Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on Equal opportunities for people with disabilities: A European Action Plan
Date: 2004-04-21
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: European social policy, action programme, equal treatment, integration of people with disabilities

C 121/28

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Official Journal of the European Union

30.4.2004

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the ‘Communication from the Commission to the
Council,
the European Economic and Social Committee and the
Committee of the Regions on Equal opportunities for people with disabilities: A European Action
Plan’

the European Parliament,

(2004/C 121/07)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

Having regard to the ‘Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on Equal opportunities for
people with disabilities: A European Action Plan’ (COM(2003) 650 final),

Having regard to the decision of the European Commission of 30 October 2003 to consult it on this
subject, under the first paragraph of Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to the decision of its President of 26 September 2003 to instruct its Commission for
Economic and Social Policy to draw up an opinion on this subject,

Having regard to its draft opinion (CdR 312/2003 rev. 2) adopted on 2 March 2004 by the Commission
for Economic and Social Policy (rapporteur: Mr Pedro Sanz Alonso, President of the Autonomous Com-
munity of Rioja (ES/EPP)),

adopted the following opinion unanimously at its 54th plenary session of 21 and 22 April 2004 (meeting
of 21 April).

1. Comments

The Committee of the Regions

1.1
considers that the European Year of People with Disabil-
ities in 2003 was successful in advancing the disability agenda
in the European Union. The Year should therefore be seen as
the start of an irreversible process that will continue and pick
up steam well beyond the Year. In this context, the CoR points
to the media's role in publicising this European Year, but
stresses the need for continuity and to involve local and
regional authorities in this initiative;

set up to protect the rights and interests of disabled people as
essential and equal partners;

towards disabled people,

believes that it is essential to create an atmosphere of
1.6
in the general context of
respect
respect for human rights,
in order to encourage the gradual
disappearance of all forms of discrimination. This will only be
achieved through a combination of legal initiatives and general
awareness campaigns;

1.7
emphasises the importance of the European Commission
adopting the disability action plan, which sets out a series of
measures extending up to 2010.

points out

1.2
that while the new approach towards
disability policy promoted by the European Year 2003 is rele-
vant to all authorities, it concerns regional and local authorities
in particular owing to their proximity to and direct impact on
the everyday life of disabled people;

2. Recommendations

The Committee of the Regions

1.3
is aware that disability policy is mainly a matter of
national competence. However, different EU initiatives are
influencing national policies either
through directives or
through the specific application of the open method of coordi-
nation to disabled people. Future disability policy needs, there-
fore, to consider the need for complementarity between EU and
national policies, along with the increasing competence of
regional and local authorities;

1.4
welcomes all those measures that improve conditions
If
for disabled people, as this will
services are designed and planned in such a way that they are
accessible to disabled people, they will be accessible to all citi-
zens and in particular to older people;

lead to a better society.

1.5
stresses the importance of applying the principle of
participatory democracy in the field of disability. This means
including local, regional, national and international associations

welcomes recent progress on social policy, the informa-
2.1
tion society and transport, where most of the latest initiatives
take account of disabled people. There are other areas,
however, in which mainstreaming must be improved, such as
jobs, training, the user-friendliness of cities and buildings, and
housing;

2.2
calls for special efforts to mainstream disability into all
relevant EU policy areas. Such efforts must be undertaken
during the European Year in 2003 but must also continue
thereafter. Although disabled people are not formally excluded
from any of these areas, their lack of visibility leads to their
exclusion in practice. Specific references to disabled people in
all relevant initiatives are therefore needed and, when appro-
priate, changes need to be made so that they can fully benefit
from and contribute to these initiatives. It would be a good
idea to try to anticipate the potential impact of all new initia-
tives on disabled people;

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2.3
recommends that the EU establish a programme for
action with the primary aim of ensuring that disability is main-
streamed in all EU policies and areas of action;

insists that EU initiatives in the following areas must
2.4
include specific references to disabled people: consumer policy,
public procurement legislation, human rights, transport, action
programme on youth, programmes and initiatives in the field
of
education (Socrates, Comenius, Leonardo da Vinci),
programmes on culture and media, programmes on the transi-
tion from school to work, programmes to facilitate access to
the information society and new technologies,
the labour
market and activities in the field of sports, in particular with a
view to the European Year on Education through Sports in
2004, among others;

2.9
believes that failing to ensure disabled access to these
services is an infringement of basic human rights and, from an
economic point of view, also means that entrepreneurs are
losing many potential customers. Consumer associations can
play a key role in ensuring that this work is successful. This is
well illustrated by a recent survey by a Spanish consumer asso-
ciation which shows that 50 % of such public facilities had no
disabled access;

insists that,

2.10
like any other citizens, disabled people
must be active members of society and participate in different
organisations, such as political parties, trade unions, vocational
organisations, religious organisations, sports clubs, environ-
mental groups and other associations. These organisations must
to be organised in a way that allows disabled people to join in;

