Council resolution of 5 May 2003 on equal opportunities for pupils and students with disabilities in education and training
Date: 2003-05-05
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: anti-discriminatory measure, disabled person, discrimination based on disability, equal treatment, pupil, teaching

C 134/6

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

7.6.2003

COUNCIL RESOLUTION

of 5 May 2003

on equal opportunities for pupils and students with disabilities in education and training

(2003/C 134/04)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

1. STRESSING that in the European Union a significant number
of people with disabilities face difficulties of different kinds
in their daily life;

2. NOTING that

the

establishing

the Treaty

European
Community gives the Community the opportunity to take
appropriate action to combat discrimination based on sex,
racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or
sexual orientation, while fully respecting the responsibility
of the Member States for the content of teaching and the
organisation of education systems and their cultural and
linguistic diversity;

3. RECALLING the Council Decision of 3 December 2001 on
the European Year of People with Disabilities 2003 (1);

4. RECALLING also

— the Resolution of

the Council and the Ministers of
Education meeting within the Council of 31 May
1990 concerning integration of children and young
people with
systems of
education (2),

in ordinary

disabilities

— the Council Resolution of 6 February 2003 ‘eAccessi-
bility — improving the access of people with disabilities
to the knowledge based society’ (7);

5. NOTING that

the United Nations Standard Rules on the
Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities,
adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 December
1993, specifically refers in its rule 6 that ‘States recognise
the principle of equal primary,
secondary and tertiary
educational opportunities for children, youth and adults
with disabilities,
‘special
attention should be given in the areas of very young and
pre-school children, and adults with disabilities, particularly
women.’;

in integrated sittings’ and that

6. NOTING the increased involvement of Governments, support
groups,
teachers and parents groups, and in particular
organisations of persons with disabilities and their families
in seeking to improve access to education for those with
special needs;

7. TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the initiatives in Member States and
at Community level to ensure that people with disabilities
have better access to education and training in a life long
learning perspective;

the Governments of

— the Resolution of the Council and of the Representatives
of
the Member States meeting
within the Council of 20 December 1996 on equality
of opportunity for people with disabilities (3),

8. NOTING, however, the need for further, appropriate prac-
to improve access of persons with

ticable measures
disabilities to education and training,

— the communication from the European Commission in
2000 — ‘Towards a barrier-free Europe for people with
disabilities’ (4),

INVITES THE MEMBER STATES AND THE COMMISSION, WITHIN
THEIR RESPECTIVE COMPETENCIES, TO:

— the European Parliament Resolution of 4 April 2001 on
the Communication from the Commission ‘Towards a
barrier-free Europe for People with disabilities’ (5),

— the Detailed work programme on the follow-up of the
objectives of Education and training systems in Europe
and in particular objective 2.3 on supporting active citi-
zenship and social cohesion (6),

(1) OJ L 335, 19.12.2001.
(2) OJ C 162, 3.7.1990.
(3) OJ C 12, 13.1.1997.
(4) Doc. 8557/00, COM(2000) 284 final.
(5) Doc. A-0084/2001.
(6) OJ C 142, 14.6.2002.

(i) encourage and support the full

integration of children
and young people with special needs in society through
education and training, and their
their appropriate
insertion in a school system which is [. . .] adapted to
their needs;

(ii) pursue efforts to make lifelong learning more accessible
to people with disabilities and, within this context, give
particular attention to the use of new multimedia tech-
nologies and the Internet
to improve the quality of
learning by facilitating access to resources and services
as well
collaboration
(e-learning);

exchanges

remote

and

as

(7) OJ C 39, 18.2.2003.

7.6.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 134/7

(iii) encourage the accessibility of all public websites covering
guidance, education and vocational
to
persons with disabilities by respecting the web accessi-
bilities guidelines;

training [. . .]

(iv) increase, where appropriate, adequate support of services
and technical assistance to pupils and students with
special education and training needs;

(v) facilitate further proper

information and guidance in
order to allow disabled people themselves or, if necessary,
their parents or other responsible persons involved in
choosing the appropriate type of education;

(vi) continue and, if necessary, increase the efforts aiming at
the initial and in-service training of teachers in the area of
special needs, with a view, in particular, to the provision
of appropriate pedagogical techniques and materials;

(vii) promote European cooperation between the relevant
actors professionally involved in the education and
training of children and young people with disabilities,
in order to improve the integration of pupils and students
specialised estab-
in ordinary or
with special needs
lishments;

(viii) enhance sharing information and experiences on these
matters at European level, involving, as appropriate, the
European organisations and networks with relevant
experience in this field such as the European Agency
for Development in Special Needs Education;

(ix) provide, where appropriate,
tunities and resources
school to employment.

facilities,

training oppor-
regarding the transition from

COUNCIL RESOLUTION

of 6 May 2003

on accessibility of cultural infrastructure and cultural activities for people with disabilities

(2003/C 134/05)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

1. NOTING that

establishing

the Treaty

European
Community gives the Community the opportunity to take
appropriate action to combat discrimination based on sex,
racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or
sexual orientation;

the

2. RECALLING the Council Decision of 3 December 2001 on
the European Year of People with Disabilities 2003 (1);

3. RECALLING also:

the Governments of

— the Resolution of the Council and of the Representatives
of
the Member States meeting
within the Council of 20 December 1996 on equality
of opportunity for people with disabilities (2),

— the communication from the European Commission in
2000 — ‘Towards a barrier-free Europe for people with
disabilities’ (3),

(1) OJ L 335, 19.12.2001.
(2) OJ C 12, 13.1.1997.
(3) Doc. 8557/00, COM(2000) 284 final.

— the Council Resolution of 6 February 2003 on eAccessi-
bility — improving the access of people with disabilities
to the knowledge based Society (4);

4. STRESSING that in the European Union there is a significant
number of people with disabilities who face physical, social
and information barriers
to their cultural and artistic
expression and accordingly their access to the cultural
heritage and artistic creation is restricted;

5. NOTING that

the United Nations Standard Rules on the
Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities,
adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 December
1993, specifically refers in its rule 10 to the responsibilities
of States in ensuring that ‘persons with disabilities are inte-
grated into and can participate in cultural activities on equal
basis’, and especially to their responsibilities in promoting
‘the accessibility to and availability of places for cultural
performances and services,
such as theatres, museums,
cinemas and libraries’ and in initiating ‘the development
and use of
to make literature,
films and theatre accessible’ to persons with disabilities;

technical arrangements

(4) OJ C 39, 18.2.2003.