The European Parliament lived up to our motto “Nothing Without Us” during it’s 3rd disability rights week, with most events and hearing actively involving persons with disabilities.
Inclusive, accessible housing
On Monday, the Special Committee on the Housing Crisis hosted a hearing on ‘Inclusive Housing for All: Accessibility, Disability Rights, Vulnerable Groups and Social Inclusion in EU Housing Policy’.
Catherine Naughton, our Executive Director, spoke at the hearing, highlighting
The issue of housing has been a problem for persons with disabilities for decades. Before the energy crisis and sharp rises in renting and buying costs, being able to find affordable, accessible housing was already having an impact on people’s day-to-day lives. Europe has a history of placing persons with disabilities in institutions, which is only getting worse.
The panel included interventions from the European Youth Forum, the Polish Association for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities and Fondazione Cariplo-Philanthropic.
Main conclusions were:
- Segregating residential institutions for persons with disabilities do not address the issue of cost, and is found to be as expensive or more costly than support for independent living
- Speculation in housing is causing a distortion of housing costs, and the EU should set targets for the availability of social housing, focusing also on the accessibility of this housing.
Disability-inclusive Transport
On Tuesday, the Transport Committee discussed mobility for persons with disabilities.
Daniel Casas, our accessibility officer, highlighted our newly-launched human rights report on air travel. He highlighted how EU laws are insufficient and barriers are compounded by inconsistent implementation.
Activist Jan McDavis highlighted that mobility restrictions come from a transport system design that excludes people:
Mobility is only truly inclusive if it meets 3 criteria: it must be available to everyone, it must be affordable, and it must be spontaneous. If even just one of these is missing, you don’t have mobility… you have logistics.
Notable contributions from Members of the European Parliament included:
- MEP Serrano Sierra underlined that the European Commission’s proposal for the next EU Budget weakens the obligations on accessibility and calls on EU Institutions to change it.
- MEP Devaux focused on the need to create accessibility for persons with invisible disabilities.
Main conclusions:
- Mobility needs to be accessible, spontaneous and available. It also means that information to plan and follow the journey must be accessible and available.
- Existing legislation in the European Union remains insufficient to ensure the rights of persons with disabilities.
Independent Living for persons with disabilities
Disability Intergroup co-chair Jagna Marczułajtis-Walczak hosted the event ‘Why is independent living so important for persons with disabilities?’
Our Vice-President Pat Clarke spoke at the hearing, highlighting that “(…) one thing is very clear. The right to choose to live independently, to be supported to live how and where you choose, is not up for debate. It is a core right under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It is also a right that enables access to all other rights – to education, to employment, to political participation – and it is being denied to millions.”
He encouraged participants to channel their energy into the next EU budget to make sure EU funds support community-based services and that the EU Affordable Housing Action Plan also puts the focus on accessible housing.
Discussing evaluations from UN experts
The Petitions Committee hosted a discussion on ‘The UN CRPD Concluding Observations on the EU report, from the perspective of petitions received’ on 2 December
The panel included interventions from the European Commission, European Ombudsman, the Fundamental Rights Agency, among others.
Our Vice-President Pat Clarke spoke at the event. He reported on our participation in the UN expert committee’s evaluation of the EU and noted that the Committee’s recommendation reflects the concerns of EU citizens.
Notable contributions from Members of the European Parliament included:
- MEP Peter Agius reflected on the central role of the Petitions Committee for the review of the EU, explaining that their work and reporting provided concrete recommendations to comply with the Convention.
- MEP Ní Mhurchú asked whether the European Ombudsman’s office will open an inquiry on if EU oversight and enforcement mechanisms ensure that people with reduced mobility have equal accessibility of the environment and information.
Main conclusions were:
- A clear call for ambitious actions as next steps of the strategy and better monitoring by the EU.
- A clear call for funding systems that are inclusive and respect the rights of persons with disabilities.
A disability action plan in External Action
The Subcommittee on Human Rights hosted an exchange of views ‘towards a Disability Action Plan in EU External Action: a state of play’
Catherine Naughton, our Executive Director, underscored the scale of the challenge and the lack of meaningful progress. She urged the EU to adopt an External Action Disability Action Plan to ensure that its diplomatic, development, and humanitarian actions become genuinely inclusive.
