2017/2127(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Calls on the Commission, together with the Member States, to set targets for education and training participation, poverty reduction and employment for people with disabilities and people with special needs and to closely monitor and evaluate their situation in local, regional, national and at EU level;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to ensure an effective data collection system by means of clear indicators concerning people with disabilities with regard to access to education, in particular data concerning high-dependency individuals;

Amendment 12 #

Julie WARD, Helga TRÜPEL, Krystyna ŁYBACKA, Sylvie GUILLAUME, Momchil NEKOV, Silvia COSTA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1c. Encourages the exchange of best practices on inclusive education and lifelong learning for teachers, staff, governing bodies, students and pupils with disabilities;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1c. Regrets that among the EU SDGs indicators, the one on education is not disaggregated by disability; underlines that the European Disability Strategy should aim at bridging the gap in collection of data about access to education of persons with disabilities;

Amendment 14 #

Julie WARD, Helga TRÜPEL, Krystyna ŁYBACKA, Sylvie GUILLAUME, Momchil NEKOV, Silvia COSTA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)

1d. Recommends providing special advisers on site at universities, job centres and other employment services and initiatives, to give advice to students with disabilities on career opportunities;

Amendment 15 #

Julie WARD, Helga TRÜPEL, Krystyna ŁYBACKA, Sylvie GUILLAUME, Momchil NEKOV, Silvia COSTA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Ask~~Expresses its concerns that despite improvements, people with disabilities are still at high risk of unemployment and that less than 30 % have concluded tertiary education or equivalent, therefore calls Member States and the Commission to pay special attention to the difficulties young people with disabilities and/or SEN encounter in their transition from education to employment and to use, for this purpose, all existing instruments and initiatives in the fields of employment, youth policy, culture and education, in particular the Youth Guarantee, Youth on the Move and the ESFI funds;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Asks Member States and the Commission to pay special attention to the difficulties young people with disabilities and/or SEN encounter in their transition from education to employment and to use for this purpose all existing instruments and initiatives in the fields of employment, youth policy, culture and education;(Does not affect English version)

Amendment 17 #

Santiago FISAS AYXELÀ, Bogdan Brunon WENTA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Asks Member States and the Commission to pay special attention to the difficulties young people with disabilities and/or SEN encounter in their transition from ~~education~~secondary and university education and/or vocational training to employment, and to use for this purpose all existing instruments and initiatives in the fields of employment, youth policy, culture and education;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Calls on~~Urges Member States to ~~recognise the importance of quality and inclusive early childhood and primary~~ensure quality and inclusive education and social care and to put in place appropriate ~~struct~~and effective measures for young children with disabilities and/or special educational needs (SEN);

Amendment 20 #

Julie WARD, Helga TRÜPEL, Krystyna ŁYBACKA, Sylvie GUILLAUME, Momchil NEKOV, Silvia COSTA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Calls for broader provision of quality traineeships to be made available and accessible for young people with disabilities;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Notes that only 26.9% of persons with disabilities aged 30-39 in Europe have completed a tertiary or equivalent education, compared to 40.8% of persons without disabilities and the employment rate remains very low;

Amendment 22 #

Julie WARD, Helga TRÜPEL, Krystyna ŁYBACKA, Sylvie GUILLAUME, Momchil NEKOV, Silvia COSTA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Points out, regarding employment, that the provision of a personal assistant during working hours is, in many cases, the only option for persons with disabilities to work and to be the part of the team and to avoid enforced home- based work; calls on the Member States to take and encourage any necessary measures to ensure the accessibility and inclusivity of work places;

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Stresses that lower education attainment, early school leavers, lack of adapted programmes, discrimination, lack of skills and support for the jobs, as well as accessibility of work places are still the main challenges to labour market inclusion;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Deplores the fact that the employment rate among women with disabilities is less than 50%, a figure which highlights the twofold discrimination that they face, making it difficult for them to play a full part in society;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)

2d. Asks Member States and the Commission to ensure equal access to education for all, notably throughout specific programmes and measures for immigrants and refugees with disabilities;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 e (new)

2e. Notes that people with disabilities are full and active members of society as a whole; calls on the Member States, therefore to use the Structural Funds, in particular the European Social Fund (ESF) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), to improve the education and training of people with disabilities in addition to places of work and schools;

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 f (new)

2f. Encourages EU public institutions and companies to implement diversity policies and the national Diversity Charters;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 g (new)

2g. Encourages all Member States to introduce the EU Disability card;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Considers it essential to promote effective access to extracurricular activities, such as theatre, dance, music, art, and to improve information for people with disabilities regarding mobility opportunities and to give special attention to the difficulties they encounter;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on Member States to recognise the importance of quality and inclusive early childhood and primary education and social care ~~and~~, to put in place or support appropriate structures for young children with disabilities and/or special educational needs (SEN), and to guarantee SEN teachers job security and a proper pay;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Considers it essential to improve information for people with disabilities regarding mobility opportunities, to provide them with the necessary guidance and assistance and to give special attention and address to the difficulties they encounter;

Amendment 31 #

Angel DZHAMBAZKI, Morten MESSERSCHMIDT, Jana ŽITŇANSKÁ, Remo SERNAGIOTTO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Considers it essential to improve information for people with disabilities regarding mobility opportunities, financial assistance and access to close-to-home services, and to give special attention to the difficulties they encounter, in particular the difficulties family members face in getting a transfer to a town that is better equipped to support the development of the person with a disability;

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Considers it essential to improve information for people with disabilities regarding mobility opportunities and to give special attention to the difficulties they encounter as well as provide assistance where possible;

Amendment 33 #

Julie WARD, Helga TRÜPEL, Krystyna ŁYBACKA, Sylvie GUILLAUME, Momchil NEKOV

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Considers it essential to improve the information for people with disabilities regarding mobility opportunities and to give special attention to the difficulties they encounter, including through proper training of staff in national agencies and hosting institutions;

Amendment 34 #

Julie WARD, Helga TRÜPEL, Krystyna ŁYBACKA, Sylvie GUILLAUME, Momchil NEKOV, Silvia COSTA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Recalls that, despite efforts to make the Erasmus+ programmes and other mobility initiatives more inclusive, the lack of harmonisation among national social systems and portability of rights represent a huge barrier to mobility of people with disabilities; calls therefore the Commission and the Member States to strengthen collaboration in this field with a view to facilitating mobility of people with disabilities;

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Points out that the lack of portability and harmonisation of rights in the various social systems of the EU is a huge obstacle to the mobility of people with disabilities, despite the efforts made to make the Erasmus+ programmes and other mobility initiatives more inclusive; calls on the Member States and the Commission, therefore, to step up their cooperation in this sector in order to facilitate mobility for people with disabilities;

Amendment 36 #

Eleftherios SYNADINOS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Underlines that it is of pivotal importance to support families of people with disabilities and/or special educational needs, especially those of children; within that context, requests for those relevant and suitable actions to be taken accordingly, aiming to support affected families with the proposal and adoption of specific targeted measures in order to facilitate them and strengthen their position to adequately respond to the increased needs of those people;

Amendment 37 #

Julie WARD, Helga TRÜPEL, Krystyna ŁYBACKA, Sylvie GUILLAUME, Momchil NEKOV, Silvia COSTA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Calls for the Commission and Member States to prevent discriminatory practices in selection processes for mobility schemes, such as setting a budget cap for hosting students with disabilities, notably through Erasmus+; in general recommends that the financial needs of young people with disabilities should be taken into account when budgeting mobility programmes in order to avoid discrimination;

Amendment 38 #

Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Welcomes the ongoing effort to include access provisions in Union programmes and initiatives and calls for~~Considers it necessary to further mainstream~~ing of~~ accessibility requirements in Union cultural policies, including through the implementation of the Marrakech Treaty, the review of the AVMS Directive, the European Capitals of Culture and Creative Europe;

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Welcomes the ongoing effort to include access provisions in Union programmes and initiatives and calls for further mainstreaming of accessibility requirements in Union cultural ~~polici~~, educational and sport policies and the related legislative initiatives, including through the implementation of the Marrakech Treaty, the review of the AVMS Directive, the European Capitals of Culture and Creative Europe;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on Member States to recognise the importance of quality and inclusive early childhood and primary education and social care and to put in place appropriate structures for young children with disabilities and/or special educational needs (SEN), which must also be able to provide individual support in the best interest of the child;

Amendment 40 #

Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Welcom~~Notes the ongoing effort to include access provisions in Union programmes and initiatives ~~and~~, calls for further mainstreaming of accessibility requirements in Union cultural policies, including through the implementation of the Marrakech Treaty, the review of the AVMS Directive, the European Capitals of Culture and Creative Europe, and deplores the fact that the enlargement of Creative Europe into third countries and the austerity policies imposed by the Commission inevitably lead to a reduction of these efforts;

