Activities of Notis MARIAS related to 2015/0278(COD)
Plenary speeches (2)
Accessibility requirements for products and services (debate) EL
Accessibility requirements for products and services (debate) EL
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States as regards the accessibility requirements for products and services
Amendments (53)
Amendment 17 #
Proposal for a directive
Citation 1 a (new)
Citation 1 a (new)
– having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 5(3) thereof,
Amendment 18 #
Proposal for a directive
Citation 1 b (new)
Citation 1 b (new)
– having regard to the Protocol (No. 2) of the TEU on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality,
Amendment 19 #
Proposal for a directive
Citation 1 c (new)
Citation 1 c (new)
– having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 106 thereof,
Amendment 20 #
Proposal for a directive
Citation 1 d (new)
Citation 1 d (new)
– having regard to Article 14 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Amendment 21 #
Proposal for a directive
Citation 1 e (new)
Citation 1 e (new)
– having regard to the Protocol (No. 26) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union on services of general interest,
Amendment 22 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) The purpose of this Directive is to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market by approximating laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States, by eliminating those barriers to the free movement of certain accessible products and services that may cause some problems. This will increase the availiability of accessible products and services on the internal market.
Amendment 24 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) The disparities between the laws and administrative measures adopted by the Member States in relation to accessibility of products and services for persons with functional limitations including persons with disabilities create barriers to the free movement of such products and services and distort effective competition in the internal market. Economic operators, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), are particularly affected by those barriers.
Amendment 26 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) Due to the differences in national accessibility requirements, individual professionals, SMEs and micro-enterprises in particular are discouraged from entering into business ventures outside their own domestic markets. The national, or even regional or local, accessibility requirements that Member States have put in place currently differ as regards both coverage and level of detail. Those differences negatively affect competitiveness and growth, due to the additional costs incurred in the development and marketing of accessible products and services for each national market.
Amendment 28 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) Consumers of accessible products and recipients of accessible services are faced with high prices due to limited competition among suppliers. Fragmentation among national regulations reduces potential benefits from sharing experiences with national and international peers in responding to societal and technological deve, especially in the countries of southern Europe, such as Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal which are blighted by unemplopyments.
Amendment 29 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) The approximation of national measures at Union level is therefore necessary for the proper functioning of the internal market in order to put an end to fragmentation in the market of accessible products and services, to create economies of scale, to facilitate cross- border trade and mobility, as well as to help economic operators to concentrate resources on innovation instead of using those resources for complying with fragmented legal requirements across the Union.
Amendment 30 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) The demand for accessible products and services is high and the number of citizens with disabilities and/or functional limitations will increase significantly with the ageing of the European Union's population. An environment where products and services are more accessible serves the needs of consumers, allows for a more inclusive society and facilitates independent living.
Amendment 67 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) The disparities between the laws and administrative measures adopted by the Member States in relation to accessibility of products and services for persons with functional limitations including persons with disabilities create barriers to the free movement of such products and services and distort effective competition in the internal market. Economic operators, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), are particularly affectedhard hit by those barriers.
Amendment 69 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) Due to the differences in national accessibility requirements, individual professionals, SMEs and micro-enterprises in particular are discouraged from entering into business ventures outside their own domestic markets. The national, or even regional or local, accessibility requirements that Member States have put in place currently differ as regards both coverage and level of detail. Those differences negatively affect competitiveness and growth, due to the additional costs incurred in the development and marketing of accessible products and services for each national market. National authorities, manufacturers and services providers also face uncertainties concerning the accessibility requirements for potential cross-border services, and concerning the applicable policy framework for accessibility.
Amendment 76 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) The approximation of national measures at Union level is therefore necessary for the proper functioning of the internal market in order to put an end to fragmentation in the market of accessible products and services, to create economies of scale, to facilitate cross-border trade and mobility and reduce and prevent cross- border barriers, as well as to help economic operators to concentrate resources on innovation instead of using those resources for complying with fragmented legal requirements across the Union.
