EAA Penalties in Belgium: Up to €200,000 Under FOD Economie / SPF Économie

The Wet van 19 juli 2022 / Loi du 19 juillet 2022 brought the European Accessibility Act into Belgian law. Since 28 June 2025 it applies to private sector businesses that offer covered digital products and services to consumers. Belgium assigned enforcement to a single authority, the FOD Economie / SPF Économie (Federal Public Service Economy), rather than splitting it across multiple regulators as France did.

For Brussels-based international companies, Walloon SMBs with cross-border English-speaking customers and Flemish B2B operations, understanding Belgian enforcement means understanding one regulator with real market surveillance experience and a clear escalation path. The FOD Economie began active market monitoring from June 2025 and its first compliance sweep covers e-commerce, booking services and digital banking.

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How Belgium enforces the EAA

FOD Economie / SPF Économie as single enforcer

The FOD Economie / SPF Économie already enforces consumer protection, pricing rules and unfair commercial practices. EAA enforcement sits inside the same structure. They accept complaints through their general reporting portal and conduct their own proactive market monitoring: sector sweeps targeting e-commerce platforms, booking services and digital banking. Belgian businesses that received a FOD Economie information request from the first sweep should treat it as a formal step in the enforcement sequence, not an informal inquiry.

Their enforcement approach follows a graduated path: informal contact first, then a formal notice with a correction deadline, then an administrative fine if the problem persists without meaningful engagement. The authority has demonstrated in other consumer protection contexts that it will escalate if businesses ignore initial notices.

The implementing regulation

The technical requirements are detailed in the Koninklijk Besluit / Arrêté Royal of 21 September 2023, which includes the obligation to publish an accessibility statement. The KBO/BCE number requirement (Belgium's company register identifier) is a separate obligation under the Wetboek van Economisch Recht / Code de droit économique that the same inspectors check simultaneously.

Civil litigation alongside administrative enforcement

Beyond FOD Economie, recognised consumer organisations and disability rights associations can bring court proceedings directly, without going through the administrative route. These two channels are independent and can run in parallel.

The penalty structure

Fine ceiling

The Wet van 19 juli 2022 references the sanction framework in the WER/CDE. For the most serious violations (offering a service that fails to meet accessibility requirements), the maximum administrative fine is:

The higher of the two applies. For a company with €4 million worldwide turnover, 6% is €240,000, which exceeds the nominal ceiling, so the percentage applies.

FOD Economie can also impose a daily penalty payment (dwangsom / astreinte) per day that non-compliance continues. In consumer protection enforcement, the authority has previously used daily penalties to force rapid correction. The combination of a lump fine and ongoing daily penalties means that delay compounds the financial exposure significantly.

Where Belgium sits among EU neighbours

For businesses operating across borders, context matters.

Belgium's nominal ceiling is lower than the Netherlands but the 6% alternative makes it more exposure than the headline number suggests for companies with significant turnover.

Who is exempt

The EAA microenterprise exemption applies if your business meets both criteria simultaneously:

• Fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees
• Annual turnover or balance sheet total under €2 million

Both thresholds must be met. A Brussels startup with 7 employees and €2.5 million turnover is not exempt: it exceeds the turnover threshold. A Ghent freelancer with two contractors and €600,000 turnover is exempt. Check your status against the previous financial year's figures each time you renew your assessment.

VZW/ASBL organisations. Belgium's non-profit form does not grant automatic exemption. A VZW that provides digital services to consumers and exceeds both thresholds is subject to the law in the same way as a commercial entity.

The Brussels bilingual layer

Companies established in the Brussels-Capital Region face an additional obligation that sits beside the EAA requirements. Under the Brussels language legislation governing commercial relations, businesses that address the Brussels public must provide consumer information in both French and Dutch.

For a website, this covers at minimum: legal identification (name, address, KBO/BCE number), general terms and conditions, essential product or service information and the accessibility statement if the website serves a Brussels audience.

This is a regional obligation, not part of the EAA itself. But it is often checked at the same time by the same inspectors. A Brussels-based tech company with a French-only website has two simultaneous compliance gaps, not one. Addressing both in a single remediation project is more efficient than treating them separately.

Walloon-only businesses without a Brussels presence do not carry this bilingual obligation on their website, only the EAA accessibility requirements in the language(s) they use with customers.

What the FOD Economie checks

Inspectors verify WCAG 2.1 AA compliance, Belgium's technical reference standard via the harmonised European norm EN 301 549. Automated tools flag obvious issues; inspectors also conduct manual testing with screen readers and keyboard-only navigation. In practice they focus on:

Accessibility statement. Is there a published statement linked from every page? It must state the conformance level (fully, partially or non-conformant), list unresolved issues with justification, provide a contact channel for reporting problems and describe the recourse procedure (FOD Economie as the appeal body).

