Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-06-13-Speech-4-050"
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"en.20020613.3.4-050"2
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". – Mr President, there are 37 million people with disabilities in the European Union, while the number of older Europeans is also steadily increasing. Mr Belder was able to use much richer language here, but I share the same conclusion. These groups risk severe social exclusion due to a range of technical barriers they face when using the Internet. The Commission is fully committed to taking action to identify and remove these barriers at European level, in order to secure an inclusive society providing equal opportunities for all.
The Commission will continue its fruitful dialogue with organisations representing people with special needs, including the disabled and the elderly, to have their experience and guidance in these matters.
I am convinced that the European Parliament resolution on this subject will be a significant milestone in understanding the role and importance of accessibility in the inclusive information society.
The Commission Communication on web accessibility is an integral part of the eEurope 2002 Action Plan adopted at the European Council of Feira in June 2000. One of its specific aims is to ensure that people with disabilities benefit fully from new technologies and the Internet.
Representative organisations of disabled people such as the European Disability Forum have been widely consulted and we will pursue this consultation on issues such as eInclusion and eAccessibility when implementing the eEurope 2005 Action Plan to be adopted by the European Council in Seville next week. All the areas where we propose new actions must be available to anyone with a disability.
The Commission is committed in particular to promoting the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) guidelines, which provide a voluntary mechanism for public information providers and website builders to conform to a set of informal rules on designing and structuring websites. Many of the Member States have already taken steps towards this goal.
The Commission therefore welcomes the overall level of interest and satisfaction that this communication has received from the European Parliament. I would particularly like to thank the rapporteur, Mr Belder, who drew up a very balanced and complete report on this issue.
As regard specific issues raised in his report, the Commission agrees with the encouragement to Member States to ensure that the underlying objectives of improved web accessibility are achieved, to raise awareness and speed up implementation of the Guidelines and to organise follow-up of the achievements in this field. Most of these objectives are also set out in the Council of Telecommunications Ministers resolution on this subject.
The Commission has already taken steps systematically to monitor progress in adopting and implementing the guidelines at European level as part of the eEurope benchmarking effort.
We agree with the requirement that web sites developed by the Commission and other European institutions should follow these guidelines.
During the European Year of People with Disabilities 2003, the Commission will promote awareness of web accessibility and training initiatives for website builders and content providers."@en1
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