Activities of Anneleen VAN BOSSUYT related to 2015/0278(COD)
Plenary speeches (1)
Accessibility requirements for products and services (debate) NL
Shadow reports (1)
PDF (2 MB) DOC (480 KB)
Amendments (61)
Amendment 168 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) The disparities between the laws and administrative measures adopted by the Member States in relation to accessibility of some products and services for persons with functional limitations including persons with disabilities create barriers to the free movement of such products and services and distort effective competition in the internal market. Economic operators, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), are particularly affected by those barriers.
Amendment 172 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) Due to the differences in national accessibility requirements, individual professionals, SMEs and micro-enterprises in particular are discouraged from entering into business ventures outside their own domestic markets. The national, or even regional or local, accessibility requirements that Member States have put in place currently differ as regards both coverage and level of detail. Those differences negatively affect competitiveness and growth, due to the additional costs incurred in the development and marketing of accessible products and services for each national market.
Amendment 184 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) Each product and service falling under the scope of this Directive, has to comply with the accessibility requirements identified in Article 3 and listed in Annex I to be accessible for persons with disabilities and older persons. The e- commerce accessibility obligations also apply to the online sale of services under Article 1(2)(a) to (e) of this Directive.
Amendment 190 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) It is necessary to introduce the accessibility requirements in the least burdensome manner for the economic operators and the Member States, notably by only including in the scope the products and services which have been thoroughly selected. Therefore micro-enterprises, due to their size, resources and nature should not be required to comply with the accessibility requirements set out in this Directive.
Amendment 199 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) The Commission’s proposal for a DirectiveDirective (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council34 includes accessibility requirements for a specific set of public sector bodies’ websites and mobile applications. In addition, it proposes to establishes the basis for a monitoring and reporting methodology of the compliance of the relevant websites with the requirements listed in that Directive. Both the accessibility requirements and the monitoring and reporting methodology included in that Directive are to apply to the public sector bodies' websites and mobile applications. With the purpose of, notably, ensuring that relevant authorities implement the same accessibility requirements independently of the type of regulated website or mobile application, the accessibility requirements set out in this Directive should be aligned to those of the proposed Directive on the accessibility of public sector bodies’ websitesDirective (EU) 2016/2102. Activities of ecommerce of public sector websites and mobile applications not covered by that Directive, fall under the scope of this proposalDirective, in order to ensure that the online sale of products and services is accessible for persons with disabilities and older persons, irrespective of their public or private sale. __________________ 34 Proposal for a DirectiveDirective (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of public sector bodies' websites COM(2012) 721the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies (OJ L 327, 2.12.2016, p. 1).
Amendment 200 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 22 a (new)
Recital 22 a (new)
(22a) This Directive should complement the sectorial Union legislation in the aspects not covered by this Directive.
Amendment 209 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) It is necessary to provide that, for legislative acts of the Union establishing accessibility obligations without providing accessibility requirements or specifications, accessibility is defined by reference to the accessibility requirements of this Directive. That is the case of Directive 2014/23/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council,35 Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council,36 and Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council,37 which require that technical specifications and technical or functional requirements of the concessions, works or services falling within their scope take into account accessibility criteria for persons with disabilities or "design for all" users. __________________ 35 Directive 2014/23/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the award of concession contracts (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 1). 36 Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 65)°. 37 Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors and repealing Directive 2004/17/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 243).
Amendment 214 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 25 a (new)
Recital 25 a (new)
(25a) 'Design for all' should be understood as the design and composition of an environment, including products and services, so that it can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible, not excluding the use of specialised and fully interoperable assistive technology.
Amendment 215 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 28
Recital 28
(28) All economic operators falling within the scope of this Directive and intervening in the supply and distribution chain should ensure that they make available on the market only products which are in conformity with the accessibility requirements of this Directive. It is necessary to provide for a clear and proportionate distribution of obligations which correspond to the role of each operator in the supply and distribution process.
Amendment 217 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 29
Recital 29
(29) Economic operators should be responsible for the compliance of products and services, in relation to their respective roles in the supply chain, so as to ensure a high level of protection ofachieve full accessibility and to guarantee fair competition on the Union market.
Amendment 229 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 37
Recital 37
(37) This Directive should follow the principle of 'think small first' and should take account of the administrative burdens that SMEs are faced with. It should set light rules in terms of conformity assessment and should establish safeguard clauses for economic operators, rather than providing for general exceptions and derogations for those enterprises. Consequently, when setting up the rules for the selection and implementation of the most appropriate conformity assessment procedures, the situation of SMEs should be taken into account and the obligations to assess conformity of accessibility requirements should be limited to the extent that they do not pose a disproportionate burden on SMEs. In addition, market surveillance authorities should operate in a proportionate manner in relation to the size of undertakings and to the small serial or non-serial nature of the production concerned, without creating unnecessary obstacles for SMEs and without compromising the protection of public interests. Additionally, micro- enterprises, due to their size, resources and nature should not be required to comply with the accessibility requirements.
