European Accessibility Act (EAA)
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is a landmark legislative measure adopted by the European Union which aims to provide more accessible products and services in the EU market. It is rooted in the EU's commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the promotion of “full and effective equal participation by improving access to mainstream products and services that, through their initial design or subsequent adaptation, address the particular needs of persons with disabilities.”
All EU countries have implemented the EAA through national laws which apply common rules on accessibility to many consumer products and services.
These products and services were identified as being the most important for persons with disabilities while being most likely to have diverging accessibility requirements at national level across the EU. They span across a range of sectors including banking, computers and tablets, telecommunications, e-commerce, e-publishing, and air, bus, rail and water passenger transport services. The EAA also introduced rules for answering emergency calls to the European emergency number ‘112’ and public procurement processes.
Each Member State has designated one or more market surveillance authorities and competent authorities for monitoring compliance with the EAA’s rules and requirements, which can take enforcement action including the imposition of “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” penalties for compliance failures.
To find out more about the EAA, contact any of our experts below or click here for our cheat sheet for an at-a-glance overview of the EAA.
Our team can help you with:
Accessibility audits: Conducting a scoping exercise to identify which products or services are in-scope of the EAA and under which categories. and understand the relevant requirements, including relevant national laws, and conducting a gap analysis.
Understanding your statutory obligations: Identification of your role in the consumer-supply chain (e.g. as manufacturer, importer or distributor or service provider), and whether you are directly or indirectly dealing with consumers (e.g. through white-labelling or resale of your products or services) and the obligations relevant to your business whether it’s a microenterprise, SME or larger enterprise.
Policies, procedures and contracts: Implementing new or review existing internal policies and procedures, including staff training, as well as customer contracts and terms with consumers to incorporate the EAA’s accessibility requirements and obligations.
Documentation, record keeping and reporting: Documenting technical documentation and conformity assessments, maintaining up-to-date and complete records of compliance efforts including implementation of accessibility requirements, records of staff training and reliance on any derogations, which may be requested by regulators.
Maintenance and enforcement: Monitoring and preparing for complaints, consumer claims, regulatory supervision and enforcement, and legal actions.
The European Accessibility Act
Navigating the European Accessibility Act
In this webinar held on 6 February 2025, we delved into the following topics:
