International protection of adults - Related Opinions

In the opinion, the EESC: calls for a paradigm shift in the treatment of older people, moving from a care-based approach to empowering them and eliminating ageist attitudes; urges the EU to adopt a comprehensive European strategy for older persons, safeguarding their rights and promoting their full participation in society and the economy (the strategy should be accompanied by a guarantee for older persons and encompass various areas such as equality, non-discrimination, gender, rights, participation, employment, education, income and social inclusion, with Member States developing national plans to this end); encourages the drafting and signing of a European declaration on older persons to demonstrate the commitment towards developing the European strategy for older persons.

The EESC welcomes the new EU Disability Rights Strategy, acknowledging that it is a clear step forward compared with the previous one. It is however concerned about the lack of binding measures and hard legislation implementing the Strategy.

Among other recommendations, the Committee regrets the lack of specific actions addressing the needs of women and girls with disabilities and calls for a specific flagship initiative in the second half of the period of the Strategy. It also calls for the  full involvement and participation of organisations of persons with disabilities in the proposed Disability Platform. As regarding the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the EESC feels it  should be strongly linked to the Disability Strategy and used to help persons with disabilities recovering from the pandemic.

The opinion presents  the EESC's proposal for the new European Disability  strategy  2020-2030, at a crucial moment in the EU landscape. With a new European Commission, a new European Parliament and a new budget programming period, the timing is perfect to come up with   a Disability Strategy that fully takes into account the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCPRD), the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The opinion tackles various policy areas, drawing attention to the crosscutting character of disability rights.