Part of the Union

The European Union has grown in size and now encompasses some 65 million disabled people living in almost 30 different countries. Aurélien Daydé of the European Disability Forum looks at developments in European campaigning

There are more than 65 million in Europe with a disability of some kind, but many people with disabilities are still invisible and have to put up with discrimination, social exclusion, isolation and, too often, poverty.

It’s because of this that, 13 years ago, activists with disabilities or with disabled children joined forces to create the European Disability Forum (EDF), with the aim of influencing European institutions and decision-making.

For the last decade EDF has helped develop both the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Council of Europe Action Plan. We have also worked closely with numerous European bodies including industry and consumer organisations.

In spite of these efforts, there is currently no long-term EU agenda on disability with a clear joint commitment from the institutions and member states. Each state, of which there are 27, is developing its own national disability action plan, and each one is different. To free Europe of its barriers, we need to co-ordinate the European Action Plan with the various national plans, ensuring that clear and measurable objectives are linked to the EU strategy for growth and jobs.
Improving access to transport and information technology will help break down European barriers. We also need to encourage an inclusive education system that promotes quality services and increases social, economic and cultural access.

Most of the important day-to-day issues in Europe are now governed by the complex decision-making processes of its main bodies: the Commission, the Parliament and the meetings of member states.

The Commission is made up of different “Directorates General” – ministry-like bodies that deal with most of the details of European legislation. Within the Directorate for Employment and Social Affairs, EDF is working with a unit that specialises in integrating disabled people.

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) do much of their work in committee, some of them, like the employment and social affairs committee, with hundreds of MEP members. In addition to these formal or statutory groups, there are informal activist groups such as the Disability Intergroup (DI). The DI is made up of MEPs from all nationalities and most political groups who want to promote disability policy across Europe and nationally.

The DI, established in 1980, is one of the older intergroups. It is currently made up of about 100 MEPs. In December 2009, it elected as its president Ádám Kósa, a Hungarian politician and the first deaf person to become an MEP.

At a cocktail party held by the DI, the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Pál Schmitt, welcomed his Hungarian colleague and expressed his support for the disability movement. Yannis Vardakastanis, President of EDF, added that this was a historic day for Europe’s 65 million people with disabilities and that for the first time in the DI’s history, its motto, “Nothing about us without us” was becoming a reality.

In replying, Ádám Kósa said: ”I dream that disabled people will finally decide for themselves. Full ratification by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the adoption of the Disability Pact by the EU member states are the necessary steps to achieve this dream.”

The active involvement of disabled persons in future developments is essential. If full participation becomes a reality, the EDF’s Disability Pact will contribute to a truly inclusive society.