NoC79/20 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 30.3.92
OpinionontheproposalforaCouncilDecisionestablishingathirdCommunityaction
programmetoassistdisabledpeople[HeliosII(1992-1996)](*)
(92/C79/10
On13November1991,theCouncildecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCommittee,
underArticle198oftheTreatyestablishingtheEuropeanEconomicCommunity,onthe
abovementioned proposal.
TheSectionforSocial,Family,EducationalandCulturalAffairs,whichwasresponsiblefor
preparingtheCommittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon21January1992.
TheRapporteurwasMissBarrow.
Atits293rdplenarysession(meetingof29January1992)theEconomicandSocialCommittee
adoptedthefollowingOpinionunanimously .
1.Generalcomments
1.1.TheCommitteewelcomestheproposalofthe
secondSocialActionProgrammecoveringtheperiod
1992-1996whichisdesignatedHeliosII(Handicapped
PeopleintheEuropeanCommunityLivingIndepen­
dentlyinaOpenSociety).
1.2.TheCommitteealsowelcomestheverywide
consultationnotonlyofgovernmentrepresentatives
andthetwosidesofindustrybutalsoofnon-govern­
mentalorganizations involvedinpromotingthecon­
cernsandinterestsofpeoplewithdisabilitiesinthe
preparationofthisproposal.Itappreciatestheinclusion
oftheevaluationofearlierprogrammes .beregardedasachievedifdisabledpeopleareunable
toprofitfromeachofitsconstituentelements.Conse­
quently,integrationinthefieldofeducation(including
nurseryeducation)is,especiallyandsimultaneously ,
theprecursorofvocationalandeconomicintegration
andisafactorinindividualfulfilment,construedas
thecapacitytoenterintoallformsofactivityandareas
ofsociallife.HeliosIIwillthereforepromoteagreater
jointeffortandincreaseddynamiccooperationbetween
allitsparticipants,anditseffectsshouldbeenhanced
bytheback-upprovidedbyotherrelatedCommunity
programmes (particularlyHorizonandTIDE)andrel­
evantproposalsfordirectives,e.g.MobilityandtheDisabled(^).
2.3.UnderHeliosIIthreeinteractiveaspectswillbe
pursued,intensifiedandreformed:
—technicalcooperation ,particularlyatlocallevel,
—Handynet (EuropeanCommunitycomputerized
informationsystemondisabilityquestions)infor­
mationanddocumentation ,
—consultation—theestablishment ofstructures .2.ObjectivesofHeliosII
2.1.Withaviewtostimulatingacomprehensive ,
consistentandcoordinatedpolicyforthefullinte­
grationofdisabledpeoplewhoformoneofthemost
disadvantaged sectionsofthepopulation,HeliosIIsets
outtodevisecommonapproachesinawidevarietyof
fieldssuchaspreventionandearlyassistance,functional
rehabilitation ,integrationintheeducationsystem,con­
tinuingtraining,vocationalguidanceandtraining,
employment ,newtechnologies ,technicalaidsanddata­
bases,independentliving,accesstocultural,creative
sports,leisureandtourismactivities,familylife,the
elderly,andthesocial,economicandlegalprotection
ofpeoplewithdisabilities .
2.2.TheactivitiesenvisagedfortheHeliosIIpro­
grammearethusgearedtoacommonapproach,inter­
actionandcoordination ,whichareseenasessentialfor
consolidating thebenefitsoftheprogrammesinall
directionsandachievingthefullestpossibleintegration .
Integrationisinfactperceivedasawholeandmaynot3.Specificcomments
TheCommitteewelcomesthedevelopments inHeliosII
forthesupportandfulfilmentofpeoplewithdis­
abilities.Itstressestheneedatalltimestofocuson
integration,avoidingisolation—particularlyinthecon­
textofshelteredworkshops .Italsofeelsstronglythat
publicinformationandawareness-raising campaigns
arenotenough(andshouldnotfeatureinanannex
alone).Itisessentialthatfromtheveryearliestyears
peopleingeneralshouldbeeducatedtorecognizeand
(])OJNoC293,12.11.1991,p.2. (2)OJNoC191,22.7.1991.

30.3.92 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC79/21
EuropeandtheAfrican,CaribbeanandPacificStates
(ACP).cometotermswithphysicalandmentaldifferences,
andappreciatethepositivecontributionthatthosewith
disabilitiescanmaketosociety.
3.5.Article4.2:TheCommitteenotesthatspecific
measuresareincludedinanannex.Itwouldlikethe
Commissiontomakeitquiteclearthatthedetailofthis
annexisanessentialandbindingpartoftheproposal.3.1.TheCommitteestressestheneedforearly
reassurancethattheHeliosprogrammewillcontinue
tobesupportedafter31December1996.
