Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the implementation, results and overall assessment of the European Year of People with Disabilities 2003 (Submitted by the European Commission in accordance with Article 13 of Council Decision 2001/903/EC) {SEC(2005) 1252}
Date: 2005-10-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European symbol, disabled person, equal treatment, integration of people with disabilities, public awareness campaign

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 13.10.2005 
COM(2005) 486 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN 
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE 
REGIONS 

on the implementation, results and overall assessment of the European Year of People 
with Disabilities 2003 
(Submitted by the European Commission in accordance with Article 13 of Council 
Decision 2001/903/EC) 

{SEC(2005) 1252} 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Implementation and key actions at EU level.............................................................................. 3 

Implementation and key actions at national level ...................................................................... 7 

Key results of the EYPD Campaign........................................................................................... 9 

Annex 1: Background............................................................................................................... 11 

Annex 2: Financial issues......................................................................................................... 13 

Annex 3: Detailed breakdown of expenditure commitments in 2002 and 2003 (Budget Line 
04 04 05 ex B5 806) ................................................................................................................. 14 

Annex 4: Overall assessment and long-term policy outlook.................................................... 15 

Annex 5: External evaluation of the EYPD Campaign............................................................ 16 

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Implementation and key actions at EU level  

Defining  priorities  for  the  EYPD  campaign  and  its  implementation  at  EU  level  was  an 
involved process. It required a great deal of coordination between the EU and national levels 
and a number of key partners had to be involved, in particular the European Disability Forum 
-  the  non-governmental  umbrella  organisation  representing  people  with  disabilities  at 
European  level.  As  an  integral  part  of  the  Commission’s  approach  to  the  Year  and  as  a 
fundamental principle in the area of disability, disabled people and their representatives had to 
be involved in all the key aspects of designing and implementing the EYPD campaign.  

As  much  of  the  impetus  to  establish  a  European Year of People  with  Disabilities  had come 
from disabled people themselves, and after lobbying by the European Disability Forum, the 
Commission  intensified  its  relations  with  the  European  Disability  Forum  in  2002  and 
consulted  this  organisation  and  others  extensively  during  its  preparations  and  throughout 
2003.  This  ensured  that  the  views  of  people  with  disabilities  were  taken  on  board  and  that 
their  own  representatives  were  able  to  develop  the  main  messages  to  be  passed  on.  The 
Commission also wanted to use the EYPD campaign to promote its approach to disability and 
underline  the  policy  issues  it  was  considering  at  EU  level.  The  flexibility  of  the  approach 
adopted for the EYPD and the ownership created by the decentralised approach ensured that 
there was room in the campaign for all organisations to put forward their views, even if these 
did not necessarily coincide. 

As a framework for the implementation and development of the EYPD, the Commission, in 
cooperation  with  its  partner  organisations  (particularly  the  European  Disability  Forum) 
launched  a  specific  promotional  and  information  campaign.  The  principal  aim  of  this 
campaign was to give a clear identity to the EYPD, both visually and in terms of a message 
which would reinforce the EU nature of the initiative, but which would also reinforce actions 
taken  at  national,  regional  and  local  level.  The  campaign  was  managed  by  PR  consultants 
Ogilvy. 

The  core  concept  of  the  campaign  was  to  catalyse  a  year-long  march  of  people  with 
disabilities across Europe. This was based on the idea that, since disabled rights are a human 
rights  issue,  those  who  are  disabled  should  be  put  at  the  forefront  for  the  campaign  for 
change.  By  avoiding  a  traditional  promotional  campaign  implemented  from  outside,  the 
Commission sought to create ownership by disabled people of the concept  of  the EYPD by 
ensuring that they were directly involved in promoting the campaign and by encouraging their 
mobilisation and participation. The slogan “Get on board!” was developed for the campaign 
to emphasise the participative nature of the EYPD, and this was supported by a campaign bus 
travelling  from  country  to  country  during  2003.  The  bus  underlined  the  European  nature  of 
campaign,  linking  all  the  national  campaigns  and  messages,  and  underlining  the  point  that 
disability  is  an  issue  which  concerns  the  whole  of  the  EU,  despite  the  specific  inherent 
differences  between  participating  countries.  During  2003,  the  campaign  bus  was  present  at 
211 events in 181 cities or towns in 16 countries and covered a distance of 45 000km.  

The  logo  chosen  for  the  campaign  was  distinctive  and  clearly  identifiable.  This  logo  was 
made  easily  available  on  a  number  of  internet  sites  and  in  the  current  20  Community 
languages, plus those of the acceding states and of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey .Under the 

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campaign  rules  all  organisations  and  individuals  wishing  to  be  involved  with  the  EYPD 
campaign were encouraged to use the logo.  

