Recalling that the European Union (EU) and all EU Member States have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and noting that the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in its Concluding Observations to the European Union in March 2025, made a particular point about the need to shape the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (hereafter the EU budget) to implement the CRPD and in particular to no longer allow EU funding to go towards the segregation and institutionalisation of persons with disabilities.
Acknowledging that EU funds have been a key tool to support the employment of persons with disabilities in the open labour market across the EU, and that despite the use of EU funds for this objective the gap in employment rates between persons with and without disabilities stands at 24 percentage points and has not improved over the past decade.
Considering that EU funds support actions to prevent poverty and social exclusion, yet acknowledging that 28.7% of persons with disabilities are still at risk of poverty and social exclusion in the EU, rising to 29.4% for women with disabilities, and compared to 17.9% for persons without disabilities.
Underlining that EU funds have a role to play in facilitating access to inclusive education and life-long learning for persons with disabilities, but recalling that 31.4% of persons with disabilities aged 15 to 34 are neither in employment, education or training (NEETs), growing to and 54.6% for persons with higher support needs, and that 24.6% of learners with disabilities still drop out of education early.
Recalling that housing will have increasing importance in the new EU budget, and is a significant issue for persons with disabilities. Pointing out in particular the many barriers persons with disabilities face when looking for affordable and accessible housing, and the severe shortage of accessible housing stock in the EU. Acknowledging that 11% of persons with disabilities in the EU report being overburdened by the cost of their housing, and that only 28.9% of persons with disabilities consider that their dwelling meets their needs.
Not ignoring the fact that an estimated 1.5 million persons with disabilities still live in institutions in the EU, and that it has been reported that the number of persons living in institutions has grown in 13 of the 27 EU Member States over the past decade.
Further acknowledging that numerous complaints have been made by disability organisations about EU funds being used to build or renovate segregating institutions for persons with disabilities using EU funds, that the persistence of EU funding going towards institutional care settings was criticised in the report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on his visit to the European Union in February 2023, and that the CRPD Committee in its concluding observations to the EU in 2025 also criticised the ongoing use of EU funds to prop up institutions.
Noting that in 2024 the European Commission published its guidance notice on independent living and inclusion in the community of persons with disabilities in the context of EU funding, yet that this notice as of yet has no binding implications on how the Member States should use EU funds.
Stressing that young persons with disabilities are still far less likely to take part in EU mobility programmes such as Erasmus+ owing to barriers and extra costs they face when moving abroad, as well as concerns about not receiving the right reasonable accommodation or having access to necessary services when moving abroad.
Given that the proposals for the EU funding regulations post-2028 do not contain enabling conditions through which, in the current Common Provisions Regulation, eligibility for EU funding is dependent on implementation of the CRPD, and particularly on committing to the transition from institutions to independent living and community-based services.
Noting in particular that these enabling conditions have been replaced with a shorter list of “horizontal principles” that make no reference to the CRPD.
In light of the fact that current stand-alone funds such as the European Social Fund Plus and the Regional Development Fund will be merged with a number of other funds, including the Common Agricultural Fund, into National and Regional Partnership Plans that will be drawn up by each Member State.
Bringing to light that through these National and Regional Partnership Plans, national governments will draw up plans for how EU funds will be used in their various regions, even if this may contradict the separation of competencies between national and regional level in certain Member States, and prevent local stakeholders from having a say in how their region uses EU funds.
Stressing that a minimum of 14% of the National and Regional Partnership Plans should be used for social actions, coming to a total of 101 billion euros over 7 years, yet underlining that in real terms after inflation this will be lower than the spending of the current European Social Fund Plus.
Underlining that the scope of what counts as social actions will be wider in the next EU budget than in the current European Social Fund Plus, meaning that the Member States will be expected to do more with less money. Bringing to light in particular that funding will be able to go towards addressing the housing crisis, which risks absorbing a lot of the social budget.
Nevertheless acknowledging the positive steps that have been taken in the proposal for the next EU budget to ensure continued support to civil society, including to organisations of persons with disabilities as part of the AgoraEU programme.
Given that just as in the current EU funding regulations, the proposals for the future EU budget will oblige the Member States to include organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) in the partnership process and have a say on where EU funds are invested, but taking note of the fact that the process for selecting the OPDs for this purpose is not always transparent or open, resulting in many national disability councils being excluded.
Stressing that the European Commission is only halfway through its 10-year Strategy on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, that it will present new proposed actions and flagships from now until the end of 2030, and that the next EU budget can be a tool to finance and realise these actions across the EU.
Therefore, the European Disability Forum calls on the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, in the process of amending and negotiating on the Commission’s proposal for a new EU budget, to:
- Ensure that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is mentioned explicitly among the horizontal principles for the correct use of EU funds;
- Increase the share of the National and Regional Partnership plans that must go towards social actions, to reflect the increased scope of activities classed as social investments, to offset the impacts of inflation, and to reflect the growing need to address social issues faced by persons with disabilities and other marginalised groups;
- Ensure earmarking of at least 25% for funds going towards social inclusion within the budget dedicated to social actions, as is the case in the current European Social Fund Plus;
- Separate the budget for addressing the housing crisis from other EU social spending, and ensure that funding for housing also has a clear focus on accessibility for persons with disabilities and older people;
- Foresee funding in the next EU budget to address the disability employment and skills gaps through a Disability Employment and Skills Guarantee, and integrate this action as one of the new flagship initiatives of the ongoing EU Strategy on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030;
- Include much clearer rules against investment into institutions using EU funds, and include compliance with the EU Guidance on Independent Living and Inclusion in the Community as a requirement for the use of funding in this area;
- Maintain strong binding requirements concerning accessibility for persons with disabilities in line with EU harmonised accessibility legislation, such as the European Accessibility Act;
- In the indicators that national managing authorities must use to report on the impacts of the use of funds, ensure that more indicators measure the impacts on persons with disabilities specifically;
- Ensure more logistical and financial support, within the relevant regulations, for persons with disabilities taking part in EU mobility programmes such as Erasmus+;
- Outline clearer rules on how organisations of persons with disabilities must be selected to be part of the partnership process, ensuring that the choice is clearly justified and that the chosen organisation can speak on behalf of all groups of persons with disabilities;
- Ensure that regions are not denied their role in deciding how EU funds are used at regional and local level, in the process of drawing up the National and Regional Partnership Plans;
- Protect the funding for civil society as part of the AgoraEU programme and ensure that advocacy is an eligible activity.