2.5
urges the EU to retain and continue to promote the
Community's EQUAL initiative following the reform of the
Structural Funds, as this initiative finances important schemes
that help the employment integration of people with disabil-
ities;

2.6
proposes that disabled people and their closest relations
and representatives must be involved in the different EU
processes which apply the open method of coordination, such
as in the fields of education, youth and pensions. This can only
be achieved if the EU institutions, Member States and regions
are actively committed to ensuring that disability issues are
included - and representative disability organisations involved -
in this work. When statistical
indicators are established to
support this process, these must provide information on the
situation of disabled people;

2.7
recommends that the EU institutions support building
up a network of local and regional authorities in order to boost
exchanges of information on disability policy and good practice
across the Member States. Mutual exchanges of information
about developments in disability policy and implementation at
local and regional level will, overall, lead to higher standards of
services for disabled people. A network of
this kind must
operate in close collaboration with disability associations in
order to promote exchanges of experience and good practice at
all levels;

2.8
would like disabled people to have access to the same
services as all other citizens. This means that their needs must
be considered in the early stages of the planning process. This
includes planning decisions relating to public areas such as
restaurants, cinemas, theatres, schools, universities, shopping
centres, museums, parks and stadiums. It would be extremely
useful if general disability plans were drawn up giving an over-
view of measures adopted with this group in mind;

to be

improved.

considers that the image of disabled people portrayed
2.11
in the media needs
Information and
programmes must seek to acknowledge the rights of disabled
people and highlight the barriers preventing their full participa-
tion in society, abandoning stereotypes and received ideas that
to be
portray disability as something negative or painful,
despised, pitied or ignored. The only way to change attitudes
towards disability and combat invisibility is to raise awareness
among the general public;

2.12
disability at European level should seek to:

recommends that the specific action programme on

2.12.1
support the mainstreaming of disability in all relevant
EU policies with a view to strengthening current consultation
and monitoring mechanisms, and raising awareness among
decision-makers, focusing on existing possibilities for disabled
people;

2.12.2
support the establishment of an open method of
coordination in the area of disability, based on common
outcome indicators for monitoring progress on the social inclu-
sion of disabled people. This method would apply to all areas
to disability policy, such as education, vocational
relevant
training,
transport,
life-long learning, employment, career,
information society, benefits, and services for people with
complex dependency needs and their families. Examples of
good practice in each of these areas must be provided to allow
for mutual
learning. The open method of coordination for
disability policies would be useful for all the Member States, in
particular those countries joining the European Union in the
near future;

guarantee

2.12.3
and strengthen the participation of
disability associations in civil dialogue at EU level, providing
adequate funding and consultation mechanisms;

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2.12.4
involve welfare associations and foundations and
volunteer's organisations providing social services for disabled
people;

the role of

expressly acknowledge, with a view to promoting
2.12.5
consultation and civil dialogue,
the European
Disability Forum (EDF) as the organisation that brings together
and represents disabled people and the families of disabled
people who are unable to represent themselves. The EDF must
be given a special status during all phases of consultation
between the EU institutions and disabled associations, in par-
ticular the High Level Group on Disability;

2.13
stresses the need for a specific directive on disability,
under Article 13 of the EC Treaty, prohibiting discrimination
against disabled people in all areas of life, but points out that
adopting legislation is not enough unless appropriate measures
are introduced to ensure effective implementation, development
and compliance. The main components of this specific directive
on disability should be, inter alia, access to employment as a
key element of social
independence and sufficiency, through
training and positive discrimination in the labour market, and
the implementation of services and support to promote the
aforementioned
independence. The
Committee therefore reiterates its recommendation that legisla-
tion requiring a certain percentage of jobs to be set aside for
disabled people should also provide for checks and penalties to
ensure compliance;

and personal

social

2.14
proposes that the new open method of coordination in
the area of education should consider disabled children and
young people to be one of the main target groups, and that all
the actions and indicators envisaged should take account of
them;

2.15
calls for new technologies, both mainstream and assis-
tive, to be properly developed so that they can play a vital role
in overcoming some of the barriers facing disabled people.
Disability must therefore be considered a horizontal issue and
support given to initiatives aimed specifically at disabled
people. There must also be a greater effort to eliminate all the
legal and other barriers currently preventing the establishment
of a genuine European market for assistive technologies, and to
provide adequate financial support at national level for disabled
people needing to use these technologies;

recommends that all stakeholders, public and private,
2.16
local, national and EU, should base their approach to actions
during and after the European Year on the Madrid Declaration,
the European
which defines the conceptual

framework of

Year and proposes specific actions for the different stake-
holders.
In particular, mass media, consumer associations,
youth organisations, sport clubs, religious organisations, asso-
ciations and other stakeholders should improve their services
and work to ensure that disabled people can fully benefit from
and contribute to them;

