The European Accessibility Act (EAA) and the WCAG Obligation: Make Your Website More Accessible

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is one of the European Union's key initiatives, aimed at removing the barriers that prevent people with disabilities from using products and services on equal terms. The EAA directive requires member states to implement national legislation aligned with the new accessibility standards. In Poland, the rules will take effect on 28 June 2025 and will cover a wide range of sectors, including e-commerce, transport, retail banking, and audiovisual services.

A great deal of confusion has built up around this topic, though. What exactly needs to be covered? How do you implement accessibility features to be sure your online store complies with the law? Who exactly does the EAA apply to? In this article we explain what the EAA means for Polish companies and what steps need to be taken to comply with the new regulations.

Article summary

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is an EU directive that introduces mandatory accessibility standards for key private sectors, such as e-commerce, banking, and mobile products. The EAA's goal is to eliminate the barriers that keep people with disabilities from using products and services on equal terms. The rules take effect in Poland on 28 June 2025, and non-compliance can result in financial penalties and a loss of customer trust. Companies that adapt to the requirements can expect broader market access, better visibility on Google, and a more positive brand image.

This article includes a full list of guidelines the European Accessibility Act introduces for the private sector. It's worth noting that the new requirements don't apply to micro-businesses - though meeting them is still recommended.

What is the European Accessibility Act?

The European Accessibility Act defines the requirements that products and services must meet to be accessible to all citizens, regardless of their limitations. In practice, this means that designing products and services must take into account the needs of people who are blind, deaf, have limited mobility, or face communication difficulties. The act's main goal is to create a more inclusive digital and physical world, and to ensure consistent rules across the entire European Union.

According to information from Poland's Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy, the Polish parliament (Sejm) passed the law implementing the EAA on 26 April 2024. These rules take effect on 28 June 2025. (gov.pl: Polish law implementing the EAA)

Who does the European Accessibility Act apply to?

The EAA directive covers a broad range of sectors and products, such as:

• digital products (payment terminals, operating systems, and software)
• websites and online stores
• retail banking

You're probably wondering whether this applies to your site or your business; you've likely also heard of WCAG - a set of guidelines meant to make a digital product or service more accessible - but the information floating around the internet on this can be pretty murky. So let's clear things up:

The legal basis for website accessibility

The following pieces of legislation currently form the legal basis for accessibility in Poland:

The Polish Accessibility Act

The Polish Accessibility Act (PAD) is a law passed on 26 April 2024, implementing into Polish law the EU directive known as the European Accessibility Act (EAA). Its goal is to ensure that selected products and services are accessible to all users, including people with disabilities. The law takes effect on 28 June 2025.

Does the Polish Accessibility Act apply to your business?

According to the law, its provisions do not apply to micro-businesses - companies with fewer than 10 employees - or to companies with annual turnover exceeding EUR 2 million. Businesses not covered by the Act are nonetheless encouraged to meet the guidelines to the extent they're able.

The Digital Accessibility Act of 4 April 2019

Poland's Act of 4 April 2019 on digital accessibility of websites and mobile applications belonging to public bodies, implementing Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and Council, is also in force. This law requires public sector bodies to ensure digital accessibility, based on a table attached to the act that's roughly equivalent to WCAG 2.1 at level AA, with minor exceptions.

The European Accessibility Act (EAA)

The European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882) extends accessibility requirements to selected private-sector products and services, including e-commerce. The act refers to the harmonized EN 301 549 standard, which is based on WCAG 2.1 guidelines but, again, this standard goes somewhat beyond the scope of WCAG 2.1. Member states are required to implement these provisions by 28 June 2025.

This can all sound a bit tangled, so to sum up - the Act of 4 April 2019 on digital accessibility remains the key piece of legislation governing digital accessibility in the public sector. For the private sector, the Polish Accessibility Act, which implements the European Accessibility Act, extends these obligations by implementing a standard based on WCAG guidelines with additional criteria. So the starting point for websites, online stores, and mobile apps is not WCAG 2.1, as many industry sources claim, but the European Accessibility Act standard.

WCAG - what is it and why does it matter?

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is a set of international guidelines for web content accessibility, developed by W3C (World Wide Web Consortium, founded in 1994 by Tim Berners-Lee, the father of the World Wide Web and the creator of HTML). WCAG's goal is to ensure that websites and applications are accessible to as broad a range of users as possible, including people with various disabilities. Complying with these guidelines isn't just the ethical thing to do - it's also a legal obligation, which is where the EAA comes in.

