On 16.08.2024 the Counsil of Ministers submitted to the National Assembly for consideration a Bill for an Act on the Accessibility Requirements for Products and Services (“the Bill”, “the Act”). Its main purpose is to harmonise the regulation regarding the conditions for providing on the market products and services, that fall under the scope of Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2017 on the accessibility requirements for products and services (“the Directive”), assuring a better functioning of the EU internal market.
The necessity to overcome the fragmentation of the market across the Member states calls for the establishment of common mandatory accessibility requirements. It is the Directive that introduces these common requirements, and it aims to align the national legislations and to contribute to the removal avoidance of any obstacles to the free movement of products and services within the European Union. According to the results of a research, conducted for the European Commission, the areas in which accessibility issues are most frequently encountered for disabled people in relation to products and services, and thus on which the regulation should focus, are the architectural environment, transport and information and communication technologies, including the internet.
Having in mind the great social importance of the regulated matter and its broad scope, the Counsil of Ministers has developed an entirely new act, that is consisted of six chapters and five appendices to them, that are an integral part of the Act. The regulation includes:
- Detailed description of the accessibility and free movement requirements, and of the products and services that fall within the scope of the Bill (including specifying the exceptions from which business operators may benefit);
- Conformity of the products and conformity assessment procedure – including rules on preparing an EU Declaration of conformity, for the application of the “CE” marking;
- Provision of obligations for the economic operators – manufacturers, authorised representatives, importers, distributors;
- Regulation of the surveillance of the market of products and services, within the scope of the legal provisions, that shall be organized and carried out by the President of the State Agency for Metrological and Technical Supervision through the market surveillance authorities of the Agency;
- Conformity with legal acts of the EU;
- Introduction of the possibility for filing consumer complaints and alerts, as well as collective redress mechanisms; and establishment of the relevant procedures before the Surveillance authorities.
With the potential adoption of the Act, it is aimed to benefit both consumers – by making the relevant products and services more easily accessible to a wider range of people, and business operators wishing to sell their products or services within the European Union. The first steps for achieving said aims have been made with the submission of the Bill for consideration, and it is yet to be discussed and adopted by the National Assembly.
You can see the full text of the Act here (only Bulgarian version available).
You can see the full text of the Directive here.
