The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is setting a new direction for digital inclusion in Europe – and this May, regulators, experts and user representatives from 15 countries met in Balestrand to discuss what that means in practice.
When around 40 regulators, experts and user representatives from 15 countries gathered in Balestrand this May, the purpose was not simply to attend another conference. We came together because the European Accessibility Act (EAA) marks the beginning of a shift in how we think about digital inclusion in Europe.
With the EAA, accessibility becomes a shared responsibility across large parts of the digital market. That matters. Although accessibility is a specialised field of competence, digital inclusion is not a niche only relevant for a few. In a society where access to work, education, banking, transport, information and public debate increasingly depends on digital solutions, digital exclusion quickly becomes democratic exclusion.
But legislation alone does not create inclusion.
From legislation to practice
The EAA gives Europe a common framework, yet frameworks still need to be interpreted, enforced and translated into a harmonised practice. This require cooperation across borders. Regulators across Europe are now facing many of the same questions: how to interpret standards, how to assess disproportionate burden, how to ensure meaningful enforcement, how to make the enforcement foreseeable through meaningful guidance and ultimately how to make sure accessibility requirements improve real user experiences.
This is why dialogue between regulators matters so much.
Building a culture for accessibility across Europe
One of the strongest reflections I took with me from Balestrand was how quickly common understanding can emerge when people are given the space to discuss openly and learn from one another. It was a great learning experience to hear participants share practical experiences and challenges across countries and sectors. And inspiring to be part of the discussions to better understand the task ahead.
Because accessibility is never only about technical compliance.
Standards such as WCAG and EN 301 549 may appear highly technical, but at their core they are built on user experiences and user needs. In many ways, the standards are a codification of barriers people have encountered when trying to participate in digital society. Behind every requirement lies a very human question: can people access information, communicate, learn, work and participate on equal terms?
That is why accessibility ultimately connects technical requirements with fundamental rights.
And this is also why achieving digital inclusion requires something broader than enforcement alone. It requires a societal shift, where public authorities, businesses, designers, developers and decision-makers increasingly share a common understanding that accessibility must be built in from the start, not added at the end.
Not having all the answers – but asking the right questions
The days in Balestrand reminded me that European cooperation is not only built through legislation and formal structures. It is also built through trust, shared learning and professional communities willing to learn from one another in order to meet the overall goals and in a way that is both foreseeable for the industry and enables innovation.
Perhaps that was what made these conversations so valuable: not that we found all the answers, but that we began asking the same questions together.
Malin Rygg
Malin Rygg is head of the Authority for Universal Design of ICT at the Norwegian Digitalisation Agency, since 2013, and has built a data driven digital organization to ensure efficient enforcement of accessibility requirements on digital solutions in Norway. Malin is a lawyer with experience from the Norwegian Competition Authority, and has previously worked as an attorney and judge.