In  order  to  support  the  whole  EYPD  campaign,  and  to  provide  a  resource  for  organisations 
and  individuals  wishing  to  participate  in  the  EYPD,  an  EU-wide  website  was  set  up.  This 
website  (www.eypd2003.org)  was  fully  interactive  and  easy  to  access1,  and  all  key  aspects 
and functions were  available  in  all Community languages. In contrast to previous European 
Year  campaigns,  the  website  allowed  pages  to  be  created  by  third  parties  who  wished  to 
publicise  their  actions  or  events,  upload  documents  and  create  contacts.  This  allowed  those 
who  might  not  normally  have  the  necessary  facilities  to  be  present  on  the  internet  for  the 
duration  of  the  EYPD.  In  addition  to  basic  information  on  the  EYPD,  the  website  also 
contained links to the official EYPD sites in the participating countries and a diary and photo 
section, updated daily with news of the EYPD march and bus.  

The  Commission  also  launched  two  calls  for  proposals  at  EU  level.  The  first  concerned 
information campaigns at EU level to  support the main EYPD  campaign,  and  was  aimed at 
specific populations within the overall target group of the campaign. One example of this was 
an innovative campaign established by the European Union of the Deaf2, which established a 
specific website for the EYPD with information available in the main sign languages of the 
participating  countries.  The  second  call  related  to  transnational  projects,  where  the 
Commission  financially  supported  a  small  number  of  large  projects,  allowing  beneficiaries 
from  a  number  of  Member  States  to  jointly  organise  a  project  to  support  the  aims  and 
objectives of the EYPD. 

Another key action undertaken by the Commission at EU level to support the EYPD was the 
Corporate  Participation  Programme.  Backed  by  the  PR  contractor,  Ogilvy,  this  programme 
sought  to  bring  large  companies  on  board  the  EYPD  campaign  by  allowing  them  to 
participate in a unique venture and encouraging them to create awareness and support for the 
EYPD  and  undertake  specific  actions.  These  actions  were  encouraged  with  a  view  to 
reinforcing already existing positive approaches to disability, and with a view to acting in a 
socially  responsible  manner  towards  people  with  disabilities  by  promoting  employment  and 
training  opportunities,  developing  design-for-all  products  and  services, 
improving 
accessibility, etc.  

Although responsibility for overseeing the EYPD campaign and actions at EU level lay with 
the Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment and Social Affairs, it was possible to 
mobilise  all  of  the  services  whose  work  had  some  connection  with  disability  issues  and  to 
ensure that the EYPD was included as a particular priority for action in 2003. This was the 
result in particular of the commitment of various Commissioners and Directorates-General to 
the  aims  of  the  EYPD  and  a  desire  to  support  the  mainstreaming  of  disability  issues  in 
general. Examples include the stepping up of funding of specific projects within the different 
action programmes in the area of education, training, youth and culture; the adoption by the 
Commission  of  a  revised  Code  of  Good  Practice  for  the  Employment  of  People  with 
Disabilities (C(2003)4362); actions in the area of relations with the then candidate countries 
focusing on disability issues; and a number of actions in the area of policy on the information 

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WAI-AA  standard  –  it was not  possible with  the  available  resources  and  the  interactive nature of  the 
site to achieve a AAA rating 
http://www.eudeaf2003.org/  

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society,  including  a  specific  conference  on  e-accessibility3.  This  latter  theme  was  also 
addressed  from  the  technical  research  point  of  view  of  by  the  EC  Joint  Research  Centre. 
Much of this work was coordinated successfully through an Interservice group on disability 
issues, ensuring optimum complementarity across different Community policy areas.  

In  order  to  reinforce  the  key  messages  and  demonstrate  the  commitment  of  the  EU,  many 
major  European  events  and  conferences  also  adopted  the  EYPD  campaign  as  a  key 
component,  either  by  focusing  exclusively  on  disability  issues  or  by  including  certain 
disability issues within a wider programme. One example of this was the European Mobility 
Week4 in 2003 to highlight accessibility issues for people with disabilities. EU agencies, too, 
became involved in the EYPD and undertook specific actions to support the aims of the year5. 
A  number  of  the  EU  institutions  also  made  specific  contributions  to  the  EYPD  through 
actions  (such  as  newly  accessible  websites  or  accessibility  reviews  of  their  buildings)  or 
through specific events.  These  included the European Parliament of Disabled  People  hosted 
by  the  European  Parliament6  and  organised  with  the  support  of  the  European  Disability 
Forum  and  the  Commission,  a  conference  on  the  regional  dimension  of  disability  policy 
organised  by  the  Committee  of  the  Regions7,  and  an  event  organised  by  the  European 
Economic and Social Committee8 on the integration of people with disabilities into European 
society  and  the  world  of  work.  Other  European  organisations  also  made  their  own 
contributions  to  the  EYPD  through  specific  actions  and  events.  The  European  Agency  for 
Development  in  Special  Needs  Education  (EADSNE),  supported  by  DG  EAC,  organised  a 
hearing of  young people  with  special educational needs in the European Parliament. Young 
people  from  22  countries  had  the  opportunity  to  express  their  feelings,  ideas  and  wishes 
concerning  their  education  and  their  future.  During  the  hearing  there  was  an  exhibition  of 
materials  and  information  from  specially  invited  EC  project  representatives  from  Leonardo, 
Youth,  Minerva  and  Grundtvig,  as  well  as  the  EASDNE  and  UNESCO.  Europe  21  held  an 
event on corporate social responsibility and disability issues9 and a conference organised by 
the  European  standards  organisations  examined  how  their  work  could  help  the  issue  of 
accessibility  for  all101112.  These  are  but  a  few  examples  of  the  many  hundreds  of  specific 
actions and events which took place at EU level. 

