A delegation of the European Disability Forum met with the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms, Raffaele Fito, on 18 February to advocate for more support for persons with disabilities in the next long-term EU Budget.
The meeting focused on the European disability movement’s concerns about the ongoing negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034, which will dictate how EU funding is spent.
Our President, Yannis Vardakastanis, explained that the proposals on the table will be a step back from the conditions in the current Budget, with fewer safeguards and fewer funds available for disability inclusion.
The delegation pointed out several issues, including:
- The proposal removes safeguards to protect disability rights, compared to the current framework. Notably, the proposal removed the obligation to comply with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities from the “Horizontal Principles” governing the disbursement of Funds.
- The lack of dedicated funding for social inclusion in the next EU Budget.
- The lack of an explicit requirement to stop EU Funds from supporting segregating residential institutions.
We called on the Executive Vice-President to reinforce the Commission’s proposal during negotiations by:
- Restoring the references to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the next Multiannual Financial Framework’s ‘Horizontal Principles’.
- Narrow the scope of social spending on National Partnership Plans, notably by excluding investment in infrastructure from this definition.
- Earmark 25% of the social spending for specific spending on social inclusion.
Yannis Vardakastanis, President of the European Disability Forum, stated:
“The proposal for the next long-term EU Budget is a step back from the current conditions, which are already far from perfect. We need a Europe that invests more in social cohesion, and that is why I asked Vice-President Fitto to lend his support to reinforcing this funding during negotiations.”