The European Court of Auditors released an audit analysing the impact of the EU in supporting persons with disabilities.
This audit identifies several shortcomings but also noted the clear improvement set by the 2021-2030 EU Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Yannis Vardakastanis, President of the European Disability Forum, commented on the report:
“We welcome all initiatives that audit the EU and Member States’ responsibilities towards Europe’s estimated 100 million persons with disabilities. We need closer scrutiny of the EU’s actions in all areas, whether they are related to developing policies and legislation, funding actions to support persons with disabilities or ensuring proposed policies are actually implemented by Member States.
We take note of the strong title but also that the report notes the advances, and correctly identifies issues that we have campaigned, such as the need to close the disability employment gap, the need for more disaggregated data that accurately reflects the diversity of persons with disabilities across the EU, and the need to ensure EU funding does not support initiatives contrary to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, such as segregating institutions.
We believe the European Commission and the European Parliament have improved in addressing disability rights, including with initiatives such as the European Disability Rights Strategy 2021-2030 and binding legislation like the European Accessibility Act or the recently launched European Disability Card. The appointment of a European Commissioner for Equality has brought a marked improvement in how the European Commission addresses disability rights. We expect that this role and mandate are kept in the next legislative terms and that a dedicated Directorate-General for Equality and Fundamental Rights is created to support their work.
We agree with several remarks regarding the lack of implementation of ambitious proposals and how EU countries still fail to ensure that these proposals are translated into practical changes in the everyday lives of persons with disabilities. In our opinion, EU countries bear the brunt of the responsibility regarding the limited impact of EU action by watering down legislation and, as the report pointed out, foregoing implementation.
I hope that this report from the Court of Auditors will be a call to action to the European Union institutions and EU Member States to heed the main calls of the disability movement, by supporting disability rights in policies and legislation with dedicated structures and human and financial resources, and live up to their obligations as public administrations in becoming more accessible and inclusive for 15% of the population.
I also hope that the European Court of Auditors engages further with the European Disability movement for deeper analysis in the future.”