The European Parliament has persisted with the exclusion of microenterprises from the directive on accessibility of products and services to disabled persons. It did this by adopting on Thursday 14 September, a report submitted by Morten Løkkegaard (ALDE, Denmark) during a particularly drawn out vote due to the many different amendments. It passed, however, with a comfortable majority (537 vote in favour, 12 against, 89 abstentions).
It should be pointed out that microenterprises are businesses employing fewer than 10 people and which have an annual turnover of less than €2 million. They are exempt from applying the said directive due to their small size and lack of resources if the text remains in its current form. In this connection, MEPs only included in the text the provisions in the directive that are not expected to create “disproportionate” obstacles for economic operators. Nonetheless, they emphasise that the lack of “priority, time and knowledge” cannot be considered as a legitimate reason for declaring these measures as disproportionate.
Progress was obtained with regard to the text adopted at the internal market and consumer protection committee (IMCO). In addition to disabled persons, the directive covers people suffering from a temporary disability or permanent functional limitations, for example, the elderly, pregnant women or people travelling with luggage.
The document enhances accessibility requirements for transport. MEPs therefore clarified what is covered in the term, transport, namely, underground and rail transport, tramways, trolleybuses, as well as all related services. The text also compels member states to impose accessibility standards on new or regenerated buildings.
Also included in the scope of the said directive are ticketing and check-in machines, ATMs, PCs and operating system, phones and TV equipment, consumer banking services, e-books, e-commerce.
The directive, above all, now covers the “built environment” where the service is provided, including transport infrastructure. This was the concern of many MEPs who feared that the directive would only apply to products and services (see EUROPE 11858).
There is still certain the vagueness regarding the annexes that were heavily amended during the plenary vote.
The rapporteur said that he was satisfied with the “solid majority”, which approved the text and is expecting difficult negotiations with the Council, where the text is still stalling (EUROPE 11861).
BusinessEurope concerned by legal uncertainties. Industry has expressed concerns after today’s vote. Markus J. Beyrer, director-general of BusinessEurope said, “While in many areas the text adopted in the plenary is an improvement to the European Commission’s proposal, in some respects the final text is likely to leave significant legal uncertainty, which is disadvantageous for companies.”
FEPH says result only goes half way. The European forum for people with disabilities considers that the text provides improvements but also points that could be finetuned. The organisation therefore welcomes the inclusion of the “Built environment” in the text and the fact that the act on accessibility is binding in the European legislation that mentions it. In regrets, however, the exclusion of microenterprises and the lack of precision about certain definitions relating to transport. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)