Míchumas

In this opinion, the EESC presents its view on the impact of new technologies and AI both in terms of facilitating the inclusion of people with disabilities but also as potential cause of discrimination. Among its recommendations:

• Persons with disabilities should be included throughout the process of designing, developing, assessing and implementing new technologies and AI-based applications. This involvement is key to mitigating potential discriminatory risks.

• Member States and the EU should carry out an evaluation of existing AI applications to assess their inclusivity in critical fields, including employment and recruitment.

• Goods and services that apply new technologies and AI‑based solutions should comply with EU accessibility standards.

In this exploratory opinion, requested by the European Commission, the EESC outlines priority actions and flagship initiatives for the 2025–2030 period. It urges the Commission to quickly develop its next action plan with meaningful consultation of persons with disabilities and their organisations and calls for stronger, more binding measures than those from 2021–2025, with direct impact and dedicated funding in the next Multiannual Financial Framework to ensure effective implementation and support.

This opinion presents recommendations on ways to help persons with disabilities enter the open labour market and better implement the aims highlighted in the Disability Employment Package. It focuses on two topics: the social integration, complex rehabilitation and occupational rehabilitation of persons with disabilities and changed working capacity; and a EU-level reflection around the need for reasonable accommodation.

According to the EESC, the EU Disability Card should be voluntary and free of charge and its scope extended to provide access to services and benefits to people who are in another Member State on a temporary basis. The cards should be accompanied by the setting up of an EU, fully accessible website, with an easy-to-read version, available in all EU languages including sign languages, providing practical information for every country.

In this opinion, the EESC suggests several changes to the Commission's proposal, to make the text fully compliant with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Namely, the Committee suggest that if the adoption of a legal measure against a vulnerable person clearly violates human rights and international law, a Member State should be obliged not recognise such a measure.

The EESC:

• believes that the non-mutual recognition of disability among EU Member States, by hindering the availability of support measures for persons with disabilities traveling to another member State, implies a  denial of their freedom of movement.

• Recommends that the EU Disability Card is implemented by a Regulation, that PWDs and their organization are fully involved in each step leading to its implementation and monitoring, and that complementary measures are taken to ensure  accessibility of transport, services and of the built environment and compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation

• Believes that the EU Disability Card and EU parking Card remain physically separate

This opinion draws attention to  the needs of family members taking care of older, chronic ill or disabled relatives. Informal carers, as they are called, represented by a majority of women, work for free, and are more vulnerable to falling into poverty. The opinion calls for public policies in this field and a recognition of their important societal role.

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.