Amendment 238 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 44
Recital 44
Amendment 242 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 45
Recital 45
Amendment 253 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 53 a (new)
Recital 53 a (new)
(53a) In order to allow service providers sufficient time to adapt to requirements laid down by this Directive, it is necessary to provide for a transitional period of [5] years after the date of application of this Directive, during which products used for the provision of a service which were placed on the Union market before that date do not need to comply with the accessibility requirements pursuant to this Directive unless they are replaced by the service providers during the transitional period. It should be without prejudice to transitional periods and application dates set out by other Union legislation on accessibility. Given the cost and long life- cycle of automatic teller machines, ticketing machines and check-in machines, it is appropriate to provide that, when such terminals are used in the provision of services, they may continue to be used until the end of their economically or physically useful life or until they are fully depreciated. If on the basis of the required assessment it is concluded that it would constitute a disproportionate burden on the economic operator to require that all automatic teller machines, ticketing machines or check-in machines that are available for the provision of the same service comply with the accessibility requirements laid out in this Directive then the assessment should also suggest what number of compliant machines would be sufficient to secure the accessibility of the services provided by the service provider in question. In its assessment the service provider should take into account inter alia the estimated benefit for persons with disabilities and the ease of access of the accessible machines.
Amendment 283 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) services providing access to audiovisual media services and, including related consumer equipment with advanced computing capability used for the provision of those services;
Amendment 288 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) air, bus, rail and waterborne passenger transport services; in relation to the following aspects:
Amendment 290 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point c – point i (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point c – point i (new)
i) the websites, mobile applications, the mobile device-based services, smart ticketing, real-time information; and
Amendment 291 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point c – point ii (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point c – point ii (new)
ii) self-service terminals located within the territory of the Union, including ticketing machines and check- in machines used for the provision of passenger transport services;
Amendment 294 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point d
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point d
(d) consumer banking services;
Amendment 296 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point e
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point e
(e) e-books and access to e-books;
Amendment 301 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point f
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point f
(f) e-commerceonline marketplace intended for use by consumers.
Amendment 318 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Micro-enterprises, due to their size, resources and nature shall not be required to comply with the accessibility requirements laid down by this Directive.
Amendment 333 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – point 2
Article 2 – point 2
(2) “universal design”“ referred to also as “design for all” means the design of products, environments, programmes and services to be usable by all peoplersons, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialised design; “universal design” does not exclude assistive devices for particular groups of persons with functional limitations, includingcould also be achieved by means of interoperability with assistive devices for persons with disabilities where this is needed;
Amendment 339 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – point 6 a (new)
Article 2 – point 6 a (new)
(6a) "access to audiovisual media services" means features necessary for enabling the use of audiovisual media services provided, particularly different means of transmission of audiovisual media services, to the extent that the features are not covered by Directive 2010/13/EU;
Amendment 346 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – point 21
Article 2 – point 21
(21) “e-commerce” means the online sale of products and services"online marketplace" means a digital service that allows consumers as defined in point (a) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2013/11/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council1a to conclude online sales or service contracts with traders as defined in point (b) of Article 4(1) of that Directive either on the online marketplace's website or on a trader's website that uses computing services provided by the online marketplace; __________________ 1a Directive 2013/11/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes and amending Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 and Directive 2009/22/EC (Directive on consumer ADR) (OJ L 165, 18.6.2013, p. 63).
Amendment 382 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 9
Article 3 – paragraph 9
9. E-commerOnline marketplaces shall comply with the requirements set out in Section VIII of Annex I.
Amendment 390 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 10
Article 3 – paragraph 10
10. Member States may decide, in the light of national conditions, that the built environment used by clients of passenger transport services including the environment that is managed by service providers and by infrastructure operators as well as the built environment used by clients of banking services, and customer services centres and shops under the scope of telephony operators shall comply with the accessibility requirements of Annex I, section X, in order to maximise their use by persons with functional limitations, including persons with disabilities.
Amendment 396 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 1
Article 5 – paragraph 1
1. When placing their products on the market, manufacturers shall ensure that the products have been designed and manufactured in accordance with the applicable accessibility requirements set out in Article 3 unless the functional requirements are not achievable as the adaptation of product would need a fundamental alteration or would impose a disproportionate burden for the manufacturer.
