Brussels, 03/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 3 December, the European Commission presented a draft directive to facilitate access to online public services. This initiative was introduced within the context of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, said, “we all have the right to equal access to government services online. This proposal would make that right a reality, and not just an idea”.
The proposal would introduce mandatory EU standardised accessibility features, from the end of 2015, for 12 types of websites. Mandatory accessibility would apply to essential government services like social security and health related services, job searches, etc. Thanks to new technology, for example, visually impaired people will hear descriptions of images when using a screen reader, the hearing-impaired will see written captions for audio files and all parts of a website could be explored via keyboards as well as a computer mouse during their searches on public sector sites. This initiative should help to unlock a European web accessibility market worth an estimated €2 billion, a market which is currently reaching only 10% of its potential, explained the Commission. (IL/transl.fl)