Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on "Towards a barrier-free Europe for people with disabilities"
Date: 2000-12-13
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: European symbol, disabled person, equal treatment, facilities for people with disabilities, fundamental rights, job access

16.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 144/67

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on ‘Towards a barrier-free Europe for people with
disabilities’

(2001/C 144/21)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Commission Communication entitled ‘Towards a barrier-free Europe for people with
disabilities’ (COM(2000) 284 final);

having regard to the decision taken by the European Commission on 12 May 2000, under the first
paragraph of Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, to consult the Committee
of the Regions on the matter;

having regard to the decision taken by its President on 3 August 2000 to direct Commission 5 — Social
Policy, Public Health, Consumer Protection, Research and Tourism — to draw up an opinion on the
matter;

having regard to the draft opinion (CdR 301/2000 rev. 1) adopted by Commission 5 on 23 October
2000 (rapporteur: Mr Brown UK/EA),

adopted the following opinion by a unanimous vote at its 36th plenary session on 13 and 14 December
2000 (meeting of 13 December).

General comments

The Committee of the Regions

feels that, while the Communication outlines appropriate
4.
actions, the proposals suffer from lack of details in terms of a
budget and a time-scale for the implementation of
the
measures;

1.
broadly welcomes the Communication as an important
document which will assist in the promotion of equal oppor-
tunities for all disabled persons in the European Union. The
Committee of the Regions feels that the issue of mobility is a
central one in combating discrimination and the promotion of
equal opportunities for disabled people. The COR emphasises
the need to recognise that disabled people form part of a
heterogeneous group and the specific needs of the different
impairment groups must be incorporated; this includes persons
with sensory impairment, mental health problems as well as
physical and locomotive impairments;

2.
welcomes the introduction of anti-discrimination com-
petencies in Article 13 of the Treaty of Amsterdam and the
publication of a draft Directive to establish EC law in this area;

3.
believes that the Community approach to factoring in
the needs of people with disabilities should be further
developed along the principles of non-discrimination and
inclusiveness. In pursuit of the goals, the COR would request
that the European Commission table a Directive which ensures
that all new public buildings are suitable for the disabled and
‘barrier free’.
It would also outline a programme for the
conversion of existing buildings to ensure disabled access;

Disability and EU sectoral policies

5.
believes that the quest for synergy in the fields of
employment, education and vocational training, transport, the
internal market, the information society, new technologies and
consumer protection will assist in the promotion of equal
opportunities for the disabled. The COR would like the
European Commission to ensure that any new EU funded
infrastructure projects are constructed with due regard to
disabled people in accordance with the principles of a barrier-
free environment. COR calls for explicit recognition of the
access needs of disabled people to be promoted under the
Structural Funds including the European Regional Develop-
ment Fund;

6.
welcomes the actions in support of disabled persons in
past and present mainstream funding programmes such as the
Leonardo, Socrates, Phare, Tacis and Daphne programmes.
The commitment to disabled persons in the European Social
Fund and the Equal Community Initiative which operate from
2000-2006 is particularly welcome. The Committee of the
Regions feels that Member States should outline in detail the
progress made to combat discrimination and promote equal
opportunities for disabled people in each annual implemen-
tation report;

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7.
believes that the removal of physical barriers is an
important step in the positive integration of disabled persons
into society. However, the European Union in conjunction
with Member States and local and regional authorities need to
develop detailed strategies to ensure that all barriers are
removed so that disabled persons can play an active role in
economic, social and family life;

Moving the EU agenda forwards for people with dis-
abilities

Equal opportunities and the rights of the disabled

11.
strongly argues that rights for the disabled should be
incorporated into the EU Fundamental Charter of Human
Rights as part of the Charter dealing with equal opportunities.
Improving the mobility of
the disabled is an important
component in the creation of human rights. The Communi-
cation statement that mobility ‘should be regarded as a right
to which everyone should be entitled, subject to reasonable
economic and technical constraints’ is unsatisfactory because
such a right should not be limited in this way;