Amendment 41 #

Julie WARD, Helga TRÜPEL, Krystyna ŁYBACKA, Sylvie GUILLAUME, Momchil NEKOV, Silvia COSTA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Welcomes the ongoing effort to include access provisions in Union programmes and initiatives and calls for further mainstreaming of accessibility requirements in Union cultural policies, including through the implementation of the Marrakech Treaty, the review of the AVMS Directive, the European Capitals of Culture and Creative Europe; recalls however the need to have a global transversal approach on accessibility to all services through the adoption of the European Accessibility Act;

Amendment 42 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Underlines that media can be a vital instrument in raising awareness, countering stigma and misinformation and changing societal misconceptions about people with disabilities and people with special needs; stresses furthermore that by increasing the awareness and understanding of disability issues, the diversity of persons with disabilities and their situations, the media can actively contribute to an effective and successful integration of persons with disabilities in all aspects of societal life;

Amendment 43 #

Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Jana TOOM

4a. Calls on the Commission to adopt measures to ensure more widespread access to culture for people with disabilities, not only as mere spectators but also as actors and protagonists able to act and intervene, with no discrimination whatsoever, in the cultural world;

Amendment 44 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Underlines that youth with disabilities participate less in physical activity than young people without disabilities and that schools play an important role in adopting a healthy lifestyle1; stresses therefore the importance to foster better participation of young people with disabilities in physical activities; calls on the Member States to swiftly eliminate all existing barriers hindering the participation of people with disabilities or people with special needs in sport activities; _________________ 1 Determinants of Participation in Sport and Physical Activity for Students with Disabilities, 2016

Amendment 45 #

Santiago FISAS AYXELÀ, Bogdan Brunon WENTA

5. Welcomes the increase in support for access to sport for people with disabilities through the Erasmus+ programme and ~~calls for appropriate support for~~points out that the need to participate in sport should be taken into account in the calculation of disability allowances, or reduced tariffs should be available to persons with a disability, and civil society initiatives aimed at improving accessibility and participation in sport at all levels should be supported;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the increase in support for access to sport for people with disabilities through the Erasmus+ programme and calls for appropriate support for initiatives aimed at improving accessibility and participation in sport at all levels, also for people with temporary disabilities;

Amendment 47 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Highlights that preparing teachers and trainers to work with children with disabilities and providing them with adequate support is essential; encourages Member States to design inclusive education training and continuous professional development for teachers and trainers, with inputs from diverse stakeholders, particularly organisations representing people with disabilities and professionals with disabilities;

Amendment 48 #

Angel DZHAMBAZKI, Morten MESSERSCHMIDT, Jana ŽITŇANSKÁ, Remo SERNAGIOTTO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Takes the view that the modernisation under way in the cultural and creative sectors can help to ensure accessibility of services; calls on the Commission and Member States, therefore, to ensure that the companies concerned make their services accessible;

Amendment 49 #

Julie WARD, Helga TRÜPEL, Krystyna ŁYBACKA, Sylvie GUILLAUME, Momchil NEKOV, Silvia COSTA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Stresses~~Recalls the need to bridge the digital gap and ensure that people with disabilities benefit fully from the Digital Union; stresses in this context the importance of improving the digital skills and competences of persons with disabilities, notably through projects financed by the Erasmus+ programme, and calls on Member States to ensure ~~the~~ protection of vulnerable citizens online, through efficient measures against hate speech, cyberbullying and all forms of online discrimination;

Amendment 5 #

Julie WARD, Helga TRÜPEL, Krystyna ŁYBACKA, Sylvie GUILLAUME, Momchil NEKOV, Silvia COSTA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on the Member States to recognise the importance of quality and inclusive early childhood and primary education and social care and to put in place appropriate structures for young children with disabilities and/or special educational needs (SEN), including migrant children and children suffering from multiple discrimination, to respond to specific and diverse needs and provide for the successful inclusion of migrants and minorities in mainstream education;

Amendment 50 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Stresses the importance of improving the digital skills and competences of persons with disabilities, and calls on Member States to ensure the protection of vulnerable citizens and persons with disabilities online;

Amendment 51 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

Amendment 52 #

Julie WARD, Helga TRÜPEL, Krystyna ŁYBACKA, Sylvie GUILLAUME, Momchil NEKOV, Silvia COSTA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Calls on the Commission to intensify its efforts to facilitate the use of sign language in the EU institutions’ communication and functioning, in order to improve opportunities for interaction with citizens with disabilities;

Amendment 53 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Calls on all EU institutions to comply with the requirements and obligations adopted in the directive on the accessibility of EU websites;

Amendment 54 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Calls on the Member States to transpose, without delay, Directive (EU) 2016/2102 on the accessibility of websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies, to ensure that everyone is able to enjoy the right to information and democratic participation; calls on the EU institutions, in this regard, to comply with the requirements and obligations laid down in the directive with regard to websites;

Amendment 55 #

Julie WARD, Helga TRÜPEL, Krystyna ŁYBACKA, Sylvie GUILLAUME, Momchil NEKOV, Silvia COSTA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. In the context of the European Pillar of Social Rights, affirms the need to ensure participation of civil society and representatives of people with disabilities in civil dialogue, in addition to social partners;

Amendment 56 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Calls on the Member States to make technological tools available free of charge to children with disabilities, to allow them to fully join in with educational and training activities;

Amendment 57 #

Angel DZHAMBAZKI, Morten MESSERSCHMIDT, Jana ŽITŇANSKÁ, Remo SERNAGIOTTO

7. ~~Considers that education for citizenship should address the prospects of~~Encourages the Member States to raise citizens’ awareness of the difficulties encountered by persons with disabilities who face more barriers regarding access to civic participation;

Amendment 58 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Considers that education for active citizenship citizens should address the prospects of persons with disabilities who face more barriers regarding access to civic participation;

Amendment 59 #

Julie WARD, Helga TRÜPEL, Krystyna ŁYBACKA, Sylvie GUILLAUME, Momchil NEKOV, Silvia COSTA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Considers that education for citizenship should address the prospects of persons with disabilities who face ~~more barriers regarding access to civic participation;~~ disproportionally more barriers including physical, regarding access to civic participation; recalls that all citizens have a right to vote and calls for Member States to take necessary actions to ensure this right is respected when it comes to people with disabilities;

Amendment 6 #

Julie WARD, Helga TRÜPEL, Krystyna ŁYBACKA, Sylvie GUILLAUME, Momchil NEKOV, Silvia COSTA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls for Member States to ensure provisions, including sufficient funding, for adequate assistance for pupils and students with disabilities as well as staff training in education and lifelong learning infrastructures;

Amendment 60 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Notes with concern that refugees and asylum seekers with disabilities face multiple challenges such as lack of accessibility to assistance, lack of access to education, insufficient access to assistive technology which could make communication and integration easier;

Amendment 61 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Stresses that in order to ensure that EU legislation is progressively harmonised with the measures laid down in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the directive on the European Accessibility Act will need to be adopted more swiftly and all Member States asked to sign and ratify the additional protocol to the Convention and to implement the recommendations of the UN committee, with reference to Article 24, so that the EU may equip itself with the necessary resources with which to make inclusive, quality education more easily accessible;

Amendment 62 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Calls on the Commission, together with the Member States and in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities among the refugees and asylum seekers; encourages Member States to exchange good practises on innovative and successful programs for refugees with disabilities, particularly in the areas of inclusive and special needs education, vocational training and skills development;

Amendment 63 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7c. Highlights that in order to better assess the implementation and the outcomes of the European disability strategy, better data collection, statistics and monitoring are needed;

Amendment 64 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Calls ~~for proper funding and support for progress monitoring as well as scrutiny of~~on the Member States to monitor progress at the most local level possible, so as to make sure that this progress is being achieved in compliance with existing and future Union legal acts in respect of CPRD obligations.

Amendment 65 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Calls for proper funding and support for progress monitoring as well as scrutiny of existing and future Union legal acts in respect of ~~CPRD~~UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) obligations.

