EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/285

(2004/C 78 E/0285)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3445/03

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(20 November 2003)

Subject: Support for non-autonomous handicapped people

Relatives of highly dependent, non-autonomous handicapped people have alerted me to the fact that the situation in Portugal is extremely bad, with pensions for severe dependency being extremely low and major shortcomings in the provision of public support. Private ‘social solidarity’ institutions working in the field, which play a very important role, encounter many difficulties and enormous restrictions, since there is a lack of adequate residential accommodation for these people.

Can the Commission answer the following:

1. What aid is earmarked to help and guarantee the viability of institutions looking after non-autonomous handicapped citizens, such as the mentally handicapped, and specifically for residential accommodation and for teaching and recovery techniques?

2. What measures are envisaged to make progress towards bringing pensions for handicapped people into line amongst the various Member States, given that in Portugal, the monthly pension for highly dependent people is a mere EUR 225?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(6 January 2004)

The level of social benefits, the conditions for their granting and the organisation of social protection systems fall within the competence of the Member States. A legislative harmonisation of benefits for people with disabilities is not foreseen.

However, since the Lisbon European Council in March 2000, the Union has put in place enhanced cooperation between the Member States in the field of social protection by applying the open method of coordination first to questions of social inclusion and, subsequently, to pensions. The extension of this open method of coordination to health care and long-term care is also foreseen.

The open method of coordination is based on the definition of common objectives — which are legally non-binding, however — and indicators for measuring Member States' progress towards these objectives.

In terms of social inclusion, two objectives cover people with disabilities:

— to prevent the risk of exclusion, the Member States are called on to exploit fully the potential of the knowledge-based society and of new information and communication technologies and to ensure that no-one is excluded, taking particular account of the needs of people with disabilities;

— to help the most vulnerable, the Member States should promote the social integration of women and men at risk of facing persistent poverty, for example because they have a disability or belong to a group experiencing particular integration problems, such as immigrants.

The Commission is currently preparing a draft joint report on social inclusion. This report will assess the Member States' national action plans for social inclusion for 2003 and address the situation of people with disabilities. The Commission's draft report will form the basis for the joint report that will be adopted by the Council and the Commission for submission to the Spring European Council in March 2004. The national action plans are already available at the following address: (http://europa.eu.int/comm/ employment_social/soc-prot/soc-incl/index_en.htm).

In the context of the European Year of People with Disabilities (2003), the Commission is funding a study of the situation of people with disabilities in institutions in Europe, including in the accession and candidate countries. The results are expected by the end of 2004.