BETA


2017/2127(INI) Implementation of the European disability strategy

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead EMPL STEVENS Helga (icon: ECR ECR) PLURA Marek (icon: PPE PPE), BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ Vilija (icon: S&D S&D), HARKIN Marian (icon: ALDE ALDE), ŽDANOKA Tatjana (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE), AGEA Laura (icon: EFDD EFDD), MÉLIN Joëlle (icon: ENF ENF)
Committee Opinion ENVI CHILDERS Nessa (icon: S&D S&D)
Committee Opinion CULT WARD Julie (icon: S&D S&D) Curzio MALTESE (icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL)
Committee Opinion LIBE
Committee Opinion FEMM ESTARÀS FERRAGUT Rosa (icon: PPE PPE) Kostadinka KUNEVA (icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL), Jana ŽITŇANSKÁ (icon: ECR ECR)
Committee Opinion PETI WIKSTRÖM Cecilia (icon: ALDE ALDE) Michela GIUFFRIDA (icon: S&D S&D), Svetoslav Hristov MALINOV (icon: PPE PPE), Josep-Maria TERRICABRAS (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE)
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 54

Events

2018/03/16
   EC - Commission response to text adopted in plenary
Documents
2017/11/30
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2017/11/30
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2017/11/30
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament adopted by 529 votes to 48, with 45 abstentions, a resolution on the implementation of the European disability strategy.

The Treaty on the Functioning of the EU requires the Union to combat discrimination based on disability in the definition and implementation of its policies and activities and gives it the power to adopt legislation to address such discrimination. There are an estimated 80 million persons with disabilities in the European Union .

Parliament called for a comprehensive strategy for people with disabilities by 2030 with the aim of fully implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in all areas of EU policy. This strategy should encompass accessibility, participation, non-discrimination and equality, have an adequate budget, a timeframe for implementation and a monitoring mechanism, and have the same legal value than the current strategy.

Accessibility : the Commission and the Member States have been called upon to ensure that accessibility - a core principle of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - is given priority and is better integrated in all areas relating to disability.

Members called on the EU's co-legislators to adopt the European accessibility act without delay by recommending that the final text should enhance the accessibility of products and services for persons with disabilities and people with functional limitations. They also stressed the need to put in place European rules on the accessibility of public spaces and the built environment, as well as on access to all modes of transport . The Commission is called on to set mandatory requirements in this regard. All funding programmes should have a separate budget for accessibility.

Participation : Parliament suggested including all countries in a future long-term initiative with a view to achieving an identical scope to that of the European parking card and to include access to services allowing participation in cultural life and tourism.

The European Structural and Investment Funds must, particularly in the next programming period, finance support services to enable persons with disabilities to realise the right to live independently in the community and respect accessibility rules following a universal design approach.

Concerned about the barriers to participation that persons under guardianship and those living in institutions face across Europe, Members called on the Commission to ensure that persons deprived of their legal capacity can exercise all the rights enshrined in European Union treaties and legislation.

Equality : the resolution invited Member States to contribute to the adoption of the horizontal anti-discrimination Directive in order to move towards a pragmatic solution which should extend to the protection against discrimination in all areas of life of persons with disabilities.

Concerned by existing data on discrimination and abuse of persons with disabilities, Members recommended the development of a new method for gathering data collection, in particular with regard to cases of denied boarding and refusal or unavailable assistance .

Employment : the report stressed that access to the labour market was a global issue requiring support measures that involved: (i) accessible recruitment procedures; (ii) transport from and to the workplace (iii) career progression and on-going training, as well as (iv) reasonable accommodations and accessible workplaces.

Members encouraged the adoption of positive discrimination measures , including setting minimum employment percentages for people with disabilities in the public and private sectors. In addition, Member States should remove all legal barriers to employability , such as guardianship laws and laws that limit the legal capacity of persons with disabilities, preventing them from signing work contracts.

Education and training : Parliament called for the removal of barriers that all people with disabilities face to ensure quality inclusive education and lifelong learning systems . It called on the Member States to develop effective measures to combat the segregation and rejection of pupils with disabilities in schools, and to guarantee full access to Erasmus + and other youth programmes, such as the Youth Guarantee and the European Solidarity Corps.

Health protection : the resolution noted that persons with disabilities often suffer from a lack of support, protection communication and information about health care services and rights, protection against violence, childcare, and have little or no access to such services and information.

Members considered that health services personnel should be properly trained with a view to addressing the needs of persons with disabilities. They urged the Commission and the Member States to make full use of the European Reference Networks framework to develop, and expand access to, multidisciplinary and specialised healthcare for persons with disabilities in general and, in particular, for those with rare disabilities.

The Commission should ensure that eHealth , health and care services are fully accessible and safe to use for all persons with disabilities, including those who have intellectual disabilities and complex needs, and their family members.

Social protection : Member States have been asked to set a social protection floor for persons with disabilities that would guarantee their adequate standard of living. The European Pillar of Social Rights should mainstream disability in all aspects. In addition, Member States should apply the principle of mutual recognition when undertaking their assessment and determination of disability.

Lastly, Parliament emphasised that the 2020-2030 strategy should be based on a cross-cutting, comprehensive review of all EU legislation and policy in order to ensure full harmonisation with the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), and that it should include a revised declaration of competences.

