In order to strengthen the rights and inclusion of people with disabilities within the European Union, the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council, in collaboration with the European Commission and the European Disability Forum, had organised a conference on the future of the European Strategy on the rights of persons with disabilities on Tuesday 19 March in Brussels.
The European Strategy for the Rights of Persons with disabilities 2021-2030 is the guiding instrument for implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) at EU level. Although no new measures have been decided for the second phase of the strategy (2025-2030), the Belgian Presidency aims to promote an ambitious set of actions and initiatives for the next legislature.
To this end, it is working towards a political declaration supporting the strategy, as well as a debate with the members of the European Disability Platform, mandated to assist the Commission in implementing the UNCRPD and the European Strategy.
Three main topics selected for the conference: access to employment for persons with disabilities, an inclusive single market that promotes the free movement of persons with disabilities and reinforcing the implementation of the EU and UNCRPD strategy at European and national level, focusing on methods, tools and best practices.
The next steps for the European strategy. On this last point, Katarina Ivanković-Knežević, Director for Social Rights and Inclusion in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, opened the session by highlighting the commitment to complete all the initial actions of the current strategy by the end of this year or the beginning of next.
She stressed the importance of consistent implementation of certain actions, particularly those requiring careful transposition and application.
She envisaged a “version 2.0” of the strategy, incorporating the lessons learnt and tackling the remaining difficulties, particularly with regard to accessibility.
Ms Ivanković-Knežević also emphasised the strategic link with the European Pillar of Social Rights and its 2030 objectives, stressing the importance of targeting concrete reforms and effective policies to improve the employment and skills of persons with disabilities.
A national perspective on strategies. Malin Ekman-Aldén, Director General of the Swedish Agency for Participation, which promotes the implementation of disability policy, shared a national perspective on strategies for implementing the rights of persons with disabilities, drawing on the Swedish experience and the lessons learned from the Swedish Presidency in 2023. Ms Ekman-Aldén noted the importance of a cross-sectoral and human rights approach in Swedish disability policy, and the need to actively involve disabled person’s organisations in the development and implementation of strategies.
Collaboration and mutual learning at the service of the European Disability Platform. Sebastiano Sabato, researcher at the European Social Observatory (OSE), concluded the session by looking at ways of strengthening the European Disability Platform – designed to support the implementation of the strategy and strengthen cooperation and exchanges on this issue – focusing on the pooling of learning and the exchange of best practices.
Mr Sabato proposed the use of peer reviews and other mutual learning tools to facilitate collaboration and learning between Member States, civil society organisations and the European Commission.
The discussions highlighted the importance of involving civil society and organisations representing persons with disabilities in promoting the principle of “nothing about us without us”. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)