What Does Latvia's Accessibility Law Require?

Latvia's accessibility law is its national transposition of the European Accessibility Act, Directive (EU) 2019/882, which has applied across the EU since 28 June 2025. For an online shop, the practical requirement is that consumer-facing e-commerce should be usable by people with a range of disabilities, measured against the harmonised standard EN 301 549 and, through it, WCAG 2.1 at level AA. What that means in practice The standard breaks down into a handful of concrete points that shape how a shop should be built and presented. Ordinary text should meet a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background. The whole checkout should work with a keyboard alone, without needing a mouse. Checkout form fields should carry clear, programmatic labels. Meaningful images, including product photos, should have descriptive alternative text. Who is covered Microenterprises providing services — broadly, fewer than ten staff and no more than two million euros in turnover or balance-sheet total — may be exempt from the service obligations, so a very small shop should check whether it falls inside or outside the scope before acting. The Latvian angle Because the Act is transposed into national law, it is Latvian authorities that supervise it locally, and consumer-facing information is expected in Latvian. Enforcement practice can develop over time, so treat the local detail as something to revisit. Our complete accessibility guide covers the requirements in more depth. This answer is educational, not legal advice.

Which Standard Must Luxembourg Shops Meet for Accessibility?

For most online shops, the benchmark is the harmonised European standard EN 301 549, which draws on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, WCAG 2.1, at level AA. This is the technical yardstick behind the European Accessibility Act, Directive (EU) 2019/882, which has applied across the EU since 28 June 2025 and reaches Luxembourg through national transposition. What WCAG 2.1 AA means in practice The standard sounds technical, but for a shop it translates into a handful of practical points that make the buying journey usable for people with a range of disabilities. Ordinary text should meet a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background. The whole checkout should work with a keyboard alone, without needing a mouse. Checkout form fields should carry clear, programmatic labels. Meaningful images, including product photos, should have descriptive alternative text. The Luxembourg angle The standard itself is common across the EU, but it is enforced locally through Luxembourg's national transposition and its own authorities. Luxembourg is multilingual, with French, German and Luxembourgish in everyday use, so an accessible shop should also present clearly in the languages its customers use. Microenterprises providing services — broadly, fewer than ten staff and no more than two million euros in turnover or balance-sheet total — may be exempt from the service obligations, so it is worth checking whether you fall inside or outside the scope. Enforcement practice can develop over time, so treat the local detail as something to revisit. Our complete accessibility guide covers the requirements in more depth. This answer is educational, not legal advice.

Does the EAA Apply to Bulgarian Webshops?

In most cases, yes. The European Accessibility Act, Directive (EU) 2019/882, has applied across the European Union since 28 June 2025, and consumer-facing e-commerce is one of the services within its scope. Because it is a Directive, it reaches shops selling into Bulgaria through Bulgaria's own national transposition, and it is enforced by Bulgarian authorities. The main exception The most important exception is the microenterprise exemption. Microenterprises that provide services are outside the Act's service obligations. A microenterprise here means a business with fewer than ten staff and either an annual turnover or a balance-sheet total of no more than two million euros. A very small shop may therefore sit outside the requirements, though it is worth confirming the figures before relying on that. What the Act requires if it applies If the Act does apply, the technical benchmark is the harmonised standard EN 301 549, which draws on WCAG 2.1 at level AA. In everyday terms that means a shop should work for people with a range of disabilities. Ordinary text should meet a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1. The checkout should work with a keyboard alone. Checkout form fields should be clearly labelled, and meaningful images should have alternative text. The Bulgarian angle Because the Act is transposed into national law, it is Bulgarian authorities that supervise it locally, and consumer-facing information is expected in Bulgarian. Enforcement practice can develop over time, so treat the local detail as something to revisit. Our complete accessibility guide covers the requirements in more depth. This answer is educational, not legal advice.

When Did the Accessibility Act Start in Finland?

The European Accessibility Act, Directive (EU) 2019/882, has applied across the European Union since 28 June 2025, and Finland is no exception. Because it is a Directive, it is transposed into Finnish law and supervised by a Finnish authority, but the date from which consumer-facing e-commerce is expected to be accessible is that EU-wide start of 28 June 2025. What now applies From that date, an ordinary online shop selling to consumers is generally expected to meet EN 301 549, which for websites points to WCAG 2.1 at level AA. In practice that means a short list of things a customer with a disability actually experiences. Enough contrast between text and background — a ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text. Keyboard navigation through the whole shop, including the checkout. Properly labelled checkout form fields for screen readers. Alt text on images that carry meaning. The Finnish angle A microenterprise providing services — fewer than ten people and turnover or balance-sheet total of no more than two million euro — is exempt from the service duties, though accessibility remains good practice. Finland has two national languages, so consumer-facing text should read clearly in Finnish and, where relevant, Swedish. Enforcement practice can develop over time, so revisit the local detail. Our complete accessibility guide covers the requirements in more depth. This answer is educational, not legal advice.

