EU to U-turn on accessible goods legislation?

19th March 2010

Proposals to introduce new legislation that would have improved disabled peoples' access to manufactured consumer goods could be ditched by the European Union (EU).

According to E-Access Bulletin Live, the draft Equal Treatment Directive would have prevented devices from solely using features that exclude individuals with disabilities.

This includes touchscreens, which are difficult to navigate for blind or partially-sighted people.

However, the news provider noted that EU member states have made changes to the document, meaning these requirements are not an obligation.

Commenting on the issue, European campaigns officer at the Royal National Institute of Blind People Carine Marzin said relying on good will in the industry is unlikely to work.

She said: "This is a unique opportunity to end the discrimination that many disabled people experience when trying to access goods, an opportunity that we can't afford to miss."

Figures from the Employers' Forum on Disability show that ten per cent of people in the UK are disabled in some manner and firms that fail to make their services accessible to this demographic may lose valuable talent and revenue.