On Tuesday 14 January, the European Disability Forum published the European Commission’s responses to two open letters sent at the end of the year to relay concerns about the portfolio of the Commissioner for Preparedness, Crisis Management and Equality, Hadja Lahbib.
An appeal signed by over 100 organisations and sent to the Commissioner on 3 December highlighted the issues facing the EU’s 100 million disabled citizens, with a view to launching new actions (see EUROPE 13537/22).
In her response (https://aeur.eu/f/f1t ), the Commissioner assures of the Commission’s commitment to implement the EU strategy for the rights of people with disabilities (2021-2030) and that the application of European rules on accessibility, support for the employment of people with disabilities and the mainstreaming of disability in all European policies, are priorities.
The Commission’s Secretary General, Ilze Juhansone, in her response (https://aeur.eu/f/f1s ) to the letter sent on 30 October to the President, Ursula von der Leyen, highlighting concerns about the place of equality within an already busy portfolio, assures that it remains a “key priority”. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)