88/231/EEC: Council Decision of 18 April 1988 establishing a second Community action programme for disabled people (Helios)

COUNCIL  DECISION
of 18 April 1988
establishing a second Community action programme for disabled people (Helios)
(88/231/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 128 and 235 thereof,
Having regard to Council Decision 63/266/EEC of 2 April 1963 laying down general principles for implementing a common vocational training policy (1), and in particular the tenth principle thereof,
Having regard to the proposals from the Commission (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (3),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (4),
Whereas the tenth principle set out in Decision 63/266/EEC states that special measures may be taken in respect of special problems concerning specific sectors of activity or specific categories of persons;
Whereas people with disabilities have specific needs in the fields of vocational training and rehabilitation and economic integration and are accordingly a specific category of persons for the purposes of the said principle;
Whereas the objectives of the Community include the accelerated raising of the standard of living;
Whereas the present programme is designed to contribute to that objective through the implementation of a number of specific actions to promote the social integration and independent way of life of people with disabilities;
Whereas the Council resolution of 21 January 1974 concerning a social action programme (5) provides for, inter alia, the implementation of a programme for the vocational and social integration of handicapped persons;
Whereas the Council resolution of 27 June 1974 establishing an initial Community action programme for the vocational training of handicapped persons (6) defines rehabilitation as 'a whole set of measures aimed at establishing and maintaining the most satisfactory relation possible between the individual and his environment after the appearance of a handicap or an injury or illness resulting in a handicap';
Whereas the European Parliament, in its resolution of 11 March 1981 (7), stressed the need to promote at Community level the economic, social and vocational integration of disabled people;
Whereas the resolution of the Council and of the representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, of 21 December 1981 on the social integration of handicapped people (8) established a first action programme to promote such integration which is now due for prolongation and development;
Whereas the Council recommendation 86/379/EEC of 24 July 1986 on the employment of disabled people in the Community (1) recognizes that disabled people have the same right as all other workers to equal opportunity in training and employment and that special measures are needed at Community and national levels to achieve this end; whereas the Guideline Framework for Positive Action which is defined in the Annex to recommendation 86/379/EEC stresses in II (1) the importance of 'ensuring that disabled people live in an environment which makes it possible for them to benefit from further education and training and to make their full contribution to the economy';
Whereas, in its resolution of 22 December 1986 on an action programme on employment growth (2), the Council advocated special provisions in training for the disadvantaged and disabled;
Whereas the second Council resolution of 24 July 1986 on the promotion of equal opportunities for women (3) and the conclusions of the Council of Ministers for Education, meeting within the Council, of 14 May 1987 concerning a European cooperation programme for the integration of handicapped persons (4) call for consistency in this action;
Whereas the present programme is designed to complement action taken at national level, in particular by ensuring coordination of these actions and exchanges of experience gleaned from them;
Whereas the main responsibility for the social integration and independent way of life of handicapped persons lies with the Member States but cooperation action at Community level may help Member States to improve the effectiveness of the measures which they take in this area;
Whereas in the field of disability, training and employment, measures will be ineffective unless they are complemented by measures to ensure the necessary support for an independent way of life;
Whereas certain activities covered by the present programme fall outside the scope of the European Social Fund but can complement activities eligible for support from that Fund in respect of vocational rehabilitation and training of disabled people;
Whereas this programme constitutes a positive response at Community level to the wishes expressed in particular by the European Parliament with regard to Community initiatives designed to meet the needs, aspirations and potential of the 30 million and more disabled people in the Community, in the form of actions which cover all the services relevant to full integration and an independent way of life;
Whereas this programme will enable people to become aware of the important contribution which new technology can make to improving the lives of the disabled, and, in particular, their vocational opportunities; whereas it will thereby also help in developing the market for the relevant products of new technology, in line with the Commission's White Paper on completing the internal market;
Whereas this programme is designed to ensure that the Community will be able to continue to contribute to the World Action Programme established by the United Nations in this field; whereas it should also lend support to the principles enshrined in Resolution AP (84) 3 of the Council of Europe on a consistent policy for the rehabilitation of handicapped persons;
Whereas, because this decision is concerned on the one hand with principles for implementing a common vocational training policy for disabled people and on the other with measures, including those to promote the social integration and independent way of life of the disabled, which need to be adopted in order to achieve one of the objectives of the Community but for which the Treaty has not provided the necessary specific powers, it is necessary to invoke both Article 128 and Article 235 of the Treaty;
Whereas, however, these principles and measures concern the same category of person, namely the disabled, and whereas their common purpose is to help such persons lead a normal life and improve their social integration; whereas these principles and measures should be considered as a single programme and amalgamated in a single decision,