Against barriers ” “

There are 38 million people in situations of disability in the European Union and when the frontiers are enlarged to comprise 25 states, that number will jump to some 50 million. A mind-boggling number of citizens who still await the full protection of their rights and specific attention to combat every form of discrimination. Europe and handicap. In the “old continent” one person out of ten is disabled. These citizens “require – says a document of the EU Council – comprehensive attention in all social policies, from education to work, from accessibility to mobility, from health to recreational activities”. For these reasons the Union has always paid particular attention to disadvantaged persons and has recently posed disability as a question of Community interest. Its interventions in this sector include the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of 1996 on equality of opportunities for the disabled, the approval of article 13 of the Treaty of Amsterdam based on inclusion, with policies linked to the approach of mainstreaming, i.e. the introduction of ordinary policies of activities aimed at disabled persons. The most recent measures are Directive 78 of 2000 of the European Commission on non-discrimination in work and the various pronouncements of the European Parliament, on the favourable use of new technologies, on research and on the removal of barriers. A Green Paper has been announced to specify possible strategies against discrimination. Projects and actions in the “25”. The European Year of the Disabled in 2003 was intended “to be moment of amplification of these policies”. Projects and objectives achieved in numerous member and candidate states of the EU were presented at the closing conference in Rome. In Ireland a centre of legal assistance for the handicapped has been created; it provides a training course on ways in which the disabled themselves can protect their rights. The town of Ajdovscina ( Slovenia), comprising 6,000 inhabitants, has implemented an intensive programme for the elimination of architectural barriers. All residents, and children in particular, have been involved in the project to realise a “town fit for the handicapped”. Italy has pursued particular experiences aimed at the educational integration of disabled persons. Many projects have been launched with the innovative use of information technologies. A Directive of the Ministry of Labour and Welfare was approved in November; it provided funding to realise or beef up welfare plans for the assistance of the disabled, and in particular structures able to provide residential care for persons with grave handicaps and devoid of family assistance. From the Mediterranean to the Baltic. In Luxembourg on the other hand preference has been given to the specific protection of women with disabilities. For its part Spain is about to adopt two new laws: one on equal opportunities and the other on economic and inheritance rights to safeguard disabled persons. Urged by the approaching Olympic Games scheduled to be held in Athens in 2004, Greece has expanded its programme of programmes of social inclusion, beginning with the removal of physical and bureaucratic barriers. The authorities of Portugal are moving in the direction of supporting the non-governmental organizations and volunteer associations that represent the disabled or those suffering from chronic illness and that protract their rights. Normative and “good practices” for social and professional integration of the handicapped are being planned in Finland, Sweden, Great Britain, Germany, Austria and Belgium (among others).