The Disability Intergroup came together in Strasbourg on 15 September to discuss its work programme for the coming two years. During the meeting, Parliamentarians reviewed the impact of the war in Ukraine on persons with disabilities. They discussed the accessibility of the State of the European Union addressed. They also started planning the 5th European Parliament of Persons with Disabilities.
MEP Katrin Langensiepen chaired the meeting.
The European Disability Forum’s Vice President, Pat Clarke, updated the Members on the legislative files the Forum is working on. He also explained how the current cost of living crisis aggravates the lives of persons with disabilities.
War in Ukraine
MEP Langensiepen took the floor to mention some worrying facts about the situation of persons with disabilities affected by the war in Ukraine:
- There are over 2.7 million persons with disabilities registered in Ukraine.
- Over 5 million people fled from Ukraine – those with disabilities arriving in the EU did so in an extremely precarious situation;
- Persons with disabilities living in residential institutions are at high risk of neglect. Many have no access to food, water, and essential medication, no staff to support them, and no access to humanitarian aid.
- At least 82,000 children are living in these institutions.
She continued by stating the actions of the Disability Intergroup in this area:
- The letter to Commissioner Dalli, initiated by MEP Stelios Kympouropoulos;
- the set of written questions to the Commission co-signed by many Intergroup members.
Parliaments efforts
Parliamentarians also shared their work on the topic:
- MEP Ivars Ījabs – presented the Riga Declaration on a Peaceful and Disability-Inclusive Ukraine and suggested promoting it in the European Parliament. He proposed to frame the Intergroup’s work around two priorities: help (short term) and reconstruction (long term). MEPs agreed that the Accession of Ukraine to the European Union should include the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
- MEP Monica Silvana González mentioned the Committee on Development’s initiative on disability strategy in humanitarian action. She referred to her three-day visit to the Republic of Moldova, where nearly 500,000 people have entered the territory from Ukraine.
- MEP Ádám Kosa suggested raising awareness and organising an event about the situation of persons with disabilities in and from Ukraine.
- Members of the Intergroup referred to the Child Guarantee and the need for a special group working on refugee children with disabilities.
Pat Clarke, EDF Vice President, concluded by presenting EDF’s work on the topic, and by highlighting the importance of embedding the Riga Declaration in an official position of the European Parliament.
5th European Parliament of Persons with Disabilities (EPPD)
Alejandro Moledo, EDF’s Deputy Director and Head of Policy, presented the Forum’s plans for the next European Parliament of Persons with Disabilities – which will likely take place in May 2023. It is a unique event that allows persons with disabilities to discuss with their EU representatives (read about the previous edition). He urged MEPs to meet with organisations of persons with disabilities from their countries and support the travel of their delegations.
Disability Strategy, the work of the EP and the CRPD review of the EU
The Disability Intergroup discussed further updates and ongoing work – such as the progress of the European Disability Rights Strategy 2021-2030. MEP Radka Maxová mentioned the EU Disability Card legal proposal, which is expected in 2023. MEP Langensiepen said the plenary would adopt her report about the AccessibleEU centre during the first week of October.
MEP Maxová shared the efforts by the Intergroup to set up a focal point for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the European Parliament. She suggested writing again to the EP’s Secretary General, as well as to the EP’s High Level Group on Gender Equality and Diversity to ensure the Intergroup has a voice in this group.
Finally, the Intergroup discussed the current review of the EU by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Several MEPs are members of the EU’s monitoring framework for the Convention: all Intergroup members can contact them or EDF to raise any concern about the EU’s implementation of the said Convention.
Adoption of the Disability Intergroup Work Plan 2022-2024
Alejandro Moledo reported on the main highlights of the Disability Intergroup activities in 2020 and 2021.
After this, the Disability Intergroup adopted its Work Plan 2022-2024 with specific suggestions from MEPs, such as the mental health of persons with disabilities and the explicit inclusion of the campaign to prohibit forced sterilisation brought up by MEP Estrella Durá Ferrandis.
Accessibility of the State of the European Union (SOTEU)
This year’s SOTEU has had the most accessibility measures so far. However, MEPs lamented the lack of sign language interpretation for online viewers and that automatic captions were provided separately. MEP Monica Semedo underlined that the platform was not always user-friendly.
The Intergroup suggested meeting the President of the European Parliament and the European Commission to ask for an accessible way of broadcasting the debate.
Conclusion of the meeting
- MEP Katrin Langensiepen suggested showing an extract of the award-winning documentary “Crip Camp” in Parliament during the European Day of Persons with Disabilities.
- MEP Kympouropoulos mentioned the European Network on Independent Living’s (ENIL) Freedom Drive from the 26th to the 28th of September and proposed inviting ENIL to the next Disability Intergroup meeting.
- MEP Maxová and MEP Tilly Metz deplored the many barriers in the institutions to persons with disabilities, including staff with disabilities and the lack of support for those who require personal assistance, for example.
