On an equal footing

No concrete decision, but perhaps a new law: the recent meeting promoted in Brussels by the European Disability Forum served in the main to review the situation regarding the various problems that the some 80 million EU citizens suffering from various forms of invalidating diseases, handicaps, physical or psychological difficulties have to cope with each day, and to reaffirm a fundamental concept: a modern Europe cannot but be a land of equal dignity, equal rights and equal opportunities for everyone.Accessibility, equal opportunities. The leaders of the EU institutions met with the European Disability Forum (EDF) on 6 December; in the days preceding the meeting the Commission had held a Conference to mark the European Day of Disabled Persons, dedicated especially to the consequences of the economic crisis in relation to the disabled. Both events provided an opportunity to review the situation a year after the adoption of the “global strategy to create a Europe without barriers” by 2020. EU leaders underlined various aspects of this strategy in their meeting with Yannis Vardakastanis, President of the EDF. Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, said among other things: “Persons with disabilities must be part of tomorrow’s social market economy. Also in times of economic crisis, our objectives must continue to be accessibility and equal opportunities”. “It’s a question of civilization and defending our common values”. His words were warmly welcomed by the representatives of the Forum, coming from various countries.Ambitious programme. The President of the Commission, the Portuguese José Manuel Barroso, accompanied by the Commissioner for Justice and Citizenship, Viviane Reding, for his part stressed: “The EU must pay particular attention to the situation of the disabled. The EU strategy on disability has established an ambitious programme for the next ten years”. In pursuing this objective the Union “is maintaining its own commitment to offer the disabled the chance to exercise all their rights and fully participate in social and economic life”. Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament, explained: “One European out of six must come to terms with some form of disability. In times of crisis we must redouble our efforts to support the vulnerable categories that risk being the first” to pay too high a price. According to the Polish statesman, Europe must ensure that “the repercussions of the austerity measures that will be necessary be minimal, especially for the disabled”.A new EU law on the way? It emerged from the conference that, in a year’s time, in the autumn of 2012, the Commission will present a law on accessibility to ensure that the disabled have access “on an equal footing” to every physical environment, means of transport, and services of information and communication. Accessibility – a point underlined at the conference – is for the disabled “the preliminary condition to be able fully to exercise the rights sanctioned by the UN Convention, EU Treaty and Charter of Fundamental Rights”. To prepare this legislation, the Executive has promised to promote in the near future a public consultation on the theme of accessibility; the announcement of this was warmly welcomed by those present. The Commission itself presented some data, according to which some 80 million citizens in the 27 member states are affected by some form of disability, ranging from slight to grave, “while over a third of citizens over the age of 75 suffer from disabilities that are in some degree limiting”. These figures “are destined to grow with the progressive ageing of the population”, remarked Viviane Reding.Charter of Rights. It’s perhaps not superfluous to recall that the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights establishes that “the Union recognises and respects the right of persons with disabilities to benefit from measures aimed at ensuring their autonomy, social and professional integration and participation in the life of the community”. The 27 member states, all of them signed up to the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities, have already committed themselves to the creation of a “Europe without barriers”. However, a study carried out by the Royal National Institute of the Blind in the UK, whose findings were described during the meeting, maintains that the funds invested in achieving the full integration of the disabled in society can also have positive effects on the economic level. One example cited aroused some curiosity: “An English supermarket chain, after having invested 35,000 pounds in making its own website accessible, registered supplementary receipts amounting to over 13 million pounds per year”. Another similar study has been carried out in Germany; its findings show that “a greater offer of accessible structures increases the mobility of the disabled, thus guaranteeing to the German tourist sector a growth in turnover comprised between 620 million and 1.9 billion euro”.