An accessible European Union
Two Committees discussed how accessibility must be improved: the internal market Committee and the Industry Committee.
The Internal Market Committee discussed the United Nations Concluding Observations regarding accessibility.
Our Deputy Director, Alejandro Moledo, spoke at the meeting, highlighting the importance of the European Accessibility Act and encouraging MEPs to refer to it in all relevant legislation concerning the EU’s internal market.
He warned against deregulation attempts:
We fear that in this attempt to simplify, deregulate, digital policies, we may lose obligations on accessibility.
Lastly, he also called for the establishment of a new European agency for accessibility to support the implementation and monitoring of EU accessibility legislation.
Quality support in the community
The Employment and Social Affairs Committee organised a public hearing on ‘Quality support for persons with disabilities and carers of persons with disabilities at the workplace and in the community’
© European Union 2025 – Source : EP
Catherine Naughton, our Executive Director, spoke at the hearing, highlighting
We need to see clarity that EU money should not go towards building or renovating (segregating) institutions and instead funds need to be used to boost the availability of personal assistance schemes, in-home support for persons with disabilities and their families, personal budgets where persons with disabilities can choose the type of service they want (…) and training of support workers…
Commissioner Hadja Lahbib closed the meeting, underscoring the European Union’s commitment to independent living and quality employment.
The panels included interventions from the Danish Presidency of the Council, the Cypriot Deputy Minister for social welfare, self-advocates and the European Association of Service Providers.
Notable contributions from Members of the European Parliament included:
- MEP Marczułajtis-Walczak calls on fast solutions and policies to ensure support for persons with disabilities and their carers.
- MEP Saliba calls for fair working conditions, protection and training for carers and ensuring that these conditions are in line with independent living.
Main conclusions were:
- Fostering an inclusive work environment includes strong legislation for accessibility and reasonable accommodation. It also counts on flexibility and understanding of diversity needs
- It is essential to invest funds into programmes that promote independent living in the community and stop funding programmes that segregate persons with disabilities.
Legal capacity and supported decision-making
The Legal Affairs Committee organised a hearing on the 2023 proposal for cross-border protection of adults, widely panned by disability advocates, UN experts and human rights experts.
Our Vice-President Pat Clarke spoke at the hearing, highlighting the importance to protect the right of choice and autonomy of adults of all ages across the EU. He explained that the proposed Regulation on Protection of Adults will only be beneficial and effective if it complies with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The panels included interventions from the European Commission, AGE Platform Europe, Inclusion Europe, the European Council of Notaries, and the European Association of Service Providers.
Notable contributions from Members of the European Parliament included:
- MEP Repasi stressed the need for action and change in legal capacity models.
- MEP Zalimas referred to the concluding observations of the CRPD Committee and asked what the European Commission is planning to do in that regards. He also requested more suggestions on actions needed to ensure legal capacity rights.
The rights, freedoms and remaining gaps in the protection of persons with disabilities in the EU
The Civil Liberties Committee organised a hearing on the 2023 proposal for cross-border protection of adults, widely panned by disability advocates, UN experts and human rights experts.
Our Vice-President Gunta Anca spoke at the hearing, highlighting the importance of real freedom of movement for persons with disabilities in the EU, which has to go beyond the Disability Card. The establishment of the Horizontal Equal Treatment Directive would also contribute to this cause and should not be forgotten.
Other events included:
- Conference on advancing accessible Public Procurement
- Health Committee exchange of views on disabilities following cancer, and a presentation of a study on rare diseases
- Agriculture Committee Exchange of Views ‘Promoting the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the agricultural sector : The example of La Canopée in Belgium’
- Culture Committee exchange of views ‘Using sport as a tool for empowerment’
- Women’s Committee exchange of views with Eurofound ‘Integration of Women with Disabilities in the Labour Market’
- Committee of Employment’s workshop ‘Independent living of persons with disabilities in the European Union – Implementation of Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’
- Development Committee exchange of views on ‘Global Partnerships for inclusive employment and ending segregation of persons with disabilities’
- Movie screening of “Deaf /Sorda”, nominated for the 2026 LUX audience award
- Workshop : “Disability and Accessibility to Art – A workshop on how to engage with persons with disabilities through art” with Belgian partner organsiation Zonnelied
The Parliament also hosted its Digital Accessibility Day on the 2 December