On Wednesday 3 March, the European Commission will present a new ten-year European strategy on the rights of persons with disabilities, the previous one having expired at the end of 2020.
The institution has already committed on several occasions - and again via Twitter, on Monday 1 March, that this strategy 2021-2030 “covers all aspects” of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
The EU is a member of this international treaty to protect the dignity and rights of persons with disabilities, but its previous strategy did not accurately reflect the requirements of the CRPD.
This is partly due to scheduling issues, notes Camille Roux, in charge of disability issues at COFACE, an organisation representing the interests of families at European level. “The previous strategy was adopted in 2010 and the EU became a party to the CRPD in 2011”, she says.
“What is interesting about this new strategy is that it will take us to 2030, which coincides with other commitments that the EU has made”, Camille Roux added. “Particularly in relation to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to create more equal societies”, she says.
Stakeholders expect the Commission’s commitments to be all the stronger as its strategy will help guide future EU legislative work. The latter, recalls the European Disability Forum (EDF), “has the power to decide many things that concern us: for example, rules on products and services or on travel” (see EUROPE 12572/9) and “has money that can be used to improve the lives of people with disabilities”.
EDF, but also the European Parliament, the European Ombudsman and the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights - members of the EU Framework for the CRPD - have thus signalled to the Commission their expectation that this strategy will ensure the mainstreaming of disability in all EU policy areas.
The EDF, for its part, has also advocated the implementation of five priority objectives: - ensure the inclusion of people with disabilities and enable them to enjoy an adequate standard of living; - guarantee their freedom of movement, which is still limited by “many obstacles”; - ensure their protection against all forms of violence; - promote their rights in the EU’s international relations; - ensure that their rights are guaranteed in the internal workings of the EU.
As the strategy is non-binding, the organisations hope, finally, that the EU27 will do their part. “We also need stronger commitments from the Member States”, Camille Roux insisted.
The Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council has already announced that it will organise a high-level meeting on the inclusion of people with disabilities in April in Lisbon to discuss the new strategy. EU Council conclusions could follow. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)