Adam Kosa MEP (H/PPE)

______

President:

Adam Kosa MEP (H/PPE)

Vice-presidents:

Dieter Koch MEP (D/PPE) Kinga Goncz (HU/S&D) Richard Howitt MEP (UK/S&D) Liz Lynne MEP (UK/ALDE);Cecilia Wikstrom MEP (SE/ALDE) Elisabeth Schroedter MEP (DE, Greens) Ilda Figueiredo MEP (P/GUE) Claudio Morganti MEP (I/EFD)

MEETING REPORT

Tuesday 28 September 2010

European Parliament Brussels

Chair: Adam Kosa MEP, President

DYNAMIC DEVELOPMENTS OF THE DISABILITY POLICY:

INTEGRATING THE CONVENTION IN THE EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK

President opened the meeting and presented the agenda and the speakers.

Jean-Marc Delizee, State Secretary for Persons with Disabilities, Belgian Presidency

Priorities of the Belgian Presidency concerning persons with disabilities

Main priority is the implementation of the UN CRPD, which signifies the transition from the charity-based to the human rights-based approach to disability, giving persons with disabilities the enforceable tools to be the active members of the society.

Article 33 of the Convention on national implementation and monitoring is paramount. The focal point (Art 33.1), independent monitoring mechanism (Art 33.2) and the participation of the civil society (Art 33.3) are the elements that will have to be established in all Member States.

The Belgian Presidency Work Forum organised by the Belgian Presidency and the European Commission in Brussels on 18-19 November will contribute to the CRPD implementation in Europe by exchanging best practices and creating a network of experts. The network should continue running after the Work Forum meeting regularly and collecting good examples of implementation. The 1st day of the Work Forum will focus on the involvement of the civil society, while the 2nd day will present the practical cases from the Member States from the various mechanisms of art 33 of the UNCRPD.

The Council resolution on the future disability framework adopted under the Spanish Presidency emphasises the need to mainstream disability across different policies and promote the CRPD implementation. This is what the future Disability Strategy will be about.

The Code of Conduct, defining the role of the Commission, Council and the Member States in the implementation of the UN Convention, is another instrument worth mentioning. It is now being discussed at the Council, and will hopefully be adopted by the end of the Belgian Presidency.

The draft Equal Treatment Directive is still pending at the Council. Belgium has chosen the thematic approach to the negotiations. The first theme discussed was the difference in treatment in access to financial services, based on the study ordered by the Commission. Another item is housing, that will be discussed on the basis of the answers to the questionnaire prepared by the Presidency. Much work remains to be done, but hopefully, the thematic approach will help concretise the debate.

Agnes Varga, Hungarian Presidency

The cooperation between the three Presidencies has enabled efficient continuity in working on disability issues. The joint commitment was expressed by the Trio Presidency during the Ministerial Meeting in Zaragoza in May 2010.

Hungary is planning to organise a conference on the implementation of the CRPD under its Presidency. Hungary will also aim to adopt Council Conclusions on the new EU Disability Strategy and the draft Equal Treatment Directive. The outcome of the Belgian Presidency is going to be crucial in this respect.

The speaker reminded that in year 2000, Hungary received the Roosevelt award for the extraordinary improvement in the field of persons with disabilities. The country will strive to further improve its record.

Yannis Vardakastanis, European Disability Forum

The Convention is soon to be concluded by the EU. Its deposition at the UN will be a strong political act at the International level. However, as the decision of the Council has already been adopted (in November 2010) and published in the Official Journal, the Convention is already considered as binding on the EU internally.

Translating the UN obligations in the European framework is a common challenge, and requires a joint effort on behalf of all involved parties: the EU institutions, Member States, inter-institutional mechanisms and civil society.

This is why EDF welcomed the preliminary Commission proposal for thematic areas to be included in the next European Disability Strategy, directed at the implementation of the Convention – indeed, no European activity should disregard the Convention, which is world’s most important reference point on disability now!

The issue of governance is essential: an effective implementation framework needs to be put in place to implement the Convention. Some features of the framework have already been identified by EDF:

-Commission acts as the focal point for the EU implementing measures. But who in the Commission? We insist that the Commission President’s office and the Secretary General should directly oversee this task to ensure the horizontal and vertical implementation of the Convention in all EU policies.

