On Tuesday 4 October, the European Parliament endorsed the recommendations made by the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) on the future AccessibleEU centre in support of accessibility policies in the EU Single Market. The IMCO’s report, presented at the plenary session in Strasbourg, was adopted by an overwhelming majority of MEPs, with 611 votes in favour, 3 against and 9 abstentions.
Announced in the European Commission’s Disability Rights Strategy 2021-2030, AccessibleEU aims to become a resource ‘hub’ for European accessibility policies. The aim is to improve the coherence and implementation of legislation across the Union.
Indeed, while the EU has adopted a series of standards or laws, MEPs complain that their implementation leaves something to be desired. This is due to a lack of qualified experts in both the public and private sectors, as well as insufficient cooperation between the EU, Member States and stakeholders.
“Without clear guidelines, inclusion remains arbitrary. The aim [of AccessibleEU] is therefore to harmonise the different ideas of inclusion in Europe and the Member States and to harmonise the different speeds in the implementation of existing legislation through organised knowledge-transfer”, argued Katrin Langensiepen (Greens/EFA, German), European Parliament rapporteur.
A clear structure and mandate
The report discussed during the plenary session formulates a series of recommendations to ensure that the future centre has real “added value”. It should provide “constant and targeted support to Member States for implementing, monitoring and enforcing accessibility legislation” and “assist the Commission in updating and developing accessibility laws”, Ms Langensiepen explained. For example, it should provide reliable and comparable data on accessibility.
Furthermore, the report calls for a clear structure for the centre, with a secretariat, a forum and sub-groups. These would be made up of experts on different topics. In addition, each Member State should set up ‘mirror’ groups at national level, to strengthen the dialogue.
Sufficient resources
Members of Parliament from all along the political spectrum have also repeatedly pointed out that for the centre to be able to deliver on its promises, it will need its own adequate budget and sufficient human resources.
Finally, people with disabilities should be represented at all levels of staff. “Our direct involvement and the perspective of organisation, representing persons with disabilities should influence policy recommendation, actions and standardisation process through the centre”, said Katrin Langensiepen.
In the parliamentary committee, the report had already met with great success. EU Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli, who attended the plenary debate, praised the commitment and cooperation of MEPs on accessibility issues.
“We have launched a call for tenders to build AccessibleEU and we aim to sign the contract by the end of the year”, she said.
Read the adopted report: https://aeur.eu/f/3e0 (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)