Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on:

- the 'Communication of the Commission on equality of opportunity for people with disabilities`, and - the 'Draft Resolution of the Council and of representatives of the governments of the Member States meeting within the Council on equality of opportunity for people with disabilities` (97/C 66/10)

On 27 November 1996, the Economic and Social Committee decided to draw up an opinion, in accordance with Article 23(3) of its Rules of Procedure, on the above-mentioned communication and draft resolution.

The Section for Social, Family, Educational and Cultural Affairs, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 15 November 1996 (the rapporteur was Mrs Wahrolin).

At its 340th Plenary Session (meeting of 27 November 1996), the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 115 votes in favour, with 3 abstentions.

1. General comments

The Economic and Social Committee welcomes the Commission's initiative in putting forward a European Community disability strategy and a Draft Resolution on equality of opportunity for people with disabilities. It notes with particular pleasure that this draft text is founded on a rights-based approach which views disability as a matter that concerns everyone. The Committee also supports the aim: to take energetic action to curb discrimination on grounds of disability. Disability policy has for many years attracted little attention but must now receive greater priority in the drive to attain a Citizens' Europe. Unless all groups are involved in efforts to create a better European society, Europe's citizens will cease to believe that the European Union concerns them. Hence the European Commission's initiative is a step in the right direction. The ESC therefore basically endorses the Commission proposal.

1.1. Background

1.1.1. People with disabilities are often particularly at risk, regardless of the society in which they live. One reason is the failure to take account of their requirements. Another is that society fails to pay sufficient attention to their capabilities and potential. Their needs and aspirations must therefore be respected. Yet it is entirely natural to have some form of disability. Anyone can be afflicted by illness or injury, and the likelihood of becoming impaired in some way increases with age. In tandem with medical progress, more and more lives are saved (for instance after a car accident), but people are left in a seriously impaired state. There has been a sharp increase in the over-80 age bracket in many European countries, and hence an increase in disability. Consequently the needs of people with disabilities need to be taken into account in general community welfare.

1.1.2. In most countries the emphasis of disability policy was initially on institutional care and education - in some cases because of a belief that this was the best solution and, in others, so as to hide people with disabilities away from the community at large. After the Second World War many countries started to concentrate on the rehabilitation of disabled adults and the education of disabled children. Simultaneously there was increasing awareness that their situation could be improved. A key factor in this development is the shift in the focus of disability policy from the individual to the community, i.e. to pinpoint the obstacles to participation that exist in the social environment. This trend was first and foremost prompted by the fact that people with disabilities started to organize themselves and strove to influence the communities in which they lived.

1.1.3. International action on disability has been of major importance. In 1981 the UN organized an International Year of Disabled Persons, which resulted in a world programme of action concerning disabled persons. At the end of the 1980s the international disabled persons' movement urged the UN to conclude a convention on the rights of the disabled. This did not materialize but instead a document was adopted with the title 'Standard rules on the equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities`. This document has secured the support of all UN - and, by extension, all EU - Member States.

1.1.4. The UN standard rules are currently the most important international instrument for disability issues. The 22 rules encompass virtually all social spheres, from education to legislation. Their purpose is to ensure that girls, boys, women and men with disabilities have the same civil rights and duties as other citizens. UN Member States are responsible for dismantling the barriers which prevent people with disabilities from exercising their rights and freedoms and make it difficult for them to participate fully in the community's activities. The UN standard rules confirm the human rights dimension of disability issues.

1.1.5. In tandem with international work on disability issues, several countries have developed a new type of legislation on disability: anti-discrimination legislation. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been particularly influential in this development. This unique law is founded on US civil rights' principles. The ADA's key message is that US society does not condone discrimination against people with disabilities. This applies to both direct and indirect discrimination. The US legislation has served as inspiration to, among others, the United Kingdom, which last year adopted legislation prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities.

1.1.6. It is indicative that the Commission stresses that what is good for those with disabilities is also good for other groups [e.g. accessible public transport also benefits the elderly and families with children (prams)]. Similarly, it rightly points out that discrimination against people with disabilities entails a loss to society. When the ADA was adopted, the US President at the time, George Bush, stated that such discrimination cost American society USD 200 000 million a year. Corresponding figures no doubt apply in the case of Europe. The allocation of resources to placing living conditions for people with disabilities on a par with those of non-disabled persons is an investment not just in the individual but in society as a whole.

1.2. General comments on the disability strategy

1.2.1. An underlying theme of both the resolution and the communication is that disability issues should be incorporated into all policies. The Committee endorses this 'mainstreaming` approach. The Communication states that the Commission intends to involve all directorates-general concerned in an inter-service disability group. A variety of initiatives, e.g. in research, education and transport, are to be examined. The Committee would stress the vital importance of realizing this ambition. Here a major prerequisite is that the Commission makes a careful study of the impact of its future proposals on people with disabilities, especially from the angle of accessibility. The disability dimension spans all spheres, from refugee questions to the design of automatic cash dispensers.

1.2.2. To enable the Commission to implement its mainstreaming strategy effectively, the Committee advocates that the Commission's disability group be backed by officials with sound expertise in the field. An internal liaison unit should be formed, and could appropriately be based on the team of experts currently attached to the Helios II programme. This group should provide back-up to the Commission's inter-service disability group. Adequate funding must be earmarked for this work, which the Committee would like to be given high priority in the future budgetary preparations. The Committee observes with disquiet the great uncertainty that currently prevails as to what will happen with disability questions at the end of 1996, when the Helios II programme comes to an end. The Committee regards as inadequate the promise given in the Commission's communication to contribute to certain activities (e.g. publication of the newsletter on disability issues, HELIOSCOPE) 'to the extent that the Community budget allows`.

