Following Ursula von der Leyen’s reelection to the head of the European Commission (see EUROPE 13456/1), the European Disability Forum (EDF) expressed that it has serious concerns about there being no mention of disability issues in the document outlining European Commission’s policy priorities for 2024–2029.
In a letter sent on Thursday, 18 July, EDF President Yannis Vardakastanis sought clarification, as a matter of urgency, from Mrs von der Leyen regarding this omission.
Although the EDF welcomes the [institution’s] pursuit of the “Union of Equality” initiative and the proposals on social issues, the movement says that it is baffled by there being no mention of disability or accessibility. In addition, the association would like the disability rights strategy to be updated with a new set of actions.
“The previous mandate saw important advances in disability rights. We hope that this oversight is promptly corrected and that the Commission continues advancing the rights of [the] 100 million Europeans with disabilities”, stated Yannis Vardakastanis [in a press release].
Read the letter: https://aeur.eu/f/d35 (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)