We buy products, we use services, we spend money in the EU’s single market every day. Therefore, our rights to accessibility and inclusion in this single market should also be respected!
That was our main message when we participated in 2 different consultations: one on the Consumer Agenda 2025-2030, (the EU’s strategy on consumer rights), and the second one on the Citizens Energy Package (which aims at reducing energy poverty and achieving a fair energy transition).
We have listed the main challenges for persons with disabilities as consumers, including:
- Many products and services we want to buy are inaccessible, which limits our choice as consumers.
- A lack of accessible information also means we cannot always choose the best, cheapest, or most convenient product or service.
- Contracts, including for energy providers, are too complicated to understand.
- Buying more sustainable and environmentally friendly products is not always an option for us because they are not accessible or too expensive.
EDF contributed our own responses to make sure the new strategies are disability inclusive and will improve accessibility of products, services, and information. We also added a disability perspective to the position of the Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe on these policies.