Documents
2017/11/30
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2017/10/30
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary
Details

The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs adopted an own-initiative report by Helga STEVENS (ECR, BE) on the implementation of the European disability strategy.

The Treaty on the Functioning of the EU requires the Union to combat discrimination based on disability in the definition and implementation of its policies and activities and gives it the power to adopt legislation to address such discrimination.

There are an estimated 80 million persons with disabilities in the European Union .

Members called for a comprehensive strategy for people with disabilities by 2030 with the aim of fully implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in all areas of EU policy. This strategy should encompass accessibility, participation, non-discrimination and equality, have an adequate budget, a timeframe for implementation and a monitoring mechanism, and have the same legal value than the current strategy.

Accessibility : the Commission and the Member States have been called upon to ensure that accessibility - a core principle of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - is given priority and is better integrated in all areas relating to disability.

Members called on the EU's co-legislators to adopt the European accessibility act without delay. They recommended that the final text should enhance the accessibility of products and services for persons with disabilities and people with functional limitations while stressing the need to put in place European rules on the accessibility of public spaces and the built environment, as well as on access to all modes of transport .

Participation : Members suggested including all countries in a future long-term initiative with a view to achieving an identical scope to that of the European parking card and to include access to services allowing participation in cultural life and tourism.

Members are of the opinion that the European Structural and Investment Funds must, particularly in the next programming period, finance support services to enable persons with disabilities to realise the right to live independently in the community and respect accessibility rules following a universal design approach.

Concerned about the barriers to participation that persons under guardianship and those living in institutions face across Europe, Members called on the Commission to ensure that persons deprived of their legal capacity can exercise all the rights enshrined in European Union treaties and legislation.

Equality : the report invited Member States to contribute to the adoption of the horizontal anti-discrimination directive in order to move towards a pragmatic solution which should extend to the protection against discrimination in all areas of life of persons with disabilities.

Concerned by existing data on discrimination and abuse of persons with disabilities, Members recommended the development of a new method for gathering data collection, in particular with regard to cases of denied boarding and refusal or unavailable assistance .

Employment : the report stressed that access to the labour market was a global issue requiring support measures that involved: (i) accessible recruitment procedures; (ii) transport from and to the workplace (iii) career progression and on-going training, as well as (iv) reasonable accommodations and accessible workplaces.

Members encouraged the adoption of positive discrimination measures , including setting minimum employment percentages for people with disabilities in the public and private sectors. In addition, Member States should remove all legal barriers to employability , such as guardianship laws and laws that limit the legal capacity of persons with disabilities, preventing them from signing work contracts.

Education and training : Members called for the removal of barriers that all people with disabilities face to ensure quality inclusive education and lifelong learning systems . They called on the Member States to develop effective measures to combat the segregation and rejection of pupils with disabilities in schools, and to guarantee full access to Erasmus + and other youth programmes, such as the Youth Guarantee and the European Solidarity Corps.

Health, social protection : the report noted that persons with disabilities often suffer from a lack of support, protection communication and information about health care services and rights, protection against violence, childcare, and have little or no access to such services and information.

Members considered that health services personnel should be properly trained with a view to addressing the needs of persons with disabilities. They urged the Commission and the Member States to make full use of the European Reference Networks framework to develop, and expand access to, multidisciplinary and specialised healthcare for persons with disabilities in general and, in particular, for those with rare disabilities. Members called on the Member States to set a social protection floor for persons with disabilities that would guarantee their adequate standard of living.

The report emphasised that the 2020-2030 strategy should be based on a cross-cutting, comprehensive review of all EU legislation and policy in order to ensure full harmonisation with the provisions of the UNCPRD, and that it should include a revised declaration of competences.

Documents
2017/10/19
   EP - Vote in committee
2017/10/13
   EP - Committee opinion
Documents
2017/10/12
   EP - Committee opinion
Documents
2017/09/14
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2017/09/12
   EP - Committee opinion
Documents
2017/09/11
   EP - Committee opinion
Documents
2017/07/13
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2017/07/06
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2017/06/14
   EP - WIKSTRÖM Cecilia (ALDE) appointed as rapporteur in PETI
2017/05/16
   EP - ESTARÀS FERRAGUT Rosa (PPE) appointed as rapporteur in FEMM
2017/05/04
   EP - CHILDERS Nessa (S&D) appointed as rapporteur in ENVI
2017/04/04
   EP - WARD Julie (S&D) appointed as rapporteur in CULT
2017/03/16
   EP - STEVENS Helga (ECR) appointed as rapporteur in EMPL
2017/02/02
   EC - Non-legislative basic document published
Details

OBJECTIVE: to present a Commission working document on the progress report on the implementation of the European strategy for disabled persons (2010-2020).

BACKGROUND: fundamental rights, inclusive growth and social fairness are at the heart of the European Commission’s agenda. In this context, the elimination of barriers preventing people with disabilities from fully participating in society and enjoying their rights is therefore a priority for the EU. To this end, the European strategy for disabled persons 2010-2020 was the main instrument supporting the implementation by the EU of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ( UNCRPD ).

As a reminder, the strategy identifies eight main areas of action:

enhancing accessibility; improving the participation of people with disabilities; equality; access to employment; education and training; social protection ; the health ; external action.

This report presents the progress achieved in the first five years of the strategy and to assess its coherent and efficient implementation.