Alternative text on images. Every informative image must have a text alternative describing its content. Decorative images must have an empty alt attribute.

Colour contrast. Minimum 4.5:1 ratio for body text, 3:1 for large text. Light grey on white is almost universally non-compliant.

Form labels. Every form field needs a programmatically associated label. Placeholder text that disappears when the user starts typing does not count.

Keyboard navigation. All functions must be operable without a mouse. This includes dropdown menus, modal dialogs and interactive components.

Page language. The HTML lang attribute must be set correctly on every page. A French-language page with <html lang="en"> fails this check. Screen readers use the language attribute to select the correct voice and pronunciation engine, so a wrong value makes text unintelligible for blind users relying on assistive technology.

Overlay tools are not a solution

Accessibility overlays (widgets like AccessiBe, UserWay and similar products that add a JavaScript snippet claiming to fix accessibility) are not accepted as compliance by FOD Economie or other EU enforcement authorities. An overlay cannot add a missing alt attribute to an image that was uploaded without one. It cannot make a form without labels readable to a screen reader. The underlying code issues remain.

Genuine WCAG 2.1 AA compliance requires fixing problems in the source code of the website. An overlay may serve as a temporary measure while real remediation is underway, not as a permanent compliance solution.

FOD Economie inspectors use standard assistive technologies, including screen readers and keyboard-only navigation, during assessments. An overlay that repositions text visually or adjusts colour contrast does not change what these tools read from the underlying HTML. The accessibility statement must reflect the site's actual conformance status, which the overlay does not alter.

What to do if FOD Economie contacts you

For a practical walkthrough of what the accessibility requirements mean for your specific website, the EAA guide for Belgian SMBs covers the microenterprise exemption, the WCAG 2.1 AA technical requirements and the four-week remediation sequence in detail.

If you receive a letter from the FOD Economie regarding EAA compliance:

1. Respond within the stated deadline, typically four to eight weeks
2. Acknowledge findings that are accurate, challenge with documented evidence those that are not
3. Submit a concrete remediation plan with a deadline per issue
4. Maintain contact and report progress

Businesses that cooperate actively are generally given time to fix things. Those that ignore official notices risk formal administrative proceedings.

Keep written records of every communication with the authority. A response that acknowledges the findings and attaches a dated remediation roadmap (listing specific criteria, assigned responsibility and a completion date per issue) typically results in an extended correction deadline rather than immediate fine proceedings. FOD Economie's approach in comparable consumer protection enforcement has consistently rewarded documented good faith. If you need to contest a specific finding, request the inspection report in writing and respond with technical evidence: a screen reader test recording, a WCAG 2.1 AA conformance report from a recognised auditing tool, or an assessment carried out by a qualified accessibility evaluator. Bare assertions without supporting evidence carry little weight in the procedure.

For a full walkthrough of the practical steps to reach compliance, read our EAA guide for Belgian SMBs.

Frequently asked questions

What is the maximum EAA fine in Belgium?

The FOD Economie / SPF Économie can impose fines up to €200,000 or 6% of annual worldwide turnover under the Wet van 19 juli 2022 / Loi du 19 juillet 2022. The higher of the two amounts applies. Daily penalty payments are also available for ongoing non-compliance.

Who enforces the EAA in Belgium?

The FOD Economie / SPF Économie (Federal Public Service Economy) is the designated EAA enforcement authority. The APD/GBA (Belgian Data Protection Authority) handles GDPR, not EAA. Consumer associations can also pursue civil litigation independently of the administrative process.

Do Brussels-based businesses have extra accessibility obligations?

Yes. On top of EAA requirements, Brussels language legislation requires companies addressing the Brussels public to provide consumer information in both French and Dutch. This includes the accessibility statement.

Are Belgian VZW/ASBL non-profits exempt from the EAA?

Not automatically. The exemption is based on size (under 10 employees and under €2 million turnover), not on legal form. A VZW that exceeds either threshold and provides digital services to consumers is subject to the Wet van 19 juli 2022.

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This article is technical analysis, not legal advice. Consult a specialist in Belgian digital or accessibility law for advice on your specific situation.

Sources

• Wet van 19 juli 2022 / Loi du 19 juillet 2022 (ejustice.just.fgov.be)
• KB / AR of 21 September 2023 (ejustice.just.fgov.be)
• FOD Economie / SPF Économie (economie.fgov.be)
• Directive (EU) 2019/882 (EUR-Lex)