  fulfil  obligations  under  the  United  Nations  Convention  on  the 
Rights  of  Persons  with  Disabilities  in  relation  to  accessibility  of  ICT  goods  and  services. 
Some pieces of EU legislation already directly or indirectly address e-accessibility issues. 

2.2. 

Rationale for further action  

Despite  the  benefits  and  political  attention,  progress  in  e-accessibility  is  still  unsatisfactory. 
There are  many  striking examples of accessibility deficits. E.g. text relay services, essential 
for  deaf  and  speech-impaired  people,  are  only  available  in  half  of  the  Member  States; 
emergency  services  are  directly  accessible  by  text  telephone  in  only  seven  Member  States; 
broadcasting  with  audio  description,  subtitled  TV  programming  and  TV  sign-language 
programming remains very poor; only 8% of ATMs installed by the two main European retail 
banks provide 'talking' output6. 

The existing EU acquis relating to e-accessibility is limited. At Member State level, there is 
considerable  fragmentation  in  the  treatment  of  e-accessibility,  both  in  the  issues  addressed 
(usually fixed telephony services, TV broadcast services and public website accessibility) and 
the  completeness  of  policy  instruments  used.  Faced  with  divergent  requirements  and 
uncertainties, the ICT industry suffers from this market fragmentation, making it difficult to 
achieve  the  economies  of  scale  necessary  to  sustain  widespread  innovation  and  market 
growth.  Parts  of  the  industry  are  actively  engaged  and  cooperating  with  users  (e.g.  on 
accessible digital television) but too many are watching from the sidelines.  

The key issue in e-accessibility is that current efforts have insufficient impact due to a lack of 
coherence, unclear priority setting, and poor legislative and financial support. 

A  common  and  coherent  European  approach  to  e-accessibility  is  therefore  key  to 
achieving significant improvements. 

2.3. 

Proposed actions  

(1) 

Delivering  the  change  —  strengthening  policy  priorities,  coordination  and 
stakeholder cooperation 

At European level several activities have been put in place in recent years. Now is the time to 
increase synergies between these and reinforce individual areas of action for greater and more 
consistent impact.  

Member States, users and industry need to step up their efforts and seek more impact through 
greater  cooperation  at  European  level  and  better  exploitation  of  existing  EU  policy 
instruments.  To  support  and  strengthen  coherence  and  effectiveness  of  a  common  approach 
and to help define priorities, the Commission will establish an ad hoc high-level group on e-
accessibility, reporting to the i2010 high level group, involving consumer organisations and 
representatives  of  disabled  and  elderly  users,  ICT  and  assistive  technology  and  service 
industries, academia and relevant authorities.  

Early in 2009, the Commission will establish an ad hoc high-level group to provide guidance 
on priorities and a more coherent approach to e-accessibility. Stakeholders are called upon to 
commit to this cooperation. 

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For details, see the MeAC study (Measuring progress of e-accessibility in Europe).  

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The  Commission  will  boost  its  existing  support  for  cooperation  with  and  between 
stakeholders. In particular the groups following the implementation of i2010, standardisation 
matters,  telecommunication  issues  and  the  disability  action  plan  should  use  the  guidance  of 
the  high-level  group  to  inform  their  priorities.  It  is  also  important  that  users,  relevant 
authorities,  and  industry  reinforce  their  commitment  and  cooperation  on  e-accessibility 
matters.  

Priorities  for  e-accessibility  need  to  be  selected.  The  first  is  web  accessibility,  where  the 
proposed coherent and common approach can be applied. Next are the accessibility of digital 
television  and  electronic  communications,  including  accessibility  of  the  single  European 
emergency  number.  For  these,  cooperation  of  users  and  industry  should  be  increased  and, 
with the help of the high-level group, better linked to the EU-level legislative and innovation 
support.  

Self-service terminals and electronic banking is another high priority7. The closer cooperation 
of  stakeholders  will  help  to  obtain  guidance  on  further  priorities  and  define  a  common 
programme of future work. 

The Commission has already addressed e-accessibility in its proposal for a new version of the 
e-government  European  Interoperability  Framework8,  and  will  do  so  in  its  follow-up  to  the 
i2010 initiative and the disability action plan.  

The  Commission  will  ensure  e-accessibility  remains  a  policy  priority  in  the  follow-up  to 
i2010 and disability action plan. 

This  closer  coordination  and  cooperation  will  be  further  strengthened  through  enhanced 
exploitation of the activities mentioned below.  

