EAA Enforcement by Country: How the Netherlands, Germany, France and Sweden Are Acting

The EAA Is EU-Wide — But Enforcement Is National

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) sets the accessibility requirements. But enforcement happens at the national level. Each EU member state was required to transpose the directive into national law by June 2022 and designate market surveillance authorities to enforce it from June 28, 2025.

This creates a landscape where the rules are broadly the same, but the intensity, approach, and penalties vary significantly from country to country. For businesses operating across multiple EU markets, understanding these differences is essential.

This guide examines how four key EU markets — the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Sweden — have implemented and are enforcing the EAA. These countries represent different enforcement philosophies and offer a preview of what businesses can expect across the EU.

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The Netherlands: The ACM Takes the Lead

Enforcement Authority

The Authority for Consumers and Markets (Autoriteit Consument & Markt, ACM) is the primary enforcement body for the EAA in the Netherlands. The ACM is already well-established as a consumer protection and market regulation authority, giving it both the institutional capacity and the enforcement teeth to act on accessibility.

For products specifically, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) handles product-related market surveillance.

National Transposition: The Accessibility of Products and Services Act

The Netherlands transposed the EAA into national law through the Wet toegankelijkheid producten en diensten (Accessibility of Products and Services Act), which entered into force on June 28, 2025. The law closely follows the directive's scope and requirements.

Enforcement Approach

The Dutch approach has historically been pragmatic but firm:

• Complaint-driven with proactive monitoring — The ACM accepts complaints from consumers and disability organizations, but also conducts its own market monitoring activities.
• Graduated enforcement — The typical Dutch regulatory pattern is to start with warnings and corrective orders, escalating to fines for persistent non-compliance.
• Focus on consumer-facing services — E-commerce, banking, and telecom are expected to be priority sectors given their direct impact on consumers.

Penalties

Under Dutch implementation:

• The ACM can impose administrative fines for non-compliance.
• Fines are determined on a case-by-case basis but can reach €900,000 or 1% of annual turnover for the most serious violations.
• For product-related violations, the NVWA can order product withdrawal from the market and impose its own penalties.
• Periodic penalty payments (dwangsommen) can be imposed for ongoing non-compliance — typically €5,000–€50,000 per day until the violation is resolved.

What to Watch

The Netherlands has a strong tradition of accessibility advocacy, with active organizations like Ieder(in) and the Dutch Association of People with Disabilities and Chronic Illness. Consumer complaints are likely to be a significant enforcement driver. The ACM has also signaled that it will coordinate with other EU market surveillance authorities through the EU Administrative Cooperation System (ICSMS).

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Germany: The BFSG and Distributed Enforcement

Enforcement Authority

Germany's enforcement landscape is notably decentralized. Market surveillance is handled by the authorities of the individual federal states (Bundesländer), not a single national authority. This means that in practice, enforcement capacity and intensity may vary between states like Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Berlin.

At the federal level, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) oversees the overall framework, and the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) handles certain telecommunication-related accessibility requirements.

National Transposition: The BFSG

Germany transposed the EAA through the Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG) — the Act to Strengthen Accessibility. The BFSG was adopted in July 2021 and took full effect on June 28, 2025.

The BFSG covers:

• Products: computers, smartphones, self-service terminals, e-readers
• Services: e-commerce, banking, telecommunications, transport, audiovisual media

Enforcement Approach

Germany's distributed enforcement model creates both opportunities and challenges:

• Market surveillance authorities (Marktüberwachungsbehörden) in each state are responsible for checking compliance.
• Enforcement typically follows a graduated approach: information requests → corrective orders → fines → market withdrawal.
• The BFSG includes provisions for consumer complaints and requires businesses to maintain technical documentation demonstrating compliance.
• Industry associations (like Bitkom for digital industry and HDE for retail) have been actively involved in developing guidance materials.

Penalties

The BFSG establishes a framework for significant penalties:

• Administrative fines up to €100,000 for individual violations.
• For specific violations (such as placing non-compliant products on the market without proper conformity assessment), fines can reach €100,000 per instance.
• Market surveillance authorities can order product recall or withdrawal from the German market.
• Repeated or intentional violations can result in higher penalties within the legal framework.
• Additionally, competitor businesses can take legal action against non-compliant businesses under Germany's unfair competition laws (UWG), creating a private enforcement channel.

What to Watch

The competitor enforcement angle under the UWG is unique to Germany and potentially powerful. Businesses that invest in accessibility can use the law against non-compliant competitors — creating market-driven enforcement pressure independent of government action. Early legal opinions suggest this will be an active area.

Germany's large market size and active disability advocacy community (particularly through organizations like Aktion Mensch and Sozialverband VdK) make it a key enforcement jurisdiction.

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France: ARCOM and a Strong Legal Framework

Enforcement Authority

France designated ARCOM (Autorité de régulation de la communication audiovisuelle et numérique) — the Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority — as the primary enforcement body for digital accessibility under the EAA. ARCOM was created in 2022 from the merger of the CSA and Hadopi, and has broad authority over digital services.

For product-related enforcement, DGCCRF (Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes) — the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs, and Fraud Control — handles market surveillance.

National Transposition

France has a long history of accessibility legislation, predating the EAA:

• The Loi pour l'égalité des droits et des chances (2005) already established accessibility requirements for public services.
• The Loi République numérique (2016) extended digital accessibility obligations.
• The EAA was transposed through amendments to existing legislation, expanding the scope to cover private sector digital services.

This means France's accessibility enforcement framework is more mature than most EU countries, with established processes and precedent.