Amendment 82 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) The overall aim of the 'Digital Single Market Strategy', is to deliver sustainable economic and social benefits from a connected digital single market, facilitating trade and promoting employment within the EU. Union consumers still do not enjoy the full benefits of prices and choice that the single market can offer, because cross-border online transactions are still very limited. Fragmentation also limits demand for cross-border e-commerce transactions. There is also a need for concerted action to make sure that new electronic content is also fully available to persons with disabilities. It is therefore necessary to harmonise accessibility requirements across the digital single market and to ensure that all Union citizens regardless of their abilities can enjoy its benefits.
Amendment 89 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) The European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 – A Renewed Commitment to a Barrier-Free Europe – in line with the Convention, establishes accessibility as one of the eight areas of action, and a basic precondition for participation in society and aims at ensuring accessibility of products and services. __________________ 33 COM(2010) 636. COM(2010) 636.
Amendment 96 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) Member States shallould take all appropriate measures to ensure that, where the products and services covered by this Directive comply with the relevant accessibility requirements, their free movement within the Union is not impeded due to reasons of accessibility.
Amendment 98 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) In some situations, common accessibility requirements of the built environment wouldare expected to facilitate the free movement of the related services and of persons with disabilities. Therefore, this Directive enables Member States to include the built environment used in the provision of the services under the scope of this Directive, ensuring compliance with the accessibility requirements set in Annex X.
Amendment 100 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 26
Recital 26
(26) Most jobs in the Union are provided by SMEs and micro-enterprises. They have a crucial importance for future growth, but very often face hurdles and obstacles in developing their products or services, notably in the cross-border context. It is therefore necessary to facilitate the work of the SMEs and micro- enterprises, mainly in southern EU Member States such as Greece, Spain, Italy, etc., by harmonising the national provisions on accessibility while maintaining the necessary safeguards.
Amendment 102 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 29
Recital 29
(29) Economic operators should be responsible for the compliance of products and services, in relation to their respective roles in the supply chain and to accessibility requirements, so as to ensure a high level of protection of accessibility and to guarantee fair competition on the Union market.
Amendment 106 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 37
Recital 37
(37) This Directive should follow the principle of 'think small first' and should take account of the administrative burdens and difficulties that SMEs are faced with. It should set light rules in terms of conformity assessment and should establish safeguard clauses for economic operators, rather than providing for general exceptions and derogations for those enterprises. Consequently, when setting up the rules for the selection and implementation of the most appropriate conformity assessment procedures, the situation of SMEs should be taken into account and the obligations to assess conformity of accessibility requirements should be limited to the extent that they do not pose a disproportionate burden on SMEs. In addition, market surveillance authorities should operate in a proportionate manner in relation to the size of undertakings and to the small serial or non-serial nature of the production concerned, without creating unnecessary obstacles for SMEs and without compromising the protection of public interests.
Amendment 107 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 39
Recital 39
(39) In order to facilitate conformity assessment with applicable accessibility requirements it is necessary to provide for a presumption of conformity for products and services which are in conformity with voluntary harmonised standards that are adopted in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council for the purpose of expressing detailed technical specifications of those requirements. The Commission has already issued a number of standardisation requests to the European standardisation organisations on accessibility which would be relevant for the preparation of harmonised standards. __________________ Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of 25 October 2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European standardisation, amending Council Directives 89/686/EEC and 93/15/EEC and Directives 94/9/EC, 94/25/EC, 95/16/EC, 97/23/EC, 98/34/EC, 2004/22/EC, 2007/23/EC, 2009/23/EC and 2009/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Decision 87/95/EEC and Decision No 1673/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 316, 14.11.2012, p. 12)
Amendment 119 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 54
Recital 54
(54) Since the objective of this Directive, namely, the elimination of barriers to the free movement of certain accessible products and services to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market and to serve the needs of all customers, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States because it requires the harmonisation of different rules currently existing in their respective legal systems, but can rather, by reason of defining common accessibility requirements and rules for the functioning of the single market, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective,
Amendment 163 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) The demand for accessible products and services is high and the number of citizens with disabilities and/or functional limitations will increase significantly with the ageing of the European Union’s population. An environment where products and services are more accessible provides for the needs of consumers, allows for a more inclusive society and facilitates independent living.
