Council Conclusions on the support of the implementation of the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020
Date: 2011-10-11
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: access to education, equal treatment, fundamental rights, integration of people with disabilities, international cooperation, job access, right to health, social security








C_2011300EN.01000101.xml










11.10.2011   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 300/1





Council Conclusions on the support of the implementation of the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020
2011/C 300/01
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES, MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL,
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT:






1.


Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union establishing that the Union is founded, inter alia, on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities, and that these values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail; as well as Article 3 thereof, according to which the Union shall combat social exclusion and discrimination, and shall promote, inter alia, social justice and protection;










2.


Article 19 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, according to which the Council, after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament, may take appropriate action to combat discrimination, including on the grounds of disability;










3.


Article 10 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, according to which, in defining and implementing its policies and activities, the Union shall aim to combat discrimination, including on the grounds of disability;










4.


the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (1), which reaffirms the right to non-discrimination, and the principle of integration of persons with disabilities;










5.


the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2) (the ‘UN Convention’) and its Optional Protocol, adopted on 13 December 2006 by the General Assembly of the United Nations;










6.


the Council Decision of 26 November 2009 concerning the conclusion, by the European Community, of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (3), including the appendix to the Annex which lists Community acts that refer to matters governed by the Convention. This Appendix includes acts regarding accessibility; acts in the field of independent living and social inclusion, work and employment; acts in the field of personal mobility; acts regarding access to information; acts regarding statistics and data collection; and acts in the field of international cooperation;










7.


the Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 17 March 2010 (4) on ‘People with disabilities: employment and accessibility by stages’, according to which there is a need to advance in European legislation, to implement policies and to make available appropriate funding for persons with disabilities through the adoption of new instruments;










8.


the Council Resolution on a new European Disability Framework (5) and the Council Resolution on the situation of persons with disabilities in the European Union (6);










9.


the three informal meetings of Ministers responsible for disability policies, held under the German Presidency on 11 June 2007, under the Slovenian Presidency on 22 May 2008 and under the Spanish Presidency on 19 May 2010, where the Ministers focused on the implementation of the UN Convention and on its inclusion among the priorities of the European Disability Action Plan and where they recognised the importance of cooperation between the Member States and the European Union with a view to strengthening the human-rights-based approach to disability;










10.


the High Level Conference on the New Challenges in the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 organised on 19-20 April 2011 in Budapest, which focused on the link between the European Disability Strategy and the Europe 2020 Strategy in the areas of employment, education and combating poverty and on the strategies for implementing the UN Convention.




WELCOMING:






11.


the commitments and progress made by the Member States and the European Union towards the ratification, formal confirmation and full implementation of the UN Convention;










12.


the entry into force of the UN Convention with respect to the European Union on 23 January 2011;










13.


the recognition, in the Commission’s Communication on the Europe 2020 Strategy (7), of disability issues as a European and national priority in the major field of combating poverty, as well as the inclusion, in various Europe 2020 flagship initiatives such as the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion, Youth on the Move, the Digital Agenda, the Innovation Union, and the Agenda for New Skills and Jobs, of suggested actions to improve the situation of persons with disabilities.










14.


WELCOME the adoption by the European Commission of its European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 (8) and TAKE NOTE OF the accompanying Staff Working Documents, looking forward to cooperation on the list of actions that constitutes an initial plan for implementing the Strategy.
The Strategy provides a framework for action at European level, as well as suggested actions at national level, to address the range of diverse situations faced by women, men and children with disabilities. Its overall aim is to empower persons with disabilities so that they can enjoy their full rights and fully participate in society and in the European economy. In particular, measures in the area of the Single Market, notably strengthening its social and economic dimension, may have the potential to benefit persons with disabilities, including persons at risk of multiple discrimination. The Strategy identifies eight main areas for action: accessibility, participation, equality, employment, education and training, social protection, health, and external action. It also suggests a number of general instruments and implementation tools;










15.


INVITE THE MEMBER STATES AND THE COMMISSION, in accordance with their respective competences, and in line with the principles of subsidiarity, proportionality and better regulation, to pursue further progress in the above-mentioned eight areas for action by taking the necessary and adequate steps, including the following:






(a)


General policy






(i)


promote the ratification and application of the UN Convention so as to foster positive changes in attitudes towards persons with disabilities, and adapt EU and national legislation, where necessary, when implementing the Convention;










(ii)


where appropriate and to the extent necessary, strengthen efforts to periodically collect EU level statistics on the situation of persons with disabilities;










(iii)


make appropriate use of existing EU financial programmes and funding for implementing the proposals for action, without prejudice to the negotiations on the future financial framework;










(iv)


consider disability issues when designing the National Reform Programmes and more generally promote disability mainstreaming within the Europe 2020 Strategy;














(b)


Accessibility






(i)


support appropriate efforts to improve accessibility to goods and services, especially the built environment, transport, and information and communication, including technologies and services in all relevant areas, by considering stimulating the market through public procurement and by considering the possible need to develop coherent requirements based on European standards;










(ii)


encourage the incorporation of accessibility and universal design in educational curricula and training for all relevant professions and occupations, in particular in the fields of engineering and architecture;














