“Booking a vacation online, taking the train to work or reading a book for school often pose unsurmountable challenges for us”, states Wolfgang Angermann, EBU President. The European Accessibility Act (EAA) has the potential to change this to the better. It is one of the priority policy projects currently developed in Brussels, aiming to harmonise the requirements for accessibility of goods and services across the EU. Since 2015, EBU has accompanied its development. Now, EBU rolled out the last stage of its campaign for a comprehensive and meaningful EAA.
On 1 March, negotiations between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission began. Behind closed doors, they will negotiate compromise positions on the EAA. EBU is determined to preserve the positive elements from all three institutions and to avoid the adoption of amendments that would weaken the EAA. To shape the negotiations, EBU articulates the essential demands of 30 million blind and partially sighted Europeans in a new Position Paper and scrutinises all relevant amendments in a new extensive analysis.
More precisely, EBU demands a comprehensive horizontal scope for the EAA. It should cover core aspects of daily life, from urban transport systems and payment terminals to tourism and the built environment. Moreover, the EAA should spell out clear and specific functional accessibility requirements for goods and services. Lastly, the EAA can only be a meaningful regulation for 80 Million Europeans with disabilities, if exemptions and exceptions are kept to an absolute minimum.
In a concerted effort by the EBU central office and its national members, this EBU Position was widely publicised in March 2018. The Union of the Blind of Bulgaria informed Ministers and Diplomats of the Council Presidency of the EBU Position. A joint press release was published in multiple European languages. EBU Members from the EU contacted their responsible ministries and focal points for persons with disabilities. MEPs from Germany, France and Slovenia confirmed their support to the EBU demands.
The next formal Trilogue meetings between the three institutions will take place on 12 April, 15 May and 26 June. EBU will accompany these meetings and push for the demands. You can read more about the EBU campaign on the EAA online. Moreover, you can follow the EBU campaign and participate in it on Social Media under the hashtag #AccessibilityAct.
Benedikt van den Boom
International Relations Officer, German Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted, (DBSV)