Coiste Eacnamaíoch agus Sóisialta na hEorpa
Now we have a golden opportunity to align the EU's next disability strategy with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
On 21 October, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held a public hearing to gather input from grassroots organisations for its opinion on the EU's next ten-year strategy for disability rights and to draw the lessons from the agenda due to expire in 2020.
An EESC hearing points to the need to embrace a human rights-based approach to disability in news and entertainment programmes, to build a more inclusive society that sees the person, and not the disability
An EESC hearing has revealed that almost a million EU citizens may be deprived of their right to vote in the upcoming European elections as a result of their disability, and many more may face obstacles when casting their ballots.
The EESC hearing on the new MFF and cohesion policy seen from the disability perspective shows the EC proposal could still be improved
The European Commission's proposals for new rules governing the funds that underpin EU cohesion policy fail to list equality and accessibility for persons with disabilities among mandatory eligibility criteria for funding. This poses a risk that public money may be used to finance infrastructure or services that will only increase their discrimination, an EESC hearing revealed.
The Diversity Europe Group recently organised a structured brainstorming session aiming at encouraging its Members to think out of the box and to come up with ideas to feed into proposals for the Sibiu Summit on the Future of Europe. This session kick-started our Group's contribution to the EESC Roadmap 'From Cracow to Sibiu and beyond'.
EESC: The EU must fight against and outlaw all gender - and disability-based discrimination affecting some 40 million women in Europe
On 11 July, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), a body representing European organised civil society, called on EU institutions and Member States to step up their efforts to protect women and girls with disabilities, who continue to face multiple forms of discrimination in EU society on the grounds of both their gender and disability, often resulting in their social exclusion.
The EESC hosted a side event at the Conference of State Parties to CRPD in New York
The implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) cannot be successful without fully including persons with disabilities (PWDs) in society and in the economy, by means of decent work in an inclusive labour system.
Persons with disabilities may have the right to full social integration, but they are still not given the opportunity
On 20 June, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held a hearing which showcased the positive impact of employing persons with disabilities, but also warned that prejudice and victimisation were still among the most important factors in their persistent exclusion from society and labour markets.
Access to information, more flexibility, transparency and control mechanisms are the main issues to be tackled when analysing the use of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), concluded the participants at the public hearing on 'Reviewing the 2014-2020 ESIF Regulations in favour of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations', held at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on 13 December in Brussels.
Technological developments are full of opportunities, but also risks, disability organisations warn at an EESC public hearing
The EU Disability strategy for 2020-2030 should ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to a fully digitalised world, a conference on “The future of the EU Disability strategy after 2020” heard this month at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC).
