Buildings Accessibility 

Ϸվ is firmly committed to offering all users, whether members, staff or visitors, an accessible physical environment and the greatest independence of use of all buildings.

First steps

In 2010, the European Union ratified the  with Disabilities (UNCRPD). This marked the starting point of an ambitious programme to improve the accessibility of the European Ϸվ’s buildings.

Ϸվ performed accessibility audits between 2015 and 2019 in all of its buildings. They showed an overall good level of accessibility with still some areas of improvement to allow an independent use of the buildings.

It also showed the need for a harmonised accessibility standard for the European Ϸվ's buildings in order to guarantee equal treatment of all users between different places of work.

The first EU institution with a policy on physical accessibility

In 2023, the European Ϸվ adopted its own policy on physical accessibility. It is the first EU institution to have developed a comprehensive and well-defined policy in this field.

The main objective of this policy is to define a single accessibility criteria that overcomes the differences in legislations between member states and allows for a harmonised implementation at all Ϸվ premises.

Moreover, it provides a series of measures to facilitate the implementation of the common accessibility standard in all future major building renovations, acquisitions and constructions projects in a sustainable and coherent manner.

The integration of the accessibility aspects in future building projects at the preparation phase will allow for a sustainable and sound planning and management of the resources while avoiding unnecessary costs to remedy deficiencies in the design of buildings at a later stage.