In order to coordinate many of these different activities, and in particular to coordinate actions 
at  EU  level  with  the  specific  EYPD  activities  and  campaigns  at  national  level,  the 
Commission  established  an  advisory  committee  as  early  as  January  2002.  This  committee 
continued  to  work  until  the  end  of  2004,  coordinating  the  preparation  of  measures  and 
financial  assistance  for  the  EYPD,  overseeing  the  EYPD  promotional  and  information 

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http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/03/1375 
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/03/1183 
http://voice.jrc.it/events/ev2003/eaccessibility/_eaccessibility_en.htmhttp://europa.eu.int/rapid/pre
ssReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/03/1183&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN
&guiLanguage=en  
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/03/1240 
http://europe.osha.eu.int/good_practice/person/disability/ 
http://www.europarl.eu.int/comparl/empl/conferences/20031110/default_en.htm 
http://www.cor.eu.int/document/en/rioja_16_17_dec.pdf 
http://www.esc.eu.int/pages/en/acs/events/28_11_03_disabilities/final_programme_en.pdf 
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/02/623 
http://www.cenelec.org/NR/exeres/09E16A1B-E757-4F85-B542-872A21C7C15F.htm 
http://www.cenorm.be/cenorm/news/pressreleases/guidelines.asp 
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/03/161 

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campaign and developing the key messages in relation to disability issues. It was made up of 
representatives  of  the  participating  countries,  observers  from  the  then  candidate  countries, 
representatives of the European Disability Forum13 and other partners concerned, such as the 
European Association of Service Providers for People with Disabilities14. The social partners 
were invited to participate in this committee, but did not take up the invitation.  

The  committee  took  key  decisions  relating  to  the  allocation  of  global  grants  to  the 
participating countries to support the co-funding of EYPD projects and actions, approved key 
elements  of  the  campaign  such  as  the  choice  of  logo  (which,  for  the  first  time  in  an  EU 
campaign, was chosen through a poll on the internet) and the promotional items, and adopted 
a series of common criteria for the selection of projects to be co-funded to ensure that the key 
EYPD objectives set out in the Council Decision were taken into account. This approach also 
sought  to  ensure  fair  treatment  between  those  applying  for  co-funding  in  different 
participating  countries.  The  committee  members  also  performed  a  liaison  function  between 
the  implementation  of  the  EYPD  at  EU  level  and  implementation  at  national  level,  in 
particular by coordinating with the work of the national coordinating bodies. The committee 
was  also  able  to  cooperate  closely  with  the  two  EU  presidencies  (Italy  and  Greece)  during 
2003 and thus ensure a clear political profile for the EYPD campaign within the actions of the 
Presidencies.  

The committee  played  a  key  role  in  ensuring the success of  the EYPD, working  principally 
through consensus on all key decisions and benefiting from the experience and commitment 
of all those who participated in its work. This required extensive input and involvement from 
all members throughout the preparation, execution and follow-up activities for the EYPD.  

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http://www.edf-feph.org/ 
http://www.easpd.org/ 

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Implementation and key actions at national level  

At national level, the participating countries were  required to set up a  national coordinating 
body.  In  line  with  the  Council  Decision  establishing  the  EYPD,  it  was  the  responsibility  of 
this body to develop national strategies/priorities for the EYPD, oversee the implementation 
of  the  global  grant,  ensure  that  people  with  disabilities  participated  in  the  decision-making 
processes  and  manage  the  call  for  proposals  whereby  financial  assistance  was  given  to 
specific actions to support the EYPD. During 2002, the national coordinating bodies played 
an important role in undertaking preparatory actions, creating awareness about the aims of the 
EYPD  and,  in  most  cases,  organising  the  national  launch  event  for  2003.  In  most  of  the 
participating  countries,  the  coordinating  body  was  linked  to  or  located  within  a  national 
ministry.  In  all  countries,  representatives  of  people  with  disabilities  were  involved  in  these 
bodies, as required by the Council Decision.  

