The European Disability Card
The EU Disability Card is currently waiting for final approval by the EU Institutions. The Card will provide an easy way to give proof of your disability status when visiting another EU country– and receive associated special conditions or preferential treatment in a wide range of services, including culture, leisure, sport, transport or commercial discounts.
The final text of the legislation was provisionally agreed on the 8 February. The date for the launch of the Card, but should still take around 4 years.
What will the European Disability Card be like?
Note that 8 EU countries (Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Malta, Romania, and Slovenia) participated in an EU pilot project and therefore already have a Card. The text of the new law was agreed upon on 8 February but is waiting for final approval. It will create a new Card and extend it to all other countries once adopted.
The agreed-upon text focuses on ensuring that non-nationals with disabilities who are EU citizens have access to the same special conditions and “preferential treatments” as nationals when temporarily visiting other EU countries. Read the provisionally agreed text (PDF – not final text).
Temporary travel
The Card facilitates benefits and support mainly for persons who are temporarily staying abroad, such as tourists, and people on short stays (for work or helping friends or family, for example). If you move abroad permanently, the rules of the new Member State of residence apply.
Same special conditions and “preferential treatments”
The Card will allow persons with disabilities to access the same discounts, preferential access and other support as nationals with disabilities.
Support when doing EU Mobility programmes
The Card will allow persons with disabilities to access support when taking part in EU Mobility Programmes, such as ERASMUS+ or the European Solidarity Corps.
Physical and digital
The Card will be available in both physical and a digital versions.
Free of charge
The Card will be issued and renewed free of charge.
Distinct Cards
The EU Parking Card and the European Disability Card will be two separate Cards.
EU Parking Card
The proposal also reinforces the existing EU Parking Card.
EU-level website and national websites
There will be official websites that will provide information about the European Disability Card.
Strenghts of the agreed text
In addition to the characteristics above, it is important to mention that the agreed text is a good improvement from the initial proposal.
Strong points include:
- It is binding legislation, so all EU countries will have to implement it.
- The Card will respect a persons’ privacy
- Measures are foreseen to avoid forgery and fraud.
- The European Disability Card can complement national disability cards.
- An additional legislation will extend the Cards to third-country nationals residing in European Union Member States.
You can read our full analysis to the original proposal.
What are the next steps?
The legislative procedure is currently underway. The EU Institutions reached a provisional agreement on a final text on the 8 February 2024. The final text needs to be formally approved now.
Final approvals and adoption
When a compromise is found, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament will vote to approve the final text.
The text will then be published in the Official Journal of the EU and become law – a Directive.
Implementation
As the law is a Directive, the EU countries will then have to translate the text to national law (in a process called transposition) and actually start producing the Cards. The Member States will have 42 months todo this, counting from the moment the Directive enters into force. This will be at the earliest 4 years from now.
How can you help?
At the moment, you can:
- Register for our monthly newsletter, where we will keep you appraised of our efforts.
- Write to your MEPs and to the lead negotiator of the European Parliament, and request them to defend their position in negotiations.
- Write to the social affairs attaché of the Permanent Representation to the EU of your country and request them to agree with the European disability movement demands.
The Pilot Projects
The EU disability card will provide an easy, physical way to recognise disability status when travelling in the EU – and some associated benefits, usually on cultural, sports and leisure activities. The European Commission will present a proposal to expand it in the second half of 2023. Details and the timeline for the proposal are still to be confirmed.
The Card currently exists as a pilot project in 8 EU Countries. This means that only people residing in these countries can get them, and they are only valid for use between the following countries:
The pilot project started in 2016 and was concluded in 2019 (but most countries kept the Card). Under this initiative, the Card is voluntary and meant to ensure equal access for persons with disabilities in the areas of culture, leisure, sport and transport.
Following the end of the pilot project, the European Commission conducted an evaluation study with a positive outcome. Following this conclusion, the Disability Rights Strategy 2021-2030 indicated that the expansion of the European Disability Card is one of its flagship initiatives. It was further announced as one of the Commission’s key initiatives for 2023.
In practice, the European Commission will deliver its proposal by September 2023. However, that does not mean it will become a reality by then but it will be the kick-off for the EU’s decision-making procedure. It is therefore not clear when exactly the Disability Card will be a reality in all EU Member States but we will advocate of course for a swift adoption.
