Reference guide · European Union
European Accessibility Act: what changed on 28 June 2025.
The European Accessibility Act (Directive 2019/882) is binding law across the 27 EU Member States since 28 June 2025. It applies to a wide range of products and services sold to EU consumers, including online. This guide explains what the EAA covers, who is affected, the technical standard (EN 301 549) and how Nuada helps you reach compliance with code, not just reports.
The EAA in one paragraph
Adopted in 2019 as Directive (EU) 2019/882 and transposed by each Member State into national law, the European Accessibility Act aims at harmonising accessibility requirements for consumer products and services placed on the EU internal market. The core obligation applies since28 June 2025. It complements existing national frameworks such as the FrenchRGAAor Spain's UNE-EN 301 549: the EAA sets the legal floor, national law sets the audit method.
Products in scope
The EAA covers hardware placed on the EU market from 28 June 2025 onwards.
- Self-service terminals (ATMs, ticketing machines, check-in kiosks)
- Consumer computer hardware and operating systems
- Smartphones and consumer terminal equipment
- E-readers
- Consumer terminal equipment for accessing audiovisual media services
Services in scope
Services provided to consumers on or after 28 June 2025 must comply.
- E-commerce services (any online sale of goods or services to consumers)
- Banking services for consumers (accounts, payments, credit, investment products)
- Passenger transport services (websites, apps, ticketing, real-time travel information)
- Electronic communications services (telecom operators, ISPs)
- Audiovisual media services access (VOD platforms, catch-up)
- E-books and dedicated software
E-commerce is the widest gateway: the definition covers any online sale of a good or a service to a consumer, so it captures virtually every B2C website, not just marketplaces.
Extraterritorial reach
The EAA follows the classic EU internal market logic: what matters is where the product or service isplaced on the market or provided, not where the company is headquartered. A US, UK or Swiss company selling e-commerce, banking or telecom services to EU consumers falls within the scope. Non-EU companies must appoint an authorised representative in the Union.
Exemptions
Microenterprises (services)
Companies with fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding €2 million are exempted from the service obligations. They are not exempted from product obligations.
Disproportionate burden
A specific requirement may be waived where compliance would impose a disproportionate burden. The assessment must be documented, kept for five years and made available to authorities on request.
Fundamental alteration
A requirement can also be avoided if applying it would require a fundamental alteration of the nature of the product or service. Same documentation rules apply.
Enforcement and penalties
Enforcement is left to each Member State, through their national market surveillance authorities. Sanctions must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive, and vary widely: administrative fines, injunctions to bring the service into compliance, and, in the most serious cases, withdrawal of the product or service from the market. Consumers and consumer associations can also seek redress through national courts. In France, the DGCCRF is the competent authority for services covered by the EAA.
The technical standard: EN 301 549
The EAA is a law: it sets what accessibility is expected, not the technical detail. The reference technical standard is EN 301 549, a harmonised European standard co-produced by ETSI, CEN and CENELEC. For web and mobile content, EN 301 549 maps directly to the WCAG success criteria (currently WCAG 2.1 level AA, with WCAG 2.2 already integrated in the latest revision). In practice, if your website conforms to WCAG 2.2 AA, you conform to the web part of EN 301 549, and therefore to the EAA.
How Nuada helps
- WCAG 2.2 audit on a defined scope, mapped to EN 301 549 and to the EAA obligations that apply to your service.
- Accessibility statement ready to publish, aligned with the national transposition law.
- Remediation pull requests pushed into your repository (React, React Native, Vue, Astro): the difference between having a report and being compliant.
- Post-fix verification and, where useful, developer enablement.
Also available
Guide en français
Audit RGAA 4.1 : 106 critères, méthode Access42, remédiation codeFrench national framework (RGAA 4.1): 106 criteria across 13 topics, official audit method and mandatory accessibility statement.
Guía en español
Auditoría de accesibilidad para España y LatinoaméricaSpanish framework (Real Decreto 1112/2018, Ley 11/2023) and regulatory landscape across five Latin American countries.
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