EU Accessibility Act: get ready for 28 June 2025
- Laws and regulations
- Posted 10.02.2025
The Law of 8 March 2023 on the accessibility for products and services, as amended (the “EU Accessibility Act”), implementing Directive (EU) 2019/8821 into Luxembourg law, will become applicable as of 28 June 2025.
Objectives
The primary objective of the EU Accessibility Act is to ensure that a wide range of essential products and services are made more accessible to individuals with disabilities.
In-scope services and products
The EU Accessibility Act covers key products and services provided by EU economic operators from various industries, inter alia computers, ATMs, smartphones, telephony services, as well as transport services and consumer banking services2. In-scope services and products must comply with the minimum accessibility standards listed in the Directive.
Exemptions
However, the Accessibility Act provides that accessibility requirements shall apply only to the extent that compliance does not require a significant change in a product/service that results in the fundamental alteration of its basic nature and/or does not impose of a disproportionate burden on economic operators. To this effect, economic operators should carry out an assessment based on the criteria set out in Annex VI of the Directive.
Micro-enterprises are also exempted from the obligation to comply with accessibility requirements.
Creation of a new administrative authority
The Accessibility Act has also established the Office de la surveillance de l’accessibilité des produits et services (“OSAPS”), a new body responsible for notably (i) monitoring the conformity of products and services in Luxembourg, (ii) assessing the validity of economic operators’ exemptions claims, as well as (iii) providing guidelines and raising awareness about accessibility.
OSAPS will also have the authority to handle reports of non-compliance and impose sanctions in case of non-compliance (formal notices, administrative fines, prohibition of the non-compliant product/service, etc.).
Transitional measures
Although the new requirements will apply from 28 June 2025, certain transitional measures are in place. For instance:
- service contracts entered into before 28 June 2025 may continue without alteration until their expiry, but no longer than 28 June 2030; and
- self-service terminals (e.g. ATMs) may remain in operation until the end of their economically useful life, but for no more than 20 years from their initial deployment.
Next steps for in-scope entities
Economic operators falling within the scope of the EU Accessibility Act should conduct a compliance assessment and review now the accessibility features of their products and services.
| 1 | Directive (EU) 2019/882[1] of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the accessibility requirements for products and services (the “Directive”). | |||
| 2 | Article 3(28) of the Directive defines the notion of “consumer banking services” as the provision to consumers of the following banking and financial services: - credit agreements covered by Directive 2008/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (28) or Directive 2014/17/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council; - services as defined in points 1, 2, 4 and 5 in Section A and points 1, 2, 4 and 5 in Section B of Annex I to Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council; - payment services as defined in point 3 of Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council; - services linked to the payment account as defined in point 6 of Article 2 of Directive 2014/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council; and - electronic money as defined in point 2 of Article 2 of Directive 2009/110/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council. | |||