The work of these national bodies was essential to the success of the EYPD campaign and to 
widening  the  scope  for  adapting  the  EYPD  to  the  national  context  and  specific  situation  of 
people with disabilities. The structure of the national coordinating bodies varied significantly 
from  country  to  country,  with  some  opting  for  relatively  large  bodies  with  representatives 
from  many  different  interest  groups.  Other  countries  preferred  to  focus  on  the  input  of  a 
number  of  key  individuals  with  specific  experience  of  disability  issues.  Often  the  national 
bodies were supported by regional and local groups established specifically to join the EYPD 
campaign  and  to  maximise  awareness  locally  and  mobilise  disability  organisations,  in 
particular, to participate actively in the EYPD.  

The external evaluation of the EYPD confirms the enormous commitment of those involved 
in  the  national  coordinating  bodies,  many  of  whom  worked  unremunerated,  and  their  vital 
contribution to achieving the aims of the year at the level closest to the citizen. Many had to 
work  with  limited  resources  and  deal  with  large  numbers  of  applications  to  take  part  in  the 
campaign.  A  number  of  participating  countries  established  specific  local  committees  to 
support  schemes  and  activities  throughout  the  year  and  ensure  the  involvement  of  key 
disability organisations. A majority of those consulted in the coordinating bodies considered 
that  involving  disabled  people  in  this  manner  would  pave  the  way  for  greater  cooperation 
between  disability  organisations  and  governments.  In  addition,  many  countries  chose  to 
involve  local  authority  organisations  and  representatives  of  the  social  partners  at  national 
level in the coordinating bodies. Reflecting the situation at EU level, corporate involvement 
was  encouraged  at  national  level  in  some  countries,  while  in  others  representatives  of  arts 
associations and voluntary bodies participated, and in others political parties took part in the 
respective national coordinating bodies.  

In all participating countries, calls for proposals were made to encourage project promoters to 
apply for co-financing to support specific actions and measures in line with the different aims 
of  the  EYPD.  Again  the  approach  varied  between  countries,  with  some  preferring  large 
projects,  often  national  or  regional  in  focus,  to  achieve  specific  impacts.  Other  countries 
focused  on  smaller  local  projects,  thus  allowing  greater  numbers  of  organisations  to 
participate  in  the  EYPD.  Many  thousands  of  project  applications  were  received  in  most 
countries  and  almost  800  projects  were  supported  with  EU  funding  allocated  to  the  EYPD. 
However, many countries chose to provide further funding to support additional projects, and 
the  external  evaluation  showed  that,  in  many  countries,  projects  which  could  not  be  funded 
from  EU  and  national  sources  were  able  to  secure  funding  from  other  sources.  In  addition, 

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project  funding  from  other  EU  actions  and  programmes  increased  the  available  financial 
support.  In  this  way,  the  decentralised  approach  was  able  to  mobilise  enormous  support  for 
the EYPD and increased the sense of ownership of the campaign. For the Commission, this 
approach  created  specific  difficulties  of  coordination,  as  it  was  necessary  to  adapt  to  the 
specific  approach  in  each  participating  country.  The  decentralised  approach  also  made 
establishing  transnational  projects  very  difficult,  as  it  was  necessary  to  take  account  of 
different funding regimes and priorities in each country. However, the representatives of the 
coordinating bodies indicated a high level of satisfaction with the delivery mechanism and the 
decentralised  structure  adopted  for  the  EYPD  and  with  the  coordination  undertaken  by  the 
Commission.  

Another key task of most national coordinating bodies was to help organise the route of the 
EYPD bus as it passed through each participating country. Many of them arranged for the bus 
to attend specific EYPD events or organised actions to coincide with its passage. In addition 
to the many thousands of spectators and participants reached by these events, the bus created 
a  specific  media  focus  and,  for  example,  many  thousands  of  articles  or  items  of  television 
coverage  related  to  the  EYPD  bus.  The  Commission  also  recruited  specific  campaign 
supporters in each country who had overall responsibility for the bus and its route while it was 
on their territory. The majority of these campaign supporters were appointed by the European 
Disability Forum. The Commission’s PR contractor organised specific training to help them 
benefit as much as possible from the presence of the bus. In order to support the promotion of 
the  campaign,  most  participating  countries  also  established  special  national  websites,  linked 
to  the  main  EYPD  website  and  providing  specific  information  for  a  national  audience. 
Moreover,  the  Commission  also  established  a  media  network  in  the  Member  States,  with  a 
group  of  experts  supporting  the  media  activities  of  the  national  coordinating  body  and 
promoting the EYPD campaign.  

It  is  clear  from  the  external  evaluation  of  the  EYPD  that  the  choice  of  a  decentralised 
approach  increased  the  efficiency  and  output  of  the  campaign  and  amplified  the  overall 
impact  of  the  year  at  national  level.  At  the  same  time,  the  overall  EU  dimension  was 
maintained through the common criteria for selection of proposals, the logo and slogan of the 
EYPD campaign and the EYPD bus. As indicated below, the national focus of much of the 
campaign also helped to maximise the financial impact of the year, allowing many thousands 
of organisations to participate in and make a specific contribution to the aims of the EYPD.  