(c)


Participation






(i)


promote the independence of persons with disabilities and their inclusion in the community, in particular by developing a range of in-home, residential or other community support services responsive to their needs and in accordance with the opportunity to choose, on an equal basis with others;










(ii)


ensure equal access to political participation including the European elections;










(iii)


promote communication and information, including in accessible formats, so as to raise awareness and improve the participation and social inclusion of persons with disabilities;














(d)


Equality






(i)


promote and protect the dignity of persons with disabilities, continue to combat discrimination against persons with disabilities and to review the existing legal framework on protection against discrimination on the grounds of disability, where appropriate, both at national and European level;










(ii)


promote the exchange of good practices within the High Level Group on Disability and, in this context, focus in particular on experience concerning the implementation of the UN Convention at Union and Member States level;














(e)


Employment






(i)


promote the acquisition of transferable knowledge and skills by persons with disabilities, in an attempt to facilitate their integration and progression on the open labour market;










(ii)


promote the employment of persons with disabilities by utilising existing social provisions in public procurement as well as state aid in accordance with the applicable rules;










(iii)


support research into and promote the use of assistive technologies, with a view to promoting the employment of persons with disabilities;










(iv)


aim to increase the employment opportunities of persons with disabilities including persons with reduced working capacity and develop cooperation in the context of the labour market, including, for example, supported and, where necessary, sheltered employment, and in the context of social protection and educational systems;














(f)


Education and training






(i)


support relevant initiatives aiming to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to quality education and training on an equal basis with others, so as to increase their knowledge, skills and qualifications in order to promote their mobility and employability;










(ii)


promote the exchange of good practices, including comparative studies, with regard to support and assistance for persons with disabilities, with a view to improving their access to the education system at all levels, including, for example, by using assistive technologies;














(g)


Social protection






(i)


give particular attention to the needs of persons with disabilities in the context of the voluntary European quality framework for social services adopted by the Social Protection Committee on 6 October 2010;










(ii)


ensure social protection of persons with disabilities by developing and/or maintaining protective measures, taking into account the general economic situation and its effect on persons with disabilities;














(h)


Health
improve equal and effective access to quality health care, including by removing inequalities as well as by supporting early screening for health condition in the prevention of disabilities, in accordance with the respective competences of the Member States, and by providing disability awareness training to health professionals and, where appropriate, by developing tailored health services for persons with disabilities;










(i)


External action
promote the rights of persons with disabilities and enhance the visibility of disability matters as a human rights issue in external actions, including in EU enlargement, neighbourhood and development programmes as well as in emergency and humanitarian aid, and support the implementation of the UN Convention by third countries;














16.


INVITE THE MEMBER STATES TO:






(a)


closely consult with and actively involve persons with disabilities, including through their representative organisations, in the development and implementation of legislation and policies, when implementing the UN Convention; and










(b)


involve and to allow for the full participation of civil society, in particular persons with disabilities and their representative organisations, in the monitoring process.














17.


INVITE THE COMMISSION to support any measures taken by the Member States with the following actions:










18.


pay attention to the needs of persons with disabilities by mainstreaming a disability perspective in the context of all actions that support the Europe 2020 Strategy;










19.


pay attention to the situation of persons with disabilities when monitoring progress towards achieving the headline targets of the Europe 2020 Strategy;










20.


without prejudice to negotiations on the future financial framework, reduce social exclusion and improve employment opportunities and skills, including for the most disadvantaged, through targeted support from existing European resources, especially by ensuring that non-discrimination and accessibility for all, including persons with disabilities, are applied as horizontal principles in European funding;










21.


review the existing framework aimed at ensuring accessibility for persons with disabilities and protecting them against discrimination;










22.


promote exchanges of good practices at the European, national, regional and local level;










23.


propose a governance framework for monitoring the implementation by the EU of the UN Convention, in accordance with its Article 33, including the revision of the tasks and status of the High Level Group on Disability and, where appropriate, consider its strengthening, and the designation or strengthening of one or more independent mechanisms, taking into account all relevant Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies;










24.


involve civil society, in particular persons with disabilities and their representative organisations, in the implementation of the Convention at the EU level, as well as in the required monitoring and reporting activities;










25.


monitor all relevant EU legislation and policies in order to ensure full compliance with the requirements of the UN Convention at the EU level.






(1)  OJ C 364, 18.12.2000, p. 1


(2)  http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/conventionfull.shtml

(3)  OJ L 23, 27.1.2010, p. 35.

(4)  SOC/363. This document can be fund on the European Economic and Social Committee’s public register: http://www.eesc.europa.eu/?i=portal.en.register-of-documents

(5)  Doc. 10173/10. This document can be found on the Council’s public register: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/documents/access-to-council-documents-public-register.aspx?lang=en

(6)  OJ C 75, 26.3.2008, p. 1.

(7)  Doc. 7110/10. This document can be found on the Council’s public register: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/documents/access-to-council-documents-public-register.aspx?lang=en

(8)  Doc. 16489/10 + ADD 1 + ADD 2. This document can be found on the Council’s public register: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/documents/access-to-council-documents-public-register.aspx?lang=en