(2)  Monitoring progress and reinforcing good practice 

The  Commission  will  launch  a  study  in  2009  to  continue  monitoring  general  e-accessibility 
and  web  accessibility  progress  and  implementation,  following  up  two  studies  conducted  in 
2006-20089.  

Under  the  2009  Competitiveness  and  Innovation  Programme  (CIP),  the  Commission  will 
propose  a  new  thematic  network  on  e-accessibility  and  web  accessibility  to  further  enhance 
stakeholder cooperation and the building up of experience and collection of good practices. It 
will also seek to reinforce the ePractice good practice exchange network on e-government, e-
health  and  e-Inclusion,  which  has  already  amassed  a  vast  amount  of  expertise  on  e-
accessibility. 

The  Commission  will  monitor  web-accessibility  and  e-accessibility  progress  and 
implementation, support cooperation and exchange of good practices via studies and a CIP 
thematic network, to be launched in 2009. 

(3) 

Supporting innovation and deployment  

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See report on the public consultation. 
http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/document/7728 
MeAC and study on accessibility of ICT products and services for disabled and elderly people. 

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There  is  already  extensive  support  for  e-accessibility  research  and  innovation.  In  2008,  13 
new  projects  were  funded  with  some  €43m   from  the  EU  research  programme.  The 
Commission will continue to actively support e-accessibility and ICT for independent living 
of  elderly  people  through  the  EU  research  programmes  with  a  further  call  for  proposals  in 
2009.  

The Commission will ensure e-accessibility is a strong research and innovation priority in 
2009 and beyond.  

Member  States  and  the  Commission  will  use  the  Ambient  Assisted  Living  joint  research 
programme,  launched  in  2008,  to  stimulate  innovative  ICT-based  solutions  for  independent 
living and the prevention and management of chronic conditions of elderly people.  

Under the 2008 CIP, the Commission funded a pilot project on accessible TV and pilots on 
ICT  for  elderly  people  to  accelerate  technology  deployment.  In  2009,  the  Commission  will 
fund a pilot on 'total conversation' (the combination of audio, text and video communications 
to support people with disabilities), which will help hearing- and speech-impaired persons to 
access the European '112' emergency number.  

Member  States  and  stakeholders  are  urged  to  stimulate  e-accessibility  innovation  and 
deployment via the Structural Funds, FP7, the AAL programme and national programmes. 

The Structural Funds Regulation10 requires that the Member States consider accessibility for 
disabled persons as one of the criteria to receive funding. In this context, the Commission will 
provide  a  'disability  toolkit'  in  2009,  applicable  to  ICTs,  and  encourage  Member  States  and 
Regions  to  ensure  that  ICT  accessibility  is  incorporated  in  their  procurement  and  funding 
criteria.  

The  Commission  will  provide  a  disability  toolkit  applicable  to  ICTs  in  2009  for  use  in 
Structural Funds and other programmes. 

(4) 

Facilitating standardisation activities  

The  Commission  continues  its  strong  support  for  e-accessibility  in  its  standardisation  work 
programme. In particular, Mandate 376 issued to the European Standardisation Organisations 
is  an  important  standardisation  activity  to  foster  e-accessibility.11  The  Commission  will 
promote  the  use  of  the  results  from  this  standardisation  work  and  will  seek  a  rapid 
continuation  of  Mandate  376  to  deliver  the  actual  standards  and  related  conformity 
assessment  schemes.  This  process  will  be  complemented  and  supported  by  stakeholders' 
dialogue,  exchange  of  good  practices  and  deployment  pilots,  as  referred  to  in  the  proposed 
actions of this Communication.  

Under  Mandate  376,  ESOs  should  rapidly  develop  EU  standards  for  e-accessibility,  in 
cooperation with relevant stakeholders during 2009 and beyond.  

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Council Regulation (EC) 1083/2006  
The aim of Mandate 376 is to enable the use of public procurement and practice for ICT´s to remove 
barriers  to  participation  in  the  Information  Society  by  disabled  and  older  people.  The  Mandate  was 
given by the European Commission to the ESOs to come up with a solution for common requirements 
(for example for text sizes, screen contrast, keypad sizes etc) and conformance assessment. 

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(5) 

Exploiting current and considering new legislation 

There is a clear correlation at national level between the existence of legislation and the actual 
level of progress on e-accessibility12. Research points to the risks of legal fragmentation in the 
EU due to divergent legislative measures. Based on this, and building on the 2005 and 2007 
Communications, the Commission has started exploring a more general legislative approach 
to e-accessibility.  

