On 28 June 2025, a major shift took place across the European Union with the enforcement of the European Accessibility Act (EAA). This landmark piece of legislation aims to make daily life more inclusive by ensuring that key products and services are accessible to people with disabilities, older individuals, and others who may encounter barriers in using digital or physical tools.
The EAA is not just a technical directive. It represents a broader social and economic commitment to equality. From online shopping and mobile banking to train ticket machines and e-books, the law touches many of the tools we rely on every day. For the millions of Europeans with disabilities, and for the many more who benefit from inclusive design, this directive brings practical, lasting change.
Why the Act matters
Until now, accessibility rules across EU countries have varied, leading to inconsistent user experiences and making it harder for businesses to operate across borders. The EAA addresses this by introducing a single set of accessibility requirements for all EU member states. This not only gives consumers more predictable experiences but also provides businesses with more precise guidance. For example, before the EAA, a person using a screen reader might struggle to use their mobile banking app because the buttons were unlabelled images. Now, the EAA requires those buttons to have descriptive text, making the app fully operable for them.
The EAA applies to a wide range of products and services. These include computers, smartphones, self-service terminals (such as ATMs and ticket machines), smart TVs and streaming services, online banking, transport booking systems, e-books and dedicated reading devices, and e-commerce platforms. If it’s widely used and essential to participation in daily life, the EAA likely applies to it. A complete list of covered products and services is available in the official directive (Directive (EU) 2019/882).
Accessibility under the EAA is based on four key principles. These principles are commonly known by the acronym POUR: content and interfaces must be Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust (meaning a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies, can interpret them). For digital content, this means alignment with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, the recognised international standard. This involves implementing features like clearer layouts, keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility, and improved contrast, all of which benefit every user, not just those with disabilities.
What it means for businesses
For businesses, the EAA is both a regulatory requirement and a chance to improve services for a broader audience. Considering that at least one in five Europeans lives with some form of disability, this represents not only an ethical commitment but also a significant market opportunity. By embracing accessibility, businesses can connect with a large customer base and their associated purchasing power. The EAA now requires companies across the EU to ensure their offerings are compliant. This has involved redesigning websites, updating software, and reviewing hardware interfaces to meet accessibility standards.
To support compliance, the EU has introduced harmonised standards, such as EN 301 549, which outline the technical requirements for accessibility in information and communication technologies. Following these standards provides a presumption of conformity with the law.
There are exemptions for microenterprises, businesses with fewer than ten employees and under €2 million in annual turnover, but many smaller organisations are choosing to adopt accessible practices anyway. Increasingly, customers expect it, and inclusive design is being seen not as an extra, but as standard good practice. Accurate compliance, however, goes beyond technical fixes. It requires a cultural shift within organisations, where multidisciplinary teams, including designers, developers, and content creators, are trained to prioritise accessibility from the start.
Moving towards inclusive design
While some may see the EAA as just another costly regulation, this view is shortsighted. The directive presents a critical choice: treat it as a burden, or leverage it as a unique strategic opportunity. For entities like public administrations, choosing the latter path is a distinct way to innovate and build a competitive edge.
Accessibility benefits everyone. What may start as a feature to help people with disabilities often turns out to be useful for many others. It also supports people with temporary or situational limitations, such as someone recovering from an injury or trying to read a screen in bright sunlight. This shows that inclusive design has wide-reaching, everyday value. Captions on videos assist not only those who are deaf or hard of hearing, but also people watching in noisy environments. Interfaces that can be navigated without a mouse help both people with mobility issues and those using mobile devices on the go.
The EAA encourages this kind of thinking. It challenges businesses and service providers to consider the full range of users from the start, rather than retrofitting accessibility later. It is a shift in mindset: from compliance to inclusion, from regulation to opportunity.
The importance of this approach aligns with international commitments like the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It is supported by the broader goals of the European Disability Strategy 2021–2030, which places accessibility at the heart of the EU’s vision for a more equal and rights-based society.
What happens next?
EU member states are now enforcing the directive. Consumers can now lodge complaints about non-compliant services, and national authorities are responsible for investigating and imposing penalties where necessary. But ideally, enforcement will not be the main driver of change. The best outcomes will come from businesses embracing accessibility because it improves usability, customer satisfaction, and long-term brand value.
Ultimately, the European Accessibility Act is about ensuring that digital transformation includes everyone. When you think about how much we rely on technology for our jobs, our learning, and our friendships, it becomes clear that accessibility can’t be just a legal afterthought. It’s at the heart of what makes our digital world both fair and innovative.
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