Amendment 66 #

Julie WARD, Helga TRÜPEL, Krystyna ŁYBACKA, Sylvie GUILLAUME, Momchil NEKOV, Silvia COSTA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Considers it useful to adopt a gender perspective in decision-making and collect gender disaggregated data related to the situation of people with disabilities and monitoring policies and actions in this field, as well as intersectional data on vulnerable people and those facing multiple discrimination;

Amendment 67 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Highlights the key role of carers and in particular family, which often fulfils almost entirely care and assistance needs of the disabled person; stresses the urgent need for EU and national policies and subsequent legislative initiatives to support the family, taking into account that in almost all cases mothers carry the burden of disability management and are forced to reduce or suspend their professional activity to assist their disabled family member, especially in the case of the young and the elderly;

Amendment 68 #

Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Calls on Member States and the Commission to support an EU-level network and cooperation between national and European associations of people with disabilities with a view to promote the exchange of experience and best practices;

Amendment 69 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Believes that better synergy is needed between the European Disability Strategy and the Sustainable Development Goals, with particular regard to education and training, which should be reinforced;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls on the Commission to better support Member States’ efforts to remove legal and organisational barriers and ensure equal access for people with disabilities to inclusive education and training, including VET and adult learning, culture, tourism and sport; emphasises the importance to ensure the availability, accessibility and affordability of individualised support services for people with disabilities;

Amendment 70 #

Angel DZHAMBAZKI, Morten MESSERSCHMIDT, Jana ŽITŇANSKÁ, Remo SERNAGIOTTO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Calls on the Member States to develop a set of regulatory instruments and services which enable parents or relatives of children with disabilities to benefit from leave and/or time off work to enable them to balance their work with their care duties;

Amendment 71 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Calls for the enhanced use of digital tools and digitalisation as a means to support the entry of people with disabilities in to full time employment, in spheres such as the IT industry;

Amendment 72 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. Recalls the obligations of the CRPD, ratified by the European Union, as well as Articles 21 and 26 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which state that independence, integration and access to an inclusive education and training system, civic and cultural life, recreational activities and sport are guaranteed rights, and that any form of discrimination based on disability is prohibited; urges the Commission and the Member States to scale up their efforts to fully implement these obligations, namely by adopting legislative measures in compliance with those rights, or else fail to reach the 2020 targets set by European Disability Strategy;

Amendment 73 #

Angel DZHAMBAZKI, Morten MESSERSCHMIDT, Jana ŽITŇANSKÁ, Remo SERNAGIOTTO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. Considers the promotion of life- long learning programmes for disabled people to be a vital part of the European Disability Strategy;

Amendment 75 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 c (new)

8c. Welcomes the commitment to raise social awareness of issues related to persons with disability;

Amendment 76 #

Angel DZHAMBAZKI, Morten MESSERSCHMIDT, Jana ŽITŇANSKÁ, Remo SERNAGIOTTO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 d (new)

8d. Stresses the importance of educating citizens on issues related to people with hidden/invisible disabilities in order to protect such persons from abuse.

Amendment 8 #

Svetoslav Hristov MALINOV, Heinz K. BECKER, Alberto CIRIO, Peter JAHR

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Regrets the gradual cuts in public funding for education because of the economic crisis in Europe; points out that education is a fundamental human right and a common good;

Amendment 9 #

Julie WARD, Helga TRÜPEL, Krystyna ŁYBACKA, Sylvie GUILLAUME, Momchil NEKOV, Silvia COSTA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Given the high number of early school leavers amongst young people with disabilities and/or SEN, calls for further exploration of the opportunities offered by lifelong learning and the provision of attractive alternatives;

source: 607.807

2017/07/17 PETI 56 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls that the Committee on Petitions (PETI) receives a considerable number of petitions each year referring to the difficulties encountered by people with disabilities across the EU in ~~relation to all areas identified in the European Disability Strategy, in particular access to work and employment, education and transport, and participation in political, public and cultural life~~their everyday activities in relation to the eight main areas of action identified in the European Disability Strategy, in particular access to healthcare and social protection, education and training, labour market, built environment and transport, goods and services, information and communication, cultural and sports events;

Amendment 10 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Points out that the petitions that have received most attention have often been backed by civil society organisations representing people with disabilities, and there is thus a need to promote and publicise the protection role and effectiveness of petitions based on infringements of these rights; praises the role played by these organisations when it comes to promoting social inclusion and an improvement of quality of life of persons with disabilities, and considers that this task should be further supported by public institutions;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Recognises the UNRCPD's role as an instrument to guarantee human rights with a social dimension, seeking to ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy all human and fundamental rights which are so often violated and which need greater protection;

Amendment 12 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2 b. Following the recommendations of the first UN assessment of the UNCRPD, calls on the European Commission to establish an independent instrument for the monitoring and review of the Convention, as well as an inter- institutional coordination mechanism, and promote the creation of local information points and agencies in each Member State, which should be permanent;

Amendment 13 #

Svetoslav Hristov MALINOV, Heinz K. BECKER, Alberto CIRIO, Peter JAHR

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Emphasises, in particular, that accessibility is a core principle of the UNCRPD, and a precondition for the exercise of other rights enshrined in the Convention; underlines that a consistent number of petitions encountered by European citizens complains about the lack of accessibility or the presence of architectural barriers; stresses that the right to accessibility, as defined in Article 9 of the UNCRPD, must be implemented in a comprehensive manner to ensure that persons with disabilities can access their environment, transportation, public facilities and services, as well as information and communications technologies;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Emphasises, in particular, that accessibility is a core principle of the UNCRPD, and a precondition for the exercise of other rights enshrined in the Convention; stresses that the right to accessibility, as defined in Article 9 of the UNCRPD, must be implemented in a comprehensive manner to ensure that persons with disabilities can access their environment, transportation, public facilities and services, as well as information and communications technologies; calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure that accessibility is a high priority and is better integrated in all disability policy areas;

Amendment 15 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Recalls that the UNCRPD Committee in its Concluding Observations critically noted that austerity measures adopted by EU and Member States worsened standard of living of persons with disabilities, leading to higher poverty and social exclusion levels and cuts in social services and support to families and community-based services;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Notes that with regard to Article 4 of the UNCRPD, efforts should be made to modify European and Member States' disability legislation to ensure full harmonisation in all areas; emphasizes that important measures include the setting up of a single EU classification and scale;

Amendment 17 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Calls on the Commission to ensure high-quality inclusive education in European schools from an early age, with a preventive approach and vision of disability, in line with UNCRPD requirements on multidisciplinary assessment of individual needs, the non- exclusion of children with disabilities, as well as the provision of adequate reasonable accommodation;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Calls for an immediate stop of all austerity measures and urges both the EU and Member States to adopt the necessary legislation to fully and consistently comply with the UNCRPD, guaranteeing, inter alia, adequate levels of disability related benefits, community based services, health services and high quality education and training programmes;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Highlights that the Court of Justice of the European Union in its opinion of 14 February 2017 indicated that the EU has exclusive competence on the conclusion of the Marrakesh Treaty as the body of the obligations of the Marrakesh Treaty falls within an area that is already covered to a large extent by common EU rules;

Amendment 2 #

Josep-Maria TERRICABRAS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls that the Committee on Petitions (PETI) receives a considerable number of petitions each year referring to the difficulties encountered by people with disabilities across the EU in relation to all areas identified in the European Disability Strategy, in particular access to work and employment, education and transport, and participation in political, public and cultural life; notes that the progress report on the implementation of the European Disability Strategy (2010 - 2020) reflects the challenges which remain on the lack of access to transport and access to the built environment; points to the large number of petitions on the issue of accessibility received by the Committee and calls on the Commission to further develop a EU standard on accessibility;

Amendment 20 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to strengthen their commitment to the harmonization of legislation on disability; emphasizes that such harmonization should aim at promoting and improving the quality of life of people with disabilities within the Member States, such as the recognition of the status, rights, aid;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Notes that in accordance with the UN recommendations, disability organisations should be involved at every stage of the decision-making process; recalls that a structured dialogue should be established with persons with disabilities;

Amendment 22 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4 b. Calls on the Commission to draft a report on the impact for persons with disabilities of the main EU policies and investment funds, and to ensure the involvement of disability organisations in their design, especially where the Structural Funds are concerned;

Amendment 23 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4 c. Calls on the Commission to promote and enhance the use of Structural Funds by Member States, with a view to developing high-quality social services for people with disabilities and ensuring the transition from institutional care to community-based care; measures should be taken to promote access to structural funds for disability support services, especially those serving children and families and those aimed at preventing institutionalisation;

Amendment 24 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Notes that the Committee on Petitions is regularly approached with questions relating to the right of people with disabilities to live independently, as enshrined in Article 19 of the UNCRPD, and has ~~maintained its strong scrutiny of the deinstitutionalisation process in Member Stat~~encouraged the development of more inclusive communities and institutionalisation systems where requested, so that in both cases people with disabilities can receive the appropriate support and assistance across the EU, thereby fostering the aim of greater autonomy within each individual's possibilities; recalls that PETI conducted a fact-finding mission to Slovakia in September 2016 to seek information on the use of European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIFs) in facilitating the transition from the institutional care of people with disabilities to community-based services;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Persons with disabilities must be provided with information concerning their rights and full participation in all policies and measures that might affect them, including a complaints mechanism, and priority should be given to the participation of children with disabilities and, where these exist, organisations for persons with disabilities;

Amendment 26 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Notes that in Europe, 30% of people with disabilities are at risk for poverty or social exclusion, and that there is a net gap between the employment rates of the disabled (48.7%) and other people (72.5%); in light of the above, stresses the importance of a global work and employment strategy;

