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(9) Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and the Council aims to improve access to certain products and services by eliminating and preventing barriers arising from divergent accessibility requirements in the Member States, thus contributing to increasing the availability of accessible products and services in the internal market, including access to websites and mobile-device based service of certain public services, and to improve the accessibility of relevant information. In addition, Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and the Council aims to improve the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies.

(28) Examples of special conditions or preferential treatment include free access, reduced tariffs, reduced tolls or user charges for roads, bridges or tunnels subject to road charging, priority access, access to restricted traffic and pedestrian zones, priority seating on public transport, designated and accessible seats on public transport, parks and other public areas, accessible seating in cultural or public events, personal assistance, assistance animals such as guide dogs or assistance dogs for persons with disabilities including persons with visual impairments, assistance on the beach to enter the water, support such as access to braille, audio guides or sign language interpretation, provisions of aids or assistance, loan of a wheelchair, loan of a floating wheelchair, obtaining tourist information in accessible formats, and using a mobility scooter on roads or a wheelchair in bike lanes without a fine. Examples of parking conditions and facilities include free or extended parking or reserved parking spaces, as well as access to areas where traffic is restricted to specific vehicles in accordance with national law, such as low-emission zones. With respect to passenger transport services by air, rail, waterborne means of transport, or bus and coach, in addition to the special conditions or preferential treatment offered to persons with disabilities, assistance animals such as guide dogs or assistance dogs for persons with disabilities including persons with visual impairments, personal assistants, sign language interpreters or other persons accompanying or assisting persons with disabilities or reduced mobility travel free of charge or at a reduced price and are seated, where practicable, next to the person with disabilities whom they are accompanying or assisting. Persons accompanying or assisting persons with disabilities are designated by the persons with disabilities themselves or by their legal guardians and can change on an ad hoc basis depending on the requirements of the persons with disabilities.

(29) Personal assistants accompany or assist persons with disabilities or carry out activities of day-to-day life, if need be in the framework of a contractual relationship, in accordance with national law or practice, with the objective of encouraging personal autonomy, facilitating community life and promoting independent living of persons with disabilities. Personal assistants, regardless of their nationality, should be able to accompany or assist persons with disabilities using the European Disability Card or the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities while travelling to or visiting a Member State other than that of which they are a resident, provided that they enjoy a right to move across the Union under applicable Union and national law.

(30) In accordance with relevant Union law, where applicable, Member States should ensure that the operators of cross-border passenger transport services provide, pursuant to Regulations (EU) No 181/2011 and (EU) No 1177/2010, or make available upon request, pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2021/782, clear information to travellers holding a European Disability Card at the time of their purchase of a travel ticket with regard to the special conditions or preferential treatment that apply for the different parts of the operations throughout the journey, in order to avoid travellers holding the European Disability Card finding themselves without a valid travel document when entering another Member State on the same transport service.

(31) The issuance, renewal and withdrawal of the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities in a Member State is to be determined by this Directive together with that Member State’s applicable rules, procedures and competences for the assessment and recognition of disability status or entitlement to specific services based on a disability and parking rights for persons with disabilities. Where Member States issue the European Disability Card directly, they should seek the consent of the person concerned. The issuance and renewal of the European Disability Card should be free of charge, while the reissuance of that card, in the event of loss or damage, may be subject to a fee. The issuance and renewal of the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities may be either free of charge or subject to a fee. The possible fees charged for the reissuance of the European Disability Card in the event of loss or damage or for the issuance and renewal of the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities should neither exceed the administrative costs concerned nor be set at a level so as to prevent or discourage persons with disabilities from acquiring or reacquiring those cards.

(32) In addition to the physical version of the European Disability Card, Member States should provide for a digital version of the card and should be able to provide for a digital version of the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities, after technical specifications have been set by means of implementing acts. Such specifications should build on the experience of past and ongoing work at Union level on digitalisation of certificates and documents, such as the EU Digital COVID Certificate set up under Regulation (EU) 2021/953 of the European Parliament and of the Council , and should enable the use of the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities by means of a digital identity wallet at Union level. Persons with disabilities should be informed about those possibilities and be free to decide to use either the physical or the digital version of the European Disability Card or both. In Member States where the physical version of the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities is complemented by a digital version, persons with disabilities should be able to request the physical version of the card and, if they so wish, both the digital and the physical version of the card.

(33) The issuance of the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities entails the processing of personal data, including, in particular, the data concerning the card holder’s disability status, which constitutes data concerning health as referred to in Article 4, point (15), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council and is a special category of personal data within the meaning of Article 9 of that Regulation. Any personal data processing in the context of this Directive is to comply with applicable data protection law, in particular Regulation (EU) 2016/679. When transposing this Directive, the Member States are to ensure that the national legislation includes appropriate safeguards applicable to the processing of personal data, in particular special categories of personal data. The Member States should also ensure the security, integrity, authenticity and confidentiality of the personal data collected and stored for the purpose of this Directive.

(34) The Member State responsible for issuing the European Disability Card or the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities should be that where the person habitually resides in accordance with Union law and receives the assessment of a disability status or an entitlement to specific services based on a disability. Holders of a European Disability Card or a European Parking Card for persons with disabilities should be able to use such a card during their stay in any other Member State.

(35) The European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities are intended to facilitate all persons with disabilities to effectively exercise their rights to free movement fully and also enjoy equal access to special conditions or preferential treatment or to parking conditions and facilities with respect to services, activities and facilities offered by Member States, including where not offered for remuneration. This is particularly the case for persons with disabilities who travel to or visit another Member State for work or training-related purposes.

(36) The envisaged framework for mutual recognition of the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities does not affect the competences of a Member State to assess and recognise the disability status or entitlement to specific services based on a disability or to offer special conditions or preferential treatment such as free access to or reduced tariffs for certain services for persons with disabilities, including those making use of assistance animals, or persons accompanying or assisting persons with disabilities including personal assistants. It neither imposes an obligation on public authorities or private operators to introduce special conditions or preferential treatment for persons with disabilities, nor creates a centralised Union list of special conditions or preferential treatment for European Disability Card holders across Member States. Public authorities and private operators can offer certain special conditions or preferential treatment only to a specific group of persons with disabilities, depending on the needs of that specific group.

(37) A European Disability Card can be required as proof of disability status in order to access on equal terms and conditions any special conditions or preferential treatment with respect to services, activities or facilities, including where not offered for remuneration, offered to or reserved for persons with disabilities or persons accompanying or assisting them, including their personal assistants, under the scope of this Directive. However, a European Disability Card should not be required as proof of disability in order to access or exercise any rights provided for in other Union or national law, including those offering specific benefits, special conditions or preferential treatment not falling under the scope of this Directive. Where a disability certificate, disability card or other formal document for persons with disabilities is required in accordance with Union law, the European Disability Card should not be required as proof of disability unless a Member State decides to merge their national disability certificate, disability card or other formal document for persons with disabilities with the European Disability Card.