CONTENT: the report indicates that the implementation of the ten-year strategy has cemented the paradigm shift towards a human rights approach of disability policies.

In general, the actions carried out over the last 5 years have made progress in the eight areas of the strategy .

Significant progress was notably achieved in the area of accessibility with the adoption of the Directive on Web Accessibility and the proposal for a European Accessibility Act.

The successful efforts on external action were also recognised by the UN Committee on the rights of persons with disabilities.

However, the challenging economic situation has weakened the situation of people with disabilities in Member States. They remain consistently disadvantaged in terms of employment, education and social inclusion .

Maintaining the strategy’s objectives : the report indicates that the objectives of the strategy remain relevant. In this respect, the Commission has committed itself to continuing its action by using the competences and instruments at its disposal to:

raise awareness at EU-level, give financial support, collect data and statistics, monitor the situation of people with disabilities, act as the Focal Point for the UNCRPD.

The Commission continues to mainstream disability in all relevant EU policy areas. In this respect, tool #24 on Fundamental Rights and Human Rights and tool #25 on Employment, Working Conditions, Income Distribution and Inequality are of particular relevance in terms of addressing disability issues both in impact assessments and in evaluations.

Public consultation : the Commission launched a public consultation to collect views from a broad range of stakeholders on the current situation of persons with disabilities. The results of the public consultation clearly show that the situation of people with disabilities remains challenging in terms of participation in everyday activities, rights, employment, accessibility, discrimination and mobility within the EU.

While most of the concrete concerns expressed by stakeholders relate to actions and/or competences of the Member States, the Commission gathered some invaluable input on the views of persons with disabilities contained in the Annex to the report.

Main achievements : the report describes the implementation so far and lists some of the main achievements in each of the areas.

It also examines the role of the supporting instruments and the implementation of the UNCRPD within the EU institutions.

Lastly, it looks ahead at how the strategy will continue to deliver on its objectives, taking into account the UN concluding observations.

In addition, the report includes a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of EU legal acts that have an impact on disability matters.

Overall, the objectives set out in all the eight areas of the strategy in 2010 remain valid, as well as the instruments underpinning them . The strategy's instruments have been efficiently used and will continue to be in the coming years.

The financial support provided to disability-related projects and to disabled people and their organisations has contributed to progress in all the areas of the strategy.

Next steps : in conclusion, continued efforts need to be made in the main areas of the strategy, in particular:

dissemination and supporting actions on the Employment Equality Directive, to raise public awareness in the EU and improve reporting of discrimination cases and access to justice; adoption of the 2008 proposal for an Equal Treatment Directive to fight discrimination on several grounds, including disability. The Commission continues the negotiations with the Member States to push the Directive forward; efforts to improve accessibility for all by carrying out the negotiations on the proposed EU legal instruments - including initiatives in the area of transports, products and services - and working on EU level accessibility standards; monitoring of the EU programmes and financial instruments to ensure their full potential for the implementation of the Strategy at the EU and national levels, in line with the UNCRPD, in key areas such as access to employment and education, support to young people or deinstitutionalisation; cooperation with Member States in the implementation of the UNCRPD , including through the Work Forum and the UN fora.

Documents

Documents

Activities

Votes

A8-0339/2017 - Helga Stevens - Am 5 30/11/2017 12:03:44.000 #

2017/11/30 Outcome: -: 562, 0: 33, +: 31
CY LU EE MT IE SI LV AT LT HR FI SK EL BG DK PT SE HU BE CZ NL RO FR GB PL ES IT DE
Total
3
5
5
5
8
6
7
12
8
8
12
12
18
12
12
13
18
16
18
21
23
23
66
55
48
48
64
78
icon: ENF ENF
31

Austria ENF

2

Belgium ENF

For (1)

1

Netherlands ENF

4

Romania ENF

Abstain (1)

1

United Kingdom ENF

Against (1)

1

Poland ENF

2
icon: NI NI
13

Hungary NI

2

France NI

For (1)

Against (1)

2

United Kingdom NI

Against (2)

Abstain (1)

3

Poland NI

Against (1)

Abstain (1)

2

Germany NI

For (1)

1
icon: EFDD EFDD
33

Lithuania EFDD

Against (1)

1

Sweden EFDD

2

Czechia EFDD

Abstain (1)

1

France EFDD

3

Poland EFDD

1
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
45

Cyprus GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Ireland GUE/NGL

For (1)

Against (1)

2

Finland GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Denmark GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Portugal GUE/NGL

3

Sweden GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Netherlands GUE/NGL

Against (1)

3

United Kingdom GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Italy GUE/NGL

3
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
39

Estonia Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Slovenia Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Latvia Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Austria Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Lithuania Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Croatia Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Finland Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Denmark Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Hungary Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Belgium Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Netherlands Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

United Kingdom Verts/ALE

5

Spain Verts/ALE

3

Italy Verts/ALE

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1
icon: ECR ECR
56

Latvia ECR

Against (1)

1

Lithuania ECR

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1

Croatia ECR

Against (1)

1

Finland ECR

1

Slovakia ECR

Abstain (1)

3

Greece ECR

Against (1)

1

Bulgaria ECR

2

Czechia ECR

2

Netherlands ECR

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1

Italy ECR

Against (1)

1

Germany ECR

For (1)

