Accessibility: Europe’s hidden growth engine

Europe faces major challenges to its competitiveness, including low productivity growth, labour shortages, demographic decline and technological gaps. While these issues dominate economic discussions, a significant opportunity often remains overlooked: accessibility. Around 90 million people in the European Union live with disabilities, and this number is expected to increase as the population ages. Yet employment rates among people with disabilities remain far below the EU average, leaving a substantial pool of talent, skills and purchasing power underutilized. Accessibility is not only a social or legal issue; it is also an economic strategy.