Our efforts in the news
- Politico Europe: EU’s disability card needs to go beyond good intentions, say activists
- Politico Europe Living Cities: Disability Card Update
- Euractiv: EU disability card proposal welcomed but disability organisations want more
- Euronews: European Commission unveils plans for EU-wide disability card
- DeutscheWelle: Unijna karta osoby z niepełnosprawnością ułatwi podróżen
- Euroefe: Bruselas propone una tarjeta europea para personas con discapacidad
- AgencEurope (paywall): European Commission proposes to create a European Disability Card
- EUObserver (paywall): EU’s new disability card — a hit for trips, ‘insufficient’ for moving
- EUObserver (paywall): Burdens hindering 87m disabled citizens moving within EU
- Politico Europe Morning Mobility (paywall): commission pitches ‘disability card’ to ease travel
- The Europeans (Podcast) : Greece’s elections, whales, and disability rights
Our member' reactions
- Belgian Disability Forum: La proposition de directive EDC est connue
- European Blind Union: Free movement for disabled citizens: the European Commission puts its cards on the table
- EURORDIS: Commission’s Disability Card plans are promising, but implementation will be key
- Österreichischer Behindertenrat: Richtlinienvorschlag für europaweiten Behindertenausweis veröffentlicht
- ENIL: Statement of the European Network on Independent Living on the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities
Documents and information
Related documents
- EDF’s response to the call for Feedback on the adoption of the European Disability Card Directive (external)
- EDF analysis of the Commission proposal for a European Disability Card
- EDF’s proposed amendments on the proposal for a European Disability Card and a European Parking Card
- EU Disability Card – EDF Response’s to European Commission’s Call for Evidence
- EDF Position on the EU Disability Card (2022)
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Read moreSome experiences
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“The application for the European Disability Card was very easy. I just had to send an email to the disability service with my name and national registry number and the card was sent to my home address.
Shortly after receiving my EDC, I got a message from my home region that I had to renew my regional pass for reductions to cultural activities. So, I called the regional service to ask if I could use the EDC from now on, instead of the regional pass, as this would simplify things for me and reduce the number of cards I have to keep in my wallet.
Unfortunately, they recommended to keep both cards, as the regional pass grants free entrance for a PA, but does not give any reductions for me personally, while the EDC could potentially provide other reductions for me, but will not apply to my PA.
After this first set back, I decided to try it the other way around. I looked through the list of partners on the Belgian EDC website and saw that a theatre where I sometimes go to watch plays was listed as a partner. I called the theatre and asked if I could get the same reduction I usually get for me and my PA with the European Disability Card. The person on the phone was not aware of the EDC and the colleague who usually dealt with questions in the area recently retired. So, once again, the advice was to keep my regional disability pass.
After establishing that the EDC wouldn’t be of great use to me yet in Belgium, I thought let’s try to use it for travel. I went to the Estonian EDC website and browsed through the different possible reductions for hotels. I noticed to my surprise that I could indicate if I was looking for EDC benefits for Estonians or foreigners. In the end, I randomly called one of the listed hotels and I was not really surprised to find out that, while their hotel was accessible to wheelchairs, they had never heard of a European Disability Card.”
Frank, a Card holder from Belgium -
“I live in Slovenia and I was very happy to get the EU Disability Card. On the Slovenian web and facebook page, I found many addresses where people with disabilities are offered benefits and discounts in Slovenia. That’s a very big advantage for us persons with disabilities.
Several other EU members joined this project too. There are no contacts, even not at our Ministry of Labour, […], where we could get the addresses of the providers of benefits for the disabled, who are associated in the EU Disability Card.
I think that the Card would have a real meaning if we all have the information who are the suppliers in other Member States, as the purpose of the Card is to use these services in all member states.”
Marko, a Card holder from Slovenia -
A family with two children from Ireland was planning on travelling to Finland. Both children have hidden disabilities, autism and dyspraxia, which can make travelling more difficult. Every time they travel, they have to get a note from their doctor because the note cannot be older than 3 months. On top of that, the doctor’s note has to be translated into the language of the country where they are travelling which is also at personal cost of the family. If they travel without the note, they are always uncertain if they will receive the reasonable accommodation they require, or they have to make lengthy explanations which can be tiring. A common European Disability Card would make travelling much easier for them.
Children with invisible disabilities -
I am not going to say that with the European Disability Card is all much easier for us, but it really helps. In Belgium, my beloved country of residence, I successfully used it in cinemas, concerts, and museums – at the end of the day, this was an idea from the Belgian disability movement, and is the only disability card in Belgium. Still, much more places in Belgium should recognise it.
And in Italy (my last trip before the pandemic), I used it even in places in which they did not know about its existence! With a big exemption though: transport services. Even if the railway company had discounts for Italians and Swiss with disabilities, they could not recognised I had a disability – I even tried with the Spanish one too, just in case!
Alejandro Moledo, Spanish card-holder living in Belgium
History of the Card
- We started campaigning for the introduction of a European Disability Card (then known as “European Mobility Card”) in 2011.
- The core demand of our campaign was to establish a Card recognized throughout the EU that gives its holders the same disability-related rights and discounts as a national of the Member States that the person is visiting.
- In 2015, we came closer to putting the idea of a European Disability Card into practice when the European Commission published a call for proposals for a pilot project. 8 EU Member States participated: Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Malta, Romania, and Slovenia.
- The European Commission indicated that the following areas can be included: Culture, Leisure, Sport, and Transport (as previously agreed by the preparatory Project Working Group, where interested Member States representatives together with the European Commission and EDF were discussing the pilot project).
- In March 2021, the new Disability Strategy was published. It mentions that a legislative proposal for a European Disability Card will be adopted by 2023. Furthermore, 2022’s EU State of the Union mentioned the Card as a key initiative.
Contact
Marie Denninghaus – Senior Policy Coordinator: marie.denninghaus@edf-feph.org
Álvaro Couceiro – Policy Officer: alvaro.couceiro@edf-feph.org