Open letter to European Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib: keep up the momentum on disability rights!

03.12.2024

Andre Felix

To: Commissioner Hadja Lahbib, European Commissioner for Equality; Preparedness and Crisis Management;

Dear Commissioner,

On behalf of the European Disability movement, we would like to congratulate you on your appointment and affirm our support and cooperation in advancing disability rights in the EU.

As you know, there are over 100 million persons with disabilities living in the EU, and significant challenges remain to guarantee our rights and inclusion in society:

28.8% of persons with disabilities remain at risk of poverty and social exclusion, compared to 18% of those without disabilities.
Only 50.6% of men and 45.9% of women with disabilities are employed, often in part-time or low-paid jobs.
1.4 million persons with disabilities in the EU do not have the right to live independently and are confined to segregating institutions.
Only 29.4% attain a tertiary degree compared to 43.8% without disabilities.

In addition, many barriers in the physical and digital world still prevent many persons with disabilities from enjoying full and effective participation on an equal basis with others. And many persons with disabilities continue to experience discrimination.

The last mandate, under the leadership of the first-ever Commissioner for Equality, saw good progress in asserting our rights, in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by the EU and all Member States. This was assured by the adoption of the EU Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030, especially through a list of specific flagship initiatives and actions after meaningfully consulting representative organisations of persons with disabilities. This Strategy led to important achievements, such as the adoption of the European Disability Card and Parking Card.

Given that the Strategy lacks flagship initiatives after this year, it is our highest priority that you swiftly adopt a new set of actions for the Strategy, actions that should be achieved during your mandate.

Therefore, on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we call on you to firmly commit to advancing disability rights by confirming that the European Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030 will be updated with new flagship initiatives and actions.

The actions should be in line with the priorities of the European disability movement, including establishing a European Agency for Accessibility, creating the Disability Employment and Skills Guarantee, promoting legislation on the affordability and availability of assistive technologies and ensuring the full inclusion and perspective of women and girls with disabilities, as well as the perspective of persons with disabilities with other intersectional identities.

The actions should also lead to incorporating the disability perspective in all equality strategies and action plans under your responsibility, such as the Roadmap for Gender Equality, the future Gender Equality Strategy, the LGBTI Equality Strategy, and the Anti-Racism Strategy. The Strategy should further guarantee that all regulations and guidance related to the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework adhere to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

We also call on you to ensure that all plans and actions relating to crisis management and preparedness are disability-inclusive.

The European Commission needs to guarantee that financial resources and expertise are allocated to continue the progress made last term, specifically by:

Appointing experts on disability policies in your cabinet and in the cabinet of the Vice-President for People, Skills and Preparedness.
Strengthening the role and responsibilities, expertise and resources of the Equality Taskforce within the Secretary General of the European Commission, as well as of the equality coordinators across the Commission services. The Taskforce should also become more visible and transparent to the public and closely cooperate with civil society organisations working on equality policies.
Ensure that the College of Commissioners also has the resources necessary to ensure that disability rights are mainstreamed in all policies and legislation.
Guarantee a high level of disability rights expertise in the Commission’s focal point for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Adequately fund organisations of persons with disabilities at the European and national levels and ensure their close involvement in all relevant actions.

We are committed to supporting you in your work towards a real Union of Equality. Therefore, in the spirit of close cooperation and of the motto of our movement “nothing about us without us”, we, the representatives of the European disability movement, would like to request a meeting with you to effectively chart the path ahead on disability rights.

Signatories

European and international organisations

National organisations

Belgium

Austria

Bulgaria

Croatia

Cyprus

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malta

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Slovenia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

The Netherlands

Armenia

Kosovo

Moldova

North Macedonia

Norway

Serbia

Ukraine

United Kingdom