|
|
His Excellency Boyden Gray
Ambassador of the United
States to the European Union
Dear Ambassador Gray,
The European-American Business Council (EABC) and the Information
Technology Industry Council (ITI) represent EU and US-based global
companies that recognize the value of a strong EU-US relationship and
transatlantic leadership in the world economy. Such leadership is
essential in many sectors, and nowhere more so than in ensuring that
people with disabilities and age-related limitations have equal access
to the latest technology and are full participants in a global economy.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. is home to about 30
million working-age people with disabilities, while the European
Commission estimates that 17 to 24 million live in the European Union;
and The World Health Organization estimates that 600 million people of
all ages live with disabilities worldwide. These are large
markets
that must be addressed, and many social and economic benefits can be
gained by working together to make ICT products more accessible.
Close
cooperation between the United States and Europe, however, is essential
to making progress on this issue. Failure to achieve cooperation
will
harm the ICT industry, the global economy, and, most importantly,
people with disabilities.
A key result of the 2005 US-EU Summit was the declaration, The United
States and the European Union Initiative to Enhance Transatlantic
Economic Integration and Growth. This statement includes as part
of
the aim to spur “innovation and the development of technology,” a
commitment to: “promote e-Accessibility for the disabled, elderly and
other citizens with accessibility issues.” In order to succeed in
this
goal for the 2006 US-EU Summit and demonstrate a meaningful commitment
to promoting e-Accessibility, EABC and ITI advocate renewing and
invigorating the transatlantic dialogue on convergence of
e-Accessibility policy. In particular, industry supports:
- Formally linking the
development of EU and US e-Accessibility
standards policy. As the European Commission develops its ICT
accessibility policies and the United States Access Board launches its
refresh of Section 508, these processes must be coordinated so that
harmonization of approach can be achieved. We applaud the US
Access
Board’s invitation to include European Commission representatives on
the Section 508 advisory committee, and encourage reciprocation on the
part of the Commission. Transatlantic collaboration as an
integral
part of the development of new accessibility policies is a necessary
step to achieve a global policy approach.
- Strengthening the
US-European Commission ICT Standards Dialogue.
EABC and ITI applaud the inclusion of e-Accessibility on the ICT
Dialogue agenda, and encourage continued collaboration through this
formal mechanism with renewed commitment from both sides.
- Maintaining openness and
transparency in the development of EU and
US e-Accessibility policy. In order to ensure that
accessibility
policies are both fair and viable in the marketplace, input from all
stakeholders must be considered from the earliest stages of policy
formation.
We
know from your personal leadership on the passage of the Americans
with Disabilities Act in 1990, that you have a direct and longstanding
commitment to promoting the widest possible dissemination of accessible
information technology. In late March, many of our companies will
be
in Brussels for a series of meetings with European Commission leaders,
US Government officials, and consumers to discuss these very policy
issues. We would like the opportunity to brief you and your staff
on
these meetings and discuss how we can work with you toward positive
developments in advance of the 2006 US-EU summit.
EABC and ITI member companies look forward to continuing our work and
dialogue with US and EU policy makers. Please do not hesitate to
call
upon us for further information and support.
With best regards,
Michael Maibach
President & CEO
The European-American Business Council
|
Rhett Dawson
President
Information Technology Industry Council |
|
|