The evaluation of the European Union by United Nations experts is clear: while progress was made, the European Union must step up on its responsibilities.

The European Union ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2010. It means that it has the responsibility to enact laws and policies to advance the rights of persons with disabilities.

The Forum thanks the Committee for its good cooperation and involvement of organisations of persons with disabilities. We note that the involvement of civil society organisations is essential to ensure an accurate analysis of the Union’s work.

3 priority actions to improve disability rights

We welcome the Committee’s support of our demands adopt ‘new specific actions, measures and time frames for the implementation of the Disability Rights Strategy for the period 2025-2030’ (paragraph 13 of the Concluding Observations). This process must take into account the remaining Recommendations from the Committee.

The European Union must also strengthen the upcoming EU Budget. Paragraph 49b calls for no EU funding to be used for the construction or maintenance of institutional facilities (where persons with disabilities live segregated). Paragraph 66c calls on the Union to prioritise funding for accessible and affordable housing for persons with disabilities. These recommendations are in line with our own demands on the next EU Budget.

The third priority action we highlight is the Committee’s call for a comprehensive review of EU legislation, policies and practices to ensure their compatibility with the Convention (paragraph 9(a)).

Improvements in laws and policies

The priorities mentioned above must bring concrete advances to disability rights. The Committee recommended new laws and policies, and the revision of existing ones.

We highlight the calls to:

1. Adopt legislation to guarantee accessibility of the built environment, urban transport, as well as all products and information (paragraphs 27(a) and 51(d)). Include comprehensive accessibility requirements for train stations and rolling stock in the upcoming TSI PRM revision (paragraphs 51(b)).
2. Revise the passenger rights regulations.
3. Extend the scope of the European Disability Card to long-term relocation and render social security or social protection benefits portable (paragraph 47(a)).
4. Mainstream disability and gender across all legislation and policy frameworks and programmes, and expand the scope of the Gender Equality Strategy to include the rights of women with disabilities to work and employment, and the rights of women and girls with disabilities to political participation, an adequate standard of living, health and education (paragraph 21(a)).
5. Call on Member States to replace substitute decision-making regimes with supported decision-making systems that respect the will and preference of persons with disabilities (paragraph 33(a)). Urge them to withdraw from the Draft Additional Protocol to the Oviedo Convention (paragraph 39(a))
6. Develop and implement a comprehensive Disability Action Plan for EU external action (paragraph 75(a)).
7. Adopt a comprehensive, cross-institutional strategy for disability inclusion, including goals for further development of staff regulations and policy on the implementation of the rights of employees with disabilities and of visitors and participants with disabilities in EU activities (paragraph 83(a))

What’s next?

We call on the EU Institutions to closely involve organisations of persons with disabilities when implementing the recommendations from United Nations experts.

The Forum will continue its strong advocacy for an updated Strategy on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities with strong actions in line with the Conclusions. We will also intensify our efforts to ensure the next European Union’s Budget can properly fund and support disability rights and the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of life.