Access For All

The Spanish Presidency of the European Union has attempted to clarify that the planned Equal Treatment Directive does not force manufacturers to only make goods that are accessible to people with disabilities.
Many goods, such as mobile phones or digital television devices, are not easily usable by people with visual impairments. Some disability rights campaigners had claimed that a previous draft of the Directive would force manufacturers to change the way goods are made.
But the Presidency has published amendments to the draft Directive that make it clear that the planned law does not change the legal landscape for manufacturers.
“This Directive shall not apply to the design and manufacture of goods,” said an amendment to Article 4 of the proposed Directive tabled by the EU Presidency.
The European Blind Union and the UK’s RNIB had claimed that the previous draft of the Directive did mandate a change in the law through Article 3, clause 1 (d), which prohibits discrimination in relation to “access to and supply of goods and other services which are available to the public, including housing”.
Source: Based on OUT-LAW article.

The first objective of this study report is to illustrate, thanks to the analysis of hundreds of initiatives carried out at the policy, but also at the program and project level, where and how public intervention has made a clear difference in terms of reducing digital divide in the particular context it has been initiated. The report seeks also to classify the many possible ways for a public authority to design, launch and follow up e-Inclusion policies. It does so through the combination of two main analytical approaches. First, an exhaustive desk study made of the e-Inclusion National reports published by all Member States and of hundreds of published e-Inclusion projects. Second, a thorough and systematic exchange with key stakeholders, representing all EU27 national authorities and some regional practitioners, also including a panel of officials from six General Directorates of the European Commission.
Following on this series of findings, the second part of the report endeavours to offer some observations and practical comments by exploring two important policy making tools, i.e. the role of running and monitoring projects for optimizing the pertinence of policies, and the overarching part played by the Commission for empowering cross-sectoral public intervention, both of these tools being insufficiently recognized and tapped into today.
Finally, the study report puts forward a series of concrete recommendations to the Commission for the post-i2010 European policy on the Information Society.
Source: eInclusion website

Raising the Floor (RtF) is an international coalition of individuals and organizations working to ensure that the Internet is accessible to people experiencing accessibility or literacy problems, even if they have very limited or no financial resources. The goal is to ensure that individuals who need special interfaces are as free and able as everyone else to use the new and emerging Internet tools and resources to live more independently and productively, and to achieve their life’s goals.
More information is available on the Raising the Floor website.

Some 30% of European citizens (some 150 million people) experience some form of social exclusion, for example relating to poor health or a disability, lack of finance, low educational attainment, poor housing, or ethnic discrimination. The demand for public services from these groups can be significant, especially in times of economic uncertainty when there is significant pressure on government financial resources.
However, these groups contain people who have been least likely to access government services online, and who tend to rely on single channels when accessing services, usually involving human agents.
Socially excluded people often have limited education, technical skills, and financial means, and they can find it difficult to articulate their complex needs to service providers, or to engage with the processes of providing evidence that they qualify to receive services. Simply
directing socially excluded people to the electronic channels of eGovernment (swapping the human channel for an electronic channel) does not in itself guarantee that they will access relevant services more effectively and efficiently.
This study, launched by the European Commission, analyses the state of the art of multichannel delivery of public services throughout Europe, and the progress made towards achieving the goal to ensure that ‘no citizen is left behind’. It provides useful recommendations and identifies further actions which will be needed over the next few years.

EU ministers have committed to developing smarter online public services for citizens and businesses by 2015. The Commission has welcomed this step forward in making eGovernment more accessible, interactive and customised. At the fifth Ministerial eGovernment Conference in Malmö (Sweden) today, EU ministers outlined a joint vision and policy priorities on how this should be delivered. eGovernment is a key step towards boosting Europe’s competitiveness, benefiting from time and cost savings for citizens and businesses across Europe.
“Today’s declaration is another step in the right direction to further improve online public services for citizens and businesses. The commitment to shift from a “one-size-fits-all” to a customised approach is more likely to meet users’ needs and will open the path for more interactive and demand-driven public services in Europe”, said Siim Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Administrative Affairs, Audit and Anti-Fraud.
Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Information Society and Media, added: “The Malmö declaration is an encouraging signal sent from Member States towards the achievement of more effective cross-border services and the completion of the Single Market. For such services to become a reality for most citizens there is still more to be done. Achieving government savings in the current economic climate must be a priority. Better cross-border public services must be delivered even with fewer resources available so the investment made in eGovernment must be maximised. The lives of citizens and businesses can be made increasingly easier if they can benefit from efficient public services ranging from simple registration of life events such as births and residence, business services such as company registration and information or more sophisticated applications including those relating to tax, VAT or customs declarations.”
The declaration signed last night in Malmö by the EU ministers outlines a joint forwa rd-looking vision and defines policy priorities to be achieved by 2015. The key objectives that Member States together with the Commission aim to achieve in the next five years are:

1. to empower businesses and citizens through eGovernment services designed around users’ needs, better access to information and their active involvement in the policy making process;
2. to facilitate mobility in the single market by seamless eGovernment services for setting up business, for studying, working, residing and retiring in Europe;
3. to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of government services by reducing the administrative burden, improving organisational processes of administrations and using ICT to improve energy efficiency in public administrations which will result in a greater contribution to a sustainable low-carbon economy.

The European Commission is already working in close cooperation with Member States to set concrete targets for the eGovernment agenda in Europe and will launch an action plan in the second half of 2010 proposing concrete measures to achieve the objectives set out in the ministerial declaration.
The empowerment of citizens and businesses is already supported today by a large number of eGovernment services. Recent figures from the eighth benchmarking report ordered by the European Commission on eGovernment in Europe, released today at the fifth ministerial conference, indicate that the quality and availability of online government services have been on the rise in Europe in the last two years: 71% of the public services measured are fully available online through portals or websites, while this was only 59% in 2007. Austria, Malta, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Slovenia are leading countries in the assessment of availability of services. Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania and Latvia are making important progress but differences across Europe remain significant.
The report shows also an increased degree of interaction between service providers and users, where Europe stands at 83%, compared to 76% in 2007 (see annex for table). This year’s report looks at the availability of eProcurement, which aims at improving public procurement. It is now at around 60% in the EU, still far from the 100% target for 2010 set by the i2010 eGovernment action plan.
eGovernment Ministerial Declaration – full text on eGovernment website.

Stockholm 19 October 2009. The European Disability Forum, the voice of 65 million European citizens with disabilities, met in the Swedish capital to adopt the proposal for the European Disability Pact. “This policy instrument ensures real mainstreaming of disability in the European Union by promoting the rights of persons with disabilities and by developing a strong agenda engaging both the EU institutions and Member States” announced Yannis Vardakastanis, President of the organisation.
Sweden is a European leader in the promotion of human rights: the government ratified the United Nation Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in December 2008, and the Swedish Presidency of the European Union is about to reach an agreement on the conclusion of the Convention by the European Community by the end of the year. It is the first time in its history that the European Community will accede to an international human rights treaty. This ratification is a strong signal sent to the Member States both to implement the UNCRPD at a national level and to recognize disability as a cross cutting issue.
Such a political context implies a real need for coordinated actions. It is crucial for the European Commission to synchronize its disability strategy with Member States: the European Disability Pact is therefore the essential tool. Ingrid Burman, Spokesperson of the Swedish Disability Federation stated: “The European Disability Pact will be a driving force which will allow the EU and its members States to sail off to a barrier free Europe for persons with disabilities”. Through this Pact, the Lisbon strategy will give new impetus to the social inclusion of persons with disabilities, recognizing disability as a cross cutting issue. The Pact will cover employment, social protection, education, growth and competitiveness, e-inclusion policies and research.
Yannis Vardakastanis, President of the European Disability Forum reminded the positive effect of the European Pact on Gender Equality adopted in 2006 and he stressed out: “The Disability Pact is meant to give a clear long term direction to disability policy at European level declined through the definition of strategic measures including legislation and objectives at EU and national level up to 2020”.
Following the recognition by the International Community of their human rights, persons with disabilities expect systematic improvements of their living conditions and respect for their equal rights in policymaking at all levels. EDF is eager to participate in the process of developing the Disability Pact. The implementation of the UNCRPD is a challenge for all stakeholders, and everyone will benefit from its adoption: the member States, the European Commission and 65 million persons with disabilities in Europe.

Source: EDF press release