2.17
hopes that local and regional authorities in Europe, as
the authorities closest to citizens, can make a decisive contribu-
tion to defining and consolidating the new disability policy
guidelines put forward by the European Year;

2.18
decide to:

proposes that the regions and municipalities should

2.18.1
formally adopt the Madrid Declaration, issued by the
1st European Congress on Disability, as the conceptual frame-
work for future disability policy decisions (1);

2.18.2
help disseminate and apply Agenda 22 in most Euro-
pean municipalities. Agenda 22 comprises a set of specific
rules relating to disability, laying down practical objectives for
employment, training, education and integration. Regions and
municipalities which adopt the agenda undertake to implement
the measures it contains, adjusting them to the needs of each
municipality and the expectations of associations working in
the town or city concerned;

2.18.3
where appropriate, supplement existing European
legislation on non-discrimination and positive
and national
action for disabled people with additional rules and provisions
at local and regional level to promote the objectives of equal
opportunities and full participation for disabled people;

2.18.4
authorities' political agenda;

place disabled people at the top of local and regional

2.18.5
incorporate disability mainstreaming into the policies
of local and regional authorities, so that disability is seen as an
area for horizontal action in all policy areas;

2.18.6
recognise the importance of encouraging social
action on the part of businesses under the heading of corporate
social responsibility;

2.18.7
promote the implementation and development of
programmes to make it easier for disabled people to access the
ordinary labour market, since the best way of
integrating
disabled people into society is to enable them to be economic-
ally independent. While the Committee acknowledges the role
currently played by measures such as protected jobs, higher
levels of integration need to be achieved;

(1) http://www.europarl.eu.int/comparl/empl/conferences/20031110/

note-en.doc

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2.18.8
adopt multi-annual action programmes, with suffi-
cient financial support and other resources, on equal opportu-
nities for disabled people, ensuring that disabled people are
involved –through the organisations representing them – in
their drafting, management, implementation and assessment. In
order to respond to the urgent needs and demands of disabled
people, these programmes should focus on the following:

— with regard to training and employment, encourage local
and regional authorities – to include specific measures
promoting the employability of disabled people in their
local development plans and policies, and to make a
commitment, within their remit, to implement Directive 78/
2000/EC on a general framework for equal treatment in
employment and occupation. One of the many possible
measures to improve access to employment at local level is
to insert social clauses in contracts to discriminate in favour
of companies and entities that have disabled people on
their staff;

— with regard to the information society and access to new
technologies, develop programmes aimed at promoting the
info-inclusion of disabled people in the new knowledge-
based society, and establishing public schemes for technical
assistance and assistive technologies enabling disabled
people to enjoy independent living and a better quality of
life;

— with regard to accessibility for all, adopt universal accessi-
bility plans to ensure that designs are drawn up with all
people in mind, in all areas that are the responsibility of
local and regional authorities (building,
town planning,
infrastructures, transport networks, virtual forums, telecom-
munications, media, public goods and services, etc.);

— with regard in particular

to serious disabilities which
prevent people from living independently, seek to ensure,
under the principle of equal treatment, that such people are
able to live autonomously in their own homes and thus
remain integrated in the life of their local community. This
basically means providing assistance and support so that
individuals are able to continue living with parents or rela-
tives before moving out into their own homes when they

Brussels, 21 April 2004.

grow up. In cases where it is not possible for individuals to
live with family or in their own homes, residential facilities
should be made available that meet their particular needs;

— with regard to combating poverty and social exclusion,
ensure that local and regional social inclusion plans give
special attention to disabled people in a precarious social
position;

— the development of programmes and actions for disabled
people at local and regional level is essential to promoting
and supporting their personal and social
independence.
One of the fundamental objectives should therefore be to
facilitate access to housing by various means, such as com-
munity housing,
sheltered flats and by reserving and
adapting social housing for disabled people, whether for
renting or buying;

establish and promote indicators and statistics on the
2.18.9
social reality of disabled people, giving priority to incorporating
disability-related variables into existing statistics;

2.18.10
set up permanent bodies to monitor equal opportu-
nities and non-discrimination of disabled people under local
and regional authorities;

2.18.11
set up permanent arrangements for civil dialogue
on disability policy between local and regional authorities and
disability associations in their area. To this end, it is recom-
mended that all regions and municipalities set up joint partici-
pation councils comprising local and regional authorities and
disability associations in their area;

believes it

is necessary for the Committee of

the
2.19
Regions to ensure equal participation in its activities. Particular
attention must be paid here to human resources policy,
disabled access and disable-friendly design of the internet site;

highlights the importance of encounters such as the
2.20
seminar on the regional dimension of disability policies, since
they enable good practice to be exchanged and raise awareness
of solutions that have proved effective in similar situations in
other countries.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Peter STRAUB