-The Disability High Level Group (that is now is a structure composed of representatives of Member States’ ministries regularly meeting in Brussels under the coordination of the Commission) should be replaced by a new body or be reshaped with new powers to participate in the implementation of the Convention. It should have a stronger involvement of the Member States through their national focal points and be able to issue opinions on European legislation of importance for persons with disabilities.

-The independent monitoring mechanism overseeing the implementation of the Convention will need to be established. Currently, in the EU, there is no body that could play this role; therefore it will need to be created, possibly by combining the functions of a number of existing bodies. EDF insists that “independence” should be in the core of this new mechanism. It should be vested with powers allowing it to independently comment on the legislative proposals and address complaints.

-The involvement of DPOs is crucial and is a requirement of the Convention! Unfortunately already in the ratification process the involvement of EDF has been limited, and there is no mention in the ratification decisions (Council decision and code of conduct) which refer to implementation of the CRPD.

-The role of the European Parliament cannot be downplayed. As a directly elected European institution, it must be closely involved in implementation, for example through participating in the framework ‘to promote, protect, and monitor the implementation of the Convention’. Its Petitions Committee, Civil Liberties Committee and the Subcommittee on Human Rights should be involved. The Commission should be invited to submit the regular reports on the implementation of the UN Convention to the EP before sending them to the UN CRPD Committee.

Addressing the European Parliament today, I would like to highlight a few important areas where the EP would need to be involved in the years to come to implement the Convention. Because of the time constraints, this overview will not be complete – but our position paper on the new European Disability Strategy is available at the door, and it contains a full set of proposals.

[The proposals of Mr Vardakastanis can be found in the Annex to this report. Please see below].

There is no foolproof formula on how to implement the Convention in the EU but the fact is that it will have to be implemented with joint forces and common commitment. The key is to never forget that we now have this international Treaty that binds all institutions, actions and policies of the EU. The expertise of the DPOs is there to guide the decision makers in this task.

Nathalie Vanderbroucke, Belgian Disability Forum

Exclusion of people with disabilities is a reality for all persons with disabilities. We are hoping that the CRPD will change it, and waiting for the Belgian state to take steps to implement it. The Convention entered into force in Belgium in August 2009, and the country will have to submit its first report to the CRPD Committee in August 2011.

Compiling the information to be submitted to the Committee takes a lot of time, especially when it concerns data and information. Belgium still has to develop a long-term strategy on implementation, including objectives, tools and progress indictors. This should be done in close consultation with the State and the civil society.

The Belgian situation is an interesting one because of its federal and corporatist nature, and the implementation of the Convention is not going to be a straightforward exercise.

The Belgian disability organisations have been calling to be closely involved in the process, and emphasised the strong role that should be played by EDF in the European implementation (which should not disregard the European Fundamental Rights Charter that can be a helpful tool in the implementation).

Belgian Disability Forum regretted the slow progress in adopting the European Equal Treatment Directive and reminded that the recent crisis revealed the fragility of the purely economic model of Europe, demonstrating the need to face the societal challenges and include all citizens in contributing to the recovery. One of Europe’s fundamental principles – the free movement of persons – remains an illusion as long as all the barriers facing persons with disabilities have not disappeared.

The European disability mobility card could be one way to facilitate the free movement of persons with disabilities.

Kinga Goncz MEP, Disability Intergroup Vice-President

The commitment from the Belgian and Hungarian Presidencies is clear. It is very important to push forward the ratification process despite the difficulties on the EU level. Equally important is implementation, which may be a less visible, but nonetheless crucial, step.

The adoption of a draft Equal Treatment Directive is extremely important despite the feared financial impact, and it is encouraging to see the both Presidencies are so committed.

Peter Lambreghts, European Network of Independent Living

The increasing number of Europeans with a disability wants to take full control over their lives and their support. We want self-determination, freedom of choice and participation as a full citizen in our society.

There is a growing awareness that we must leave the medical model which pushes people with a disability into a passive and dependent situation. But in reality, most of our national laws, structures and services are still based on this medical model. This is a huge obstacle for the emancipation of people with a disability. The countries who have ratified the UN Convention keep on spending the available budgets on building and subsidizing institutes

I would like to highlight two important issues for the Belgian Presidency:

The first issue is that we need genuine steps throughout Europe towards the right on and the availability of personal assistance and community-based services. We need a shift from subsidizing institutes and services to direct payments or personal budget systems. Can the Belgian presidency take initiative on this? Can the Belgian presidency be a leading guard and thus show the other member states how to make this policy shift?