Amendment 397 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. The requirements set out in paragraph 1 are deemed to be satisfied also when the manufacturer chooses the use of third party applications, peripheral devices, software, hardware, or customer premises equipment that persons with disabilities can access.
Amendment 398 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Amendment 401 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Where compliance of a product with the applicable accessibility requirements has been demonstrated by that procedure, manufacturers shall draw up an EU declaration of conformity and affix the CE marking.
Amendment 405 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 3
Article 5 – paragraph 3
Amendment 407 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 4
Article 5 – paragraph 4
Amendment 411 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 7
Article 5 – paragraph 7
7. Manufacturers shall ensure that the product is accompanied by instructions and safety information in a language which can be easily understood by consumers and end-users, as determined by the Member State concerned.
Amendment 414 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 8
Article 5 – paragraph 8
8. Manufacturers who consider or have reason to believe that a product which they have placed on the market is not in conformity with this Directive shall immediately take the necessary corrective measures to bring that product into conformity, to withdraw it or recall it, if appropriate. Furthermore, where the product presents a risk related to accessibility, manufacturers shall immediately inform the competent national authorities of the Member States in which they made the product available to that effect, giving details, in particular, of the non-compliance and of any corrective measures taken.
Amendment 421 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 9
Article 5 – paragraph 9
9. Manufacturers shall, further to a reasoned request from a competent national authority, provide it with all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of the product, in a language which can be easily understood by that authority. They shall cooperate with that authority, at its request, on any action taken to eliminate the risks posed byfulfil the conformity requirements of products which they have placed on the market and to ensure compliance with the requirements referred to in Article 3.
Amendment 425 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) co-operate with the competent national authorities, at their request, on any action taken to eliminate the risks posed byfulfil the conformity requirements of products covered by their mandate.
Amendment 428 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2
Article 7 – paragraph 2
2. Before placing a product on the market importers shall ensure that the conformity assessment procedure set out in Annex II has been carried out by the manufacturer. They shall ensure that the manufacturer has drawn up the technical documentation required by that Annex, that the product bears the CE marking and isproducts are in conformity with this Directive. They shall ensure that the products are accompanied by the required documents and that the manufacturer has complied with the requirements set out in Article 5(5) and (6).
Amendment 431 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 3
Article 7 – paragraph 3
3. Where an importer considers or has reason to believe that a product is not in conformity with the accessibility requirements referred to in Article 3, he shall not place the product on the market until it has been brought into conformity. Furthermore, where the product presents a riskdoes not fulfil the conformity requirements, the importer shall inform the manufacturer and the market surveillance authorities to that effect.
Amendment 436 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 7
Article 7 – paragraph 7
Amendment 438 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 8
Article 7 – paragraph 8
8. Importers who consider or have reason to believe that a product which they have placed on the market is not in conformity with the requirements referred to in Article 3 shall immediately take the necessary corrective measures to bring that product into conformity, to withdraw it or recall it, if appropriate. Furthermore where the product presents a risk, importers shall immediately inform the competent national authorities of the Member States in which they made the product available to that effect, giving details, in particular, of the non- compliance and of any corrective measures taken.
Amendment 443 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 9
Article 7 – paragraph 9
9. Importers shall, further to a reasoned request from a competent national authority, provide it with all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of a product in a language which can be easily understood by that authority. They shall cooperate with that authority, at its request, on any action taken to eliminate the risks posed byfulfil the conformity requirements of products which they have placed on the market.
Amendment 447 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 2
Article 8 – paragraph 2
2. Before making a product available on the market distributors shall verify that the product bears the CE marking, that itis in conformity with this Directive and is accompanied by the required documents and by instructions and information in a language which can be easily understood by consumers and other end-users in the Member State in which the product is to be made available on the market and that the manufacturer and the importer have complied with the requirements set out in Article 5(5) and (6) and Article 7(4).
Amendment 451 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 3
Article 8 – paragraph 3
3. Where a distributor considers or has reason to believe that a product is not in conformity with the accessibility requirements referred to in Article 3, they shall not make the product available on the market until it has been brought into conformity. Furthermore, where the product presents a riskis not in conformity with this Directive, the distributor shall inform the manufacturer and the market surveillance authorities to that effect.
Amendment 454 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 5
Article 8 – paragraph 5
5. Distributors who consider or have reason to believe that a product which they have made available on the market is not in conformity with this Directive shall make sure that the necessary corrective measures are taken to bring that product into conformity, to withdraw it or recall it, if appropriate. Furthermore, where the product presents a risk, distributors shall immediately inform the competent national authorities of the Member States in which they made the product available to that effect giving details, in particular, of the non-compliance and of any corrective measures taken.