However, given the vast, complex and evolving nature of the e-accessibility field, there is not 
yet  a  clear  consensus  on  possible  EU  legislation  dedicated  to  e-accessibility13,  e.g.  on 
elements such as scope, standards, compliance mechanisms and links to existing legislation. 
Furthermore,  although  there  is  a  clear  consensus  on  the  need  to  act  jointly  to  improve  e-
accessibility, there are different views on the next priorities to address. The Commission has 
therefore  concluded  that  the  time  is  not  yet  right  for  a  specific  e-accessibility  legislative 
proposal,  but  will  continue  to  assess  its  feasibility  and  relevance,  taking  into  account  actual 
progress in the field. 

Nevertheless, there are provisions under current EU legislation that remain under-exploited, in 
particular  for  radio  telecommunications  equipment,  electronic  communications,  public 
procurement, copyright in the information society, equality in employment, value added tax 
and  state  aid  exemptions14.  Making  full  use  of  these  provisions  would  already  significantly 
improve  e-accessibility  in  Member  States.  The  Commission  therefore  encourages  Member 
States to make the most of these before new legislation is considered.  

Several  of  the  above  pieces  of  EU  legislation  are  under  review  or  will  be  reviewed  soon15. 
The Commission will work to ensure that, where appropriate, e-accessibility requirements are 
considered  and  reinforced  in  these  revisions.  Moreover,  legislative  proposals  for  electronic 
communications  significantly  strengthen  provisions  on  disabled  users  under  the  current 
framework. The Commission will also carefully monitor the transposition and implementation 
of  the  audiovisual  media  services  Directive16  in  particular  its  Article  3c  that  provides  that 
Member States shall encourage media service providers under their jurisdiction to ensure that 
their services are gradually made accessible to people with a visual or hearing disability.  

The Commission will ensure that appropriate e-accessibility provisions are integrated in 
revisions of EU legislation. Member States, stakeholders and the Commission should make 
full use of opportunities in current legislation to strengthen e-accessibility. 

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See MeAC and study on accessibility of ICT products and services for disabled and elderly people. 
In  the  public  consultation  90%  of  user  organisations  considered  binding  legislation  a  high  priority, 
versus 33% of industry and public authorities. 
Directives 2000/78/EC, 2002/21/EC, 1999/5/EC, 2004/18/EC, 2001/29/CE, 2007/65/EC.  
For  example,  Directive  1999/5/EC  on  terminal  equipment  is  under  review:  in  this  context,  the 
Commission will make sure to maintain the possibility to activate the relevant Article 3(3)(f).  
Directive 2007/65/EC.  

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3. 

WEB ACCESSIBILITY  

Web accessibility is an important aspect of e-accessibility which offers disabled people the 
possibility to perceive, understand, navigate, interact with and contribute to the Web. It also 
benefits other people confronted with visual, dexterity or cognitive limitations, such as elderly 
people. Web accessibility has become particularly important because of the explosive growth 
in  online  information  and  interactive  services:  online  banking,  shopping,  government  and 
public services, and communicating with distant relatives or friends. 

3.1. 

State of play  

Despite  its  importance,  the  overall  level  of  web  accessibility  remains  poor  across  the  EU. 
Several national and European surveys conducted over the last few years have found that the 
majority  of  websites,  public  and  private,  do  not  comply  even  with  the  most  basic 
internationally accepted guidelines for accessibility. A recent survey found that only 5.3% of 
government  websites  and  hardly  any  of  the  commercial  websites  surveyed  were  fully 
compliant  with  the  basic  accessibility  guidelines17.  This  confirms  why  many  people  find 
important  websites  difficult  to  use  and  are  therefore  at  risk  of  being  partially  or  totally 
excluded from the information society. 

The accessibility of public websites has received increasing policy attention in recent years in 
Member States18. At European level, a 2001 Communication on web accessibility encouraged 
Member  States  to  endorse  the  Web  Content  Accessibility  Guidelines  (WCAG)19.  In  two 
Resolutions20,  the  Council  stressed  the  need  to  speed  up  accessibility  to  the  web  and  its 
content.  The  European  Parliament  suggested  in  2002  that  all  public  websites  be  fully 
accessible  to  disabled  persons  by  200321.  In  2006,  the  Riga  Ministerial  Declaration  on  an 
inclusive  Information  Society  included  a  commitment  that  100%  of  public  websites  be 
accessible by 2010.  

