Debate: The protection of persons with disabilities through petitions: lessons learnt
Date: MONDAY, 4 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Helena Dalli
Language: EN

The right to submit a petition to the European Parliament is one of the fundamental rights recognised by the EU Charter. Petitions are also a precious source of information for the Commission, for instance, in order to identify existing gaps. As your report points out, many barriers for persons with disabilities still remain, notably as regards accessibility, employment, education, the right to live independently in the community and mobility. I welcome your ideas and recommendations, and I look forward to our exchange today.  We agree that adopting a human rights approach is essential to ensure that persons with disabilities can effectively participate in all fields of life on an equal basis with others. The new Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that the Commission adopted in March is our joint tool to improve the lives of people with disabilities in the EU and beyond in the next decade. Embracing a human-rights approach, the Strategy supports the EU in implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and helps Member States in their efforts. It takes into account the diversity of disability and promotes an intersectional perspective in its implementation, a point emphasised in your report.  Over the next years we will roll out a number of actions and flagship initiatives, notably to improve accessibility, independent living and access to services, free movement and labour market outcomes for persons with disabilities. These are among the key concerns raised in the petitions that the European Parliament has examined and which your report highlights. EU funds, including under the Cohesion Policy and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, will play a key role in achieving these objectives. As noted in your recommendations, the Commission will continue to support Member States in ensuring accessibility, which is a precondition for autonomy and equality.  The European Accessibility Act has been a milestone. The Commission will launch next year a European resource centre – Accessible EU – to increase coherence and accessibility policies and facilitate access to relevant knowledge. Fighting discrimination and barriers is our common goal. Only half of all persons with disabilities are in employment, and this of course needs to change. We will step up our efforts in this area. Next year, the Commission will present a package to improve the labour market outcomes of persons with disabilities, seeking cooperation with the European Network of Public Employment Services, social partners and organisations of persons with disabilities.  Persons with disabilities have an equal right to live independently and be included in the community. By 2023, we will issue guidance recommending to Member States improvements in this field. We agree that EU funds should support independent living, including the shift from institutions to services in the community. To improve service delivery for persons with disabilities and enhance the attractiveness of jobs in this area we will present by 2024 a framework for social services of excellence. Persons with disabilities should enjoy all rights on an equal basis with others, including when moving to another Member State.  The Commission will propose the creation, by 2023, of a European disability card. It will build upon the ongoing EU disability card pilot project, with a view to being recognised by all Member States.  I welcome your support for this initiative and stand ready to exchange further. To achieve these objectives and implement this strategy successfully, we need coordinated action at both national and EU level, with a strong commitment from Member States and regional and local authorities. We will work closely with the Member States, persons with disabilities and their representative organisations, the European Parliament and stakeholders.  We all have a responsibility to take the needs of persons with disabilities into consideration when designing, implementing and monitoring policies, legislation and funding programmes through targeted action and mainstreaming. As you reiterate in your report, we call on all EU institutions and bodies, agencies and delegations to designate disability coordinators for their institutions and for their disability strategies. I count on our continuous cooperation to make the Union of Equality a reality for the 87 million persons with disabilities in Europe.