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Key results of the EYPD Campaign 

One of the key challenges of the EYPD campaign was to promote a wider understanding and 
acceptance of the main issues related to disability. The opinion poll on the EYPD which was 
carried  out  on  behalf  of  the  Commission  in  September  200315  asked  EU  citizens  for  their 
views  on  disabilities  in  the  context  of  the  EYPD.  It  revealed  that  one  third  of  the  EU 
population were aware of the EYPD and its purpose. Given the nature of this campaign, the 
number  of  international  events  which  seized  the  public’s  attention  in  2003,  and  the 
availability of resources at European and at national level to carry it out, this can be seen as a 
very positive result.  

The journey of the campaign bus throughout the EU was a key element which succeeded in 
emphasising  the  European  nature  of  the  EYPD  campaign.  It  provided  disabled  people  and 
their organisations with a valuable tool to promote and highlight their actions and to generate 
considerable media attention for them. This was reflected, for example, in the large number of 
articles  in  the  press  featuring  references  to  the  bus.  The  bus  was  also  effective  in  that  it 
managed to reach many of the smaller cities and towns in the participating countries, getting 
the  message  across  to  a  public  which  is  not  often  involved  directly  in  such  European 
campaigns.  

In  terms  of  media  volume,  the  analysis  conducted  on  behalf  of  the  Commission,  looking 
specifically at the printed media and the internet, showed that EU-wide coverage of disability 
issues  increased  in  2003  by  between  three  and  over  ten  times.  On  average,  coverage  in  the 
Member States rose by just over 600%, with the EYPD campaign specifically mentioned in 
over  half  of  this  coverage.  In addition, the EYPD website appeared to be successful and an 
important vector in the campaign, with almost 40 percent of media coverage using material, 
logos or pictures from the site and over half of media coverage making reference to the site or 
giving  its  address.  This  situation  was  also  replicated  at  national  level,  with  reference  to 
national  EYPD  websites  in  particular.  Other  data  related  to  the  official  EYPD  site  also 
confirm  its  success,  with  an  average  of  over  2  000  unique  visits  per  day  and  over  half  a 
million unique visits in 2003.  

The Corporate Participation Programme can also been seen as a positive result of the EYPD. 
It  is  clear  that  for  many  of  the  participating  companies  it  led  to  or  strengthened  an  existing 
long-term  commitment  to  disability  issues.  In  this  respect,  a  number  of  companies  in  the 
programme  have  decided  to  continue  their  cooperation  in  this  area  through  a  network  at 
European level. 

At national level, the commitment to the decentralised approach, involving the drawing up of 
national priorities for the EYPD and ensuring the involvement of disabled people throughout 
the campaign, can be seen as a key result and one of the main factors in the success of this 
campaign. Much of this work of cooperation and consultation will continue, as many of the 
bodies  formed,  or  those  already  existing  and  built  up  during  2003  decided  to  continue  their 
work  beyond  2003.  The  data  submitted  by  the  participating  countries  on  the  projects  which 
were supported during the EYPD by EU funding, national funding, a combination of both, or 

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funding from other sources, have shown particularly positive results. In some countries, some 
of  these  projects  will  continue  to  receive  funding  beyond  2003.  The  decentralised  funding 
approach  chosen  by  the  Commission  in  cooperation  with  the  participating  countries  has 
clearly had a particularly high leverage effect within the campaign.  

Given the devolved approach to the EYPD and responsibilities assumed at national, regional 
and local level to undertake actions and measures, it would be impossible to list or describe 
the concrete results from this campaign. There are many thousands of such results reproduced 
throughout the participating countries and beyond. These take a variety of forms: 

•  new partnerships between public, private and non-governmental organisations; 

•  commitments  by  mainstreaming  bodies  and  organisations  to  promote  the  rights, 
participation  and  inclusion  of  people  with  disabilities  across  a  wide  range  of  fields 
(employment, training, education, culture, sport, politics etc) 

•  actions providing for better awareness and understanding of disability issues; 

•  measures to improve the physical accessibility of the built environment, including transport 

systems; 

•  measures  to  improve  access  and  combat  exclusion  from  the  information  society  and 

promote better e-accessibility; 

•  new national legislation to protect the rights of people with disabilities and promote non-

discrimination; 

•  regular reporting on disability issues at different levels; 

•  developing measures to better support the families of disabled people. 

In  this  respect,  the  EYPD  has  achieved  its  objectives  of  raising  awareness,  exchanging  and 
disseminating good practices and reinforcing co-operation between the various stakeholders. 