The first WCAG guidelines (1.0) were published on 5 May 1999. Today the standard most commonly implemented is version 2.1, though it's worth considering implementing version 2.2, which recently received a formal recommendation, since it will help meet a wider level of compliance. That said, in light of the legal regulations, it's best to

The core principles of WCAG - the 4 pillars of accessibility

The WCAG guidelines rest on four principles that a website should meet:

1. Perceivable: all content must be accessible to the user's senses, regardless of whether they rely on sight, hearing, or touch.
2. Operable: the site should be easy to navigate, including via keyboard, and interactive elements must be properly labeled.
3. Understandable: the site's content and behavior must be intuitive and clear.
4. Robust: the site must work correctly across different devices and assistive technologies, such as screen readers.

WCAG conformance levels

WCAG defines three conformance levels:

• A - the basic level of accessibility, which removes the most serious barriers.
• AA - the level recommended for most sites, covering more detailed requirements, such as adequate color contrast.
• AAA - the highest level of accessibility, difficult to achieve, requiring things like linguistically simplified content.

WCAG 2.1 Level AA criteria - requirements checklist

Below we list all the success criteria a website or online store must meet to comply with WCAG 2.1 at level AA. Importantly, meeting level AA also means meeting all the preceding guidelines for level A.

Principle 1 - Perceivable

1.1 Text alternatives

• 1.1.1 Non-text content (A) - All non-text content must have a text alternative (e.g., alt text for images, labels for buttons, descriptions for charts).

1.2 Time-based media

• 1.2.1 Audio-only and video-only (recorded) (A) - Provide text alternatives for audio and video recordings.
• 1.2.2 Captions (recorded) (A) - All video recordings with audio must have captions.
• 1.2.3 Audio description or media alternative (recorded) (A) - Provide text alternatives for visual video content.
• 1.2.4 Captions (live) (AA) - Live video content must include captions.
• 1.2.5 Audio description (recorded) (AA) - Provide audio description for video recordings.

1.3 Adaptable

• 1.3.1 Info and relationships (A) - Information should be conveyed programmatically (e.g., HTML markup, headings, lists).
• 1.3.2 Meaningful sequence (A) - Content should be presented in a logical order.
• 1.3.3 Sensory characteristics (A) - Instructions shouldn't rely solely on sensory characteristics (e.g., color, shape) to convey information.
• 1.3.4 Orientation (AA) - Content should work in both portrait and landscape orientation.
• 1.3.5 Identify input purpose (AA) - The purpose of form fields should be clearly identifiable.

1.4 Distinguishable

• 1.4.1 Use of color (A) - Information shouldn't be conveyed by color alone.
• 1.4.2 Audio control (A) - Users must be able to pause or control audio volume.
• 1.4.3 Contrast (minimum) (AA) - Text and text images must have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1.
• 1.4.4 Resize text (AA) - Text should be resizable up to 200% without loss of functionality.
• 1.4.5 Images of text (AA) - Text should be used instead of images of text wherever possible.
• 1.4.10 Reflow (AA) - Content should remain readable without horizontal scrolling at up to 400% zoom.
• 1.4.11 Non-text contrast (AA) - Interactive elements should have a contrast ratio of at least 3:1.
• 1.4.12 Text spacing (AA) - Users should be able to adjust line height, paragraph spacing, and letter spacing.
• 1.4.13 Content on hover or focus (AA) - Content that appears on hover should be accessible.

Principle 2 - Operable

2.1 Keyboard accessible

• 2.1.1 Keyboard (A) - All functionality must be available via keyboard.
• 2.1.2 No keyboard trap (A) - Users should be able to easily exit any interactive element.
• 2.1.4 Character key shortcuts (AA) - Ability to turn off, remap, or reassign keyboard shortcuts.

2.2 Enough time

• 2.2.1 Timing adjustable (A) - Ability to adjust or turn off time limits.
• 2.2.2 Pause, stop, hide (A) - Ability to pause animations and automatically updating content.

2.3 Seizures and physical reactions

• 2.3.1 Three flashes or below threshold (A) - Avoid content that flashes more than three times per second.

2.4 Navigable

• 2.4.1 Unique page titles (A) - Every page should have a unique title.
• 2.4.2 Focus order (A) - Logical focus order when navigating via keyboard.
• 2.4.3 Link purpose (A) - Links should have clear descriptions.
• 2.4.4 Multiple ways (AA) - The site should offer more than one way to navigate.
• 2.4.5 Multiple headings (AA) - The heading structure should be logical and consistent.
• 2.4.6 Headings and labels (AA) - Should be unambiguous and descriptive.
• 2.4.7 Visible focus (AA) - Interactive elements should have a clearly visible focus state.

Principle 3 - Understandable

3.1 Readable

• 3.1.1 Language of page (A) - The document's language should be specified.
• 3.1.2 Language of parts (AA) - Changes in language within the content should be marked up.

3.2 Predictable

• 3.2.1 On focus (A) - Elements shouldn't change unexpectedly on receiving focus.
• 3.2.2 On input (A) - Forms shouldn't automatically change context.
• 3.2.3 Consistent navigation (AA) - Navigation should be consistent across all pages.
• 3.2.4 Consistent identification (AA) - Elements with the same function should be labeled consistently.

3.3 Input assistance

• 3.3.1 Error identification (A) - Errors should be clearly communicated.
• 3.3.2 Labels or instructions (A) - Forms should have clear labels.
• 3.3.3 Error suggestion (AA) - Suggestions for correcting errors should be provided.
• 3.3.4 Error prevention (AA) - Critical actions should require confirmation.

Principle 4 - Robust

4.1 Compatible

• 4.1.1 Parsing (A) - Code should be valid and compliant with standards.
• 4.1.2 Name, role, value (A) - Interactive elements should be accessible to assistive technologies.
• 4.1.3 Status messages (AA) - Notifications about content changes should be accessible to screen readers.

Additional requirements - the EN 301 549 standard - checklist

The EN 301 549 standard, which the European Accessibility Act implements, includes additional elements that go beyond the scope of WCAG 2.1 AA. Here they are:

Text alternatives for CAPTCHA

If a system uses CAPTCHA, it must provide an alternative accessible to people with disabilities (e.g., an accessible audio or text version). While WCAG 2.1 only requires describing the purpose of the CAPTCHA, EN 301 549 requires a fully accessible alternative.

Accessibility statement

Websites and online services must publish an accessibility statement, in line with EU recommendations (e.g., a description of accessible features, and how to report issues).

Compatibility with assistive technologies

Web-based systems must be compatible with standard assistive technologies (e.g., screen readers, screen magnifiers, voice control switches). WCAG 2.1 addresses content accessibility but doesn't require explicit compatibility testing with specific assistive technologies.

Multi-level menus and dynamic content

Elements such as dropdown menus, form autocomplete, and dynamic interactions must be accessible via keyboard and screen readers. Compared with WCAG 2.1, the standard specifies more precise requirements for dynamic components.

Handling form errors

Forms must include features for automatically detecting and correcting errors, as well as suggestions for fixing them - something WCAG 2.1 AA doesn't require.

Support for low-contrast conditions

A website must remain readable even in low-contrast conditions (e.g., night mode, poor-quality screens). This is an extension aimed at addressing the needs of users with visual impairments in difficult viewing conditions.

Support for screen readers at the application level

Websites and web applications must work correctly in full screen-reader mode, not just for individual elements. WCAG 2.1 doesn't explicitly require this - under its guidelines, accessibility at the element level is sufficient, without requiring full screen-reader testing.

Are there penalties for EAA non-compliance?

Yes - though at this point we don't know much beyond that.

Failing to ensure product and service accessibility in line with the European Accessibility Act (EAA) requirements can result in financial penalties for a business. The size of these penalties will be set by the State Fund for Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons (PFRON) or the relevant market surveillance authority. When determining the penalty amount, factors such as the following will be taken into account:

• the scope of the violation of the law, including its severity,
• the number of products or services that fail to meet accessibility requirements.

If non-compliance is identified, a business may be called upon to bring its product or service up to accessibility requirements within a set deadline. If it fails to do so, administrative proceedings may be initiated, which can result in a financial penalty. In addition, market surveillance authorities have the right to carry out inspections of businesses to verify that products and services comply with accessibility requirements, including how the business delivers its services.

The size of the fine will be determined based on the average wage and the business's turnover, though it will not exceed 10% of the company's turnover in the previous year, or 10 times the average wage.

How do you prepare your site or store for the EAA?

The European Accessibility Act introduces new standards that not only support people with disabilities, but also open up new business opportunities for companies. Implementing accessibility principles in e-commerce can be key to gaining a competitive edge in a fast-changing market. It's worth investing today in an accessibility audit and a website overhaul, not just to meet legal requirements, but also to attract more customers and build a positive company image.

Remember that beyond meeting the formal requirements, it's worth keeping information on your site clear and easy to access. This doesn't just make the site easier for users to use - it also improves their overall experience, which in turn increases the chances of conversion and long-term success for your online business. Keep your documents up to date and adjust your site as regulations continue to evolve, to avoid problems down the line.

Need help preparing for the European Accessibility Act? Fill out the form and book a free consultation. We'll help you understand and prepare for the EAA, and implement all the criteria required by the directive on your website or online store.