The European Commission published the proposal for Council Recommendations “Europe on the move’ – Learning mobility opportunities for everyone”. This proposal – which should replace a previous one from 2011 – focuses on improving learning mobility (such as programmes like ERASMUS+) and making it more inclusive.
We welcome this proposal for Council Recommendations as it clearly acknowledges that effort must be made to ensure that mobility for persons with disabilities becomes easier, and it includes some of our demands.
The challenges identified regarding persons with disabilities include:
- Lack of financial support and availability of information on mobility opportunities
- Not enough progress on systematic support for learners from disadvantaged groups.
- The pandemic – which stopped some mobility actions temporarily or moved them to virtual versions.
Why is it relevant for the disability community?
The text proposes 13 recommendations in different areas that cover all mobility schemes of the European Union that are new in comparison with the previous recommendations.
In several of them, people with fewer opportunities and specifically disability are mentioned.
A specific recommendation is made on inclusion. Recommendation No. 7, which states, “Make Learning Mobility more inclusive and accessible” by several means:
- Setting inclusion targets at regional and national levels and developing supporting measures for mobilities of participants with fewer opportunities;
- Ensuring learning mobility programs are accessible for persons with disabilities, by removing barriers and addressing their needs from an early stage of design.
- Providing support to make mobility accessible for both participants with fewer opportunities and the involved organisations by providing appropriate funding.
- Provide timely information on mobility opportunities and on funding and other measures available for learners.
- Encourage full or partial payment of grants and allow the portability of loans. Encourage the tax exemption of these grants in accordance with national law and provide information to mobility participants if there is any effect in relation to their income and taxes.
- Facilitating learning mobilities abroad by addressing students’ housing shortage together with relevant national and local authorities.
- Ensuring mobile participants appropriate protection including social security access to health care and where relevant the possibility to accumulate pension entitlements.
What do we still miss?
Learners with disabilities face severe difficulties and barriers to exercising their freedom of movement to study, volunteer, or do a traineeship in Europe. These Council Recommendations give incentives to EU Member States, but they are not mandatory.
We still miss many of our demands in this proposal:
- Lack of transparent and timely information on supporting measures and opportunities for persons with disabilities.
- Possibility to accumulate disability allowances with scholarships and study grants.
- Accessibility of the digital systems used, such as websites or platforms, to register mobility insurance.
- There is no reference to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
- There is no reference to the EU Disability Rights Strategy 2021 -2030
- Indication to collect disability disaggregated data to measure the effectiveness of the inclusion measure.
- Acknowledgement and support – including financial support – to the Inclusive Mobility Alliance.