3
icon: ALDE ALDE
58

Luxembourg ALDE

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1

Estonia ALDE

Against (2)

2

Ireland ALDE

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1

Slovenia ALDE

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1

Latvia ALDE

1

Austria ALDE

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1

Croatia ALDE

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1

Bulgaria ALDE

3

Denmark ALDE

3

Portugal ALDE

1

Sweden ALDE

2

Romania ALDE

3

United Kingdom ALDE

Against (1)

1
4
icon: S&D S&D
159

Cyprus S&D

Against (1)

1

Luxembourg S&D

Against (1)

1

Estonia S&D

Against (1)

1

Malta S&D

3

Ireland S&D

Against (1)

1

Slovenia S&D

Against (1)

1

Latvia S&D

Against (1)

1

Lithuania S&D

2

Croatia S&D

Against (1)

1

Finland S&D

2
3

Bulgaria S&D

2
3

Hungary S&D

2

Czechia S&D

4

Netherlands S&D

3
icon: PPE PPE
190

Cyprus PPE

Against (1)

1

Luxembourg PPE

3

Estonia PPE

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1

Malta PPE

2

Slovenia PPE

3

Denmark PPE

Against (1)

1

A8-0339/2017 - Helga Stevens - Resolution de la commission EMPL 30/11/2017 12:06:58.000 #

2017/11/30 Outcome: +: 529, 0: 45, -: 28
DE IT FR ES GB RO BE CZ SE PL HU EL PT NL FI BG AT SK IE LT LV HR DK SI LU EE MT CY
Total
71
61
64
47
53
23
19
21
18
42
16
19
13
23
12
11
11
11
8
7
7
7
12
6
5
5
5
3
icon: PPE PPE
179
3

Denmark PPE

For (1)

1

Slovenia PPE

3

Luxembourg PPE

2

Estonia PPE

For (1)

1

Cyprus PPE

1
icon: S&D S&D
152

Hungary S&D

2

Netherlands S&D

3

Bulgaria S&D

2

Ireland S&D

For (1)

1

Latvia S&D

1

Croatia S&D

For (1)

1

Slovenia S&D

For (1)

1

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1

Estonia S&D

For (1)

1

Malta S&D

3

Cyprus S&D

For (1)

1
icon: ALDE ALDE
58
3

United Kingdom ALDE

1

Romania ALDE

3

Portugal ALDE

1

Bulgaria ALDE

3

Austria ALDE

For (1)

1

Ireland ALDE

For (1)

1

Latvia ALDE

1

Croatia ALDE

For (1)

1

Slovenia ALDE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg ALDE

For (1)

1

Estonia ALDE

2
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
44

Italy GUE/NGL

2

United Kingdom GUE/NGL

1

Czechia GUE/NGL

Abstain (1)

3

Sweden GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Portugal GUE/NGL

3

Netherlands GUE/NGL

For (1)

3

Finland GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Ireland GUE/NGL

2

Denmark GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Cyprus GUE/NGL

1
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
40

Italy Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

United Kingdom Verts/ALE

5

Belgium Verts/ALE

2

Hungary Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Netherlands Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Finland Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Austria Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Lithuania Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Latvia Verts/ALE

1

Croatia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Denmark Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Slovenia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Estonia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1
icon: ECR ECR
51

Italy ECR

1

Czechia ECR

2

Greece ECR

For (1)

1

Netherlands ECR

Abstain (1)

1

Finland ECR

1

Bulgaria ECR

1

Slovakia ECR

Abstain (1)

3

Latvia ECR

For (1)

1

Croatia ECR

For (1)

1
icon: EFDD EFDD
30

France EFDD

Abstain (1)

2

Czechia EFDD

Against (1)

1

Sweden EFDD

2

Poland EFDD

1

Lithuania EFDD

For (1)

1
icon: NI NI
15

Germany NI

Abstain (1)

1

France NI

Abstain (1)

2

United Kingdom NI

Abstain (1)

3

Poland NI

Against (1)

Abstain (1)

2
icon: ENF ENF
31

United Kingdom ENF

Against (1)

1

Romania ENF

1

Belgium ENF

For (1)

1

Poland ENF

2

Netherlands ENF

4

Austria ENF

2
AmendmentsDossier
274 2017/2127(INI)
2017/07/05 CULT 75 amendments...
source: 607.807
2017/07/17 PETI 56 amendments...
source: 608.162
2017/07/28 FEMM 83 amendments...
source: 609.369
2017/09/13 ENVI 60 amendments...
source: 610.642

