Preparations in Latvia for the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies presented by Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development.

1. Accessibility of the websites and
mobile applications of public sector
bodies in Latvia
Eduards Cauna
VARAM Public services department
UX/UI Riga Meetup
November 24, 2016

2. Accessibility for the web and
mobile products
Web accessibility is part of
web usability and UX
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Accessibility is mentioned throughout the usability
standard ISO EN 9241-210:2010 Ergonomics of
human-system interaction – Part 210: Human-centred
design for interactive systems
Available in Latvian LVS ISO 9241-210:2016 Cilvēka
un sistēmas mijiedarbības ergonomika. 210. daļa:
Cilvēkorientēta interaktīvo sistēmu projektēšana (LV)

3. Current situation
E-Index 2015 test results for Latvian government
websites compliance with WCAG 2.0 success
criteria (using automated EIII Checker)
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100 websites tested (ministries and government agencies)
Grade
graphic
Score (range) Explanation of
grade
%
100 No tests failed 0
95 through 99 A few tests failed 12
85 through 95 Some tests failed 36
70 through 85 Many tests failed 40
0 through 70 Most tests failed 12
A few tests
failed
12%
Some tests
failed
36%
Many tests
failed
40%
Most tests
failed
12%

4.  United Nations Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)
 European Accessibility Act
 CEN/CENELEC/ETSI standard EN 301 549
«Accessibility requirements suitable for public
procurement of ICT products and services in
Europe» (EN)
 Directive of the European Parliament and of the
Council on the accessibility of the websites and
mobile applications of public sector bodies
(EN/LV)
 Proposal for a Directive of the European
Parliament and of the Council on the
approximation of the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions of the Member States
as regards the accessibility requirements for
products and services (EN)
EU legislation on accessibility
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5. Latvian terminology
 Availability – pieejamība
 Accessibility – piekļūstamība*
 Eiropas Parlamenta un Padomes Direktīva
par publiskā sektora struktūru tīmekļvietņu
un mobilo lietotņu piekļūstamību*
* Recommendation of Subcommission of Information Technology,
Telecommunication and Electronics of Commission of
Terminology of Latvian Academy of Sciences, protocol No. 480
(2016.06.17) clearly separate two concepts, using two different
terms.
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6. Directive
 Directive of the European Parliament and of
the Council on the accessibility of the
websites and mobile applications of public
sector bodies (EN/LV)
 Member States shall apply those measures
as follows (article 12):
• (a) to websites of public sector bodies not
published before … [21 months after the date of
entry into force of this Directive]: from …
[33 months after the date of entry into force of
this Directive];
• (b) to websites of public sector bodies not
covered by point (a): from … [45 months after
the date of entry into force of this Directive];
• (c) to mobile applications of public sector
bodies: from … [54 months after the date of
entry into force of this Directive].
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7. Impact on websites and apps
in Latvia
 Public sector websites should be in compliance
with WCAG 2.0, level AA success criteria in
September 2019 for new websites and in
September 2020 for existing websites
 Public sector mobile apps – July 2021
 Requirement since 2016 for all ITC projects
funded by European Regional Development
Fund (ERDF/ERAF)
 Requirement in Cabinet Regulation project on
public digital services (e-pakalpojumi)
 Common platform for the government websites
(State Chancellery project)
 Changes planned for Cabinet Regulation No. 171
«Procedures by which Institutions Place
Information on the Internet» (EN/LV)
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8. Thanks
Eduards Cauna
VARAM Public services department
eduards.cauna@varam.gov.lv
www.varam.gov.lv
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