eAccessibility - CEN-CENELEC

Electronic accessibility or eAccessibility (eAcc) refers to the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) by persons with disabilities.

CEN, CENELEC, and ETSI jointly addressed the European Commission Mandate M/376, by developing a new European standard making ICT products and services accessible for all. The document sets out a set of accessibility requirements for public procurement of ICT products and services, which ensure that publicly procured systems do not introduce any accessibility barriers.

This work was managed by the CEN-CENELEC and ETSI Joint Working Group (JWG) ‘eAccessibility’ for which UNE held the secretariat and was financed by the EC/EFTA.

In January 2014, CEN, CENELEC and ETSI announced the publication of the EN 301549 ‘Accessibility requirements suitable for public procurement of ICT products and services in Europe’, as the first European Standard for accessible ICT products and services.

A revised version of EN 301549:2019 ‘Accessibility requirements suitable for public procurement of ICT products and services in Europe’ is now available on the ETSI website and through National Standardization Bodies and National Committees. EN 301549:2019is the most up-to-date standard for ICT accessibility and was developed through an inclusive process with the active involvement of relevant stakeholders.

The new European Standard is complemented by a series of three Technical Reports (CEN/CLC/ETSI TR 101550:2022, CEN/CLC/ETSI TR 101551:2014, and CEN/CLC/ETSI/TR 101552:2014), currently under review by the JWG 'eAccessibility'. Together, these documents set out accessibility requirements that can be applied to a wide range of products and services related to ICT, including computers, smartphones and other digital devices, ticketing machines, websites, and emails.

Through an agreement between the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), CEN, CENELEC and ETSI, the accessibility requirements contained in these documents are consistent with other global accessibility requirements.

In December 2022, CEN, CENELEC and ETSI accepted the EC mandate M/587 to revise and develop new standards in support of the European Accessibility Act.

The JWG 'eAccessibility' is currently working on the revision of EN 301549. Find out more by viewing this video on how to contribute to EU standardisation on accessibility

EU legislation and mandates

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) is the first legally binding international human rights instrument to which both the European Union as a whole and EU Member States are Parties.

The UNCRPD requests States Parties to promote universal design in the development of standards and to develop, promulgate and monitor the implementation of minimum standards for accessibility of facilities and services open or provided to the public.

The European Commission mandates the European standards organizations, which include CEN, CENELEC and ETSI, to develop and implement accessibility standards.

Current mandates:

M/376: European accessibility requirements for public procurement of products and services in the ICT domain;
M/420: European accessibility requirements for public procurement in the built environment;
M/473: To apply Design for All in relevant standardization initiatives;

In 2019, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. EU Member States shall now publish the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive, by 28 June 2022. The EAA aims to improve the functioning of the internal market for accessible products and services, by removing barriers created by divergent legislation. The EAA will cover the following products and services:

Computers and operating systems;
ATMs, ticketing and check-in machines;
Telephones and smartphones;
TV equipment related to digital television services;
Audiovisual media services, such as television broadcast and related consumer equipment;
Services related to air, bus, rail and waterborne passenger transport
Banking services;
E-books;
E-commerce.

The European standardization organisations expect to receive a new standardization request (formerly known as 'mandate') to develop harmonized European standards, in support of the EAA, in early 2022.

Contact:

Christina THORNGREEN
cthorngreen@cencenelec.eu