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

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KUNEVA Kostadinka
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European United Left - Nordic Green Left
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EP
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type
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  • date: 2017-09-11T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE606.231&secondRef=02 title: PE606.231 committee: PETI type: Committee opinion body: EP
  • date: 2017-09-12T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE609.613 title: PE609.613 committee: FEMM type: Committee opinion body: EP
  • date: 2017-09-14T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE609.673 title: PE609.673 type: Amendments tabled in committee body: EP
  • date: 2017-10-12T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE606.210&secondRef=02 title: PE606.210 committee: ENVI type: Committee opinion body: EP
  • date: 2017-10-13T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE604.815&secondRef=02 title: PE604.815 committee: CULT type: Committee opinion body: EP
  • date: 2018-03-16T00:00:00 docs: url: /oeil/spdoc.do?i=30387&j=0&l=en title: SP(2018)87 type: Commission response to text adopted in plenary
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  • date: 2017-02-02T00:00:00 type: Non-legislative basic document published body: EC docs: title: SWD(2017)0029 summary: OBJECTIVE: to present a Commission working document on the progress report on the implementation of the European strategy for disabled persons (2010-2020). BACKGROUND: fundamental rights, inclusive growth and social fairness are at the heart of the European Commission’s agenda. In this context, the elimination of barriers preventing people with disabilities from fully participating in society and enjoying their rights is therefore a priority for the EU. To this end, the European strategy for disabled persons 2010-2020 was the main instrument supporting the implementation by the EU of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ( UNCRPD ). As a reminder, the strategy identifies eight main areas of action: enhancing accessibility; improving the participation of people with disabilities; equality; access to employment; education and training; social protection ; the health ; external action. This report presents the progress achieved in the first five years of the strategy and to assess its coherent and efficient implementation. CONTENT: the report indicates that the implementation of the ten-year strategy has cemented the paradigm shift towards a human rights approach of disability policies. In general, the actions carried out over the last 5 years have made progress in the eight areas of the strategy . Significant progress was notably achieved in the area of accessibility with the adoption of the Directive on Web Accessibility and the proposal for a European Accessibility Act. The successful efforts on external action were also recognised by the UN Committee on the rights of persons with disabilities. However, the challenging economic situation has weakened the situation of people with disabilities in Member States. They remain consistently disadvantaged in terms of employment, education and social inclusion . Maintaining the strategy’s objectives : the report indicates that the objectives of the strategy remain relevant. In this respect, the Commission has committed itself to continuing its action by using the competences and instruments at its disposal to: raise awareness at EU-level, give financial support, collect data and statistics, monitor the situation of people with disabilities, act as the Focal Point for the UNCRPD. The Commission continues to mainstream disability in all relevant EU policy areas. In this respect, tool #24 on Fundamental Rights and Human Rights and tool #25 on Employment, Working Conditions, Income Distribution and Inequality are of particular relevance in terms of addressing disability issues both in impact assessments and in evaluations. Public consultation : the Commission launched a public consultation to collect views from a broad range of stakeholders on the current situation of persons with disabilities. The results of the public consultation clearly show that the situation of people with disabilities remains challenging in terms of participation in everyday activities, rights, employment, accessibility, discrimination and mobility within the EU. While most of the concrete concerns expressed by stakeholders relate to actions and/or competences of the Member States, the Commission gathered some invaluable input on the views of persons with disabilities contained in the Annex to the report. Main achievements : the report describes the implementation so far and lists some of the main achievements in each of the areas. It also examines the role of the supporting instruments and the implementation of the UNCRPD within the EU institutions. Lastly, it looks ahead at how the strategy will continue to deliver on its objectives, taking into account the UN concluding observations. In addition, the report includes a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of EU legal acts that have an impact on disability matters. Overall, the objectives set out in all the eight areas of the strategy in 2010 remain valid, as well as the instruments underpinning them . The strategy's instruments have been efficiently used and will continue to be in the coming years. The financial support provided to disability-related projects and to disabled people and their organisations has contributed to progress in all the areas of the strategy. Next steps : in conclusion, continued efforts need to be made in the main areas of the strategy, in particular: dissemination and supporting actions on the Employment Equality Directive, to raise public awareness in the EU and improve reporting of discrimination cases and access to justice; adoption of the 2008 proposal for an Equal Treatment Directive to fight discrimination on several grounds, including disability. The Commission continues the negotiations with the Member States to push the Directive forward; efforts to improve accessibility for all by carrying out the negotiations on the proposed EU legal instruments - including initiatives in the area of transports, products and services - and working on EU level accessibility standards; monitoring of the EU programmes and financial instruments to ensure their full potential for the implementation of the Strategy at the EU and national levels, in line with the UNCRPD, in key areas such as access to employment and education, support to young people or deinstitutionalisation; cooperation with Member States in the implementation of the UNCRPD , including through the Work Forum and the UN fora.
  • date: 2017-07-06T00:00:00 type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2017-10-19T00:00:00 type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2017-10-30T00:00:00 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2017-0339&language=EN title: A8-0339/2017 summary: The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs adopted an own-initiative report by Helga STEVENS (ECR, BE) on the implementation of the European disability strategy. The Treaty on the Functioning of the EU requires the Union to combat discrimination based on disability in the definition and implementation of its policies and activities and gives it the power to adopt legislation to address such discrimination. There are an estimated 80 million persons with disabilities in the European Union . Members called for a comprehensive strategy for people with disabilities by 2030 with the aim of fully implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in all areas of EU policy. This strategy should encompass accessibility, participation, non-discrimination and equality, have an adequate budget, a timeframe for implementation and a monitoring mechanism, and have the same legal value than the current strategy. Accessibility : the Commission and the Member States have been called upon to ensure that accessibility - a core principle of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - is given priority and is better integrated in all areas relating to disability. Members called on the EU's co-legislators to adopt the European accessibility act without delay. They recommended that the final text should enhance the accessibility of products and services for persons with disabilities and people with functional limitations while stressing the need to put in place European rules on the accessibility of public spaces and the built environment, as well as on access to all modes of transport . Participation : Members suggested including all countries in a future long-term initiative with a view to achieving an identical scope to that of the European parking card and to include access to services allowing participation in cultural life and tourism. Members are of the opinion that the European Structural and Investment Funds must, particularly in the next programming period, finance support services to enable persons with disabilities to realise the right to live independently in the community and respect accessibility rules following a universal design approach. Concerned about the barriers to participation that persons under guardianship and those living in institutions face across Europe, Members called on the Commission to ensure that persons deprived of their legal capacity can exercise all the rights enshrined in European Union treaties and