eAccessibility consultation launched in EU

[Peter Tomlinson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>]

There is a new EU consultancy process about access for all to ICT
services. This is a preliminary consultation prior to producing an EC
"Communication", and closes on Feb 12th.

Our old friends the lawyers at Pinsent Masons (an amalgamation of Masons
and another firm) have informed us about the feedback form via their
"Out-Law" list:

http://www.out-law.com/php/page.php?page_id=accessibilityconsul1105366780&area=news

but the top level EC link for the consultation is:

http://europa.eu.int/information_society/policy/accessibility/com_ea_2005/index_en.htm

and the policy root for eInclusion and eAccessibility is:

http://europa.eu.int/information_society/policy/accessibility/index_en.htm

It seems to me that, since many of the people who will benefit if
accessibility is improved will be the more vulnerable in society, this
is a time when we can point out the need for secure eID and for secure
eAuthentication of web sites and email senders as well as of the
individual on the receiving end. A secure internet dimension for everyone!

This is not a very technical consultation, and indeed the background 
material does not contain any review of available methods and tools for 
improving accessibility to e-services. The support desk tells me this is 
deliberate, but I suspect that it reflects the old divide between policy 
(aspiration?) and the means of quality delivery. Never mind: I hear that 
the new Commission is re-organising its work on delivery of services to 
the citizen, trying to bring numerous strands together.

Beware if you participate: the support desk tells me the feedback form 
is "optimised for MS IE". You cannot submit using Mozilla: you just lose 
everything you typed and nothing gets recorded.

Beware also: there is an unexplained question about use of LABELS. What 
they mean is using a conformance mark on, say, a web site - equivalent 
to the CE mark that we see on products.

Peter