Activities of Milan BRGLEZ related to 2020/2209(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
The protection of persons with disabilities through petitions: lessons learnt (debate)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the protection of persons with disabilities through petitions: lessons learnt
Amendments (41)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs highly appreciates the role of the Committee on Petitions as a bridge between the Union’s citizens, Parliament and the other EU institutions; whereas submission of a petition to the European Parliament is a fundamental right of every individual and organisation based in the EU and at the same time an indispensable direct source of factual information on the experience of persons with disabilities with the exercise of their rights guaranteed by the EU law and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD);
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs underlines the significance of petitions pertaining to the rights of persons with disabilities in the light of the European Parliament’s role and responsibilities as a part of the EU framework for monitoring the implementation of UN CRPD;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas approximately 1 % of all petitions received each year by the Committee on Petitions relate to variousdisability issues persons with disability issuesies face; whereas social protection and employment rights, use of the European Structural and Investment Funds in compliance with EU regulations and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD), and other issues falling within the competences of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, are among the most common disability equality concerns voiced in the petitions received by Parliament;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas access to quality employment, education and training, healthcare, social protection, including across borders, access to adequate housing, support for independent living and equal opportunities for participation in leisure activities and community life are essential for quality life of persons with disabilities;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas it is generally acknowledged that persons with disabilities continue to face multiple obstacles and discrimination in everyday life and that they do not enjoy the fundamental freedoms and rights laid down in numerous EU and UN docthe fundamental EU treaties and UN human rights instruments, such as mutual recognition of disability status between Member States, access to public transport, accessibility of the built environment, use of sign languages, financing of and equal access to education and vocational training, access to personal assistance and community inclusion;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas unemployment rate among persons with disabilities remains almost twice of the general population and is particularly high among young people and women with disabilities;
Amendment 41 #
Cb. whereas unemployment and lack of quality and sustainable jobs for persons with disabilities are the main factors of high risk of poverty, social exclusion and homelessness among the persons with disabilities;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas in 2017, a third of adults in the EU with a disability lived in households whose financial resources were not sufficient to cover the usual necessary expenses; whereas in 2019, almost two thirds of the EU population with an activity limitation would have been at risk of poverty without social benefits, allowances or pension1a; _________________ 1aEuropean Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions.
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Cd. whereas in 2019, almost 18 million children in the EU (22.2 % of the child population) lived in households at risk of poverty or social exclusion; whereas children with disabilities experience specific disadvantages that make them particularly vulnerable and underscore the importance of guaranteeing free and effective access to early childhood education and care, education and school-based activities, a healthy meal each school day and healthcare, as well as healthy nutrition and adequate housing to children in need;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Recital C e (new)
Recital C e (new)
Ce. whereas disability is an evolving concept; whereas disability results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinders their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others; whereas the different definitions of disability, the diversity of disability assessment and the various and often unclear classification methods applied across Member States, as well as the lack of mutual recognition of disability status, hinder freedom of movement within the EU for persons with disabilities;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Recital C f (new)
Recital C f (new)
Cf. whereas persons with disabilities are a diverse group and are often subject to intersectional discrimination, the cumulative effects of which have a tangible impact on employment;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas several petitions were submitted in regard to the misuse of EU funds for deinstitutionalisation of persons with disabilities; whereas the progress in deinstitutionalisation is uneven across the Member States and despite the introduction of policies and the allocation of substantial funding in the EU, there are still one million people living in institutions; whereas in February 2021 the European Ombudsman opened an own-initiative inquiry into the role of the Commission in ensuring that Member States use EU funds with a view to promoting independent living for persons with disabilities and older persons, and transitioning away from residential care institutions;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated the existing inequalities, leading to the disproportionate share of infections and fatalities, as well as greater risk of isolation and social exclusion among the persons with disabilities; whereas persons with disabilities in residential care institutions have been among the most vulnerable and the most negatively affected by the pandemic;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. whereas COVID-19 prevention measures have created new barriers for persons with disabilities and have exacerbated the existing exclusions in all areas of the world of work; whereas persons with disabilities are more likely to lose work and have difficulties finding employment again; whereas COVID-19 has had negative impact on accessibility and inclusiveness of work organization and work arrangements, as well as employment and working conditions of persons with disabilities, and has exposed many persons with disabilities to negative effects of teleworking;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Recital D c (new)
