Today marks exactly one year since the Directive establishing the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card was adopted.
We are celebrating this milestone with an updated page and Frequently Asked Questions section on the Card!
The road from the idea for a European Disability Card to its adoption was long. We are still waiting for it to become a reality across the European Union, as EU countries need to adapt laws and start accepting and issuing the Cards. But once the European Commission published its proposal in September 2023, it only took a little bit more than one year for EU institutions to adopt the Directive.
This proves that when EU countries want to, they can quickly advance disability rights. We hope the same applies in the next phase of this process!
The past year saw some progress: Member States have started looking into updating, adapting or creating national laws to be in line with the Directive. This should be done with the close involvement of organisations for persons with disabilities, and the process must be finished by June 2028.
The EU institutions also have more work to do. The Directive needs additional supporting legislation called Delegated Acts and Implementing Acts. These Acts will provide more details about specific features, such as the digital versions of the Cards, or security mechanisms to prevent forgery. This work is now ongoing in the European Commission, in collaboration with EU Member States and under consultation with organisations of persons with disabilities.
We will celebrate the first anniversary of the Directive by closely monitoring the work of EU institutions and EU countries on making the Cards a reality. We want to make sure that the decision-makers stick to the indicated timelines and that persons with disabilities will benefit from the Cards as soon as possible!