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Specifically, we will discuss:

  • The European Accessibility Act (Directive)
  • Country-Specific Digital Accessibility Legislation (Law)
  • EN 301 549 (Standard)
  • Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (Guidelines)

The Directive: The European Accessibility Act

If your organisation does business in the EU, then (we hope) you’ve already heard about the European Accessibility Act (“EAA”). The EAA is an EU directive that sets out accessibility goals for all EU member states to achieve.

Essentially, the EAA dictates that all businesses operating within the EU (even companies that are not based in Europe) must ensure that their products and services meet accessibility standards. These products and services include:

  • e-commerce websites and native mobile apps
  • computers and operating systems
  • ATMs, ticketing and check-in machines
  • mobile phones
  • TV equipment and related services

The ultimate goal of the directive is to create a consistent accessibility standard across the European Union. You can read more about this directive in our European Accessibility Act Compliance Guide.

The Laws: National Digital Accessibility Legislation Across the EU

Each individual country is responsible for transposing this directive into its own national law. The deadline for EU countries to implement EAA into their national legislation was 28th June 2022. And crucially, these individual laws will start to be enforced from the 28th June 2025.

The EAA has been transposed into national laws in slightly different ways by different countries. Some examples of different national accessibility laws based on the EAA include:

  • Germany: Accessibility Strengthening Act (Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz – BFSG)
  • The Netherlands: Commodities Act Decree on Accessibility Requirements
  • Belgium: Royal Decree on Digital Accessibility
  • Austria: Accessibility Act and Amendment to the Social Ministry Service Act
  • France: Decree No. 2023-931 of October 9, 2023
  • Ireland: EU (Accessibility of Websites and Mobile Applications of Public Sector Bodies) Regulations 2020 and S.I. No. 636/2023
  • Spain: Law 11/2023
  • Luxembourg: The Law of March 8, 2023

The Standard: EN 301 549

EN 301 549 is a European Standard for accessibility requirements for ICT products and services, published by ETSI. A European Standard is essentially just a set of agreed rules or guidelines used across Europe to make sure products, services, or systems are safe, reliable, and work well together.

Because the EN 301 549 is a harmonised standard under EU law, it can be used to demonstrate compliance with legal accessibility requirements, like those in the European Accessibility Act (EAA). While the EAA establishes the legal obligation for digital accessibility, and individual national laws define how that obligation is enforced, EN 301 549 outlines the technical requirements for meeting it.

EN 301 549 is not a law in and of itself; however, it can be considered a “presumption of conformity” for the EAA — i.e. it serves as the means of demonstrating compliance with the EAA.

The Guidelines: WCAG

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines or “WCAG” is a set of globally accepted guidelines developed by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) for web and mobile content accessibility. At the heart of WCAG is a simple but powerful framework known as POUR. This framework guides how accessible digital content should behave and forms the foundation of every WCAG success criterion. POUR stands for Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. You can read more about this framework in our post: What is POUR and Why is it Critical to WCAG Standards? EN 301 549 was originally created in 2014 with no direct link to the WCAG. However, it was updated in 2018 to adopt the WCAG 2.1 AA standards as a key baseline of accessibility for websites, mobile apps and digital documents.

It should be noted that whilst EN 301 549 heavily leans on WCAG, its scope is broader and therefore WCAG conformance does not necessarily equate to EAA compliance in 100% of cases. Read more on this in our post: Is WCAG Conformance Enough for EAA Compliance?

So.. What’s The Connection between the EAA and EN 301 549?

So to summarise the connection between EAA and EN 301 549 — the European Accessibility Act (EAA) is a directive that sets out what needs to be accessible, and EN 301 549 is a standard that outlines how to make those things accessible.

The EAA creates the legal requirement. EN 301 549 provides the technical roadmap to meet it. This connection is crucial for organisations trying to meet their legal responsibilities: complying with EN 301 549 is one of the most reliable ways to ensure compliance with the EAA.

Nexus Inclusion’s Commitment to Digital Inclusion

At Nexus Inclusion, we believe that accessibility alone is not enough. Our mission is to prioritise inclusion as a core element of every digital experience, ensuring that people of all abilities are not just accommodated, but fully engaged in the digital world. By combining human insight with advanced technology, we help organisations of all sizes meet the requirements of the European Accessibility Act and create truly inclusive digital products.

Founded by Kyran O'Mahoney, Nexus Inclusion is backed by a dedicated team of accessibility experts who are passionate about building a more inclusive online environment. With extensive experience and a clear purpose, the team is here to support businesses at every step of their journey.

Our AI-driven platform plays a vital role in scaling accessibility efforts, offering efficient, reliable tools for assessment, remediation, and ongoing compliance. Sign up here for early access.