Amendment 167 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) The disparities between the laws and administrative measures adopted by the Member States in relation to accessibility of products and services for persons with functional limitations including persons with disabilities create barriers to the free movement of such products and services and distort effective competition in the internal market. Economic operators, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), are particularly affectedhard hit by those barriers.
Amendment 168 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) Due to the differences in national accessibility requirements, individual professionals, SMEs and micro-enterprises in particular are discouraged from entering into business ventures outside their own domestic markets. The national, or even regional or local, accessibility requirements that Member States have put in place currently differ as regards both coverage and level of detail. Those differences negatively affect competitiveness and growth, due to the additional costs incurred in the development and marketing of accessible products and services for each national market. National authorities, manufacturers and services providers face uncertainties concerning accessibility requirements for potential cross-border services, and policy framework provisions regarding accessibility.
Amendment 172 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) The approximation of national measures at Union level is therefore necessary for the proper functioning of the internal market in order to put an end to fragmentation in the market of accessible products and services, to create economies of scale, to facilitate cross-border trade and mobility, to reduce and prevent cross- border barriers, as well as to help economic operators to concentrate resources on innovation instead of using those resources for complying with fragmented legal requirements across the Union.
Amendment 176 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) The overall aim of the ‘Digital Single Market Strategy’, is to deliver sustainable economic and social benefits from a connected digital single market, facilitating trade and promoting employment within the Union. Union consumers still do not enjoy the full benefits of prices and choice that the single market can offer, because cross-border online transactions are still very limited. Fragmentation also limits demand for cross-border e-commerce transactions. There is also a need for concerted action to make sure that new electronic content is also fully available to persons with disabilities. It is therefore necessary to harmonise accessibility requirements across the digital single market and to ensure that all Union citizens regardless of their abilities can enjoy its benefits.
Amendment 177 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) In its Article 9, the Convention requires its parties to the Convention to take appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities have accesthe same access as others to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas, on an equal basis with others. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has indicated the need to create a legislative framework with concrete, enforceable and time-bound benchmarks for monitoring the gradual implementation of accessibility.
Amendment 179 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) The European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 – A Renewed Commitment to a Barrier-Free Europe – in line with the Convention, establishes accessibility as one of the eight areas of action, which is a basic precondition for participation in society and aims at ensuring accessibility of products and services. __________________ 33 COM(2010) 636. COM(2010) 636.
Amendment 185 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) Member States shallmust take all appropriate measures to ensure that, where the products and services covered by this Directive comply with the relevant accessibility requirements, their free movement within the Union is not impeded due to reasons of accessibility.
Amendment 187 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) In some situations, common accessibility requirements of the built environment wouldare expected to facilitate the free movement of the related services and of persons with disabilities. Therefore, this Directive enables Member States to include the built environment used in the provision of the services under the scope of this Directive, ensuring compliance with the accessibility requirements set in Annex X.
Amendment 190 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 26
Recital 26
(26) Most jobs in the Union are provided by SMEs and micro-enterprises. They have a crucial importance for future growth, but very often face hurdles and obstacles in developing their products or services, notably in the cross-border context. It is therefore necessary to facilitate the work of the SMEs and micro- enterprises, especially on the southern European Member States such as Greece, Spain, Italy, etc. by harmonising the national provisions on accessibility while maintaining the necessary safeguards.
Amendment 192 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 29
Recital 29
(29) Economic operators should be responsible for the compliance of products and services, in relation to their respective roles in the supply chain, ensuring the necessary degree of accessibility, so as to ensure a high level of protection of accessibility and to guarantee fair competition on the Union market.