legislation. Equality : the report invited Member States to contribute to the adoption of the horizontal anti-discrimination directive in order to move towards a pragmatic solution which should extend to the protection against discrimination in all areas of life of persons with disabilities. Concerned by existing data on discrimination and abuse of persons with disabilities, Members recommended the development of a new method for gathering data collection, in particular with regard to cases of denied boarding and refusal or unavailable assistance . Employment : the report stressed that access to the labour market was a global issue requiring support measures that involved: (i) accessible recruitment procedures; (ii) transport from and to the workplace (iii) career progression and on-going training, as well as (iv) reasonable accommodations and accessible workplaces. Members encouraged the adoption of positive discrimination measures , including setting minimum employment percentages for people with disabilities in the public and private sectors. In addition, Member States should remove all legal barriers to employability , such as guardianship laws and laws that limit the legal capacity of persons with disabilities, preventing them from signing work contracts. Education and training : Members called for the removal of barriers that all people with disabilities face to ensure quality inclusive education and lifelong learning systems . They called on the Member States to develop effective measures to combat the segregation and rejection of pupils with disabilities in schools, and to guarantee full access to Erasmus + and other youth programmes, such as the Youth Guarantee and the European Solidarity Corps. Health, social protection : the report noted that persons with disabilities often suffer from a lack of support, protection communication and information about health care services and rights, protection against violence, childcare, and have little or no access to such services and information. Members considered that health services personnel should be properly trained with a view to addressing the needs of persons with disabilities. They urged the Commission and the Member States to make full use of the European Reference Networks framework to develop, and expand access to, multidisciplinary and specialised healthcare for persons with disabilities in general and, in particular, for those with rare disabilities. Members called on the Member States to set a social protection floor for persons with disabilities that would guarantee their adequate standard of living. The report emphasised that the 2020-2030 strategy should be based on a cross-cutting, comprehensive review of all EU legislation and policy in order to ensure full harmonisation with the provisions of the UNCPRD, and that it should include a revised declaration of competences.
  • date: 2017-11-30T00:00:00 type: Results of vote in Parliament body: EP docs: url: https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=30387&l=en title: Results of vote in Parliament
  • date: 2017-11-30T00:00:00 type: Debate in Parliament body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20171130&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2017-11-30T00:00:00 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2017-0474 title: T8-0474/2017 summary: The European Parliament adopted by 529 votes to 48, with 45 abstentions, a resolution on the implementation of the European disability strategy. The Treaty on the Functioning of the EU requires the Union to combat discrimination based on disability in the definition and implementation of its policies and activities and gives it the power to adopt legislation to address such discrimination. There are an estimated 80 million persons with disabilities in the European Union . Parliament called for a comprehensive strategy for people with disabilities by 2030 with the aim of fully implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in all areas of EU policy. This strategy should encompass accessibility, participation, non-discrimination and equality, have an adequate budget, a timeframe for implementation and a monitoring mechanism, and have the same legal value than the current strategy. Accessibility : the Commission and the Member States have been called upon to ensure that accessibility - a core principle of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - is given priority and is better integrated in all areas relating to disability. Members called on the EU's co-legislators to adopt the European accessibility act without delay by recommending that the final text should enhance the accessibility of products and services for persons with disabilities and people with functional limitations. They also stressed the need to put in place European rules on the accessibility of public spaces and the built environment, as well as on access to all modes of transport . The Commission is called on to set mandatory requirements in this regard. All funding programmes should have a separate budget for accessibility. Participation : Parliament suggested including all countries in a future long-term initiative with a view to achieving an identical scope to that of the European parking card and to include access to services allowing participation in cultural life and tourism. The European Structural and Investment Funds must, particularly in the next programming period, finance support services to enable persons with disabilities to realise the right to live independently in the community and respect accessibility rules following a universal design approach. Concerned about the barriers to participation that persons under guardianship and those living in institutions face across Europe, Members called on the Commission to ensure that persons deprived of their legal capacity can exercise all the rights enshrined in European Union treaties and legislation. Equality : the resolution invited Member States to contribute to the adoption of the horizontal anti-discrimination Directive in order to move towards a pragmatic solution which should extend to the protection against discrimination in all areas of life of persons with disabilities. Concerned by existing data on discrimination and abuse of persons with disabilities, Members recommended the development of a new method for gathering data collection, in particular with regard to cases of denied boarding and refusal or unavailable assistance . Employment : the report stressed that access to the labour market was a global issue requiring support measures that involved: (i) accessible recruitment procedures; (ii) transport from and to the workplace (iii) career progression and on-going training, as well as (iv) reasonable accommodations and accessible workplaces. Members encouraged the adoption of positive discrimination measures , including setting minimum employment percentages for people with disabilities in the public and private sectors. In addition, Member States should remove all legal barriers to employability , such as guardianship laws and laws that limit the legal capacity of persons with disabilities, preventing them from signing work contracts. Education and training : Parliament called for the removal of barriers that all people with disabilities face to ensure quality inclusive education and lifelong learning systems . It called on the Member States to develop effective measures to combat the segregation and rejection of pupils with disabilities in schools, and to guarantee full access to Erasmus + and other youth programmes, such as the Youth Guarantee and the European Solidarity Corps. Health protection : the resolution noted that persons with disabilities often suffer from a lack of support, protection communication and information about health care services and rights, protection against violence, childcare, and have little or no access to such services and information. Members considered that health services personnel should be properly trained with a view to addressing the needs of persons with disabilities. They urged the Commission and the Member States to make full use of the European Reference Networks framework to develop, and expand access to, multidisciplinary and specialised healthcare for persons with disabilities in general and, in particular, for those with rare disabilities. The Commission should ensure that eHealth , health and care services are fully accessible and safe to use for all persons with disabilities, including those who have intellectual disabilities and complex needs, and their family members. Social protection : Member States have been asked to set a social protection floor for persons with disabilities that would guarantee their adequate standard of living. The European Pillar of Social Rights should mainstream disability in all aspects. In addition, Member States should apply the principle of mutual recognition when undertaking their assessment and determination of disability. Lastly, Parliament emphasised that the 2020-2030 strategy should be based on a cross-cutting, comprehensive review of all EU legislation and policy in order to ensure full harmonisation with the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), and that it should include a revised declaration of competences.
  • date: 2017-11-30T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
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  • The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs adopted an own-initiative report by Helga STEVENS (ECR, BE) on the implementation of the European disability strategy.

