As of June 2026, the European Accessibility Act (EAA), will have been in full, active enforcement for a whole year across all 27 EU member states. 

A year down the line, I’ve been wondering what the notable changes have been for disabled users and whether the act goes far enough.

First, a quick reminder of the intention of the legislation:

The European Accessibility Act aims to improve the functioning of the internal market for accessible products and services, by removing barriers created by divergent rules in Member States.

Businesses will benefit from:

  • common rules on accessibility in the EU leading to costs reduction easier cross-border trading

  • easier cross-border trading

  • more market opportunities for their accessible products and services

Persons with disabilities and elderly people will benefit from:

  • more accessible products and services in the market

  • accessible products and services at more competitive prices fewer barriers when accessing transport, education and the open labour marke

  • more jobs available where accessibility expertise is needed

I’ve been in touch with few of my European friends and contacts in the accessibility field  - people with direct lived experience – to gather their opinions and planned out the areas events should be thinking about –

  • Heiner Merkle, Germany

    “I believe that now, some months after the new digital accessibility law came into force, a clear picture is emerging: measurable improvements are visible, yet comprehensive digital accessibility has not been achieved”. “We analysed 245 websites across ten key sectors and reassessed them using the same methodology as in March 2025. Within one year, the share of fully accessible websites increased from 6.53 percent to 11.84 percent, nearly doubling. Nevertheless, only around one in eight websites currently meets the highest legal accessibility standards”.

  • Alexandra Roder, Netherlands

    “I may be a little bit biased as I am Dutch, however I travel a lot around Europe and I would say that in 2026, the Netherlands still remains one of the most accessible countries to hold expos in. I have reduced mobility and I also have low vision. In Holland there is nearly 100% accessible public transport and high standards for events venues. Across the major cities there are strong local accessibility mandates which back up the EU regulations. Access feels like an integrated part of what we do here and I would urge other countries to follow our lead”.

  • Eva Garcia Pedo, Spain

    “I think Spain is taking the EAA pretty seriously. Vueling Airlines was fined €90,000 in 2024 for an inaccessible website, sending a message to businesses that Spanish law was going to punish companies for this sort of poor accessibility, but it is still hit and miss and I’m afraid there is still non-compliance across websites”.

Eva went on to say: “I would say that infrastructure in many major cities is good and there are great examples of pimpled pavements and drop curbs as well as step free environments, but Spain does have many historical buildings and uneven pathways which aren’t accessible for everyone, so it’s important to keep doing your research and you go there in person when planning a live event”. 

In my view, the law will only ever move accessibility along so far. The rest is down to us – and there is nothing like a bit of desire and ambition to get things done. 

So, as we move towards the mid-way point in 2026, let’s reignite that ambition to include ‘everyone’ in ‘all aspects’ of an event: from the first invitation to the last person leaving the event space.  

Here are a few headings to get your thinking started:


Websites Registration Information Accessibility
Location and Venue Suitability and Adaptability
 Accessibility Testing
 Staff  Training and Knowledge
Parking
 Entrances
 Catering
Seating
 Signage
 Toilets
Breaks
 Presenters
 Staging
H&S including incident and evacuation plan
 AV aspects and accommodations
 Feedback

Rachel Belliere-Wilson

is an access and inclusion educator, consultant, coach and working mother with physical disability and 30 years of experience in the live events arena. Rachel writes a column for our monthy newsletter, Ops News

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