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 Annex 1: Background 

2003 was designated the European Year of People with Disabilities (EYPD) by the European 
Union16, with the aim of raising awareness about the rights  of  the EU’s disabled citizens to 
participate fully and equally within society. The EYPD was also about laying the foundation 
for  action  over  the  longer  term  and  providing  a  new  political  impetus  across  Europe  to 
achieve equality of rights for people with disabilities. 

All  of  the  then  15  EU  Member  States  formally  participated  in  the  EYPD,  together  with 
Norway, Iceland and, latterly, Liechtenstein (hereinafter “the participating countries”), and its 
overall  implementation  in  the  EU  Member  States  and  the  EEA  countries  was  the 
responsibility of the European Commission. Although no formal requests to participate were 
received  from  the  then  candidate  countries  for  EU  accession,  many  of  these  countries  and 
other  states  beyond,  such  as  Switzerland,  Turkey,  Romania  and  Bulgaria,  developed 
campaigns and undertook a wide range of activities and actions in support of the EYPD. 

In  contrast  to  previous  European  Years,  the  Commission  proposed  that  much  of  the 
responsibility for the implementation of the EYPD should be decentralised to the level of the 
participating countries. To this end, each country was required to appoint and set up a national 
coordinating  body,  composed  of  a  representative  range  of  organisations  representing  people 
with disabilities and other relevant stakeholders. Much of the EU funding made available to 
support  the  actions  and  activities  undertaken  in  the  EYPD  was  awarded  directly  to  national 
authorities to be spent in cooperation with the national coordinating body. 

Although the main target audience of the EYPD campaign was the public at large, from the 
outset the Commission was committed to ensuring that 2003 should be a year of and not for 
people with disabilities. In all the key decisions and actions carried out during the EYPD, the 
involvement  of  people  with  disabilities  themselves,  at  all  levels,  was  of  crucial  importance. 
The Commission therefore ensured that representatives of people with disabilities at European 
level were involved in the development of priorities for the EYPD, the actions to be supported 
and the main messages for the campaign. At national level, the participating countries had to 
ensure  that  representatives  of  people  with  disabilities  were  part  of  the  national  coordinating 
body, and in particular that preference was given to organisations representing or defending 
the rights of people with disabilities when awarding co-funding. One of the aims of the EYPD 
campaign was to ensure that people with disabilities realised that 2003 was their year, during 
which they could become involved so as to guarantee that the issues of most interest to them 
were high on the political agenda. 

The  EYPD  budget  at  EU  level  was  initially  agreed  at  €12  million.  However,  following  a 
budgetary amendment adopted by the European Parliament in December 2002, a further €780 
000 was added to the EU budget allocated for this action. Together with the contribution from 
the EEA countries, the final budget for the EYPD was almost €12.977 million. 

At  EU  level,  the  Commission  established  an  advisory  committee  (the  “Disability  Advisory 
Committee”),  composed  of  official 
the  participating  countries, 
representatives  of  European  disability  organisations  and  other  organisations  concerned.  The 
social  partners  at  EU  level  were  also  invited  to  sit  on  this  committee.  At  EU  level,  the 

representatives  of 

16 

Council Decision of 3 December 2001 (2001/903/EC)  

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Commission also contracted and managed an EU-wide promotional campaign, which sought 
to create an overall identity for the Year, to mobilise all key stakeholders and to support the 
campaigns developed at national level. 

At  national  level,  in  line  with  the  specific  priorities  they  adopted,  the  national  coordinating 
bodies had responsibility for using EU co-funding to promote the aims of the EYPD and to 
support  projects  at  local,  regional,  national  and  transnational  level.  Additionally,  the 
Commission awarded funding to participating countries to organise launch events at the start 
of 2003, and additionally to the two countries holding the EU Presidency in 2003 (Greece and 
Italy) for the EYPD opening and closing events and a conference on the media and disability. 

Overall,  it  can  be  considered  that  the  EYPD  was  successful.  The  campaign  was  able  to 
mobilise large numbers of organisations and individuals across Europe in support of the aims 
of the EYPD and  it acted as a  catalyst for, or  in  support  of,  a  number  of  major  actions  and 
policy measures. These served to create a vast amount of general awareness about the rights 
of the EU’s disabled citizens and increase the visibility of issues related to disability. This was 
reflected  especially  in  the  media  coverage  of  disability  issues  in  general  and  the  EYPD 
campaign in particular, through the written press and through television and radio coverage. 
Moreover, the global grants awarded to each participating country to support projects had a 
particularly important leverage effect, generating huge interest in undertaking actions during 
2003 and creating a ‘snowball’ effect as envisaged in the original Commission proposal. 