Transport

8.
welcomes the designation of 2003 as the European Year
of Disabled Citizens. The Committee of the Regions believes
that this will highlight the active and key role that disabled
citizens can play in the European Union and help highlight the
problems that handicapped persons can face. The European
Year should be part of a detailed strategy to raise awareness of
the needs of the disabled and ensure their integration into
economic and social life;

12.
welcomes the proposals in the area of transport, but
believes that the Communication must contain some reference
to time-scales in the proposals. However, the COR would like
the European Commission to go further in terms of air
transport and adopt some of the innovative solutions found in
the USA and Canada;

9.
believes that the Communication is an audit of past and
existing activity while outlining proposals for the future. It can
be seen as an embryo EU mobility strategy for the disabled,
and the COR feels that it would be useful if the European
Commission developed an action programme from the strat-
egy with target dates for the proposals, a budget for actions to
improve mobility and the creation of performance indicators
to measure the success of the strategy. However, this method
should be used in a bottom-up process involving the relevant
actors at national, regional and local level. Targets should be
set after this and be adjustable to take account of local and
regional circumstances;

Disability as a Community concern

10.
agrees that the main responsibility for equal oppor-
tunities and the disabled lies with Member States. The COR
agrees with the European Commission when it states that ‘the
European Community could make a significant contribution
in fostering cooperation between Member States and in
encouraging the exchange and development of best practice’.
It points out that local and regional authorities play a pivotal
role in the implementation of these policies. Local and regional
authorities are major service providers, purchasers of goods
and services,
facilitators of exchange of
experience, and demonstrators/disseminators of best practice.
it is vital that local and regional government be
As such,
consulted in the design, implementation and evaluation of any
actions arising from this communication;

large employers,

Mainstreaming

13.
notes that the EU will promote the integration of the
disabled in a number of policy areas, but would like the
European Commission to carry out a ‘Disability Audit’ on all
Community policies to ensure that Article 13 of the Treaty of
Amsterdam is being actively implemented;

14.
wishes to see a greater political commitment from the
European Commission to ensure that disability is placed high
on the political agenda for the Commission;

Enabling technologies

15.
strongly supports the European Commission’s efforts
to reduce indirect taxation on products associated with the
enabling technologies which help the disabled. The COR also
supports consumer protection measures to strengthen the
consumer rights of the disabled;

Leading by example

16.
welcomes the adoption by the European Commission
in 1998 of a Code of Good Practice on the employment of
the
people with disabilities. However,
Regions is most concerned with the statement that ‘posts
which can be most easily occupied by those with a disability
will also be identified’. This is both patronising and misleading.
It implies that people with disabilities are a homogenous group
rather than unique individuals with their own skills and
abilities who face different barriers to employment;

the Committee of

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17.
believes that, when given the right support and access
facilities, people with disabilities are a valuable part of the
labour market;

18a.
to this end, calls on its Bureau to establish a cross-
commission working group on equalities (covering the range
indicated by Article 13 of the Treaty);

there is a more determined attempt

18.
would like to see targets for the employment of disabled
staff by the European Commission and would also like to feel
that
to ensure that
European Commission buildings are suitable for use by the
disabled. Similar goals should also be adopted by the Com-
mittee of the Regions and all COR Opinions should take into
account equal opportunities and the needs of the disabled;

Brussels, 13 December 2000.

19.
understands the need of the European Commission to
communicate through the Internet but calls on the Com-
mission to also communicate through more traditional means.
In addition, the European Commission needs to take steps to
ensure access to the Internet for all disabled groups including
the visually impaired. The needs of other disabled groups, such
as people with learning difficulties who need simplified
documents, should also be taken on board. The COR is
concerned that the disabled and disabled groups may not be
able to communicate with the European Commission because
of the financial costs of the new Information and Communi-
cations Technologies.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Jos CHABERT