3.1.1.Article1shouldclarifythatcontinuingedu­
cationandtrainingisincludedunderemploymentas
wellaseducation.3.6.Article6:Governments ofMemberStates
shouldbeurgedtonominatepeoplewhoareeither
themselvesdisabledorwhoareactivelyinvolvedin
workwithdisabledpeople,bothmentalandphysical.
Suchrepresentation wouldenabletheirneedstobe
takenintoaccountparticularlyininfrastructurepro­
jectssuchasbuilding,housingandtransport.Itshould
bedevelopedatalllevels,fromnationalthroughto
local. 3.2.Article2
3.7.Article7:Thefinalreportshouldincludean
evaluationandanindicationoffutureactionpro­
grammes.TheCommitteestressestheneedforreliable,
up-to-datestatistics,andsuggeststhatMemberStates
shouldbeencouragedtoproduceanannualreport.3.2.1.TheCommitteenotesthatthereareover
30milliondisabledpeople(likelytobeanunderesti­
mate)intheECsufferingfromawidediversityof
handicaps.ThoughtheCommission'scomprehensive
definitionisessential,theCommitteewarnsagainst
insensitiveclassification of'thedisabled'.
3.8.Annex
3.2.1.1.Italsoseeksclarification astowhetherdis­
abilityarisingfromaccidents—athome,atwork,on
theroads,insportandleisure—areincluded,aswell
asthosearisingfromillnessandmedicalerror.TheCommitteewelcomesthedetailedannex.
Itwouldneverthelesslikemoreemphasisonthefol­
lowing:
3.3.Article3:TheCommitteestressestheimport­
anceofintegrationintoeducationatalllevels,with
nurseryandfurtherandhighereducationbeingnew
priorities.Traininginindustry,includingmanagement ,
isessentialaswellaspracticalhelpandadvicefor
professionalandfamilycarers.Information andawareness-raising (See5)
—Theimportanceofpublicawarenesscampaigns
whichmustensurethemostsensitiveunderstanding
oftheneedsofthedisabledandanappreciationof
thepositivecontributiontheycanmaketosociety.
Butsuchcampaignsmustbeessentiallyappropriate
andcarefullytargetede.g.toyoungpeoplein
schools.Theymustnotbeconfinedtomassmedia
approachesandposter/leafletcampaigns .3.4.Article4a:TheCommitteeendorsestheneed
forwide-rangingparticipationandinvolvement .Never­
theless,itwouldliketoensurethatthefocusonannual
topicsdoesnotprecludelonger-termorcontinuous
activities .
3.4.1.Article4b:TheCommitteerequestsaprogress
reportonHandynet,particularlyonaccesstoitthrough
localandregionalcentres.Specialthemes(See7)
—TheCommitteeapprovesthepresentlist,but
emphasisesthegenericimportanceofapplied
research,monitoringandevaluation .Inthiscontext
theCommitteefeelsthatscrutinyoffailuresaswell
assuccessesproducesinvaluableinsights.
(Indent4)
Thisindentshouldalsoexplicitlystresstheimportance
oftrainingforteachers,socialandcommunityworkers.3.4.2.Article4b:TheCommitteewelcomesthepro­
posalsforthecontributiontowardsEuropeancooper­
ationwithEurope-widerepresentative non-govern­
mentalorganizations withdevelopingcountries.It
emphasizestheneedforageneralexchangeofexperi­
enceandinformationwithothercountries,notablythe
EuropeanFreeTradeAssociation (EFTA),Eastern

NoC79/22 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 30.3.92
Inaddition,theCommitteerecommendsthattheatten­
tionoftheCommissionanditsconsultativecommittee
shouldbedrawntothefollowing:
—thedesignanddevelopmentofproducts(andser­
vices)tomakelifeeasier,
—scrutinyofthepurchasingpowerandinfluenceof
largeorganizations (suchasairportsandhospitals)
andtheireffectondesign,
—theneedforencouragement ofindependent ,and
possiblycomparativetestingofproducts,—theimportanceofzero-ratingValueAddedTax
onequipment,appliances,toolsandgadgetsfor
disabledpeople,aswellasservices,
—theneedforareviewoffiscalandtaxationmeasures
concerningpeoplewithdisabilities,andsupportfor
carerstoenablethemtocombinetheirresponsi­
bilitieswithemployment ,whereappropriate .Har­
monizationofprovisionsshouldbegivencareful
consideration ,
—ananalysisofthelevelsofcompensation paidto
thedisabledforimpairmentarisingfromdifferent
causes.
DoneatBrussels,29January1992.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
MichaelGEUENICH