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Annex 2: Financial issues 

As stated above, an amount of almost € 13 million was made available from the Community 
budget to support actions and activities for the EYPD. Almost two thirds of this amount was 
passed directly to the participating countries in the form of the global grants awarded to each 
country to co-finance projects and actions at national, regional and local level, or to support 
the  national  launch  events,  opening  and  closing  events  (organised  by  the  EU  Presidency 
countries)  and  one  thematic  conference.  In  accordance  with  the  Council  Decision,  this 
funding was awarded to the designated authority in each participating country – a public-law 
body nominated by the state to take responsibility for managing the funds awarded. In most 
the  main  policymaking 
countries, 
responsibility for disability issues.  

the  designated  authority  was 

the  ministry  with 

In accordance with the Council Decision, all Community funds awarded as global grants and 
for national launch events could be used to finance up to 50 percent of the eligible costs of 
actions.  Community  funds  awarded  for  the  opening  and  closing  events  and  thematic 
conference  did  not  represent  more  than  80  percent  of  the  total  eligible  costs.  In  order  to 
manage  the  Community  funds  awarded  as  global  grants,  a  funding  agreement  was  signed 
between  the  Commission  and  each  designated  authority,  setting  out  the  measures  to  be 
implemented,  the  criteria  for  choosing  beneficiaries,  the  conditions  and  rates  of  assistance, 
and the arrangements for monitoring, evaluating and controlling the use of the global grant.  

Generally, Community co-funding for projects in the participating countries was significantly 
less than 50 percent. In fact, the average across the 17 participating countries was around 20 
percent. The other main sources of funding at national level were the national, regional and 
local  authorities.  In  some  of  the  participating  countries,  the  designated  authority  required 
project beneficiaries to supply the additional funding either from their own resources or from 
other sources, such as sponsoring.  

From figures supplied to the external EYPD evaluators17 it appears that for every 1 euro from 
the Community budget 4.5 euros were invested at national level in specific  EYPD  projects. 
Given the very large number of projects submitted in many of the participating countries, it is 
clear  that  limiting  the  EU  financing  rate  to  a  maximum  of  50  percent  was  a  positive  and 
effective approach in this particular instance.  

At  EU  level,  the  Commission  took  responsibility  for  managing  all  the  calls  for  tenders  and 
calls  for  proposals  for  actions  at  EU  level  (with  the  exception  of  the  Presidency  and  Media 
conferences).  The  overall  commitment  rate  achieved  for  all  actions  supported  from  the 
Community budget was 98 percent (see annex 1).  

17 

Rambøll management – see annex 2 

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Annex 3: Detailed breakdown of expenditure commitments in 
2002 and 2003 
(Budget Line 04 04 05 ex B5 806) 

Description 

Amount

(in €1000)

Total EU contribution to co-financed projects and actions in the 
participating countries 

Global grants  

National Launch events  

Opening ceremony  

Media and Disability Conference 

Closing ceremony  

Total EU contributions to co-financed projects at EU level 

NGO information campaigns 

Transnational Projects 

Parliament of Disabled Persons 

Total EU contributions to promotional activities 

and  Promotional 

Information 

EU 
Campaign 

EDDP Postcards 

Total EU spend on evaluation and study activities 

Evaluation of the European Year 

Eurobarometer survey 

Study on situation of disabled people in 
institutions 

GRAND TOTAL 

8,299

6,686

685

300

228

400

1,144

337

582

225

2,403

2,400

3

809

194

165

450

12,655

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Annex 4: Overall assessment and  
long-term policy outlook 

Through  the  EYPD  campaign,  the  Commission  wanted  not  just  to  draw  attention  to  all  the 
barriers  that  persons  with  disabilities  face,  but  also  to  identify  new  ways  of  overcoming 
barriers,  as  well  as  new  methods  and  approaches  to  do  so.  As  part  of  its  follow-up  to  the 
EYPD  and  in  order  to  ensure  the  production  of  sustainable  results  beyond  2003,  the 
Commission  adopted  the  Communication  on  the  policy  follow-up  to  the  EYPD  –  ‘Equal 
opportunities  for  people  with  disabilities:  A  European  Action  Plan’18.  In  particular,  the 
Communication  puts  forward  an  Action  Plan  for  the  Commission  with  a  time  horizon  of 
2010.  

The  objective  of  the  Action  Plan  is  to  provide  a  reference  point  and  a  framework  for 
mainstreaming  of  disability  rights  and  issues  into  relevant  Community  policies  and  for 
developing  practical  measures  in  crucial  areas  to  enhance  the  integration  of  people  with 
disabilities. In this respect, the Commission has made a specific commitment to ensuring that 
the impetus created by the EYPD will continue well beyond 2003, and has delivered its own 
considerable  contribution  to  ensuring  the  longer-term  policy  effects  of  many  of  the  key 
objectives  of  the  EYPD.  Building  on  the  contributions  of  a  large  number  of  Commission 
departments during 2003, supported by the Commission’s Disability Inter-service Group, the 
work to integrate a mainstreamed approach on disability issues across Community action and 
to  enable  people  with  disabilities  to  participate  equally  in  Community  programmes  and 
initiatives  will  continue.  Moreover,  the  momentum  created  since  2003  has  certainly 
contributed  to  raise  awareness  on  disability  issues  in  the  scientific  community  and  is 
triggering high quality research proposals. 