Amendment 461 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 6
Article 8 – paragraph 6
6. Distributors shall, further to a reasoned request from a competent national authority, provide it with all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of a product. They shall cooperate with that authority, at its request, on any action taken to eliminate the risks posed byfulfil the conformity requirements of products which they have made available on the market.
Amendment 466 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 2
Article 10 – paragraph 2
2. Economic operators shall be able to present the information referred to in paragraph 1 for a period of 10five years after they have been supplied with the product and for a period of 10five years after they have supplied the product.
Amendment 467 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 11 – paragraph 2
Article 11 – paragraph 2
2. Service providers shall prepare the necessary information in accordance with Annex III explaining how the services meet the accessibility requirements referred to in Article 3. The information shall be made available to the public in written and oral format, including in a manner which is accessible to persons with functional limitations anda manner which is accessible to persons with disabilities. Service providers shall keep the information as long as the service is in operation.
Amendment 490 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 12 – paragraph 6
Article 12 – paragraph 6
6. Where the economic operators have used the exception provided for in paragraphs 1 to 5 for a specific product or service they shall notify the relevant market surveillance authority of the Member State in the market of which the product or service is placed or made available. Notification shall include the assessment referred to in paragraph 3. MicroenterpriseSME's are exempted from this notification requirement but must be able to supply the relevant documentation upon request from a relevant market surveillance authority.
Amendment 501 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 15 – paragraph 2
Article 15 – paragraph 2
2. The EU declaration of conformity shall have the model structure set out in Annex III to Decision No 768/2008/EC. It shall contain the elements specified in Annex II to this Directive and shall be continuously updated. The requirements concerning the technical documentation shall avoid imposing any disproportionate burden for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. It shall be translated into the language or languages required by the Member State in the market of which the product is placed or made available.
Amendment 505 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 16
Article 16
Amendment 511 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 19 – title
Article 19 – title
Procedure for dealing with products presenting a risk related to accessibilityfailing to fulfil the conformity requirements at national level
Amendment 514 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Where the market surveillance authorities of one Member State have taken action pursuant to Article 20 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, or where they have sufficient reason to believe that a product covered by this Directive presents a risk related to accessibility aspects covered by this Directivesufficient reason to believe that a product covered by this Directive does not fulfil the conformity requirements, they shall carry out an evaluation in relation to the product concerned covering all the requirements laid down in this Directive. The relevant economic operators shall fully cooperate with the market surveillance authorities.
Amendment 517 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Where, in the course of that evaluation, the market surveillance authorities find that the product does not comply with the requirements laid down in this Directive, they shall without delay require the relevant economic operator to take all appropriate corrective action to bring the product into compliance with those requirements, to withdraw the product from the market, or to recall it within a reasonable period, commensurate with the nature of the risk, as they may prescribe.
Amendment 519 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 3
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 3
Amendment 520 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 19 – paragraph 4
Article 19 – paragraph 4
4. Where the relevant economic operator does not take adequate corrective action within the period referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 1, the market surveillance authorities shall take all appropriate provisional measures to prohibit or restrict products being made available on their national markets, toensure that the product is brought into compliance withdraw the product from that market or to recall itaccessibility requirements set out by this Directive. The market surveillance authorities shall inform the Commission and the other Member States, without delay, of those measures.
Amendment 522 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 19 – paragraph 5 – introductory part
Article 19 – paragraph 5 – introductory part
5. The information referred to in paragraph 4 shall include all available details, in particular the data necessary for the identification of the non-compliant product, the origin of the product, the nature of the alleged non-compliance and the risk involved, the nature and duration of the national measures taken and the arguments put forward by the relevant economic operator. In particular, the market surveillance authorities shall indicate whether the non- compliance is due to any of the following:
Amendment 527 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 19 – paragraph 8
Article 19 – paragraph 8
8. Member States shall ensure that appropriate restrictive measures are taken in respect of the product concerned, such as withdrawal of the product from their market, without delay.
Amendment 533 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 20 – paragraph 2
Article 20 – paragraph 2
2. If the national measure is considered justified, all Member States shall take the measures necessary to ensure that the non-compliant product is withdrawn from their marketbrought into compliance, and shall inform the Commission accordingly. If the national measure is considered unjustified, the Member State concerned shall withdraw the measure.
Amendment 577 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 28 – paragraph 3
Article 28 – paragraph 3
3. The Commission’s report shall take into account the viewpoints of the economic stakeholders and relevant non- governmental organisations, including organisations of persons with disabilities and those representing older persons.
Amendment 697 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex II
Annex II