European accessibility is governed by two major directives that ensure digital inclusion across both public and private sectors.

WAD (2016/2102)

Web Accessibility Directive. Applies to public sector bodies, including state, regional, and municipal organizations.

Focus: Public websites & apps
Standard: WCAG 2.1 Level AA
Status: In force since 2019

EAA (2019/882)

European Accessibility Act. Applies to private sector products and services like e-commerce, banking, and media.

Focus: Private services & hardware
Standard: WCAG 2.1 AA + Functional
In effect since June 28, 2025

Two EU Directives

While WAD has been active for several years, the EAA is the next major shift, bringing accessibility requirements to the private market. Failure to comply with the EAA can result in significant market restrictions and fines.

National Implementations

Country	WAD Law	EAA Law	Max Sanction
🇸🇪 Sweden	DOS-lagen	LPTT	10M SEK
🇩🇪 Germany	BITV 2.0	BFSG	500k EUR
🇳🇴 Norway	IKT-forskrift	EEA Adaptation	Daily Fines
🇫🇮 Finland	306/2019	Laki 102/2023	Notice + Fine
🇮🇹 Italy	Legge 4/2004	D.lgs. 82/2022	Up to 5% of turnover
🇵🇹 Portugal	DL 83/2018	DL 82/2022	Up to 44k EUR
🇵🇱 Poland	Ustawa o dostępności cyfrowej	Ustawa o dostępności	Up to 100k PLN

Enforcement & Sanctions

Enforcement is handled by national authorities. In Sweden, Digg monitors the public sector (WAD), while PTS oversees the private market (EAA). Sanctions range from mandatory improvement notices to heavy administrative fines (up to 10 million SEK in Sweden).

Using the Standards API

The @holmdigital/standards package provides programmatic access to these laws and sanctions:

import { getNationalLaws, getNationalLawByFramework, getMaxSanction } from '@holmdigital/standards'; // Get Swedish laws (DOS-lagen and LPTT) const seLaws = getNationalLaws('SE'); // Get the specific law for a directive getNationalLawByFramework('WAD', 'SE'); // → DOS-lagen getNationalLawByFramework('EAA', 'DE'); // → BFSG // Get the maximum possible sanction in Sweden const max = getMaxSanction('SE'); // -> { law: 'LPTT', amount: 10000000, currency: 'SEK' }

EAA Compliance Required

Private companies within the scope of EAA must be fully compliant (deadline passed June 28, 2025). Audit your services using the HolmDigital Engine.