The European Accessibility Act: From Compliance Burden to Strategic Advantage

Since June, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) has officially been in force. For many organisations, that moment landed with a familiar feeling: another regulation, another compliance deadline. 

But here’s the uncomfortable truth: organisations that treat the EAA as only a legal requirement are already falling behind. 

The EAA is not just about avoiding fines or meeting minimum standards. It’s about reshaping how digital products and services are designed, built, and experienced. Done right, it becomes a powerful driver of better user experience, broader reach, and long-term business value. 

The EAA impacts a wide range of digital touchpoints : websites, mobile apps, self-service platforms, e-commerce, transport services, banking interfaces, and more. What makes it different from previous accessibility guidance is its binding nature across the EU and its focus on real usability for people with disabilities. 

In practice, this means accessibility can no longer live in a corner of UX or compliance teams. It forces organisations to answer harder questions: 

• Are accessibility requirements embedded early in design and development  or checked at the end? 

• Do teams understand why accessibility matters, not just what the rules say? 

• Are governance, tooling, and ownership clearly defined? 

• And crucially: are accessibility efforts improving the experience for all users, not just meeting standards? 

Forward-looking organisations already see the shift. Accessibility is becoming a quality marker for digital maturity. 

Despite good intentions, many organisations hit the same roadblocks: 

• Unclear interpretation of requirements: what exactly applies to your products and services? 

• Fragmented ownership across compliance, IT, UX, and business teams 

• Late-stage fixes that are costly, rushed, and frustrating 

• A focus on audits instead of sustainable design practices 

The result? Compliance becomes reactive, expensive, and disconnected from business goals. 

This is where the conversation needs to change from “How do we comply?” to “How do we build accessibility into the way we work?” 

Inclusive design doesn’t just help a small user group. It improves clarity, usability, and performance for everyone – from aging populations and temporary impairments to users in noisy, low-bandwidth, or mobile-first environments. 

Organisations that embed accessibility early often see: 

• Higher customer satisfaction 

• Better conversion and task completion rates 

• Reduced rework and technical debt 

• Stronger brand trust and social credibility 

Accessibility, in other words, is good design discipline. 

So how do leading organisations approach the EAA in practice? 

In our on-demand webinar, Deloitte experts and digital leaders move beyond theory to share real-world lessons from organisations already preparing for the EAA. 

You’ll hear from: 

• BNP Paribas Fortis 

• Febelfin 

• STIB-MIVB (Brussels public transport) 

• Passe-Muraille, accessibility experts 

• Digit’All 

They discuss how they’re aligning strategy, teams, and tooling – and what they wish they had known earlier. 

The webinar also features Deloitte specialists who connect the dots between regulation, design, and execution: 

• Isabelle Willems and Jeroen Verplancke (Regulatory Risk & Compliance) break down what the EAA means for your organisation, how to interpret obligations, and how to avoid compliance risks. 

• Matteo Setti (Digital UX Design Lead) shows how accessibility requirements can be transformed into inclusive, user-friendly designs that actively drive business value. 

Together, they offer clear, actionable guidance: not just what to do, but how to do it sustainably. 

By watching the webinar, you’ll gain clarity on: 

• What the EAA means in practice for websites, apps, and digital services 

• How leading organisations are planning and executing their accessibility roadmap 

• Common pitfalls – and how to avoid them 

• Tools, certifications, and team setups that actually work 

• Why accessibility is a long-term investment in better user experience, not a one-off fix 

Whether you work in UX, compliance, IT, or digital strategy, this session helps you move forward with confidence and purpose.