The second issue concerns the lack of awareness, and especially the lack of scientific research and knowledge on Independent Living through Personal Assistance. Until today, the supremacy of the medical model has been so strong that many prejudices and misconceptions have a huge influence on the general public, on our policy makers, on professional caretakers of the disabled and even on people with a disability themselves. We can overcome these misconceptions by investing into scientific studies and research, by investing in experiments and pilot projects and by financially supporting Independent Living programs and cooperatives of disabled persons. Can the Belgian presidency increase European funding of organizations and projects of disabled people who contribute to Independent Living, and safeguard that these funds will not be misused for sustaining the medical model?

Adam Kosa MEP, Disability Intergroup President announced the dates for the following Intergroup activities:

25 November 10h00-11h00, Strasbourg- Intergroup meeting. Theme to be confirmed

24 January 2011, Brussels – Annual New Year’s cocktail.

ANNEX

Proposals for the involvement of the European Parliament Committees in the CRPD implementation

Yannis Vardakastanis, EDF

Anti-discrimination (=EP Civil Liberties Committee)

Non-discrimination is one major area where the work needs to be done, regardless of the outcome of the current negotiations on the Equal Treatment Directive. The review of the Employment Directive may be one of the necessary actions in light of the Convention – the research shows that the current European requirements fall short of the Convention obligations.

The Lisbon Treaty contains a new Article 10 (mainstreaming of equality) – it is going to be the challenge to understand and apply this obligation in all EU policies, and we call on the EP to be the watchdog of this obligation.

Internal Market (=EP Internal Market Committee)

EDF believes that a reflection on the use of the Treaty Internal Market provisions is needed to understand whether legislation on accessibility for persons with disabilities could be adopted, possibly concerning accessibility of specified groups of products or services (ICT, web pages, transport, infrastructure, etc).

The emphasis should be put on the use of public procurement to achieve accessibility – the current European legislation will need to be strengthened, and the actions will need to be taken on national and local level to implement it!

Transport (=EP Transport Committee)

The new EU strategy for the future of transport needs to ensure that accessibility of transport to people with disabilities becomes an integral part of the sustainability debate. The correct implementation of the passenger rights’ regulations is far from complete – the Member States will need to put more effort in this work, while the Commission should oversee the process.

Furthermore legislation covering infrastructure of transport should also include accessibility aspects.

The establishment of a disability mobility card across the EU borders could be a very concrete way of giving European added value to the disability policy. The individual Disability Intergroup members have shown to be very supporting on this issue – the interest that is evidently stimulated by the constituents’ demands.

E-accessibility and Research (=EP Industry, Research and Energy Committee)

The Digital Agenda for Europe contains clear references to e-accessibility requirements for disabled ICT users. The implementation of the Agenda will need to be a joint action, and in particular commitment to develop legislation in access to websites.

Design for All and Accessibility should be addressed in the EU research and innovation programmes. These programmes could fund projects related to design for all for persons with disabilities or integrate general accessibility requirements in their guidelines.

Employment (=EP Employment and Social Affairs Committee)

We expect a strong position of the Committee on the new strategy on disability currently in preparation, including the Parliament obtaining a strong decision making role in the process through a European Parliament and Council decision.

Structural Funds (=EP Regional Development Committee)

The fight for deinstitutionalisation is ongoing – closer supervision is needed to ensure that the Structural Funds money is used in the Member States to encourage independent living and provide services in the community. As mentioned above, the principles of accessibility and non-discrimination are crucial. This will need to be ensured in the new Structural Funds reference period starting in 2014.

Education and training (=EP Culture and Education Committee)

Concrete measures for access for persons with disabilities to mobility programmes (such as Erasmus and Leonardo) needs to be put in place in the reshaping of the programmes post 2014, for which an EC consultation is on-going. Currently only 1 % of beneficiaries are persons with disabilities.

External dimension (=EP Development Committee, and Sub-committee on Human Rights)

The EU is world’s biggest donor of external aid, and it cannot justify funding projects that discriminate against persons with disabilities, which is against the letter and the spirit of the UN Convention. Disability mainstreaming needs to be extremely visible in all international cooperation agreements. The EP can play a major role in the process as the EC is reshaping its development agenda (through a Green paper consultation that will launched soon).

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