Since I became commissioner responsible for the rights of persons with disabilities, I have closely witnessed the concrete difficulties that persons with disabilities face in society and at work. They face an employment rate gap of 23.6 per cent to the rest of the population. Also, 30 per cent of Europeans with some or severe limitations are at risk of poverty and social exclusion, far higher than the EU average.
During my encounters and conversations with disabled people I have also seen how digital devices and applications offer great opportunities to step up their participation in society.
Technology has changed the way we live and work. And for most of us, whether it’s for booking holidays, declaring taxes or communicating with colleagues, they make our lives and jobs easier.
By 2020, it is expected that 120 million people in the European Union will have an impairment that limits their access to certain products and services.
By 2020, it is expected that 120 million people in the EU will have an impairment that limits their access to certain products and services
Yet many of these products and services are currently not sufficiently adapted for people who might, for example, not be able to use a keyboard or watch a video animation.
For digitisation to become a real game changer for the social inclusion of the disabled, the elderly or other people experiencing functional limitations in the course of their lives, we need to create the right environment for businesses to make their products and services accessible to all.
That is why today – on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities – I am proposing new EU rules on accessibility to better coordinate our efforts and allow for the free movement of accessible goods and services in the EU.
My proposal builds on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which entered into force for the EU in 2011. This is our common commitment – of both the EU and the 28 member states – to make products, services and buildings more accessible.
Member states have begun to implement the Convention but in many different ways.
For instance, an ATM with a height of operation of 1.25 metres is accessible in France, Ireland and the UK but is considered inaccessible in the Netherlands, Germany and Spain.
The aim of our proposal is to create common European accessibility requirements for a number of key products and services. This includes among others computers, ticketing machines, smartphones, TV equipment, banking, e-books and e-commerce. These European requirements identify what features need to be accessible.
Today’s proposal is a concrete illustration of how the EU can make a real difference for people in their daily lives by improving how the EU internal market works.
Through clear and common rules we can foster more competitiveness and deliver products and services at a better price to citizens who need it. It puts our internal market at the service of innovation and social inclusion.
Marianne Thyssen is European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility.