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The accessibility of websites of public bodies
is maybe closer, but difficulties and uncertainties remain.
On
December 3rd, 2012, the European Commission presented a proposal
for a long awaited directive on the accessibility of websites of
public bodies. With it, the Commission intends to meet the needs
of a large number of users who struggle in accessing the sites of
essential services provided by public administrations across the
network. In Europe, people with disabilities make up 15% of the
population while in the European Union there are 80 million
persons with disabilities. It is clear that not all of these
people can or want to use online services, but it is a fact that
a growing number of users with disabilities are attracted to this
new way of interacting with public administrations.
Unfortunately, only less than 10% of public websites in the
Member States of the European Union are accessible, not to
mention the private websites where exclusion is almost complete.
But other potential users other than people with disabilities
have a problematic relationship with the electronic management of
services because of old age, the poor level of computer training,
insecurity and a fear of fraud. We are talking about millions of
citizens who are likely to be seriously downgraded, marginalized
and discriminated against relatively to their fellow citizens who
are more skilled and confident.
This situation is not acceptable whether at the
European level or at the level of Member States, concrete
measures must be taken to address this phenomenon.
Access to
the information society, a fundamental right of all citizens, the
condition without which today they cannot participate fully in
the society in which they live, requires the development of
information and communication technology skills
in public and
social life. Keeping pace with the rapid evolution of technology,
and consequently the social context, is essential to being full
citizens. The representative organizations of persons with
disabilities have been fighting for years for this goal, but so
far the so-called light regulation (communications, programs and
action plans of the Commission, resolutions and decisions of the
European Council and ministerial statements) has not produced
concrete results and it is clear that we must resort to more
effective legal instruments.
Full accessibility by persons with disabilities
to all information and communication technologies, including the
Internet, on a basis of equality with other users is a right
enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
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Persons with Disabilities in force in the
European Union since 2011. But it is also an important factor in
the growth of the EU single market.
In fact, the services
offered to the public using IT systems and the number of citizens
who use them are continually increasing.
To be accessible to a
user with a disability, a website as well as any online services
must be easy to manage, navigate, understand, and use on the
network with full security, autonomy and dignity in all
circumstances, including emergency situations. Currently, a
fraction of the sites do not meet these parameters and no
significant improvement has been observed. That is why the
European Commission has committed to submit by 2011 a proposal
for a directive which provides for the accessibility of websites
of public authorities in the EU by 2015.
The proposal,
presented with a year's delay, is now before Parliament and will
then be brought before the Council which will have the final
word.
As it stands, the proposal was met with little
enthusiasm by organizations of persons with disabilities
including the European Blind Union (EBU) in a quite harsh press
release which stigmatized the paucity of the long-awaited
proposal.
More diplomatic, but no less critical, is the
evaluation of the European Disability Forum which defined it as a
limited but a positive step towards the achievement of the
intended purpose.
The most severe criticism addressed to the
proposal relates to the field of application, which is widely
considered to be too narrow.
Thus, the Commission defines it
by making a reference to twelve types of websites drawn from a
2001 comparative study on eGovernement. These are sites of
important services sectors, such as social security, employment,
education, health, etc., but many others that are essential for
the effective inclusion of citizens in society are not taken into
account. In reality, the rapid evolution of the last twelve years
relating to technology and the means of providing services on
public websites were not taken into account. Member States are
developing their strategies for the digitization of the public
sector, creating an unnecessary market fragmentation which is
harmful to both the operators and the citizens who depend on the
accessibility of the Web and risk being partially or totally
excluded from the use of services and information
offered by
websites that are not among those required by the proposal. Key
services which are not covered, for example, are child care,
primary and secondary education, participation in local and
general elections, transport, network services such as the
provision of electricity, water and gas services, cultural
services, postal services and all related financial transactions.
The broadening of the scope of the directive is unavoidable and a
driving force could be in carrying out public procurement in
accordance with the EU legislation, in which case providers would
be required to draw up the technical specifications in accordance
with the future European standards on the accessibility of
websites.
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It would be preferable that the directive refer
more to the accessibility criteria to be met by all of the
websites of government agencies and by sites that provide
services to the public without preparing lists that would soon be
obsolete.
A key role for the effective implementation of the
proposed directive is given to standardization.
The
guidelines for accessible Web content (WCAG 2.0) of the W3C are
now recognized as a harmonized standard complying with EU
legislation. In complying with the technical specifications of
the harmonized standard, a good, a service or a site is deemed to
be so in accordance with European legislation, so as to simplify
the verification of compliance of websites with accessibility
criteria.
As far as the costs for public access to a public
site are concerned, it should be noted that since this is a
citizen's right, the service provider must still ensure
accessibility, which implies a cost for the measures that the
administration will take. The cost for the design of the
accessible site and for the training of staff will be offset by
the increased functionality of the site. Furthermore, the
harmonization of the single market would produce a significant
economy of scale and a reduction of production and management
costs. Finally, the representative organizations of persons with
disabilities ask that there be an effective implementing and
monitoring mechanism through the establishment in all Member
States of an entity capable of providing appropriate support and
advice to organizations and to assist citizens in case of
grievances.
The representative organizations should be
involved in all decision-making and monitoring processes and
should establish a time limit for the implementation of all
necessary measures and deadlines for regular reports to be sent
to the Commission.
From what I have tried to illustrate as clearly
and concisely as possible, it is clear that the European
Commission has not been able to meet the expectations of the
disability movement by preparing and presenting a bold and
ambitious text, which users with disabilities had the right to
expect. The ball has now passed into the hands of Parliament and
the game is inevitably becoming tougher, because it is a matter
of filling gaps in the current text, and ensuring that the
proposed directive is a useful and effective instrument and not
just a mere witness of frustrated good intentions.
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