Autism-Europe was gaining support for a strong European Accessibility Act outside the European Parliament in Brussels ahead of a plenary vote on the 14 September when Members of the European parliament (MEPs) would make their final decision on the form it should take.
Haydn Hammersley from Autism-Europe joined the team from the European Disability Forum in informing passers-by about the importance of the Act for persons with disabilities throughout the EU. The team also asked members of the public to sign postcards addressed to MEPs, calling on them to approve tabled amendments to the Act in the following five areas:
- To include a binding clause on the build environment in the Act (Article 3 (10))
- To make clear reference to the applicability of the accessibility requirements to other Union acts such as that on Public Procurement and the use of EU Structural Funds (Article 1(3))
- To include obligations for all businesses, including for microenterprises and SMEs (Article 12)
- To include clear and comprehensive accessibility requirements for persons with disabilities in the Act’s Annex I
- Making accessibility requirements applicable to all modes of transport
The postcards signed by members of the public were then personally delivered to MEPs at the Parliament in Strasbourg ahead of the plenary voting session.