PRESS RELEASE - European publishers welcome the adoption of the European Accessibility Act

The Federation of European Publishers has followed with interest the negotiations leading to the adoption of the European accessibility Act by the Parliament this Wednesday. E-books in their vast majority will be covered by the provisions of the legislation. European publishers welcome this adoption.

FEP President Rudy Vanschoonbeek said ‘It is our responsibility as publishers, as ‘brokers’ of content, to make sure that the readers are as numerous and diverse as possible. To be able to offer access to the great books we publish, to everyone is a necessary objective’.

European publishers have been including accessibility features in the production of e-books since several years now and they are eager to discuss with the Commission, how the features of the open industry standard ePUB can work as de-facto standard for this purpose.

European publishers will also explore with the Organisations representing and serving persons with disabilities how to best inform them of the accessibility of e-books.
To explore with stakeholders what are the possibilities, FEP together with the LIA Foundation (Italy) and EDItEUR, hosts a workshop at the London Book Fair on “An accessible digital publishing ecosystem. How to get the best of the Marrakech Treaty and the European Accessibility Act for all involved” on Wednesday 13th March - 3:30-5pm the Dark Room, grand hall (mezzanine level), Olympia.

FEP represents 29 national associations of publishers of books, journals and education content in all formats from across Europe. European publishers are leaders worldwide (7 out of 10 leading publishers are Europeans).

PDF file

For more information, contact Anne Bergman-Tahon, directrice abergman@fep-fee.eu 0032-477-33-65-76