    The Treaty on the Functioning of the EU requires the Union to combat discrimination based on disability in the definition and implementation of its policies and activities and gives it the power to adopt legislation to address such discrimination.

    There are an estimated 80 million persons with disabilities in the European Union.

    Members called for a comprehensive strategy for people with disabilities by 2030 with the aim of fully implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in all areas of EU policy. This strategy should encompass accessibility, participation, non-discrimination and equality, have an adequate budget, a timeframe for implementation and a monitoring mechanism, and have the same legal value than the current strategy.

    Accessibility: the Commission and the Member States have been called upon to ensure that accessibility - a core principle of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - is given priority and is better integrated in all areas relating to disability.

    Members called on the EU's co-legislators to adopt the European accessibility act without delay. They recommended that the final text should enhance the accessibility of products and services for persons with disabilities and people with functional limitations while stressing the need to put in place European rules on the accessibility of public spaces and the built environment, as well as on access to all modes of transport.

    Participation: Members suggested including all countries in a future long-term initiative with a view to achieving an identical scope to that of the European parking card and to include access to services allowing participation in cultural life and tourism.

    Members are of the opinion that the European Structural and Investment Funds must, particularly in the next programming period, finance support services to enable persons with disabilities to realise the right to live independently in the community and respect accessibility rules following a universal design approach.

    Concerned about the barriers to participation that persons under guardianship and those living in institutions face across Europe, Members called on the Commission to ensure that persons deprived of their legal capacity can exercise all the rights enshrined in European Union treaties and legislation.

    Equality: the report invited Member States to contribute to the adoption of the horizontal anti-discrimination directive in order to move towards a pragmatic solution which should extend to the protection against discrimination in all areas of life of persons with disabilities.

    Concerned by existing data on discrimination and abuse of persons with disabilities, Members recommended the development of a new method for gathering data collection, in particular with regard to cases of denied boarding and refusal or unavailable assistance.

    Employment: the report stressed that access to the labour market was a global issue requiring support measures that involved: (i) accessible recruitment procedures; (ii) transport from and to the workplace (iii) career progression and on-going training, as well as (iv) reasonable accommodations and accessible workplaces.

    Members encouraged the adoption of positive discrimination measures, including setting minimum employment percentages for people with disabilities in the public and private sectors. In addition, Member States should remove all legal barriers to employability, such as guardianship laws and laws that limit the legal capacity of persons with disabilities, preventing them from signing work contracts.

    Education and training: Members called for the removal of barriers that all people with disabilities face to ensure quality inclusive education and lifelong learning systems. They called on the Member States to develop effective measures to combat the segregation and rejection of pupils with disabilities in schools, and to guarantee full access to Erasmus + and other youth programmes, such as the Youth Guarantee and the European Solidarity Corps.

    Health, social protection: the report noted that persons with disabilities often suffer from a lack of support, protection communication and information about health care services and rights, protection against violence, childcare, and have little or no access to such services and information.

    Members considered that health services personnel should be properly trained with a view to addressing the needs of persons with disabilities. They urged the Commission and the Member States to make full use of the European Reference Networks framework to develop, and expand access to, multidisciplinary and specialised healthcare for persons with disabilities in general and, in particular, for those with rare disabilities. Members called on the Member States to set a social protection floor for persons with disabilities that would guarantee their adequate standard of living.

    The report emphasised that the 2020-2030 strategy should be based on a cross-cutting, comprehensive review of all EU legislation and policy in order to ensure full harmonisation with the provisions of the UNCPRD, and that it should include a revised declaration of competences.

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  • OBJECTIVE: to present a Commission working document on the progress report on the implementation of the European strategy for disabled persons (2010-2020).

