Parliamentary question

Written question to the European Commission

Despite the improvements made in the accessibility of the EU institutions and agencies’ websites and online platforms, there are still some shortcomings in this area. For this reason, according to the new EU disability strategy, the Commission must adopt an action plan on web accessibility this year to ensure EU websites, the documents published on these websites and online platforms are compliant with EU accessibility standards.

1. Can the Commission provide an update on progress with this work so far?

2. Can it state how, in accordance with its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Article 4(3)), it is actively involving persons with disabilities and the organisations that represent them in the drafting of this action plan?

3. Can it clarify whether the online platform of Conference on the Future of Europe is fully accessible to all people, including persons with disabilities, and if not, how accessibility will be enhanced in this regard?

Answer given by Commissioner Dalli on behalf of the European Commission

1. The Commission is committed to ensuring its websites, mobile applications and online tools are accessible to as many people as possible, including people with disabilities.

To achieve this, the Commission set clear rules to its services and integrated accessibility into the design, development and content creation for corporate assets.

In view of the action plan on Web Accessibility to be adopted in 2021, the Commission reviewed the work carried out across the organisation, identifying gaps to be addressed in the action plan. A dedicated task force is coordinating the work, including guidelines, feedback mechanisms and accessibility statements.

2. The Commission is involving its own association of staff with a disability (‘ASDEC’), and colleagues with disabilities are involved in the resolution of technical issues, like ‘captcha’ tools.

It is in close contact with the European Disability Forum and works to tackle issues raised by organisations of persons with disabilities.

The Commission launched an open public consultation on the review of the Web Accessibility Directive, including an easy-to-read version.

All questionnaires on the ‘Have Your Say’ portal will be made accessible to people with disabilities, so they can express their views on all subjects, not just those related to disability.

3. The Multilingual Digital Platform of the Conference on the Future of Europe is the main hub for citizens’ contributions. Ensuring its accessibility is of utmost importance. The Platform applies the abovementioned rules for web accessibility. More testing was done by the European Parliament services involved in the design of the Platform and improvements are being implemented.