The legal and policy baseline: 25 years of eAccessibility policies and legislation in Europe

Abstract

In European research projects in the field of technology and disability the interest in policy and legislation can be seen to have emerged in the 1980s. Over the years, several project researchers have analysed the development of European policies and legislation, as have other actors. Parallel with project activities, this paper discusses the development and main stages of policy actions and legislation from the late 1980s up to 2010 in such key areas as are relevant with regard to accessibility to the Information Society in the European Union. Issues discussed include equality and non-discrimination, work and employment, information and communication technologies, protection of privacy, public procurement, copyright, e-services and the provision of assistive technologies. A wide range of normative measures, from binding legislation to soft law and standards, have been published in the European Union. In their drafting and implementation, legitimate interests should be balanced in order to achieve sustainable solutions.