Guide

The EU Accessibility Act in Germany (BFSG) for Online Shops

Q: Are Estonian Microenterprises Exempt From the EAA?

Often, yes. The European Accessibility Act, Directive (EU) 2019/882, exempts microenterprises that provide services from its service obligations. Since consumer e-commerce is a service, a genuinely small shop selling into Estonia may fall outside the requirements. The Act has applied across the EU since 28 June 2025 and reaches Estonia through national transposition. What counts as a microenterprise The test has two parts, and both must be satisfied. A microenterprise is a business with fewer than ten staff and either an annual turnover or a balance-sheet total of no more than two million euros. If you are under the headcount but over the financial figure, or the other way round, you are not a microenterprise for this purpose. Fewer than ten staff, and Annual turnover or balance-sheet total of no more than two million euros. Why the exemption is worth checking carefully A shop that grows past either threshold loses the exemption, so it is not a status to assume once and forget. Accessibility work also helps every customer, not only those the law has in mind, so meeting the benchmark — broadly EN 301 549 and WCAG 2.1 AA — is rarely wasted even if you are exempt today. The Estonian angle Because the Act is transposed into national law, it is Estonian authorities that supervise it locally, and consumer-facing information is expected in Estonian. Enforcement practice can develop over time, so treat the local detail as something to revisit. Our complete accessibility guide covers the requirements in more depth. This answer is educational, not legal advice.

By Compliance Editorial Team Updated July 5, 2026 4 min read

Accessibility (EAA)

The European Accessibility Act — Directive (EU) 2019/882 has applied since 28 June 2025, and it changes what consumer-facing e-commerce must offer across the EU. Because the EAA is a Directive, it does not apply directly: each Member State transposes it into national law and enforces it through national authorities. In Germany, that transposition is the Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG) — the Accessibility Strengthening Act — supported by an implementing ordinance that sets out the technical detail.

This guide explains how the BFSG frames accessibility obligations for online shops selling to German consumers, what standard your store is measured against, and where German enforcement fits in. For the wider EU picture, see our accessibility law page, the complete accessibility guide, and our Germany country page.

What the BFSG covers

The BFSG carries the EAA’s logic into German law: certain products and services must be accessible to people with disabilities. For e-commerce, the relevant category is consumer-facing electronic commerce services — the online shop through which a consumer selects goods or services and completes a purchase. If you sell to consumers in Germany through your website, the BFSG is the framework you are expected to meet.

Germany already had an accessibility tradition for public bodies, but the BFSG is significant precisely because it extends binding accessibility duties into the private, consumer-facing marketplace. An online shop is no longer treated as a purely commercial choice about design; it is a service that must be usable by customers with a range of impairments.

The technical standard your shop must meet

The EAA points to the harmonised European standard EN 301 549, which in turn incorporates the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at level AA. In practice, this is the yardstick a German online shop is judged against. Meeting WCAG 2.1 AA is the clearest route to demonstrating that your checkout and storefront are accessible.

For a typical PrestaShop storefront, the recurring problem areas are consistent across the EU. Focus your effort where it matters most:

Colour contrast — body text and interactive elements should meet a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against their background, so low-vision customers can read prices and buttons.
Keyboard navigation — every step, from filtering products to completing payment, must be operable without a mouse, with a visible focus indicator.
Labelled checkout forms — each field needs a programmatic label, and errors must be announced clearly rather than shown by colour alone.
Alt text for images — product photos and informative graphics need meaningful text alternatives.
Accessible components — menus, sliders, modals and cart widgets must expose their role and state to assistive technology.

Who is exempt

The EAA — and therefore the BFSG — carves out an exemption for the smallest traders. Microenterprises that provide services and employ fewer than 10 people and have an annual turnover or balance-sheet total of no more than €2 million are exempt from the service obligations. Many small German webshops will fall inside this exemption.

The exemption should be treated with care rather than as an excuse. Business grows, and staff and turnover figures move. A shop that is exempt today may cross the threshold as it scales, at which point the obligations apply. Building accessibility in early is far cheaper than retrofitting it under pressure later.

The microenterprise exemption is a threshold, not a permanent shield — it disappears the moment your headcount or turnover grows past it.

Enforcement in Germany

Because the BFSG is national law, it is supervised and enforced by German market surveillance authorities rather than by an EU-level body. These authorities can require information, investigate complaints, and demand that non-compliant services be brought into line. Consumers and representative bodies can also raise concerns where a service falls short.

The practical takeaway is that “the EU said so” is not the operative reality for a German shop — the BFSG and the German authorities applying it are. Aligning to EN 301 549 and WCAG 2.1 AA is how you satisfy that domestic framework.

A practical starting point

Begin by running your live checkout with the keyboard alone, then check contrast and form labelling on the pages a customer must pass through to buy. These few steps surface the majority of real-world failures. If you would like a structured review mapped to WCAG 2.1 AA, our PrestaShop compliance audit examines your storefront and checkout against the standard.

This article is educational and does not constitute legal advice.