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Accessibility requirements for products and services

In “Internal Market and Consumer Protection - IMCO”

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For a brief overview of the key points of the adopted text and its significance for the citizen, please see the corresponding summary note.

In recent years, the European Parliament has been highly supportive of a proposed European Accessibility Act (EAA), which would enshrine the rights of disabled people at EU level. Several Members have asked the European Commission questions about the expected act. Parliament passed a further resolution on 20 May 2015 on the list of issues adopted by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in relation to the initial report of the European Union. This resolution called on the European Commission to present an ambitious proposal for the (repeatedly delayed) EAA.


Moreover, the Council was urged by the European Parliament to accelerate its work on the proposal for a directive on the accessibility of public sector bodies' websites, with a view to reaching a common position, and Member States were called upon to translate into national law the obligations derived from Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

In order to help dismantle barriers between Member States, a European Accessibility Act – a business-friendly proposal that should substantially improve the proper functioning of the internal market for accessible goods and services – was announced by the European Commission in January 2011, initially scheduled for the end of 2012, but repeatedly postponed. On 2 December 2015, Commissioner Marianne Thyssen finally presented the proposal for an EEA. It lists 'needs' which should be accessible in terms of functional requirements (e.g. computers, telephones, TV, media services, transport, banking services, e-books and e-commerce) without imposing detailed technical solutions. According to the European Commission, its proposed directive should reduce barriers for people with disabilities in the EU as regards access to education and jobs, and participation in society.

The proposed directive takes an internal market approach by aiming to encourage competition between economic operators, as well as the free movement of accessible goods and services. The proposed harmonisation of rules would not only address the current legislative fragmentation and thus improve the functioning of the internal market, but also contribute to the inclusion of disabled citizens and consumers in society. As such, the proposed directive is consistent with the Europe 2020 Strategy, which aims to foster, among other things, social inclusion. The proposal sets out rules on products and services accessible to persons with disabilities and functional limitations. The scope includes electronic devices, websites, audio-visual media services, certain aspects of transport services (e.g. ticketing machines and travel information) and banking services (e.g. websites, mobile device-based banking).

The European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee appointed a rapporteur (Morten Løkkegaard, ALDE, Denmark) on 2 February 2016. On 25 May 2016, the European Economic and Social Committee adopted an opinion on the Commission's proposal, which warmly welcomed the proposed ‘European Accessibility Act’. On 16 June 2016, the Council considered a progress report on the proposal, and on 8 December 2016, the Council took note of a further progress report.

On 15 September 2017, the report was discussed and voted during the plenary session. The amended text was approved by 537 votes to 12, with 89 abstentions. This vote gave Parliament’s team a mandate to start negotiations with Council. On 7 December 2017, the Council agreed on a position (general approach) on the European Accessibility Act. 

In the 2018 Joint Declaration, the three EU Institutions have committed to agree on a number of priority proposals amongst which the "Accessibility requirements for products and services". Under the Austrian presidency, the seventh and last trilogue took place on 8 November 2018 during which the EP and the Council came to a provisional agreement on the Commission's proposal. On 19 December 2018, the Council's Permanent Representatives Committee approved the provisional agreement reached with the European Parliament on 8 November 2018. On 22 January, the IMCO Committee approved the text provisionally agreed with the Council (24 votes in favour, three against and 10 abstentions). 

Following the approval of the agreement by the Permanent Representatives Committee and of the IMCO Committee, the agreed text was voted by Parliament during the March I plenary session.

The final act was adopted by the Council on 27 March 2019 and was signed by the presidents of the co-legislators on 17 April 2019. It was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 7 June 2019 as Directive 2019/882.



References:

Further reading:

Author: Marie Lecerf, Members' Research Service, legislative-train@europarl.europa.eu

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As of 20/11/2019.