Recalling that the European Union (EU) and all EU Member States have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and that its Article 9 on accessibility recognises the right of persons with disabilities to participate fully in all aspects of life on an equal basis with others;
Stressing that the European Pillar of Social Rights states that no one should be left behind as society advances. In particular, its principle 20 enshrines the right to access essential services: “Everyone has the right to access essential services of good quality, including water, sanitation, energy, transport, financial services and digital communications. Support for access to such services shall be available for those in need”;
Considering the European Union has in place a robust legal framework as for digital accessibility with legislation such as the Web Accessibility Directive and the European Accessibility Act aiming at ensuring accessibility of digital services;
Taking into account the European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade which stresses the importance of leveraging on the digital transformation to build a fair and inclusive society and economy in the European Union;
Considering that digitalisation remains one of the key political priorities for the European Union and all Member States, and that in a fast-paced, technological society, digitalisation permeates all areas of life, including public services and other essential services;
Recognising that digital technologies, if affordable, available and accessible, are a crucial gateway for many persons with disabilities to participate in society;
Noticing, however, that while the public administration, financial services, education, and healthcare, among others, are moving online- this is happening despite the fact that over 40% of the EU’s population lacks digital skills and access: in person services, phone lines and mail information are disappearing;
Recalling that in the European Union there are around 100 million individuals with disabilities and, as of 2020, approximately 1 in 5 citizens of over 65 years of age, and that many people lack access to technology, face accessibility and cost barriers, lack digital skills or, simply, prefer not to use these technologies;
Taking into account that increasingly more essential services, including public services, can only be accessed through digital means, such as websites, mobile applications or self service terminals, excluding and discriminating those above mentioned.
Therefore, the European Disability Forum calls on the European Union and Member States to:
- Adopt a European Union wide legislation which ensures that essential services of public or private nature, which can be accessed digitally, can also be accessed through non-digital means such as human interactions at counters, phonelines and postal correspondence, and that the choice of accessing these through human interaction will not be in detriment of the person or the quality of the service provided.
- Make sure all efforts and investments in the digital transition consider accessibility for persons with disabilities as a core element to be taken into consideration from the early development of the digital solutions.
- Adopt programmes that equip people, including persons with disabilities and older people, with digital skills to bridge the digital gap, but without imposing these as a mandatory requisite to enjoy equal treatment.
- Provide access free of charge to public digital technologies and guarantee that technology developed with public funds is accessible;
- Guarantee that software developed for the public, to access public services, is available under a free and open source software licence when possible, so that it can be improved by everyone for accessibility.