Brussels, 14/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - The work of the Council of the EU on the Accessibility Act has been very heavy-going since it was presented by the European Commission in December 2015 (see EUROPE 11444). It is therefore only expected to be the subject of a progress report at the European employment ministers' meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday 16 June.
This proposal for a directive seeks to introduce common requirements that enable people with disabilities to access certain key products and services more easily. As pointed out by the Dutch Presidency of the Council, it is in fact a complex and highly technical proposal. This can partly be explained by the fact that no article in its connection has so far been the subject of a compromise. The member states have also raised so many questions that it has not been possible to form clear or grouped positions, explained one source.
The Council working group responsible for social questions has met eight times to discuss this proposal and has mainly examined the Commission impact study, basic legal clarifications on the proposal, its scope and practical implications. Although the Commission has provided many clarifications on the technical aspects, several questions still need to be addressed on essential points in the proposal.
One of the first questions involves the definitions used on the subject of the people to whom this proposal is addressed. Several member states consider that by referring to “people with functional limitations”, the “elderly” and “people with disabilities”, the Commission proposal is in danger of expanding the scope beyond the specific UN Convention. Moreover, it is the latter that is supposed to guide the action of the EU on accessibility related matters.
The scope of application for the common requirements on accessibility to products and services in different sectors has also been the subject of many questions. Some delegations have expressed different fears, such as the impact of overly precise requirements on innovation or the uncertainty surrounding the links between products associated with services, and the consequences on the scope of the directive.
The relationship between the Commission proposal and existing EU legislation also appears to raise a considerable number of questions. Several delegations suggest that accessibility in the audiovisual media and transport services sectors be excluded from the proposal and be dealt with in specific legislation. Certain countries also want the concept of “disproportionate costs” to be clarified, and want the possibility of partially fulfilling these requirements or of exempting SMEs from them to be examined. (Original version in French by Jan Kordys)