1.2.3. The Committee agrees with the Commission on the particular importance of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for people with disabilities. Unfortunately Europe lags behind the United States in this field. For many years the US federal authorities have been far stricter than European authorities in requiring ICT producers to ensure that their products are accessible to people with disabilities. The Committee sees such accessibility as one of the cornerstones in the creation of the future European information society.

1.2.4. To maximize the impact of mainstreaming, resources are needed. For instance, to make it practically possible for disabled students to participate in the EU educational exchange programme, funds will have to be earmarked for these students' specific needs (e.g. course material may have to be provided in braille for visually impaired students). Everyone involved must be fully aware of the requirements and shoulder responsibility. In its opinion on European cultural policy for children () the Committee stressed the importance of making culture accessible to children with disabilities. The Committee recommends that similar attention be given to this aspect in other spheres.

1.2.5. The Committee has repeatedly stressed the importance of employment issues. This is particularly relevant in the case of people with disabilities. Consequently, the Committee wishes future work on the communication and resolution to give high priority to employment. The Commission should assess what share of Structural Fund resources is allocated to people with disabilities and, should the amount prove to be small, the Committee recommends that the disabled, as a group, be assigned higher priority. Here the Committee would urge all EU institutions to press for the recruitment of more staff with a disability. It is pleased to note that the Commission wishes to set an example here.

1.2.6. The Commission is suggesting the setting-up of a special high level group with representatives from the Member States. The Committee welcomes the idea of this group, which should concern itself especially with employment issues and frame proposals on ways of improving the free movement of disabled workers, as well as following up and appraising the results. The Committee advocates that the subsidiarity principle serve as guideline for this work.

1.2.7. The Committee would stress the importance of ongoing dialogue between the Commission's disability group and special high level group and the European disability forum ().

1.3. General comments on the resolution and guidelines

1.3.1. The Committee is delighted that the Commission's draft resolution draws on the UN standard rules.

1.3.2. In the Committee's view, it is vital that free movement of workers, completion and expansion of the single market and increased consumer rights should be guaranteed for all EU citizens, including those with disabilities.

1.3.3. The Committee would urge the Member States to lose no time in embarking on work to frame plans for attaining the aims of the resolution and the UN standard rules. There can be no tangible change in the situation of people with disabilities until practical plans can be presented and put into effect.

2. Specific comments on the resolution and the guidelines

2.1. The Committee would point to a number of minor ambiguities in the resolution and guidelines.

2.2. In the Committee's view, 'REAFFIRM the principles and values that underline the United Nations' standard rules on the equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities` (point 12 of the resolution) should be reworded to read 'REAFFIRMS yet again their commitment to the United Nations standard rules`. In the Committee's view, the resolution should give the fullest possible backing to the standard rules and this must be reflected clearly in its wording.

2.3. The first indent of the resolution states that the UN standard rules entail 'upholding the principle of equality of opportunity in the development of comprehensive policies in the field of disability`. However, this wording does not tally entirely with the wording of the standard rules. The Committee would therefore recommend that this indent be replaced by 'The purpose of the rules is to ensure that girls, boys, women and men with disabilities, as members of their societies, may exercise the same rights and obligations as others`.

2.4. The resolution contains a definition of 'people with disabilities`. However, the Committee regards this definition as superfluous and considers that the resolution should instead endorse wholeheartedly the definition used in the UN standard rules. Otherwise there is an obvious risk of confusion as to which definition should apply. The definition given in the standard rules is as follows:

'The term "disability" summarizes a great number of different functional limitations occurring in any population in any country of the world. People may be disabled by physical, intellectual or sensory impairment, medical conditions or mental illness. Such impairments, conditions or illnesses may be permanent or transitory in nature. The term "handicap" means the loss or limitation of opportunities to take part in the life of the community on an equal level with others. It describes the encounter between the person with a disability and the environment. The purpose of this term is to emphasize the focus on the shortcomings in the environment and in many organized activities in society, for example, information, communication and education, which prevent persons with disabilities from participating on equal terms.`

2.5. The guidelines stress the importance of integrating people with disabilities into the education system. The Committee endorses this approach but would point out that there are certain groups of disabled people (e.g. those who are deaf from childhood) for which special teaching often proves the most effective solution.

Similarly integration must not be confused with placing a child in a school. It is not enough merely to insert a disabled student into the ordinary school system. For purposes of education, viz. full participation in the study environment, special measures are needed, such as adaptation of the teaching premises, technical aids, support teachers, psycho-social assistance, and so on.

3. Conclusion

The Committee appreciates the Commission's initiative and sees it as a major contribution to the way the role of people with disabilities in society is viewed. It is vital that the resolution should reinforce - not compete with - the UN standard rules. However, practical measures and prioritization of resources hold the key to translating aspirations into reality. The Committee therefore stresses that the Member States should give the utmost attention to this resolution and take active steps to realize its aims and the aims of the UN standard rules.

Brussels, 27 November 1996.

The President of the Economic and Social Committee

Tom JENKINS

() OJ No C 153, 28. 5. 1996.

() The Helios II programme makes provision for a special disability forum, which ceases with the programme's expiry at the end of the year. With the Commission's support, an independent disability forum has therefore been established, consisting of 15 umbrella organizations grouping disability interests (one from each Member State) and 15 European disability organizations.