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Underlines that children with disabilities encounter specific problems, and stresses that efforts should be made to eliminate all kinds of obstacles and barriers enabling them to achieve full autonomy and enjoy equal opportunities; considers it crucial, therefore, that they be involved in shaping the policies that affect them; to this end, encourages the adoption of instruments to enable children with disabilities to make their views known and to ensure their involvement;

Amendment 28 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Stresses that to this end, adequate social support must be provided to people with disabilities and that access to justice, adequate care, and health protection should always be at the heart of this action;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5 c. Recalls that the rights established in the Treaties and EU law, such as access to justice, goods and services, including banking and employment, health care and the right to vote, must be ensured for persons with disabilities deprived of their legal capacity; notes that efforts should be made to promote the collection of data, the exchange of good practices and consultation with the representatives of disability organisations, in accordance with article 12 of the UNCRPD; emphasises that restrictive interpretations in Member State legislation of safeguards in respect of the right to vote should be revised where these prevent persons with psychosocial disabilities from exercising this right in accordance with article 29 of the UNCRPD;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls that the Committee on Petitions (PETI) receives a considerable number of petitions each year referring to the difficulties encountered by people with disabilities across the EU in relation to all areas identified in the European Disability Strategy, in particular access to work and employment, education and transport, and participation in political, public and cultural life; stresses, in particular, that discrimination represents the main obstacle for the implementation of the European Disability Strategy and the protection of rights, since it touches transversely all areas identified in the strategy;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5 c. Stresses that a poor level of education can be the source of social exclusion and that only 27.8% of people with disabilities have completed higher studies; recalls that the right to study, a good level of education, and access to schools and universities should not be subject to discrimination and should be adequately guaranteed and promoted;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)

5 d. Underlines that European institutions should ensure and implement the accessibility of IT documents and services to people with disabilities;

Amendment 32 #

Svetoslav Hristov MALINOV, Heinz K. BECKER, Alberto CIRIO, Peter JAHR

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 e (new)

5 e. Stresses that the public administrations of the Member States, and in particular local authorities, which are closer to the citizen and their daily needs, should ensure the maximum accessibility of their services, documents and practices to people with disabilities; underlines that such measures should also involve the services provided via the Internet and web pages;

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Underlines the centrality of the right of all persons with disabilities to live independently, and calls on the Commission to enhance the optimal use of ESIFs by Member States, with a view to developing high-quality social services for people with disabilities, ~~and~~ realising the deinstitutionalisation process., raising awareness about disability issues and promoting equal opportunities at regional, national and EU level;

Amendment 34 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Underlines the centrality of the right of all persons with disabilities to live independently, and calls on the Commission to enhance the use of ESIFs by Member States, with a view to developing high-quality social services for people with disabilities, and realising the deinstitutionalisation process. where requested;

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Notes that the freedom of movement for European citizens must be guaranteed for persons with disabilities, to which end Member States must ensure mutual recognition of their situation and social rights pursuant to article 18 of the UNCRPD; stresses that people with disabilities should be able to travel beyond the borders of their own countries and enjoy the benefits of having access to culture, transport and sport; notes that other benefits should be examined and their mutual recognition promoted;

Amendment 36 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Recalls the role of the Disability Intergroup of the European Parliament for the implementation of the European Disability Strategy, in accordance with the UN Convention, as a platform that brings together European and national MPs, organization and civil society representatives, both at national and local level; notes that the Intergroup is a privileged forum to encourage discussions and debates in order to ensure the implementation of the strategy;

Amendment 37 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Believes firmly that a comprehensive and cross-cutting review of the EU legislation must be conducted to ensure full harmonization with the provisions of the UNCRPD, implementing a democratic and participatory process aimed at fully and directly involving representative organizations of persons with disabilities;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6 b. Stresses that persons with disabilities should be afforded access to free justice, and that their economic situation should therefore not present any barrier to such access;

Amendment 39 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6 b. Calls for stronger political participatory channels of disabled organizations in order to reach their full participation in decision-making;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Notes that the EU leads the way in the ratification of human rights treaties, and that Articles 21 and 26 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights reaffirm the principle of non-discrimination; calls on all Member States to ratify the UNCRPD and sign the Protocol;

Amendment 40 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)

6 c. Emphasizes the centrality of maximum mobility and accessibility as guidelines to be implemented and followed in the framework of the implementation of the European Disability Strategy;

Amendment 41 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)

6 c. The Digital Single Market Strategy should be implemented in such a way as to ensure full access to all aspects of it for persons with disabilities;

Amendment 42 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)

6 d. Notes that the transversal nature of mobility and accessibility makes them indispensable points for full enjoyment of a wide range of freedoms and rights, such as the possibility of traveling and moving to the Member States, the right to culture and the right to sport;

Amendment 43 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)

6 d. Calls on the European institutions to ensure that all of their web pages and documents are accessible to persons with sensory disabilities;

Amendment 44 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 e (new)

6 e. Stresses that legal capacity is crucial to maintaining personal autonomy, so that any restriction of this and representation by legal guardians must be established on the basis of clear criteria harmonised at EU level, with periodic review of the need for such longer-term legal representation and of the suitability of the legal guardian concerned;

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 e (new)

6 e. Considers that a significant number of people with disabilities are not fully aware of their rights and of the ways in which they can enjoy them; calls on the Commission to launch, as first step, a wide-ranging information campaign on the rights of people with disabilities, to promote a full knowledge and awareness;

Amendment 46 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 f (new)

6 f. Emphasises that most of the petitions submitted by European citizens' concern the difficulties in the application procedures, in recognition and late payments of invalidity pensions by the administration; underlines that the implementation of the European Disability Strategy and its social protection area should pay special attention to these issues, in accordance with Article 28 of the UNCRPD on the adequate levels of living and social protection;

Amendment 47 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 f (new)

6 f. Emphasises that the necessary social support should be provided to ensure that persons with disabilities can exercise their rights and enjoy full autonomy, in particular persons with psychosocial disabilities; notes in this regard, that the institutionalisation of such people should be avoided and steps should be taken to ensure that they are not subjected to treatment without their consent;

Amendment 48 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 g (new)

6 g. Notes that persons with disabilities must be ensured non-discriminatory access to health and care systems, with all due attention paid to the difficulties that might arise when treating such patients; stresses in particular that non- discriminatory access must be ensured to sexual and reproductive health care, and that under no circumstances should sterilisation or abortion be imposed against a person's will; notes that health care systems should moreover ensure the detection, reporting and prevention of sexual violence and/or abuse;

Amendment 49 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 g (new)

6 g. Calls on the Commission to formulate policies and programs specifically targeted at children with disabilities; stresses that such policies should not only focus on removing architectural barriers and obstacles to mobility, but also combating social exclusion, as well as promoting and guaranteeing equal opportunities;

Amendment 5 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Stresses the centrality of the UNCRPD as a tool for the protection of human rights, in particular for people with disabilities that represent a particularly vulnerable category;

Amendment 50 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 h (new)

6 h. Notes that the informed consent of persons with disabilities must be sought for all medical interventions requiring it, and that all necessary measures must therefore be in place to ensure that these persons can access and understand the relevant information; stresses that this consent must be given personally, in advance and in full knowledge of the facts, with all necessary mechanisms to ensure that these principles are complied with; notes that similar, appropriate measures must also be taken in regard to persons with psychosocial disabilities;

Amendment 51 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 h (new)

6 h. Calls on the Commission to strengthen its commitment in favour of parents and caregivers of people with disabilities throughout programs and policies; stresses the need for a European juridical framework in order to clarify the status of these people, ensuring the protection of rights and access to a normal life;

Amendment 52 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 i (new)

6 i. Notes that health insurance schemes must not discriminate against persons with disabilities;

Amendment 53 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 j (new)

6 j. Notes that the impact of the cross border health directive on persons with disabilities should be assessed;

Amendment 54 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 k (new)

6 k. Underlines that inequality is especially evident in employment, as some 48% of persons with disabilities in the EU are employed and only 27.8% have completed a higher education course, meaning that persons with disabilities are more at risk of living in poverty; calls on the Commission to undertake a horizontal assessment of the impact of all its policies for the employment of persons with disabilities, and especially European employment policy;

Amendment 55 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 l (new)

6 l. Notes that the air and maritime transport regulations should be revised to ensure that no form of discrimination, physical or economic, can be practised against passengers with disabilities, and that all obstacles are removed in this regard;

Amendment 56 #

Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Michela GIUFFRIDA, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 m (new)

6 m. Stresses that the UN recommendation on the need to ensure a gender perspective in all disability policies should be taken up, and in particular policies seeking to combat gender violence; calls for targeted action to promote the empowerment of women with disabilities as well as for the development of a specific gender strategy for women with disability;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. In accordance with the UNCRPD and in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, calls on the Commission to pay particular attention to children with disabilities;