Enforcement Approach

France takes an assertive approach to digital accessibility:

• Mandatory accessibility statements — Websites and apps must publish accessibility statements (déclaration d'accessibilité) declaring their conformance level. Failure to publish a statement is itself a violation.
• Proactive audits — ARCOM has the authority to conduct audits of digital services, not just respond to complaints.
• Public naming — France has shown willingness to publicly identify non-compliant organizations, creating reputational pressure.
• The RGAA — France maintains its own technical accessibility reference framework (Référentiel Général d'Amélioration de l'Accessibilité), aligned with WCAG but with specific French implementation guidelines.

Penalties

France's penalty framework is among the EU's most explicit:

• Failure to publish an accessibility statement: fine of €50,000 per digital service.
• Non-compliance with accessibility requirements: fines up to €50,000 per service, which can be applied annually for persistent non-compliance.
• For certain large companies (those with turnover exceeding €250 million), fines can be proportionally higher.
• DGCCRF can impose additional penalties for product-related non-compliance, including market withdrawal orders.
• Consumer associations can bring collective legal actions on behalf of affected individuals.

What to Watch

France's requirement for mandatory accessibility statements is already being enforced, and it's one of the easiest compliance elements for regulators to check — they simply visit your website and look for the statement. If you serve French consumers and don't have one, you're already at risk.

France's established enforcement track record with the public sector web accessibility directive means the institutional knowledge and enforcement processes are already in place — the EAA is an extension, not a fresh start.

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Sweden: PTS and a Focused Approach

Enforcement Authority

Sweden designated the Post and Telecom Authority (Post- och telestyrelsen, PTS) as the primary market surveillance authority for the EAA. PTS has experience with accessibility regulation through its previous role in overseeing telecom accessibility requirements.

The Swedish Consumer Agency (Konsumentverket) also plays a role in consumer-facing enforcement for services.

National Transposition

Sweden transposed the EAA through the Act on Accessibility Requirements for Products and Services (Lag om tillgänglighetskrav för produkter och tjänster), which entered into force on June 28, 2025.

Sweden's approach has been characterized by:

• Close alignment with the directive text (minimal gold-plating)
• Integration with existing consumer protection and market surveillance frameworks
• Clear guidance materials published ahead of the enforcement date

Enforcement Approach

Sweden's regulatory culture emphasizes collaboration before punishment, but with clear escalation paths:

• Information and guidance — PTS and Konsumentverket publish detailed guidance for businesses, including FAQ documents and self-assessment tools.
• Complaint-based enforcement — Both authorities accept complaints from consumers and organizations.
• Market surveillance campaigns — PTS has indicated it will conduct targeted surveillance campaigns in priority sectors.
• Cooperation with Nordic peers — Sweden actively coordinates with Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Iceland on enforcement approaches.

Penalties

Under Swedish implementation:

• Market surveillance authorities can issue corrective orders requiring businesses to bring products or services into compliance.
• Penalty fees (sanktionsavgift) can be imposed for non-compliance, with amounts determined based on the severity, duration, and the company's size and turnover.
• Maximum penalties are set at up to SEK 10 million (approximately €870,000) for the most serious violations.
• Products can be prohibited from the Swedish market if they fail to meet requirements.
• PTS can impose periodic penalty payments for ongoing non-compliance.

What to Watch

Sweden's Nordic approach means enforcement will likely start softer but escalate methodically for businesses that don't respond to initial guidance. The country's strong disability rights framework (Sweden ratified the UNCRPD in 2008) and active civil society organizations like Funktionsrätt Sverige provide a strong basis for complaint-driven enforcement.

Sweden's role in Nordic enforcement coordination also means that compliance actions in one Nordic country can quickly influence expectations across the region.

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Cross-Border Enforcement: What It Means for Your Business

The ICSMS Network

EU member states coordinate market surveillance through the Information and Communication System for Market Surveillance (ICSMS). This means:

• A complaint or violation identified in one country can be flagged to authorities in other member states.
• If your product is found non-compliant in Germany, Dutch and French authorities may be notified.
• Enforcement actions can have a cascading effect across markets.

Mutual Recognition

An accessibility statement or conformity assessment accepted in one EU country should be recognized in others — but this doesn't mean enforcement is consistent. A company might pass a French audit and face questions from a German market surveillance authority.

The Practical Implication

If you operate in multiple EU markets, you need to meet the highest common standard. Targeting the minimum in any single country creates risk in the others. The safest strategy is comprehensive compliance with WCAG 2.2 Level AA and EN 301 549 — this satisfies all national implementations simultaneously.

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What This Means for Your Compliance Strategy

Based on the enforcement landscape across these four countries, here are the key takeaways:

1. Don't wait for enforcement to reach you. Authorities in all four countries are actively building enforcement capacity. The gap between the EAA taking effect and the first penalties being issued will be shorter than many businesses expect.

2. Publish an accessibility statement. France already requires it and penalizes its absence. Other countries are moving in this direction. It's one of the easiest compliance steps and a clear signal to regulators.

3. Document your compliance efforts. Every country's enforcement framework includes provisions for businesses to demonstrate good faith and compliance processes. Documentation can be the difference between a warning and a fine.

4. Monitor multiple markets. If you serve consumers in several EU countries, track enforcement developments in each. Our EAA fines and penalties guide provides a broader overview of the penalty framework.

5. Start with an audit. You can't comply with something you haven't measured. Get a baseline understanding of your current accessibility status.

For a structured approach to compliance, follow our 15-step EAA compliance checklist.

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Check Your Compliance Status

Regulators across the EU are now actively monitoring digital accessibility. Don't be caught off guard.

Scan your website for free → Get a detailed WCAG 2.2 compliance report in under 60 seconds. See exactly where you stand — and what needs fixing before regulators come knocking.

The EAA is enforced. The authorities are watching. The time to act is now.