The  EYPD  campaign  has  also  succeeded  in  underscoring  the  European  dimension  of 
disability  issues  (through  the  very  strong  EU  identity  of  the  campaign,  the  march  and  bus 
route through all the participating countries). Across the whole EU, disabled people have used 
the EYPD campaign to put the issues of most concern high up the political agenda and in the 
forefront of the public mind. In many of the participating countries, particularly through the 
considerable  media  coverage  of  disability  in  2003  and  the  strong  and  positive  images 
portrayed, disability and the situation of people with disabilities has been, for the first time, a 
major subject of attention and a high level of public awareness has been achieved. This has 
reinforced the messages at all levels that disability does not mean inability, nor does it equate 
to lack of ability.  

As indicated in the Commission’s Communication on the follow-up to the EYPD, all of the 
then  Member  States  adopted  new  legislation  or  developed  the  new  policy  measures  which 
were  implemented  or  announced  in  2003.  These  concern  not  only  the  updating  of  existing 
laws  and  the  passing  of  new  ones,  but  also  the  promotion  of  new  approaches,  innovative 
methods and positive measures. It is clear that the EYPD has provided the impetus in Member 
States  for  new  policy  developments  towards  achieving  equal  opportunities  for  people  with 
disabilities, triggering a definitive shift towards more pro-active measures in favour of people 
with disabilities, while laying the foundations on which future long-term action can be built.  

18 

http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/news/2003/oct/com650_final_en.html  

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Annex 5: External evaluation of the EYPD Campaign 

The Commission engaged an external contractor to evaluate the EYPD campaign. In view of 
the decentralised approach to the EYPD, this was a particularly difficult task. The very nature 
of a transfer of responsibility to the national level, and the efforts made by those involved at 
all levels to encourage ownership of the EYPD and mobilise the largest possible number of 
organisations and individuals in the campaign, meant that it was not possible to monitor the 
implementation  or  impact  of  these  actions  directly  and  individually.  Therefore,  the 
methodology  adopted  for  the  external  evaluation  required  by  the  Council  Decision  was  to 
analyse all the key products of the EYPD campaign and interview many of the key players at 
EU and national levels. The evaluator also undertook a number of case studies, looking at the 
approach to the EYPD in some of the participating countries or specific actions at European 
level, and circulated a questionnaire to all of the projects which received EU co-funding. The 
summary of the evaluation report is attached in Annex 2 below. 

The  overall  conclusion  of  the  evaluation  was  that  the  approach  taken  with  respect  to  the 
establishment of an overall EU campaign with decentralisation of some of the implementation 
of  the  EYPD  to  national  level  was  the  correct  one.  This,  in  particular,  allowed  the  EU  to 
address  and  focus  on  many  of  the  challenges  which  people  with  disabilities  still  face  on  a 
daily  basis  in  all  participating  countries.  At  the  same  time,  the  approach  helped  to  create  a 
campaign  that  was  very  relevant  and  appropriate  within  its  broad  overall  objectives,  while 
addressing  national  priorities  and  the  evolving  needs  within  the  participating  countries.  The 
evaluation  concludes  that  the  approach  also  allowed  maximum  involvement  by  people  with 
disabilities  in  the  EYPD  and  supported  the  prioritisation  of  resources  in  line  with  the  key 
issues  identified  at  national  level.  However,  it  is  clear  that  overall  resources  to  support  the 
EYPD  campaign  were  often  limited  and  the  backing  of  a  number  of  key  EU  and  national 
organisations and individuals was vital to the success of the campaign.  

The  evaluation  report  also  found  that  the  EYPD  campaign  acted  as  an  important  lever  for 
disability  issues  at  different  levels,  as  it  was  able  to  influence  and  define  actions,  prompt 
various  decision-makers  to  focus  upon  disability  issues  and  put  disability  higher  up  the 
political  agendas.  However, the evaluators consider that  attention should have  been focused 
more on highlighting good practice and innovation, and on identifying ways in which actions 
could be replicated and transferred to other contexts. The report also established that all key 
players  in  the  implementation  of  the  EYPD  (the  Commission,  disability  organisations, 
national  coordinating  bodies,  government  authorities  etc)  implemented  it  in  line  with  the 
Council Decision establishing the EYPD and, given the limited human and financial resources 
available  at  different  levels,  managed  to  achieve  the  participation  of  a  wide  variety  of 
stakeholders  including  national,  regional  and  local  authorities,  social  partners,  and  most 
importantly disability organisations and other NGOs. The report notes a similar involvement, 
especially of disability organisations, in the projects co-financed from the Community budget. 
Finally, the report concludes that the decentralised approach and delivery mechanism adopted 
by the Commission was a strong vehicle and a significant factor in the success of the EYPD 
campaign.  

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