Amendment 7 #

Svetoslav Hristov MALINOV, Heinz K. BECKER, Alberto CIRIO, Peter JAHR

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Highlights the protection role played by the Committee on Petitions through the petition process (alongside the Ombudsman, appointed to protect citizens in the event of maladministration) in the context of the EU framework for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), ~~and~~enabling the petitioner to lodge a complaint against an infringement of their rights on the part of European, national and local authorities; stresses that the petitions received by the Committee illustrate the need to adopt a horizontal, human rights approach to disability policies;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

Amendment 9 #

Josep-Maria TERRICABRAS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Highlights the protection role played by the Committee on Petitions through the petition process in the context of the EU framework for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), and stresses that the petitions received by the Committee illustrate the need to adopt a horizontal, human rights approach to disability policies; stresses the role of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights in strengthening the fundamental rights for people with disabilities in the EU and the Agency's role in supporting the EU's implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;

source: 608.162

2017/07/28 FEMM 83 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)

– having regard to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ETS No. 5, 1950) and its Protocols),

Amendment 10 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

A b. whereas 75% of people with severe disabilities do not have the opportunity to fully participate in the European labour market; whereas the proportion of employed women in the EU-28 who had a long-standing health problem and/or a basic activity difficulty and who reported that they had used some kind of assistance at work was higher than the equivalent proportion for men. whereas, women with disabilities are in a greater poverty risk and therefore the barriers set for their participation and inclusion to labour market, education schemes and social life must be urgently lifted;

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)

A c. whereas multiple discrimination of different forms and shapes on grounds of gender and disability persists and their onset leads to social (such as lower self- esteem, economic reliance, social isolation), educational (such as high illiteracy rates, lower educational attainment especially for women) and labour market exclusion (lower participation in the labour market, tendency to hold low paid, temporary or precarious work) causing further stress and psychological burden for persons with disabilities, their families and carers;

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)

A d. whereas, Article 9 of UNCRPD recognises that appropriate measures must be taken to ensure girls and women with disabilities enjoy real access to the physical environment, transportation, information and communications, including information and communication technologies and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in rural and urban areas;

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A e (new)

A e. whereas, women with disabilities have lower incomes and often do not own a vehicle and live longer than their male companions, there is an increased need to promote neighbourhood proximity, pedestrian, building and housing adjustments in order to reduce the factors that contribute to the exclusion of them to socio-economic, education and labour life of their; whereas, well-designed built-in environment in all public sphere related activities and services would enable and encourage women, and especially women with disabilities, to participate in the socio-economic life;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A f (new)

A f. whereas, female passengers outnumber male passengers in public transportation and taking into consideration that women often have more complex transportation patterns as many care for dependant family members; whereas safe accessibility to transportation and to services and products related to transportation should be easily accessible to people with disabilities in order to ensure that they can enjoy independent mobility

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A g (new)

A f. whereas, women and girls with disabilities often suffer from lack of information and protection of their sexual and reproductive rights and have limited or no access to services and products that would enable them to fully enjoy those rights;

Amendment 16 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A h (new)

A h. whereas, support, protection, communication, care and health services, such as the ones connected to primary health, violence against women, childcare, motherhood, female sexual and reproductive rights, should be fully accessible in all languages, forms and formats by all women, and especially by women and girls with disabilities;

Amendment 17 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A i (new)

A i. whereas, health services personnel should be adequately trained in terms of disability sensitive issues so that it will be possible to better address the needs of people with disabilities; whereas employing persons with disabilities in health service units will allow patients with disabilities to better accommodate themselves and feel that someone can understand and address their needs; whereas having people with disabilities to work in public services, as the health care services, would also serve as motivation to people with disabilities;

Amendment 18 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A j (new)

A j. whereas articipation of citizens with disabilities, and especially women who are often under-represented in political and public life and marginalised, is a matter of dignity and further actions on the basis of Article 16 UNCRPD should be taken;

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A k (new)

A k. whereas, despite the numerous international Conventions and European Law provisions, as well as the current European Disability Strategy in place, still the citizen and social rights of persons with disabilities are not fully enjoyed by them as, for example, are not given fair and equal possibilities to participate in the political social and economic life; whereas women and girls with disabilities remain at the margins of decision-making and progress and gender equality;

Amendment 2 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 b (new)

– having regard to the European Social Charter (ETS No. 35, 1961, revised in 1996, ETS No. 163),

Amendment 20 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A l (new)

A l. whereas, tthe prevalence of disability in the European Union is higher among women than among men; women with disabilities are faced with multiple discrimination, facing substantial obstacles in realising their basic rights and freedoms such as physical, emotional, economic, intimate partner violence, violence at the hands of caregivers, sexual and institutional violence, discrimination in access to education and employment, which can lead to social isolation and psychological trauma; women are also disproportionately affected by disability as carers of family members with disabilities and experience discrimination by association more frequently than men;

Amendment 21 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A m (new)

A m. whereas gender equality was not horizontally mainstreamed in European Disability Strategy 2010-2020; whereas the TFEU requires the Union to combat discrimination based on disability when defining and implementing its policies and activities (Article 10) and gives it the power to adopt legislation to address such discrimination (Article 19); whereas Articles 21 and 26 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union explicitly prohibit discrimination on the grounds of disability and calls for equal participation of persons with disabilities in society; whereas equal treatment can be assured by applying positive measures and policies for women with disabilities and mothers of children with disabilities; whereas, including a gender perspective dimension to the expected post 2020 European Disability Strategy will contribute to an integrated approach to eliminating further discrimination to women and girls with disabilities;

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Underlines that women and girls with disabilities are exposed to multiple discrimination;

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Is concerned that women and girls with disabilities are more likely to become victims of gender-based violence, especially of domestic violence and sexual exploitation;

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1 c. Reiterates that women with disabilities are often at a greater disadvantage than men with disabilities and are more often at risk of poverty and social exclusion;

Amendment 25 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 d (new)

1 d. Insists that disability policies should be gender mainstreamed;

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 e (new)

1 e. Underlines that the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 should include an integrated gender perspective or a separate chapter on gender-specific disability policies;

Amendment 27 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 f (new)

1 f. Underlines the importance of mainstreaming gender disability in gender policies and programmes;

Amendment 28 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 g (new)

1 g. Calls on the Commission to address disability in its Strategic engagement for gender equality 2016- 2019;

Amendment 29 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 h (new)

1 h. Welcomes the progress achieved as regards the EU accession to the Istanbul Convention, which is an important tool in combating violence against women and girls with disabilities; calls for the improvement of the collection of disaggregated data on all forms of violence covered by the Convention;

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 c (new)

– having regard to the Recommendation Rec(2002)5 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States of the Council of Europe on the protection of women against violence and Recommendation CM/Rec(2007)17 on gender equality standards and mechanisms,

Amendment 30 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 i (new)

1 i. Highlights the importance of optimising the use of EU funding instruments, in order to promote accessibility and non-discrimination with regards to women with disabilities;

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Insists that gender disaggregated data must be collected to identify intersectional multiple discrimination faced by women and girls with disabilities in all areas covered by the Istanbul Convention and wherever relevant;

Amendment 32 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Calls on the Commission and Member States to put in place policies to enable and encourage the participation of women and girls with disabilities in public life;

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1 c. Highlights the need for role models for women and girls with disabilities, including mentoring and support networks;

Amendment 34 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 d (new)

1 d. Emphasises that more must be done to overcome stereotypes and prejudice about disability, and that women and girls with disabilities need to have greater visibility in media in order to change prevalent exclusionary social norms; Calls on the Commission and Member States to invest in public awareness initiatives to that effect;

Amendment 35 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 e (new)

1 e. Highlights that more recognition and support must be given to those with hidden or unseen disabilities, particularly women and girls, who may face specific challenges and barriers;

Amendment 36 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 f (new)

1 f. Reiterates the disproportionate impact of economic austerity policies and public sector budget cuts on persons with disabilities and especially women and girls, often putting their well-being, health, and lives at risk;

Amendment 37 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 g (new)

1 g. Calls for specific policy measures to address violence and abuse faced by persons with disabilities and learning difficulties, particularly women and girls, including online intimidation, bullying, and harassment, and violence in situations of formal and informal care;

Amendment 38 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 h (new)

1 h. Emphasises the role of trade unions, employer associations, training and life long learning organisations in addressing multiple discrimination faced by women and girls with disabilities, and barriers to inclusion;

Amendment 39 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Highlights the fact that women with disabilities suffer double discrimination on grounds both of their gender and their disability; underlines that women and girls with disabilities are also exposed to multiple discrimination arising from sexual orientation, age, religion, ethnicity, cultural and social behaviour and disability stereotypes that need to be tackled;

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 d (new)

– having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (‘CEDAW’, 1979) and its Optional Protocol (1999),

Amendment 40 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Denounces that women with disabilities are often discriminated against by comparison with men with disabilities when it comes to access to employment and education; ask the Commission and the Member States to implement gender mainstreaming in all relevant areas of disability policy;

Amendment 41 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1 c. Highlights the importance of optimising the use of EU funding instruments, particularly the Structural Funds, in order to promote accessibility and non-discrimination regarding persons with disabilities, paying particular attention to women, who often face multiple discrimination;

Amendment 42 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 d (new)

1 d. Emphasises that women and girls with disabilities must be informed of their rights and the available services for citizens (education, health, justice, transport, dealings with the authorities, etc.); underlines that this information must be provided in every possible language, form, and format in a simple and secure way, taking into account the different communication methods, media and formats chosen by them and, where applicable, the extent of their mental disability, so that they can make decisions for themselves;

Amendment 43 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 e (new)

1 e. Underlines that women and girls with disabilities, through their representative organisations, should be closely consulted and actively engaged in developing and implementing legislation and policies ensuring non-discrimination and equal opportunities, and they must be directly involved in discussions with public authorities;

Amendment 44 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 f (new)

1 f. Considers that the European Institute for Gender Equality should provide guidance at European and Member State level as regards the specific situation of women and girls with disabilities, and play an active role in advocacy work to secure equal rights and combat discrimination;

Amendment 45 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 g (new)

1 g. Stresses that it is necessary to ensure that women and girls with disabilities are able to live independently and participate fully in all areas of life on an equal basis with others, and especially on an equal basis with their reference populations; therefore, appropriate measures must be taken to ensure girls and women with disabilities enjoy real access to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas. Underlines that in order to properly mainstream gender in disability measures, planning, projects, programmes and reporting, safeguards must be in place to ensure women with disabilities participate in such processes in the relevant bodies or authorities, preferably as consultants, advisors or experts, in order to make sure that in designing environments, goods and services, the specific needs and demands of the female population with disabilities are taken into consideration;

Amendment 46 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 h (new)

1 h. Denounces that it has been acknowledged that girls and women with disabilities may experience particular forms of violence in their homes and institutional settings which is perpetrated by family members, care persons or strangers; underlines that all appropriate measures must be taken to avoid all types of exploitation, violence and abuse against girls and women with disabilities, while ensuring adequate assistance and support catering for their specific needs is provided;

Amendment 47 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 i (new)

1 i. Reiterates the Parliament’s call on the Commission to present a comprehensive European Strategy to fight violence against women, that contains a legislative instrument to prevent and combat gender-based violence, paying particular attention to women and girls with disabilities;

Amendment 48 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 j (new)

1 j. Considers that women and girls with disabilities must have complete access to medical care that meets their particular needs, including gynaecological consultation, medical examinations, family planning, and adapted support during pregnancy; urges the Member States to ensure that their national public healthcare provision includes proper access to these services;

Amendment 49 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 k (new)

1 k. Underlines that women and girls with disabilities must be allowed to enjoy their sexual and reproductive rights and stresses that for them to take responsibility for their sexual behaviour, they need access to education on sexuality adapted where necessary to the intellectual ability of the disabled woman or girl concerned;

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 e (new)

– having regard to the European Parliament Directorate General for Internal Policies for the Union study titled ‘Discrimination Generated by the Intersection of Gender and Disability’,

Amendment 50 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Is alarmed that women with disabilities are 2 to 5 times more likely to become victims of violence than non- disabled women and are subjected to sterilisation and abortions against their will; Calls on the Member States to adequately finance and provide high quality and accessible services designed to end violence against women and children, and to support the victims of violence with staff trained to provide specialised advice and support in this regard;

Amendment 51 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Is deeply concerned that women and girls with disabilities are far too often denied access to sexual and reproductive health and rights; considers it worrisome that girls and women with disabilities are denied informed consent about the use of contraceptives and that they are even at risk of forced sterilisation; calls on the Member States to implement legislative measures that safeguard the physical integrity, the freedom of choice and the self-determination of the sexual and reproductive life of girls and women with disabilities;

Amendment 52 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1 c. Calls on the Commission to present a proposal for the European Disability Strategy 2020-2030 fully integrating the UNCRPD provisions in future EU legislation and policies and being consistent with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Strategic Engagement for Gender Equality 2016-2019 to ensure that women and girls with disabilities can fully enjoy their rights like any other person;

Amendment 53 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Reiterates that women with disabilities often face even bigger challenges and dangers in the countries with conflicts and conflict areas. Highlights therefore the need to reflect the need to protect the women with disabilities in the European union´s external policies;

Amendment 54 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Reiterates the shortcomings (e.g. inaccessible cancer screening facilities for women in a wheelchair, lack of information materials adapted for persons with disabilities) that persists in providing the health care to persons with disabilities. Encourages the Member states to provide appropriate education and training to the health personnel regarding the specifics of the patients with disabilities;

Amendment 55 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1 c. Recalls that combating poverty and social exclusion of the persons with disabilities is closely linked to better conditions for family members who often act as unpaid and unemployed carers. Encourages therefore the Member states to present the national strategies to support the informal carers who are mostly female relatives of the persons with disabilities;

Amendment 56 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 d (new)

1 d. Highlights the value of the micro- financial instruments for creation of jobs and growth. Calls on the Member States to make the micro-financial instruments more actively obtainable to women with disabilities;

Amendment 57 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 e (new)

1 e. Calls on the Commission to ensure that organizations representing persons with disabilities are involved in relevant policy - making procedures and decisions;

Amendment 58 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 f (new)

1 f. Highlights the importance of the independent living for persons with disabilities. Calls on the Commission to present a comprehensive European strategy for deinstitutionalisation also taking into account specific issues of women with disabilities;

Amendment 59 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 g (new)

1 g. Underlines that in order to ensure the independent living for persons with disabilites, it is necessary to support the research and innovation of products aimed at helping persons with disabilities in their everyday activities

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas 80 million people with disabilities live in the European Union and 46 million are women and girls, who make up 16% of the total female population of the EU;

Amendment 60 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Underlines that the number of elderly people is increasing and according to the WHO, disability prevalence is higher among women and they are particularly affected by this phenomenon owing to their longer life expectancy. Therefore, the number of women with disabilities will increase in greater proportion;

Amendment 61 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Reiterates that people with disabilities, women and girls included, must be given fair and equal possibilities to participate in the social, economic and political life of the community;

Amendment 62 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1 c. Underlines that women with disabilities must enjoy the rights to education, health care, employment, mobility, family life, sexual relations, marriage, and motherhood, and the safeguards guaranteeing those rights;

Amendment 63 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 d (new)

1 d. Stresses the importance of integrating women with disabilities into standard education and professional systems;

Amendment 64 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 e (new)

1 e. Considers it vital for women and girls with disabilities to have complete access to medical care that meets their particular needs, including sexual and reproductive health and rights;

Amendment 65 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 f (new)

1 f. Asks the Commission and the Member States to develop large-scale awareness-raising campaigns to make women and girls with disabilities more visible, and highlights the role that media can play in constructing a positive image of women with disabilities and encouraging them to assert their rights;

Amendment 66 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 g (new)

1 g. Highlights the importance of optimising the EU Structural Funds, in order to promote accessibility and non- discrimination regarding persons with disabilities, paying particular attention to women, and to action to increase the visibility of funding opportunities;

Amendment 67 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Reiterates that all persons with disabilities have the right to fully enjoy their rights and their inclusion and participation in the society;

Amendment 68 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Highlights the fact that the inclusion of persons with disabilities is a fundamental human rights issue that has to be properly addressed on European level;

Amendment 69 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1 c. Urges the Commission to come forward with a consolidated, cohesive and holistic approach, that incorporates the UNCRPD Concluding Remarks and suggestions, for a post 2020 European Disability Strategy;

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas there are 46 million women and girls with disabilities in Europe, representing 60% of the overall population of persons with disabilities;

Amendment 70 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 d (new)

1 d. Asks for a genuine structured dialogue between the EU and organisations representing persons with disabilities, when drafint the post 2020 European Disability Strategy;

Amendment 71 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 e (new)

1 e. Denounces the fact that the Council has still not adopted the 2008 proposal for a directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation; reiterates its call on the Council to do so as soon as possible;

Amendment 72 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 f (new)

1 f. Denounces the fact that the EU institutions have not yet adopted a comprehensive and trully non- discriminatory recruitment, retention and promotion policy, including temporary positive measures, in order to increase actively and substantially the number of officials or staff and trainees with disabilities, including psychosocial and intellectual disabilities in line with Directive 2000/78/EC Article 5;

Amendment 73 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 g (new)

1 g. Underlines the need to facilitate the effective participation and freedom of expression of persons with disabilities at public events and meetings hosted by the institutions or held on their premises by providing captioning and sign-language interpretation, documents with Braille- printing and in easy-to-read formats;

Amendment 74 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 h (new)

1 h. Regrets that the standing European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 has failed to adopt effective legislative acts, measures and policies in order to tackle the segregation and rejection of women with disabilities in the labour market, political life, schools and learning environments;

Amendment 75 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 i (new)

1 i. Highlights the need to ensure in all EU Member - States accessible health and care services, as well as the support they need, so as to facilitate their social inclusion; highlights the fact that equal opportunities can only be achieved if the right to inclusion and participation is granted at all levels and types of life;

Amendment 76 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 j (new)

1 j. Points out that the current European Disability Strategy has not properly addressed the impacts that the crisis has on people with disabilities and has not achieved to improve their daily life and facilitate their inclusion in all aspects of the socio-economic life. Highlights the fact that there were technical and financial shortcomings of special programmes addressed to people with disabilities, particularly in the Member States affected by the crisis, and calls on the Commission to examine how funding and implementation of such programms can be improved;

Amendment 77 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 k (new)

1 k. Deplores wholeheartedly the disastrous conditions in which persons with disabilities have been found to be placed in some Member States, especially those under Financial Memorandum Programs, and calls on the European Commission to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 3 thereof, which bans inhuman and degrading treatment and to withdraw imposed measures on the Member-States that affect the lifes of people with disabilities;

Amendment 78 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 l (new)

1 l. Urges the EU institutions to make their internet-based content and apps, including their intranets and all essential documents and audiovisual content, accessible while equally ensuring physical accessibility of their buildings;

Amendment 79 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 m (new)

1 m. Reiterates the urgent need to address the issue of violence against women and girls with disabilities in public, private and institutional environments; Welcomes the decision of the Council for the EU to become a party to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention) as a further step in combating violence against women and girls with disabilities, yet denounces the fact that the Council decided to limit accession to two sectors, the cooperation in judicial matters and matters of refugees and asylum-seekers and non-refoulment;

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

A b. whereas 34% of women with a health problem or a disability have experienced physical or sexual violence by a partner in their lifetime;

Amendment 80 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 n (new)

1 n. Urges the Commission to come forward with a consolidated proposal within the post 2020 European Disability Strategy and to adopt effective measures in order to prevent violence against women and children with disabilities which target families, communities, professionals and institutions; Highlights the important role that the educational institutions, such as schools, play in promoting social inclusion and points the need for a gender-mainstreamed educational policy to be adopted across EU Member States;

Amendment 81 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 o (new)

1 o. Urges the Member States to adopt measures to ensure that all healthcare and services provided to women with disabilities, including all sexual and reproductive health and mental healthcare and services, are safely accessible and based on the free and informed consent of the individual concerned;

Amendment 82 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 p (new)

1 p. Emphasises that women and girls with disabilities, including those from marginalised and vulnerable groups, such as women-refugees, migrants and asylum seekers, Roma and LBTI are facing multiple discriminations, and therefore must be enabled and empowered to participate in political life and decision- making processes in order to ensure that their interests and rights are expressed, supported and protected, ensuring a genuine grassroots gender perspective; calls on the Member States to provide adequately adapted services and facilities that would empower their active involvement and participation, and to invest in assistive and adaptive technologies and e-inclusion;

Amendment 83 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 q (new)

1 q. Underlines that in order to achieve autonomous and independent living for persons with disabilities, especially women, indivually and personally provided assistance is a mean that would support them and their families, enabling them to access workplace, educational and vocational training institutions, and supporting them in the event of pregnancy and motherhood;

Amendment 9 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas over 80 million persons with disabilities are living in the EU who are in urgent need of an accessible and unprejudiced environment; whereas one in four Europeans has a family member with a disability; whereas, there are approximately 46 million women and girls with disabilities in the EU, comprising about 16 % of the total female population of the EU;

source: 609.369

2017/09/13 ENVI 60 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Piernicola PEDICINI, Laura AGEA, Rosa D'AMATO, Tiziana BEGHIN, Marco VALLI

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas one of the targets of the goal of good health and well-being set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is to achieve universal health coverage, ~~including financial risk protection, and safe, effective and affordable medicines and vaccines of good quality for all~~when all too often Member States cut disability-related social benefits and health services, undermining the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ( UN CRPD ) and further increasing levels of poverty and social exclusion;

Amendment 10 #

Nicola CAPUTO, Simona BONAFÈ, Damiano ZOFFOLI

Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)

Ac. whereas health promotion and prevention activities seldom target people with disabilities (for example, women with disabilities receive less screening for breast cancer than women without disabilities or adolescents with disabilities are more likely to be excluded from sex education programmes);

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)

Ac. whereas the eight areas of the strategy are closely interconnected;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Recital A d (new)

Ad. whereas people with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to deficiencies in health care services, engaging in health risk behaviours and higher rates of premature death;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Recital A e (new)

Ae. whereas people with disabilities encounter a range of barriers when they attempt to access healthcare including non-affordable costs, limited availability of services, physical barriers and inadequate skills and knowledge of health workers;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Highlights that, while access to the highest attainable standard of healthcare without discrimination on the basis of disability is a fundamental right, people with disabilities continue to face persistent barriers that negate their equal access to health services including lack of accessible information about healthcare entitlements, discriminatory treatment by private healthcare insurance companies, inaccessible health care facilities and often a lower quality of care, which is not adapted to an individual´s needs; maintains that the lack of access to quality health services has a negative effect on the ability of those with disabilities to live independently, inclusively and on an equal basis with others;

Amendment 15 #

1a. Highlights the necessary social support that should be provided to ensure persons with disabilities can exercise their rights and enjoy full autonomy, in particular persons with psychosocial disabilities. Ask to avoid the institutionalisation of such people and to take steps to ensure that they are not subjected to treatment without their consent;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Is highly concerned that access to sexual and reproductive rights is, by and large, impossible for many girls and women with disabilities and urges Member States to urgently adopt guidelines to ensure that all education, information, healthcare and services relating to sexual and reproductive health are fully accessible and that information is provided in appropriate formats; believes that informed consent about the use of contraceptives and medical procedures should support women with disabilities´ freedom of choice and self- determination in their sexual and reproductive lives;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Stresses the need to ensure non- discriminatory access to health and care systems for persons with disabilities, with all due attention paid to the difficulties that might arise when treating such patients. Calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure non- discriminatory access to sexual and reproductive health care, and under no circumstances should sterilisation or abortion be imposed against a person's will; Points out that health care systems should moreover ensure the detection, reporting and prevention of sexual violence and/or abuse;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Stresses that access to healthcare remains a key concern with regards to ensuring optimal quality of healthcare for persons with disabilities, including persons with mental health issues; recognises that more must be done in the field of health promotion and prevention activities targeting people with disabilities, such as campaigns to increase early detection awareness for certain types of cancer including breast and cervical cancer;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Urges Member States to increase the number of multidisciplinary assessment and re-assessment services for adults with disabilities, with a view to developing tailor-made plans which can be implemented by using territorial resources (such as home/day- care/residential services) which meet the biopsychosocial requirements identified;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas Article 168(7) of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) gives Member States responsibility for defining their health policies and delivering health services; therefore recognises the crucial importance of consultation and engagement with Member States in order for the European Disability Strategy to be successful;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Stresses the need for the Strategy to include specific activities for the protection of persons who are at an increased risk of being excluded from the healthcare system - people with psychosocial disabilities or people with mental disabilities, for example, who often cannot give free and informed consent to healthcare;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Reiterates its concern for vulnerable patients such as persons with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities, calls on Member States to ensure that a patient's right to informed consent to treatment is not unduly denied;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Ask for the informed consent of persons with disabilities to be sought for all medical interventions requiring it, and ask for all necessary measures to be in place to ensure that these persons can access and understand the relevant information. Emphasises that this consent must be given personally, in advance and in full knowledge of the facts, with all necessary mechanisms to ensure that these principles are complied with, and that similar, appropriate measures must also be taken in regard to persons with psychosocial disabilities;

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Expresses concern that there is often inadequate legal protection against multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination; asks the Commission and Member States to safeguard equal access to healthcare irrespective of a patients' disability, age, gender, sexual orientation, race or ethnic origin;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to implement the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 as quickly as possible;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Stresses that people with physical disabilities also face problems on the digitised mobility market; calls for access to be made easier for persons with all kinds of disability, using the languages, formats and technologies needed for various disabilities, including sign language, Braille, augmentative and alternative communication systems and other accessible means, modes and formats of communication of their choice, including easy-to-read language, subtitling and personal text messages, in particular for health information, making use of more than one sensory channel;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Recalls the reproductive rights enshrined in the CRPD, which encompass access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare, including family planning and maternal health services, and information and the right to give informed consent to all medical procedures, including sterilisation and abortion, and to retain fertility on an equal basis with others;

