It is not quite the long-awaited accessibility act, but it is a step in that direction. The European Commission announced, on 30 June, its intention to develop a European disability card and free up €1.5 million to help the member states implement it. “Recognition of the status of disabled persons is exclusively decided on a national level. But today, there is no system allowing mutual recognition in other EU member states, which creates practical problems for disabled persons when they…
Accessibility act
The Commission committed, in 2011, to presenting an accessibility act with a view to improving the access of disabled persons to goods and services. The dossier has now completely disappeared from the 2015 working programme of the EU executive. Questioned on several occasions by MEPs, Commissioner Thyssen confirmed that work is underway and that it is impossible, at the present time, to prejudge the content of such an initiative. According to a parliamentary source, the Commission will wait for the adoption of the directive on the accessibility of websites before voicing its opinion. It is expected to seriously conflict with the opposition of member states.
