The Commission supported the results of the
interinstitutional negotiations and therefore accepted the
Council's position at first reading with a view to the adoption of
a proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the
Council on the accessibility of the websites and mobile
applications of public sector bodies.
Overall, the Council accepted the need to legislate
in this area and endorsed the core objectives of the Commission
proposal, namely to improve the accessibility of public sector
websites. However, the Council made some changes on how to
achieve those objectives. In particular:
- the scope of the proposal was extended to cover
websites and mobile applications of all public sector bodies, with
some limited exceptions on the types of body and content
covered;
- new provisions allowing public sector bodies to apply
the accessibility requirements to the extent that they do not
impose a disproportionate burden;
- the definition of ‘public sector body’
clarifies that the extension to associations formed by one or
several authorities or bodies governed by public law covers
associations established for the specific purpose of meeting needs
of general interest, not having an industrial or commercial
character;
- Member States may maintain or introduce measures (in
conformity with Union law) which go beyond the minimum requirements
provided by the Directive;
- the provisions on standards have been adapted to take
account of the adoption of the European standard in 2014 on
“Accessibility requirements suitable for public procurement of
ICT products and services in Europe” (EN 301 549), resulting
from Mandate 376, and also to take account of the fact that there
is ongoing standardisation work on mobile applications;
- the Commission will be required to adopt implementing
acts within 24 months from the entry into force of the Directive
providing technical specifications for mobile applications in cases
where no reference to a harmonised standard covering them has been
published;
- the text lays down requirements on transparency
(public sector bodies will need to publish information on the
accessibility of their websites and mobile applications) and for
users to request certain content otherwise exempted from
accessibility requirements;
- the amended text lays down requirements for an
effective enforcement procedure, including the possibility to
contact an ombudsman and monitoring and reporting by Member
States;
- the Commission is further requested to establish
through implementing acts the model statement on accessibility
which public sector bodies will be required to publish;
- Member States must transpose the Directive into
national law within 21 months after the date of its entry into
force. They then have 12 months to apply the provisions to new
public sector bodies’ websites, 24 months to existing websites
and 33 months to mobile applications of public sector
bodies.
The Commission supports this outcome.