Timeline
| Obligation | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Prohibition of emotion recognition at work | 2 February 2025 | In force, no transition |
| Accessibility of services | 28 June 2025 | Enforceable |
| AI transparency — Article 50 | 2 August 2026 | Enforceable |
| Synthetic content marking, pre-existing systems | 2 December 2026 | End of grace period |
| Annex III high-risk obligations | 2 December 2027 | Postponed by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 |
| Accessibility of emergency communications | 28 June 2027 | Deferred |
Certification is not compliance
Under the rules of the European standardisation body, a published European standard must be given the status of a national standard in every member country, which must also withdraw conflicting national standards. The contact centre standard was therefore adopted in all 27 Member States, automatically and without exception.
It is voluntary, it is not referenced by any Union directive, and it does not set quantitative waiting-time thresholds comparable to those of Spanish or Portuguese law. Precisely because it is universal, it differentiates nothing.
The Spanish market proves the point: 94 % of sector undertakings report holding a quality certification, and they nonetheless faced a new statutory regime for which that certification did not prepare them.
Accessibility since June 2025
Directive (EU) 2019/882 applies to services provided to consumers from 28 June 2025, with emergency communications deferred to 28 June 2027. It expressly covers support services including telephone call centres and relay services, and requires the provider to draw up the information demonstrating conformity and make it available in writing and orally, in a manner accessible to persons with disabilities. The oral requirement is the one most frequently overlooked — and it is precisely the one that concerns customer service.
Apply this to your operation
A general framework is no substitute for a concrete assessment. The diagnostic determines what applies to your operation.