Key Notes

A Europe without obstacles to people with disabilities

It is recognised that people with disabilities are amongst the most disadvantaged groups in our society and still find themselves faced with considerable obstacles preventing them from participating in all areas of life. Targeted rehabilitation and the integration of disabled people into work and society are therefore important components of productive social policy: they prevent negative developments, minimise disadvantages and thereby contribute to the wealth of society. Disabled people want to be integrated and acknowledged. It is therefore important that they are not excluded from society but are at the centre of it. They belong in the world of work and society. Consequently, the medicine-centred approach to the idea of disability has developed into a social concept which places much greater weight on identifying and removing the various restrictions on equal opportunities and the full participation of such people in all aspects of life.

The category of disabled person includes anyone who, as a result of the attitudes, prejudices and obstacles created by society, is deterred from taking advantage of the same opportunities as everyone else. Therefore, there are several categories and types of disability which form a completely heterogeneous group with motor, visual, auditory, mental/cognitive and physical impairments. The obstacles which such people find themselves faced with in society vary not only in accordance with their disability but also in relation to their age and sex, their geographical location, and other factors. It is estimated that around 10% of the EU population, that is to say 38 million people (or 45 million in the EU of 25 countries) must be regarded as being disabled.

Although a certain amount has been achieved and the European Community is not directly responsible for this area, the EPP Group is aware that a great deal remains to be done to attain the EPP-ED objective of unrestricted participation and equal access for people with disabilities. To achieve the objective of equal opportunity, the EPP is seeking to bring about a change in the basic approach to EPP-ED disability policy whereby the starting point is formed by disabled people as individuals with rights and not by the welfare aspect which predominates disability policy at present. The old attitudes, which were largely based on sympathy for, and the helplessness of, disabled people are, in our view, no longer in keeping with the times. Disabled people must be granted equal opportunities and access to all social resources, to integrative education, new technologies, health and social services, sports and leisure activities, consumer goods and services.

The efforts to open up the labour market to make the EU the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world must also benefit disabled people. The European social model can be modernised only if we invest in people’s abilities and assiduously combat social exclusion. Therefore, disabled people must not be regarded as a problem but as a positive contribution to be integrated into the labour market, also as part of corporate social responsibility.

We wish to reach a situation where

• disabled people are no longer regarded as the recipients of welfare but as the holders of rights and independent citizens and consumers,
• those concerned are not regarded as unemployable but rather the way is paved for them to take up employment,
• a supportive and accessible environment is created for them so that they can participate in the life of society and be integrated into all areas of life,
• people with disabilities are not only given the same opportunities as their able-bodied colleagues in the world of work but also receive the full support of their employers,
• the rights of disabled people can, wherever possible, be enforced by legal action,
• disabled organisations and those whose who represent disabled people are consulted during the drafting and implementation of legislative decisions,
• businesses and companies are encouraged to employ disabled people,
• the interests of disabled people are also represented as part of the social dialogue at business and company level,
• disabled people are afforded comprehensive protection of their human rights, and
• citizens respect the heterogeneity of the section of the public made up of disabled people and the range of their disabilities.

Consequently, the EPP-ED is seeking to ensure that

• the profound differences which exist in the national legal systems are reduced, and
• the following are guaranteed:

a) the right to quality of life:

• through protection against degrading and inhumane treatment and against removal to an institution;

b) access to employment through:

• promotion of the integration of disabled people in the field of employment and training,
• removal of all legal and administrative obstacles to employment,
• prohibition of any form of discrimination relating to recruitment, management practices and promotion at the workplace, including the refusal to provide appropriate accommodation (adaptation), and
• the right of disabled people to equal pay for equal or equivalent work;

c) access to training and occupational training through:

• the right to equal training promoting the development, independence and involvement in the life of society of disabled adults and children, and
• the right to equal access to the entire spectrum of tertiary education, including occupational training;

d) the right to integration through:

• reduction and gradual elimination of obstacles to gaining access to buildings, facilities and public transport,
• the right to live independently and in dignity in the community rather than in an institution, together with the right to accessible residential accommodation or sheltered housing, where necessary in conjunction with other support services to facilitate independent living,
• the right to have access to technical equipment and support necessary to increase the degree of independence of disabled people, and
• non-discriminatory access to goods and services;

e) access to health care through:

• the right to equal access to health services,
• the right personally to consent to or authorise treatments and procedures concerning one’s own person - with, where necessary, restrictions on the rights of mentally disabled people - and the creation of appropriate legal safeguard clauses and a regular review of the relevant rules to prevent abuse,
• the right of access to personal data and information on a person’s own state of health, and
• the right to be treated and advised by medical staff trained to deal with disabilities;

f) access to cultural and leisure activities through:

• simplified access to means of communication,
• the right to equal access to and use of recreational, cultural and sports facilities, and
• involvement of disabled people in sport and competition in general;

g) equality before the law and entitlement to fair treatment through:

• the right to legal assistance and, where necessary, free interpreting and translation services or a communication assistant, and with no discrimination against people unable to express themselves verbally,
• the right to victim protection and compensation, having due regard to the particular circumstances arising from disability, and
• the right to protection against discrimination and to comprehensive and equal exercise of their rights.