Disability rights need action, not words

The EU needs stronger and more binding measures to protect the rights of persons with disabilities. The European Commission’s new strategy lacks ambition in terms of legislation and fails to address several key demands from disability organisations. This is the core message of an opinion adopted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on the enhanced EU Strategy on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for 2026-2030.

Nearly one in four people aged 16 and over in the EU – around 90 million people – live with some form of disability or health problem, according to European Commission figures. However, significant inequalities persist. People with disabilities face an employment gap of around 24 percentage points compared to those without disabilities, while 28.7% are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, compared to 17.9% of the rest of the population. These figures highlight the need for stronger EU action to ensure equal opportunities and the full participation of persons with disabilities in society.

This is why the EESC urges the Commission, in its opinion SOC/870 drafted by Ioannis Vardakastanis (EL-II), to turn its commitments into concrete action, strengthen the involvement of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations, and establish clear mechanisms to monitor implementation.

‘Europeans with disabilities and their families demand that the EU become a champion of real equality in combating disability-related discrimination, social exclusion and poverty, and ensure the full involvement of organisations of persons with disabilities in designing, implementing and monitoring policies and legislation that affect them,’ said Mr Vardakastanis.

Too few binding measures

The European Commission presented its enhanced Strategy on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 6 May 2026, setting out actions for the second half of the strategy to cover 2026 to 2030, following the first phase, which was implemented between 2021 and 2025.

The EESC believes that although the strategy includes a number of promising initiatives, it lacks ambition when it comes to binding measures and new legislation. Only two proposed actions could potentially lead to new legislation: harmonising the definition of hate offences committed online, and supporting the integration of persons excluded from the labour market. However, neither constitutes a firm commitment to introduce legislation, underlines the opinion. The EESC therefore urges the Commission to demonstrate a stronger and more binding commitment and ensure that these proposals do not remain unfulfilled promises.

Progress acknowledged

Despite these shortcomings, the EESC recognises that the enhanced strategy contains several initiatives with the potential to improve the lives of persons with disabilities in the EU and beyond.

These include measures to improve accessibility in transport, assistive technologies and artificial intelligence; promote independent living and community inclusion; strengthen inclusive education and employment; and improve emergency preparedness. The Committee also welcomes plans to integrate disability rights into EU funding priorities, establish national employment targets, improve the inclusiveness of traineeships in EU institutions and provide further guidance to Member States on disability assessment.

The remaining gaps

The EESC finds it regrettable that several recommendations made in its 2025 opinion have not been included in the enhanced strategy. These include further measures to facilitate freedom of movement and access to essential services for persons with disabilities moving between Member States, the creation of a dedicated EU accessibility agency, and the mutual certification of assistive technologies across countries.

The Committee also reiterates the need to address the risk of discrimination against job applicants and employees with disabilities arising from the use of artificial intelligence algorithms.

Better data

The EESC calls for more systematic and comparable data collection on persons with disabilities across the EU. In cooperation with Eurostat and national statistical authorities, the Commission should ensure that data is collected regularly, rather than through one-off exercises, and can be used to monitor progress across Member States.

This is particularly important for deinstitutionalisation, where reliable data is needed to assess whether Member States are making progress in enabling persons with disabilities to live independently and participate in their communities.