Amendment 202 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 37
Recital 37
(37) This Directive should follow the principle of ‘think small first’ and should take account of the administrative burdens and difficulties that SMEs are faced with. It should set light rules in terms of conformity assessment and should establish safeguard clauses for economic operators, rather than providing for general exceptions and derogations for those enterprises. Consequently, when setting up the rules for the selection and implementation of the most appropriate conformity assessment procedures, the situation of SMEs should be taken into account and the obligations to assess conformity of accessibility requirements should be limited to the extent that they do not pose a disproportionate burden on SMEs. In addition, market surveillance authorities should operate in a proportionate manner in relation to the size of undertakings and to the small serial or non-serial nature of the production concerned, without creating unnecessary obstacles for SMEs and without compromising the protection of public interests.
Amendment 205 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 39
Recital 39
(39) In order to facilitate conformity assessment with applicable accessibility requirements it is necessary to provide for a presumption of conformity for products and services which are in conformity with voluntary harmonised standards that are adopted in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council for the purpose of expressing detailed technical specifications of those requirements. The Commission has already issued a number of standardisation requests to the European standardisation organisations on accessibility which would be relevant for the preparation of harmonised standards. __________________ Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of 25 October 2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European standardisation, amending Council Directives 89/686/EEC and 93/15/EEC and Directives 94/9/EC, 94/25/EC, 95/16/EC, 97/23/EC, 98/34/EC, 2004/22/EC, 2007/23/EC, 2009/23/EC and 2009/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Decision 87/95/EEC and Decision No 1673/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 316, 14.11.2012, p. 12)
Amendment 215 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 54
Recital 54
(54) Since the objective of this Directive, namely, the elimination of barriers to the free movement of certain accessible products and services to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market and meet the needs of all consumers, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States because it requires the harmonisation of different rules currently existing in their respective legal systems, but can rather, by reason of defining common accessibility requirements and rules for the functioning of the single market, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective,
Amendment 231 #
Proposal for a directive
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
Having regard to Protocol (No 1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union on the role of national parliaments in the European Union,
Amendment 233 #
Proposal for a directive
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
Having regard to Protocol (No 2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality,
Amendment 237 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) The demand for accessible products and services is high and the number of citizens with disabilities and/or functional limitations will increase significantly with the ageing of the European Union's population. An environment where products and services are more accessible provides for the needs of consumers, allows for a more inclusive society and facilitates independent living.
Amendment 242 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) The disparities between the laws and administrative measures adopted by the Member States in relation to accessibility of products and services for persons with functional limitations including persons with disabilities create barriers to the free movement of such products and services and distort effective competition in the internal market. Economic operators, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), are particularly affectedhard hit by those barriers.
Amendment 245 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) Due to the differences in national accessibility requirements, individual professionals, SMEs and micro-enterprises in particular are discouraged from entering into business ventures outside their own domestic markets. The national, or even regional or local, accessibility requirements that Member States have put in place currently differ as regards both coverage and level of detail. Those differences negatively affect competitiveness and growth, due to the additional costs incurred in the development and marketing of accessible products and services for each national market. National authorities, manufacturers and services providers face uncertainties concerning accessibility requirements for potential cross-border services, and policy framework provisions regarding accessibility.
Amendment 248 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) The approximation of national measures at Union level is therefore necessary for the proper functioning of the internal market in order to put an end to fragmentation in the market of accessible products and services, to create economies of scale, to facilitate cross-border trade and mobility and reduce and prevent cross- border barriers, as well as to help economic operators to concentrate resources on innovation instead of using those resources for complying with fragmented legal requirements across the Union.
Amendment 251 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) The overall aim of the '‘Digital Single Market Strategy'’, is to deliver sustainable economic and social benefits from a connected digital single market, facilitating trade and promoting employment within the Union. Union consumers still do not enjoy the full benefits of prices and choice that the single market can offer, because cross-border online transactions are still very limited. Fragmentation also limits demand for cross-border e-commerce transactions. There is also a need for concerted action to make sure that new electronic content is also fully available to persons with disabilities. It is therefore necessary to harmonise accessibility requirements across the digital single market and to ensure that all Union citizens regardless of their abilities can enjoy its benefits.