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Points out the need of health insurance schemes not to be discriminatory against persons with disabilities;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)

2d. Welcomes the pilot EU Disability Card and encourages the Member States to sign up to the initiative; calls on the Commission to mobilise the necessary funding for the development of the project across the EU, if need be;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)

2d. Calls on the Member States to ensure that all education, information, healthcare and services relating to sexual and reproductive health are made available to women and girls with disabilities in accessible and age- appropriate formats;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas according to the World Health Organisation1a people with disabilities have less access to health care services and they experience unmet health care needs because health care promotion seldom targets persons with disabilities; _________________ 1a Disability and Health Factsheet, World Health Organisation, November 2016

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 e (new)

2e. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that people with disabilities have easy access to the emergency number 112 from anywhere in Europe;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Stresses the need to review and address the persistently low levels of awareness and uptake of the provisions enshrined in Directive 2011/24/EU on patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare (Cross-Border Health Care Directive) among patients with disabilities; Highlights the urgent need for this Directive to be brought in line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in order to guarantee access to affordable and quality cross-border healthcare and urges Member States to further the implementation of the Directive, including by giving particular attention to the rights of persons with disabilities;

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Welcomes the application of the Cross-Border Health Care Directive which has, in theory, made it easier for patients with disabilities to have access to healthcare; regrets, however, the lack of knowledge of this instrument, which has, in actual fact, greatly limited its objective potential; considers it advisable, in this regard, to increase training for general practitioners (GPs) so that they are able to provide helpful advice on the opportunities the directive can offer; hopes, meanwhile, that the national contact points established as a link between healthcare users and providers can be strengthened in order to provide citizens - who, as evidenced by Eurobarometer, do not know that these info points exist - with clear, transparent information on the quality and safety standards of the national health service and accompany them in the healthcare choices they need to make;

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Stresses that the inability to avail of cross-border healthcare, when a patient cannot afford additional costs arising from disability, denies patients with disabilities the enjoyment of this right on an equal basis; urges the Commission and the Member States to ensure the non- discriminatory application of the Directive on patients' rights in cross-border healthcare;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Asks for the assessment of the impact of the cross-border health directive on persons with disabilities;

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Recommends that the Commission and the Member States collaborate with disabled patients' organisations to ensure that national contact points provide and disseminate information on cross-border healthcare rights in accessible formats;

Amendment 36 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3c. Calls on the Commission to guide its evidence-gathering and policy-making activities by a human-rights based approach, so as to shift the focus from individual impairment and fully account for the barriers faced by persons with disabilities when their physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments interact with the external environment;

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)

3d. Urges the Member States to enable the adoption of the Horizontal Equal Treatment Directive, so as to extend protection against discrimination on grounds of disability, among others, in access to healthcare, and thus also counter multiple discrimination;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on the Commission to begin work on a post-2020 European Disability Strategy in full consultation with Member States, the European Parliament, other institutions and the general public; believes that engagement is particularly important given that the European Disability Strategy won’t have undergone a substantial revision between 2010- 2020;in particular draws the Commission’s attention to the European Parliament resolution of 9 June 2016 on the implementation of the United Nation’s Concluding Observations and the results of the vulnerABLE project funded by the European Parliament;

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Highlights the Commission's lack of attention towards disabilities in the Action Plan for the EU Health Workforce and the EU Agenda on Effective, Accessible and Resilient Health Systems, as they are not specifically dealt with in either of the two texts;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas Article 25 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) reinforces the right of persons with disabilities to attain the highest standard of healthcare, without discrimination;

Amendment 40 #

Piernicola PEDICINI, Laura AGEA, Rosa D'AMATO, Marco VALLI, Tiziana BEGHIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on Member States to refrain from cutting disability-related social benefits, community-based services, health services and training and education programmes that will undermine the UN CRPD and further increase the level of poverty and social exclusion;

Amendment 41 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Encourages the adoption, through research framework programmes and other financial instruments, of pilot projects such as those relating to telemedicine, designed to simplify access for patients with disabilities to the necessary healthcare, including emergency services;

Amendment 42 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4c. Hopes, in keeping with the EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2014 – 2020, that Member States will use the ESF and other European Structural and Investment Funds to fund all measures that may help to protect the health of persons with disabilities, through integrated pathways and personalised support and advisory services, guiding them towards health and social services;

Amendment 43 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 d (new)

4d. Highlights the success of the second Joint Action on Dementia, hoping, meanwhile, that, for the following third- year period, additional funds will be disbursed by the pharmaceutical companies taking part in the Innovative Medicines Initiative.

Amendment 44 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Emphasises that independent and community living are key factors for empowerment and that people with disabilities have the right to be in control of their lives, therefore, urges the Commission and the Member States to implement measures that can ensure good quality and personalised support for independent living;

Amendment 45 #

Nicola CAPUTO, Simona BONAFÈ, Damiano ZOFFOLI, Elena GENTILE

4a. Deplores the fact that austerity measures, such as cuts to social services and community based services, have disproportionately affected the standard of living of people with disabilities, putting up further, devastating barriers to their full participation in an inclusive society;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Invites the Commission to present a strategy regarding the assistance of people with serious disabilities after the death of their relatives - when these latter were in charge of their daily care (i.e. the recent adopted Italian law 'dopo di noi');

Amendment 47 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Encourages the Commission to follow up on the proposals to mobilise structural funding so as to train health professionals on disability awareness and specific gaps in knowledge about associated conditions;

Amendment 48 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Asks for the European Commission and Member States to increase awareness of disability issues, and to promote the inclusion of disability as a component in national health policies and programmes;

Amendment 49 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Strongly condemns late abortion practices, which are regrettably very often carried out on children with disabilities, including Down's Syndrome;

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas, the EU leads the way in the ratification of human rights, Articles 21 and 26 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights reaffirm the principle of non-discrimination and Article 35 the right to health care, all Member States should ratify the Convention and sign the Protocol;

Amendment 50 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Reminds the Commission of the mental health crisis that is currently effecting the European continent; notes the World Health Organisation’s estimate that mental health problems will effect one in four people at least once during their lives; believes that these issues should be addressed in parity with physical health; notes that this is particularly important as the Joint Action on Mental Health and Well-being ended in 2016;notes the importance of the EU- Compass for Action on Mental Health and Well-being for delivering a Europe wide approach to addressing Mental Health issues;

Amendment 51 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Points out that the European structural and investment funds have the potential to facilitate and financially support the transition from institutional care to community and independent living, urges therefore the Commission to promote and encourage the use of these funds for giving this necessary support for people with disabilities;

Amendment 52 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Calls on the European Commission and Member States to promote strategies to ensure that people with disabilities are knowledgeable about their own health conditions, to provide health-care personnel support and to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities.

Amendment 53 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Recommends that European structural funding for healthcare and other services be consistently steered to promote deinstitutionalisation and independent living in the community, as well as the involvement and consultation of patient organisations;

Amendment 54 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Insists that medical practice should guarantee parental freedom of choice and that there should be no kind of compulsion to carry out pre-natal diagnostic measures;

Amendment 55 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4c. Urges the Commission to undertake a thorough analysis of the gaps between the United Nation’s Concluding Observations and its own progress report specifically in relation to the health priority area of the European Disability Strategy;

Amendment 56 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4c. Condemns any form of human selection and calls - particularly with regard to people with disabilities - for an actively non-discriminatory European 'culture of life';

Amendment 57 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 d (new)

4d. Notes the difficulty with identifying tangible benefits and outcomes from the European Disability Strategy; expresses disappointment that there are no actions reported on the utilisation of the European Social Fund to promote the training of healthcare professionals on disability matters; calls on the Commission to review this particular action in order to consider how progress can be made;

Amendment 58 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 d (new)

4d. Calls for local obstetric care provision to be consistently promoted as a public service in the Member States, in order to reduce instances of disability resulting from birth complications and to ensure a safe birth for both mothers and babies;

Amendment 59 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 e (new)

4e. Welcomes the movement away from a health based approach to a human rights based approach to disability; believes that a crucial element of this is ensuring full inclusion in society for people with disabilities including through, where possible, community living;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU guarantees, in Article 1, the inviolability of human dignity, and in Article, 2, the unrestricted 'right to life';

Amendment 60 #

Nicola CAPUTO, Simona BONAFÈ, Damiano ZOFFOLI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 f (new)

4f. Is encouraged by the progress made in the European telemedicine sector which has the power to fundamentally change the ability of those with disabilities to access services; further believes that the roll out of 4G technology, the rise of 5G and the spread of the Internet of Things will lead to improvements in healthcare provision for those with disabilities; calls on the Commission to ensure that the European health technology sector is not burdened by excessive regulation and also has adequate access to finance;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas all persons with disabilities have equal rights and are entitled to inalienable dignity, equal treatment and full participation in society;

Amendment 8 #