An introduction to the European Accessibility Act (EAA)
Sophie Stevens | 20 May 2024In April's IAAP Network and Learn session we were joined by Susanna Laurin, Chair at Funka Foundation and IAAP Representative to the EU, who discussed the European Accessibility Act. During the session Susanna answered guests questions about the act ahead of its deadline, June 2025.
The European Accessibility Act is "a very ambitious legislation at EU level but it's a directive which means that there is a difference between regulations and directives in the EU. Regulations are like GDPR which means that the EU decides on a regulation and then that goes on all member states directly and everyone needs to do exactly the same. All the accessibility laws that we have in the EU are directives. Directives are another way of law making and the directive leaves more room for flexibility and for interpretation for the member states," Susanna commented.
"The EU can decide on a minimum, the member states cannot go under and they need to do what the minimum requires, but if they want to do more then they're welcome to do more."
Want to learn more? Watch the full session below:
Some of the key questions that were asked during the event and subsequently answered by Susanna are listed below. The full list of questions are included as a downloadable document at the end of this blog post:
If you can recommend one thing to go and read to get good understanding of it, what would it be?
"The European Disability Forum has created a toolkit for their members that is quite easy to digest: https://www.edf-feph.org/publications/eaa-toolkit/
The European Commission has an overview that can serve as a short introduction: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1202"
How will this be enforced, policed, and monitored, how is the EU going to raise awareness of accessibility?
Enforcement and surveillance are done at member state level, by each sector in scope. The strength of the directive is that the requirements will become part of other sector-specific requirements, including control mechanisms already in place. Products that do not fulfil the requirements can be taken off market if they do not remediate within a reasonable time. That is quite a strong stick. Penalties will be decided at Member State-level. It may take time, but the directive will for sure make a difference in the end. My impression (not scientifically proven) is that commercial actors in scope of the EAA are generally much more aware than the public sector bodies were a year before WAD entered into force."
This session was part of AbilityNet's April 2024 IAAP Network and Learn event, with which we partnered with BarrierBreak to host.
The sessions are perfect for anyone who is currently an IAAP member or is thinking of becoming one. The International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) has a range of certification suitable for different needs of accessibility professionals.
Find out more about becoming a member and check back for events being announced in the future.