Amendment 252 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) In its Article 9, the Convention requires its parties to the Convention to take appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities have accesthe same access as others to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas, on an equal basis with others. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has indicated the need to create a legislative framework with concrete, enforceable and time-bound benchmarks for monitoring the gradual implementation of accessibility.
Amendment 258 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) The European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 – A Renewed Commitment to a Barrier-Free Europe33 – in line with the Convention, establishes accessibility as one of the eight areas of action, which is a basic precondition for participation in society and aims at ensuring accessibility of products and services. __________________ 33 COM(2010) 636. COM(2010)636.
Amendment 268 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) Member States shallmust take all appropriate measures to ensure that, where the products and services covered by this Directive comply with the relevant accessibility requirements, their free movement within the Union is not impeded due to reasons of accessibility.
Amendment 274 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) In some situations, common accessibility requirements of the built environment wouldare expected to facilitate the free movement of the related services and of persons with disabilities. Therefore, this Directive enables Member States to include the built environment used in the provision of the services under the scope of this Directive, ensuring compliance with the accessibility requirements set in Annex X.
Amendment 281 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 26
Recital 26
(26) Most jobs in the Union are provided by SMEs and micro-enterprises. They have a crucial importance for future growth, but very often face hurdles and obstacles in developing their products or services, notably in the cross-border context. It is therefore necessary to facilitate the work of the SMEs and micro- enterprises, especially on the southern European Member States such as Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal, by harmonising the national provisions on accessibility while maintaining the necessary safeguards.
Amendment 282 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 29
Recital 29
(29) Economic operators should be responsible for the compliance of products and services, in relation to their respective roles in the supply chain and to accessibility requirements, so as to ensure a high level of protection of accessibility and to guarantee fair competition on the Union market.
Amendment 288 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 37
Recital 37
(37) This Directive should follow the principle of '‘think small first'’ and should take account of the administrative burdens and difficulties that SMEs are faced with. It should set light rules in terms of conformity assessment and should establish safeguard clauses for economic operators, rather than providing for general exceptions and derogations for those enterprises. Consequently, when setting up the rules for the selection and implementation of the most appropriate conformity assessment procedures, the situation of SMEs should be taken into account and the obligations to assess conformity of accessibility requirements should be limited to the extent that they do not pose a disproportionate burden on SMEs. In addition, market surveillance authorities should operate in a proportionate manner in relation to the size of undertakings and to the small serial or non-serial nature of the production concerned, without creating unnecessary obstacles for SMEs and without compromising the protection of public interests.
Amendment 289 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 39
Recital 39
(39) In order to facilitate conformity assessment with applicable requirements regarding accessibility, it is necessary to provide for a presumption of conformity for products and services which are in conformity with voluntary harmonised standards that are adopted in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council39 for the purpose of expressing detailed technical specifications of those requirements. The Commission has already issued a number of standardisation requests to the European standardisation organisations on accessibility which would be relevant for the preparation of harmonised standards. __________________ 39 Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of 25 October 2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European standardisation, amending Council Directives 89/686/EEC and 93/15/EEC and Directives 94/9/EC, 94/25/EC, 95/16/EC, 97/23/EC, 98/34/EC, 2004/22/EC, 2007/23/EC, 2009/23/EC and 2009/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Decision 87/95/EEC and Decision No 1673/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 316, 14.11.2012, p. 12).
Amendment 294 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 54
Recital 54
(54) Since the objective of this Directive, namely, the elimination of barriers to the free movement of certain accessible products and services to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market and to serve the needs of all customers, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States because it requires the harmonisation of different rules currently existing in their respective legal systems, but can rather, by reason of defining common accessibility requirements and rules for the functioning of the single market, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective,