Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-06-13-Speech-4-041"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20020613.3.4-041"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank the members of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, in particular Mrs Read and Mr Harbour, and the Commission Secretariat, for their pleasant cooperation, and state that I, as the rapporteur, am delighted to have submitted this report. It concerns the accessibility of government websites, especially to citizens with disabilities and to elderly people. In this connection, our meetings with the European Commission have also been very fruitful.
Lastly, improvements in the field will also need to be measurable. The report therefore supports further research into measurable criteria for compliance with the guidelines. We have received encouraging signals from the field. The Dutch Institute for the Blind, Bartiméus, which has given us excellent advice, has developed an initiative along these lines. It hopes to be launching a website next week, on which it will be possible to register for a regular check of the website. In this way, a seal of accessibility can be obtained. Although the site will start off in Dutch, the institute does not rule out the introduction of an English version, thus allowing non-Dutch-speakers to have their sites tested too.
On the whole, I look forward to a situation in which people with a disability, just like people without a disability, can have access to the medium of the Internet without any problems. I hope that this report can make a contribution to this. After all, the Internet is a source of information and, do not forget, a means of communicating which is playing an ever greater role in society as a whole. Technological development should not exclude any groups, but rather help them in their social participation. Indeed, effective technology is at the service of mankind.
The Commission communication aims to draw attention to the web accessibility section of the Lisbon strategy. In order to make websites accessible to the equipment of people with disabilities, these websites need to be of a correct technical design. For this purpose, the Worldwide W3C Consortium has drafted guidelines. The Member States have committed themselves to applying these guidelines for government websites and the European Commission is monitoring the progress of this process.
Since all citizens need access to government information, the accessibility of public websites is clearly important. Moreover, governments have a special responsibility towards the weaker members of society. The European Parliament can, therefore, give its full support to this process. It calls for greater efforts in the area of implementation. Otherwise it will not be possible to realise the objective which the Commission mentions, namely to achieve accessibility of public websites by 2003, in time.
I hope that the user, for example a disabled worker in government service, will gain access to government sites without any problems within the foreseeable future. In addition, it is essential for this official himself or herself to be able to place information on a website. Consequently, the software required to place information on the web must also be accessible.
However, a final end goal is not conceivable. Internet technology is developing fast. I would therefore call for the guidelines to be developed hand in hand with this technical dynamic. Governments will thus need to follow developments very closely.
Which brings us to the question what these guidelines actually mean for government institutions. First of all, accessibility for all will need to be accommodated in the draft process right from the outset. Secondly, for the sake of accessibility for all, it is necessary for governments to offer their information in a technologically neutral format. This means not exclusively via the Internet. Subsequently, it is, of course, the question whether the guidelines will be formally complied with in an effective and practical format. The report therefore asks Member States to set up information points where users can lodge their findings and complaints. These signals from society will need to lead to improvements to the websites.
There has been discussion about the question of whether a more binding character of the guidelines would yield a better result. This would not, however, get to the root of the current problem. The root of the problem lies in the lack of familiarity with the guidelines, and not in any potential unwillingness on the part of the web designers. In my opinion, there is certainly no reason to draft legislation at European level at
stage. The Commission does also want private sites, however, alongside government sites, to become accessible as soon as possible.
In the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, one of the points of discussion was which type of websites was most urgent. Since the field is making different noises, it would be useful to grant priority to websites with most relevance for user groups. This could be either commercial websites or websites of social importance. Furthermore, these websites of social importance also encompass websites that are commercial in nature. Shops, banks and public transport companies spring to mind.
The report also pays attention to the candidate countries. The extent of the objective yet to be realised means that in those countries too, accessibility is worth a great effort."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples