Imagine being unable to use an ATM because the screen is too high, or struggling to buy a bus ticket online because the website doesn’t work with your screen reader. For millions of Europeans with disabilities, these are not hypothetical situations, they are daily frustrations that exclude them from everyday activities most of us take for granted.
The European Accessibility Act aims to change that. It’s one of the EU’s most forward-looking laws, ensuring that essential products and services, like, for example, computers, smartphones, banking, transport and e-commerce, are accessible to everyone, regardless of ability. But while the Act sets the ‘destination’, the ‘route’ that gets us there is something less visible yet equally powerful: standardisation.
The hidden framework behind everyday life
Standards rarely make headlines but they quietly shape almost everything around us. They ensure that plugs fit into sockets, Wi-Fi works in any EU country and lifts meet the same safety expectations across Europe. They make markets fairer, products safer and technology more reliable.
European standards are not laws, they’re voluntary tools created by consensus among experts from industry, consumer groups, academia and governments. More than 200,000 of these experts collaborate through networks like CEN, CENELEC and ETSI to develop standards that serve over 600 million Europeans. Once approved, these standards are adopted as national standards in every EU country, including Malta, ensuring a consistent approach across the single market.
Sometimes, standards go a step further and become harmonised standards, those officially recognised by the European Commission and cited in the Official Journal of the European Union. When a company designs a product or service according to a harmonised standard, it automatically gains what’s known as a presumption of conformity, a simple way of proving that it meets the requirements of EU law.
Turning principles into practice
The European Accessibility Act focuses on functional accessibility, not prescribing how a product should look or feel but what it must achieve to be usable by all. For example, an ATM must provide both tactile and visual feedback. A website must be readable by screen readers. A mobile app should work for users who navigate using only a keyboard.
Here’s where standards come in. They translate these general principles into clear, technical language that manufacturers, designers and service providers can follow. They make accessibility measurable and practical.
For Malta, the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA) plays an important role in this process. It ensures that European standards are adopted locally and that Maltese experts can contribute to their development, making sure the local context is reflected in European decisions.
“Making products and services accessible isn’t just a legal obligation, it’s good design”
Four key standards that make accessibility work
The following key standards bring the European Accessibility Act to life:
EN 301 549 – Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services. This is the main accessibility standard for the digital world. It covers websites, software, ATMs, ticket machines and smartphones and is built around the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, the same global benchmark used by major tech companies.
EN 17161:2019 – Design for All. Instead of focusing on specific products, this standard helps organisations build accessibility into their culture and design processes. It encourages involving users with disabilities in product development and embedding accessibility into business strategy.
EN ISO 9241 Series – Ergonomics of human-system interaction. These standards focus on the way people interact with technology, ensuring interfaces are usable, understandable and adaptable to a range of needs.
EN 17210:2021 – Accessibility and usability of the built environment. Accessibility is not just digital. This standard ensures physical environments, from public buildings to transport hubs, are designed for independent use by everyone.
Together, these standards form an ecosystem that connects digital, physical and organisational accessibility. They ensure that accessibility isn’t an afterthought but part of every stage of design and development.
Why accessibility benefits everyone
Making products and services accessible isn’t just a legal obligation, it’s good design.
When a lift includes tactile buttons, it helps not only people with visual impairments but also anyone carrying luggage. Subtitles on videos help not only those with impaired hearing but also people watching in noisy environments.
Accessibility, in short, improves life for everyone.
By using standards as a guide, businesses can build products that reach more customers, reduce legal uncertainty and strengthen their reputation as inclusive, forward-looking organisations.
In a small country like Malta, where innovation and tourism go hand in hand, that inclusivity can also become a competitive advantage.
A shared European effort
The journey toward full accessibility will take effort from every sector – government, businesses, service providers and consumers. But the road map already exists.
Standardisation offers the common language that allows all 27 EU countries to move in the same direction, ensuring that accessibility solutions are compatible and scalable.
In essence, the European Accessibility Act sets the “why”, while standards define the “how”.
By aligning law with practical implementation, Europe is taking a decisive step toward a society where access, dignity and participation are not privileges but rights shared by all.
George Cutajar is director general, Standards and Metrology Institute, MCCAA