Recital D c (new)
Dc. whereas the number of persons with disabilities and persons in need of care and long-term care is expected to grow dramatically also in the EU due, among other factors, to demographic challenges and increase in chronic health conditions; whereas most long-term care is currently provided by informal, usually unpaid, and predominantly female carers; whereas policies for tackling demographic challenges and responding to the growing care and long-term needs should be designed in such a manner that they do not lead to increased pressure on informal carers;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Recital D d (new)
Recital D d (new)
Dd. whereas disability is often a result of occupational injury or is acquired through chronic condition related to occupational disease and exposure to health hazards;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Recital D e (new)
Recital D e (new)
De. whereas commitment for better inclusion and realization of rights of persons with disabilities should be reflected in all policy fields, including in the European Semester process;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the EU and the Member States to fully comply with the relevant EU and UN obligations on the rights of persons with disabilities, in particular the UN CRPD and the CRPD Committee’s General Comments to the Convention, and with the relevant EU measures and funding rules, and to provide support to them in this regard; calls on the Commission to ensure that the use of Structural funds upholds the rights of persons with disabilities and fully complies with the aims, goals and principles enshrined in the UN CRPD, such as independent living, inter alia by setting up special monitoring and individual complaint system;
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Welcomes the plans of the Commission to examine the functioning of the EU framework for monitoring the implementation of the UN CRPD in 2022 and propose actions on this basis; calls on the Commission to strengthen the EU framework and its independence, above all by ensuring greater involvement and participation of experts, non- governmental organizations, social partners and particularly persons with disabilities themselves, without discrimination to the type of disability or any other personal circumstance;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Stresses that in order to have effective access to justice through the petitions to the European Parliament, persons with disabilities should have access to the necessary support and assistance in drafting and submitting petitions that fulfil the admissibility criteria; calls for a better visibility of the petitions mechanism through more awareness raising, as well as inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities or their representatives in the consideration of petitions;
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Underlines the need for the EU framework for monitoring the implementation of the UN CRPD, including the petitions to the European Parliament, to be based on detailed and disaggregated data, better reflecting the provisions of the UN CRPD and specific issues within the competences of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs;
Amendment 82 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)
Paragraph 1 d (new)
1d. Underlines the importance of active involvement and participation of persons with disabilities, their representative organizations, social partners and all other relevant stakeholders in the implementation and monitoring of the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030, national disability strategies and recovery and resilience plans after the COVID-19 pandemic;
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 e (new)
Paragraph 1 e (new)
1e. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up their efforts in tackling the persisting disability employment gap and to foster access of persons with disabilities to quality and sustainable jobs; welcomes in this regard the proposal of the Commission in the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan to include the disability employment gap in the revised social scoreboard;
Amendment 86 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 f (new)
Paragraph 1 f (new)
1f. Calls on the Member States to take an intersectional approach, especially in their policies and measures for creating inclusive employment; regrets that multiple and intersectional discrimination are insufficiently addressed in the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030; calls therefore on the Commission to place special emphasis on intersectionality in the implementation of the Strategy and to set clear, measurable and ambitious targets relating to workplace diversity reflecting the heterogeneity of persons with disabilities, to address multiple and intersectional discrimination; stresses the importance of monitoring the efficiency of the strategy with the involvement of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations;
Amendment 88 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 g (new)
Paragraph 1 g (new)
Amendment 90 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 h (new)
Paragraph 1 h (new)
1h. Calls on the Member States to stimulate work-place adaptations and take actions to improve occupational health and safety; calls on the Commission to pay special attention to workers with disabilities in the upcoming EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work and to set ambitious goals, aiming at zero fatal accidents at work, zero work-related cancer and better prevention of occupational diseases, musculoskeletal disorders and psychosocial risks;
Amendment 92 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 i (new)
Paragraph 1 i (new)
1i. Calls on the Member States to take advantage of the opportunities that the reinforced Youth Guarantee provides for employment, education, traineeship or apprenticeship of young persons with disabilities and ensure equal access to persons with disabilities and tailor-made policies;
Amendment 94 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 j (new)
Paragraph 1 j (new)
1j. Calls on the Member States to swiftly implement and invest all available resources, both national and EU, in the European Child Guarantee; stresses the importance of early, individualised and comprehensive support to children with disabilities, their parents and carers; calls on Member States to pay special attention to children with disabilities and special educational needs, as well as measures to support the transition from institutional to quality family and community-based care; welcomes in this regard that the European Child Guarantee recognises children with disabilities as one of the 6 most vulnerable and target groups of children in need;
Amendment 102 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to harmonise theadopt a uniform European definition of disability, in line with Article 1 of the UN CRPD, and to ensure mutual recognition of disability status across Member States, so as to ensure the free movement of persons with disabilities and their enjoyment of their EU citizenship rights;
Amendment 104 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to better acknowledge the importance of accessible and quality support services and systems for independent living; stresses the need to promote strategies and standards for personalised quality support for dependent persons with disabilities and their carers, including improved social protection and various forms of support for informal carers; calls on the Commission to present a strategic EU care agenda as a further step forward in qualitatively empowering the healthcare sector in the EU, including personal and household services workers; reiterates that the care agenda needs also to reflect the situation of the 100 million informal carers in the EU, who provide 80 % of long-term care but remain mostly unrecognised;
Amendment 116 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the fact that as part of the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030, an EU-wide Disability Card will be available by the end of 2023; calls on the Commission and the Member States to be ambitious regarding the scope of entitlements the Card would guarantee its users and in ensuring that it is implemented in every single EU Member State, by way of binding EU legislation if necessary;
Amendment 127 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Member States to undertake national disability awareness campaigns promoting the UN CRPD and the EU Disability Strategy 2021-2030, to adopt ambitious timelines and a set of detailed indicators to measure the progress in implementation of their goals and objectives, and to ensure compliance of all actors with the commitments outlined in these documents;
Amendment 140 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Member States to implement without delay Directive (EU) 2019/882 (the European Accessibility Act) in order to effectively and definitively remove barriers for workers with disabilities, and to ensure the availability of accessible services and the suitability of the conditions under which these services are provided;
Amendment 144 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls on the Member States to explore the opportunities brought by digitalisation and recognise the value of assistive and adaptive technologies for persons with disabilities, with due regard to protection of personal data and ethical concerns; recalls that potential of the use of digital tools and assistive technologies depends on the opportunities of persons with disabilities to develop their digital skills;
Amendment 150 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Calls on the Member States to take advantage of opportunities provided by the EU Funds to guarantee and support full accessibility of public spaces and transport, communication means and financial services;
Amendment 154 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Highlights the importance of swift incorporation of accessibility concerns in all relevant policies and instruments, including public procurement rules and accessibility of petitions to the European parliament;
Amendment 157 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Urges the Member States to ensure adequate social security coordination for persons with disabilities, including through the ongoing revision of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004.; calls therefore for its swift adoption;
Amendment 163 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the Council to unblock the negotiations on the proposed horizontal anti-discrimination directive without any further delay and move towards an agreement, thereby extending protection to persons with disabilities outside the sphere of employment;
Amendment 170 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Calls for a European and national investigations in the disproportionate infection and death rates due to COVID- 19 in nursing and care homes, residential services for older people and person with disabilities and other social services, with a view of understanding the causes, identifying the responsibilities and taking the necessary measures to prevent such cases in the future;
Amendment 175 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Calls on the Member States to exchange information and good practices, especially with regard to the transition from institutional care to independent living, provision of accessible and affordable housing for persons with disabilities and inclusion in the community;
Amendment 178 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6d. Urges Member States to develop employment prospects for persons with disabilities by improving their implementation of Council Directive 2000/78/EC on non-discrimination in employment, particularly Article 5 on reasonable accommodation, as well as by enabling the compatibility of disability allowance payments alongside income through a salary, and by investing EU funds and Recovery and Resilience Facility funding in training and job creation for persons with disabilities;