Internationally, WCAG version 1 was adopted in 1999 by the World Wide Web Consortium 
(W3C). However, ambiguities led to fragmented implementations by Member States, and in 
view  of  new  internet  developments,  WCAG  1.0  is  becoming  outdated.  W3C  has  been 
working on a new version of the specifications (WCAG 2.0) for several years; these are now 
in  the  final  stages  of  adoption.  The  challenge  this  time  is  to  avoid  a  fragmented 
implementation.  

3.2. 

Rationale for further action  

Making websites more accessible may be challenging in some cases, involving certain costs 
and expertise. However, there is increasing evidence and documented examples that making a 
website  accessible  delivers  real  benefits  not  only  for  disabled  users,  but  also  for  website 
owners and users in general. Services are easier to use, simpler to maintain and accessed by 
more  users22.  As  a  result,  improving  website  accessibility  improves  the  situation  for  people 

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MeAC study. 
See related Staff Working Paper.  
COM(2001) 529.  
2002/C 86/02 and 2003/C 39/03.  
C5-0074/2002-2002/2032(COS).  
Staff Working Paper. 

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with disabilities and also for others and can thus strengthen the competitiveness of European 
companies. 

Case study: benefits of an accessible website 

After making their website accessible, a financial services business in the UK identified as benefits:  

- Customers found information more quickly and stayed on the site longer.  

- New customers used the service, increasing online sales. 

- Website maintenance was simpler, quicker and cheaper.  

- The website achieved significantly higher search engine rankings. 

- Compatibility problems were eliminated and mobile device access improved. 

- 100% return on investment in less than 12 months. 

Even so, persistent legislative fragmentation across Member States combined with the lack of 
clear legislative action at European level continues to hamper the internal market, constitutes 
barriers  to  consumers  and  citizens  in  this  cross-border  environment,  and  hinders  industry 
development.  The  United  Nations  Convention  on  the  Rights  of  Persons  With  Disabilities 
foresees obligations related to the internet which State Parties have to comply with. Further 
action at European level is therefore appropriate.  

3.3. 

Proposed actions  

The  primary  responsibility  for  improving  web  accessibility  rests  with  Member  States  and 
individual  service  providers.  Nevertheless,  there  are  actions  that  the  Commission  can 
undertake  or  facilitate  that  will  help  accelerate  the  improvement  in  web  accessibility  in 
Europe, even without specific EU legislative provisions on web accessibility. Overall success 
will be achieved through a common and consistent approach. The key action areas are:  

(1) 

Facilitate  the  rapid  adoption  and  implementation  of  international  guidelines  in 
Europe 

There  is  broad  consensus  that  WCAG  2.0  guidelines  are  the  technical  specifications  to  be 
closely  adhered  to  for  web  accessibility.  Once  W3C  reaches  agreement  on  the  guidelines, 
expected in the near future, Mandate 376 will be able to complete its harmonisation work at 
European level. In the meantime, Member States should undertake actions to ensure the Riga 
target  for  accessible  public  websites  is  achieved  and  prepare  for  the  rapid  incorporation  of 
new web-accessibility specifications into national rules in a common and coherent way by:  

–  Publishing  during  2009-2010  updated  technical  guidance  and,  where  appropriate, 

translating relevant W3C specifications; 

–  Identifying during 2009 the public websites and intranets23 concerned and achieving their 

accessibility by 2010. 

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In accordance with the Employment Equality Directive 2000/78/EC. 

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The  Commission  will  continue  its  work  to  improve  the  accessibility  of  its  own  websites, 
updating its internal guidance to reflect the new specifications. 

Non-public service providers, in particular owners of websites providing services of general 
interest24,  and  providers  of  commercial  websites  that  are  essential  for  participation  in  the 
economy and society are also encouraged to improve web accessibility (2008 onwards). 

Member States should achieve 100% accessibility of public websites by 2010 and prepare for 
rapid transition to updated web accessibility specifications in a common and coherent way. 

Websites  owners  providing  services  of  general  interest  and  other  relevant  website  owners 
should improve the accessibility of their websites. 

The European Standardisation Organisations, in cooperation with stakeholders, should rapidly 
develop EU standards for web accessibility building on WCAG 2.0. 

The  Commission  is  improving  the  accessibility  of  Commission  websites,  updating  internal 
guidance to reflect the new specifications. 

The Commission will monitor and support these developments, encouraging Member States 
to take rapid action on the key aspects of implementation and facilitating the collection and 
exchange  of  practical  experience,  primarily  through  the  ePractice  platform25.  Depending  on 
progress  and  when  the  standards  are  in  place,  the  Commission  will  consider  the  need  for 
common EU guidance, including legislative action26.  

