Tim za socijalno uključivanje i smanjenje siromaštva

On 26 October 2016 the European Parliament approved the directive on making the websites and mobile apps of public sector bodies more accessible. This means that people with disabilities – especially persons with vision or hearing impairments – will have better access to the websites and mobile applications of public services.

The directive had first been proposed by the Commission in 2012. Following negotiations between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, an updated version of the directive was agreed in May 2016, and adopted by the Council in July 2016. After the European Parliament’s favourable vote, the directive will soon enter into force, and Member States will have 21 months to transpose the Directive into national legislation.

The rules encoded in the directive reflect the Commission’s ongoing work to build a social and inclusive European Union, where all Europeans can take full part in the digital economy and society.

The text of the Directive:

• Covers websites and mobile apps of public sector bodies with a limited number of exceptions (e.g. broadcasters, livestreaming),
• Refers to the standards to make websites and mobile apps more accessible. For example, such standards foresee that there should be a text for images, or that websites can be browsed without a mouse which can be difficult to use for some people with disabilities,
• Requires regular monitoring and reporting of public sector websites and mobile apps by Member States. These reports have to be communicated to the Commission and to be made public. The Directive on web accessibility along with the European Accessibility Act proposed in December 2015 (press release) which covers a much wider number of products and services are both part of the efforts of the Commission to help people with disabilities to participate fully in society.

Additional information:

• The European standard on accessibility requirements for public procurement of ICT products and services was adopted in February 2014. Read the recent version of the European standard.
• The European Commission presented its proposal in December 2012 for a Directive on the accessibility of public sector bodies’ websites providing common rules across all Member States.
• The European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 builds on the UN Convention and contains actions in several priority areas, including web accessibility, with the objective “to ensure accessibility to goods and services including public services and assistive devices for people with disabilities”. Article 9 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities obliges Member States and the EU to take appropriate measures to ensure access for persons with disabilities, on equal basis with others, to inter alia information and communication technologies, including the internet.

Accessibility has become particularly important because of the explosive growth in online information and interactive services provided on the web and by mobile applications: online banking and shopping, using public services, communicating with our relatives and friends… The lack or absence of accessibility contributes to the exclusion or partial exclusion of many people from society.

Making websites and mobile apps more accessible results in a better user experience for all, not just for users with disabilities. Simple changes that make sites more user-friendly bring huge improvements for everyone (for example being able to listen to a text when lighting conditions are not optimal, or to read subtitles to a video when the sound is inaudible). Accessibility also benefits businesses with economic gains, as they can reach a larger customer base.

Web accessibility is not just about technical standards, web architecture and design. It is an issue of political will and of moral obligation now enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Article 9 of the Convention, to which the EU is a party, requires that appropriate measures are taken to ensure access for persons with disabilities, on equal basis with others, to inter alia information and communication technologies, including the Internet.

Source: еc.europa.eu