The European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions (PETI) adopted, on Wednesday 20 September, a draft resolution calling on the EU to respond to the difficulties faced by persons with autism spectrum disorder.
Adopted with 22 votes in favour, none against and 3 abstentions, the text highlights the fact that there is currently no harmonised and mutually recognised legal status for autism spectrum disorder within the EU. As a result, the persons concerned find it difficult to have their rights recognised when they move from one country to another. MEPs believe that official diagnoses should be recognised in the same way as disability certificates.
They are also calling on the EU to allocate funds to policies to combat discrimination against autistic persons and to unblock discussions on the horizontal directive on equal treatment (see EUROPE 13200/28). At the same time, they are calling on the Member States to reform their guardianship systems so that the persons concerned can act in their own capacity.
Lastly, they welcomed the European Commission’s draft directive introducing a European disability card as a “step in the right direction”. However, they want to see its scope extended (see EUROPE 13244/1).
The draft resolution follows a petition initiated by Maria Pindado Galan on behalf of the Spanish Autism Confederation.
To see the text: https://aeur.eu/f/8ob (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)