The  Commission  will  monitor  and  publish  progress  and  consider  the  need  for  common  EU 
guidance, including legislative action (2009 onwards). 

(2) 

Improve the understanding of and promote web accessibility  

There is a strong need for increased visibility, understanding and awareness of the needs and 
solutions for web accessibility. Member States should take a leading role in achieving this by:  

–  Widely  promoting  accessibility  of  websites  by  providing  clear  information  and  guidance 
on  website  accessibility,  including  assistive  technologies27,  and  encouraging  the  use  of 
accessibility statements28; 

–  Supporting training schemes, knowledge sharing and good practice exchange; 

–  Purchasing accessible tools and websites in their public procurement;  

–  Assigning a national contact point for web accessibility, e.g. via a website, in 2009; 

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As referred to in COM(2007) 725. 
www.epractice.eu.  
See Impact Assessment of COM 2007 (694) 
Pieces of ICT equipment that support functional capabilities of people with disabilities. 
Providing supporting information such as accessibility policy of the website, compliance with relevant 
specifications, support for persons with disabilities, complaint mechanisms.  

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–  monitoring  and  reporting  progress  on  compliance,  user  satisfaction  and  implementation 
costs  for  web  accessibility  on  both  public  and  other  websites  to  the  proposed  high-level 
group and general public. 

Member  States  should  lead  in  improving  the  awareness  and  understanding  of  web 
accessibility  in  a  coherent,  efficient  and  effective  manner  and  report  progress  to  the  high-
level group. 

4. 

CONCLUSION  

Common  and  coherent  action  is  required  on  many  fronts  to  achieve  e-accessibility.  In 
particular,  immediate  and  rapid  progress  on  web  accessibility  is  essential.  All  stakeholders 
have  decisive  roles  to  play  to  achieve  the  common  goal  of  a  truly  inclusive  information 
society. 

The  Commission  invites  the  Council,  the  European  Parliament,  the  Committee  of  the 
Regions, and the Economic and Social Committee to express their views on the actions to be 
taken to make the information society accessible to all. 

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Annex – Summary of actions  

E-accessibility  

Actions 

Establish  an  ad  hoc  high-level  group  to  provide  guidance  on 
priorities  and  a  more  coherent  approach  to  e-accessibility. 
Stakeholders are called upon to commit to this cooperation. 
Ensure e-accessibility remains a policy priority in the follow-up to 
i2010 and disability action plan. 
Monitor  web-accessibility  and  e-accessibility  progress  and 
implementation,  support  cooperation  and  exchange  of  good 
practices via studies and a CIP thematic network. 

Ensure  e-accessibility  is  a  strong  research  and  innovation 
priority. 
Stimulate  e-accessibility  innovation  and  deployment  via  the 
Structural  Funds,  FP7, 
the  AAL  programme  and  national 
programmes. 
Provide a disability toolkit applicable to ICTs for use in Structural 
Funds and other programmes. 
Under  Mandate  376,  rapidly  develop  EU  standards  for  e-
accessibility, in cooperation with relevant stakeholders. 
Ensure  appropriate  e-accessibility  provisions  are  integrated  in 
revisions of EU legislation.  
Make  full  use  of  opportunities  in  current  legislation  to 
strengthen e-accessibility. 

Date 

Responsible 

Early 
2009 

EC, 
stakeholders 

2009- 

EC 

2009- 

EC, industry 
and 
stakeholders 

2009 -  

EC 

2009 - 

MS, other 
stakeholders 

2009 

EC 

2009- 

ESOs 

2008- 

EC 

2008- 

MS, EC 
industry and 
stakeholders 

Web-accessibility  

Achieve  100%  accessibility  of  public  websites  and  prepare  for 
rapid  transition  to  updated  web  accessibility  specifications  in  a 
common and coherent way.  

2009-
2010 

MS 

Rapidly develop EU standards for web accessibility building on 
WCAG 2.0. 

2009- 

ESOs (and 
stakeholders)

Improve  the  accessibility  of  Commission  websites,  updating 
internal guidance to reflect the new specifications. 
Websites  owners  providing  services  of  general  interest  and 
other relevant website owners to improve the accessibility of their 
websites.  
Monitor  and  publish  progress  and  consider  the  need  for 
common EU guidance, including legislative action. 
Lead  in  improving  the  awareness  and  understanding  of  web 
accessibility  in  a  coherent,  efficient  and  effective  manner  and 
report progress to the high-level group. 

2009- 

EC 

2009- 

Other 
stakeholders  

2009- 

EC 

2008- 

MS 

EN 

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