    BACKGROUND: fundamental rights, inclusive growth and social fairness are at the heart of the European Commission’s agenda. In this context, the elimination of barriers preventing people with disabilities from fully participating in society and enjoying their rights is therefore a priority for the EU. To this end, the European strategy for disabled persons 2010-2020 was the main instrument supporting the implementation by the EU of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

    As a reminder, the strategy identifies eight main areas of action:

    • enhancing accessibility;
    • improving the participation of people with disabilities;
    • equality;
    • access to employment;
    • education and training;
    • social protection ;
    • the health ;
    • external action.

    This report presents the progress achieved in the first five years of the strategy and to assess its coherent and efficient implementation.

    CONTENT: the report indicates that the implementation of the ten-year strategy has cemented the paradigm shift towards a human rights approach of disability policies.

    In general, the actions carried out over the last 5 years have made progress in the eight areas of the strategy.

    Significant progress was notably achieved in the area of accessibility with the adoption of the Directive on Web Accessibility and the proposal for a European Accessibility Act.

    The successful efforts on external action were also recognised by the UN Committee on the rights of persons with disabilities.

    However, the challenging economic situation has weakened the situation of people with disabilities in Member States. They remain consistently disadvantaged in terms of employment, education and social inclusion.

    Maintaining the strategy’s objectives: the report indicates that the objectives of the strategy remain relevant. In this respect, the Commission has committed itself to continuing its action by using the competences and instruments at its disposal to:

    • raise awareness at EU-level,
    • give financial support,
    • collect data and statistics,
    • monitor the situation of people with disabilities,
    • act as the Focal Point for the UNCRPD.

    The Commission continues to mainstream disability in all relevant EU policy areas. In this respect, tool #24 on Fundamental Rights and Human Rights and tool #25 on Employment, Working Conditions, Income Distribution and Inequality are of particular relevance in terms of addressing disability issues both in impact assessments and in evaluations.

    Public consultation: the Commission launched a public consultation to collect views from a broad range of stakeholders on the current situation of persons with disabilities. The results of the public consultation clearly show that the situation of people with disabilities remains challenging in terms of participation in everyday activities, rights, employment, accessibility, discrimination and mobility within the EU.

    While most of the concrete concerns expressed by stakeholders relate to actions and/or competences of the Member States, the Commission gathered some invaluable input on the views of persons with disabilities contained in the Annex to the report.

    Main achievements: the report describes the implementation so far and lists some of the main achievements in each of the areas.

    It also examines the role of the supporting instruments and the implementation of the UNCRPD within the EU institutions.

    Lastly, it looks ahead at how the strategy will continue to deliver on its objectives, taking into account the UN concluding observations. 

    In addition, the report includes a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of EU legal acts that have an impact on disability matters.

    Overall, the objectives set out in all the eight areas of the strategy in 2010 remain valid, as well as the instruments underpinning them. The strategy's instruments have been efficiently used and will continue to be in the coming years.

    The financial support provided to disability-related projects and to disabled people and their organisations has contributed to progress in all the areas of the strategy.

    Next steps: in conclusion, continued efforts need to be made in the main areas of the strategy, in particular:

    • dissemination and supporting actions on the Employment Equality Directive, to raise public awareness in the EU and improve reporting of discrimination cases and access to justice;
    • adoption of the 2008 proposal for an Equal Treatment Directive to fight discrimination on several grounds, including disability. The Commission continues the negotiations with the Member States to push the Directive forward;
    • efforts to improve accessibility for all by carrying out the negotiations on the proposed EU legal instruments - including initiatives in the area of transports, products and services -  and working on EU level accessibility standards;
    • monitoring of the EU programmes and financial instruments to ensure their full potential for the implementation of the Strategy at the EU and national levels, in line with the UNCRPD, in key areas such as access to employment and education, support to young people or deinstitutionalisation;
    • cooperation with Member States in the implementation of the UNCRPD, including through the Work Forum and the UN fora.
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  • date: 2017-02-02T00:00:00 docs: type: Non-legislative basic document published title: SWD(2017)0029 type: Non-legislative basic document published body: EC commission:
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  • body: EP responsible: False committee: CULT date: 2017-04-04T00:00:00 committee_full: Culture and Education rapporteur: group: S&D name: WARD Julie
  • body: EP shadows: group: EPP name: PLURA Marek group: S&D name: BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ Vilija group: ALDE name: HARKIN Marian group: GUE/NGL name: KUNEVA Kostadinka group: Verts/ALE name: ŽDANOKA Tatjana group: EFD name: AGEA Laura group: ENF name: MÉLIN Joëlle responsible: True committee: EMPL date: 2017-03-16T00:00:00 committee_full: Employment and Social Affairs rapporteur: group: ECR name: STEVENS Helga
  • body: EP responsible: False committee: FEMM date: 2017-05-16T00:00:00 committee_full: Women’s Rights and Gender Equality rapporteur: group: EPP name: ESTARÀS FERRAGUT Rosa
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committee: LIBE
  • body: EP responsible: False committee: PETI date: 2017-06-14T00:00:00 committee_full: Petitions rapporteur: group: ALDE name: WIKSTRÖM Cecilia
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    Implementation of the European disability strategy
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    4.10.06 People with disabilities