What Is the European Accessibility Act (EAA)? Everything You Need to Know in 2025

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) — officially EU Directive 2019/882 — is the most significant digital accessibility law ever enacted in Europe. Since June 28, 2025, it is enforceable across all 27 EU member states.

Who must comply with the EAA?

The EAA applies to businesses that provide products and services to consumers in the EU, including:

• E-commerce websites — any online shop selling to EU consumers
• Banking and financial services — online banking, payment terminals, ATMs
• Telecommunications — phone services, messaging apps
• Transport services — airline, rail, and bus booking websites
• E-books and digital publishing
• Audio-visual media services

Micro-enterprises (fewer than 10 employees and under €2 million turnover) may be exempt, but only if compliance would cause "disproportionate burden."

What technical standard does the EAA require?

The EAA requires conformance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA — the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines published by the W3C. This standard contains 50 testable success criteria organized across four principles:

• Perceivable — content must be presentable in ways users can perceive (alt text, captions, contrast)
• Operable — interfaces must be navigable via keyboard, with sufficient time, no seizure-inducing content
• Understandable — content must be readable, predictable, with input assistance
• Robust — content must work with assistive technologies like screen readers

Penalties for non-compliance

Each EU member state sets its own enforcement authority and fine structure. Examples:

• Portugal — €5,000 to €44,890 (ANACOM/AMA)
• Germany — €10,000 to €100,000 (BFIT)
• France — €20,000 to €250,000 (ARCOM)
• Spain — €30,001 to €1,000,000 (Min. Social Rights)
• Netherlands — up to €900,000 or 10% of annual turnover (ACM)

Beyond fines, non-compliance risks reputational damage, loss of EU market access, and civil lawsuits from disability rights organizations.

How to check your compliance

Start with an automated WCAG 2.1 AA audit to identify the most critical issues. Automated tools can detect approximately 30-40% of WCAG criteria — they're excellent for finding contrast issues, missing alt text, keyboard traps, and ARIA errors. Follow up with manual testing using assistive technologies for complete conformance.