The European Union has designated 2003 as the European Year of People with Disabilities. A range of activities will be staged around the EU during the course of the year, with the aim of raising awareness of the position of people with disabilities, eliminating discrimination and removing obstacles to their joining and participating in the labour market.
As 2002 proceeds, the European Commission and organisations involved in the disability movement are preparing for the European Year of People with Disabilities in 2003. The decision to designate 2003 in this way was taken by the Council of Ministers on 3 December 2001 in Decision 2001/903/EC (published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 19 December 2001) (EU0112245F).
The purpose of designating 2003 as the European Year of People with Disabilities is defined by the Decision as follows:
- to raise awareness of the rights of people with disabilities in order to protect them against discrimination and enable them to enjoy their rights fully;
- to encourage debate on the measures needed to promote equal opportunities for people with disabilities;
- to promote the exchange of experience and good practice in this area at local, national and European level;
- to reinforce cooperation between all parties involved in this area;
- to improve communications and promote a positive image of people with disabilities;
- to raise awareness of the discrimination facing people with disabilities; and
- to give special attention to awareness of the right of children and young people with disabilities to equality in education in order to improve their integration into society.
The Commission aims to achieve these aims by organising meetings and events, launching information and promotional campaigns, cooperating with broadcasting and media organisations and conducting Community-wide surveys and studies. The project will receive EU funding of EUR 12 million.
The Commission believes that it necessary to promote such projects, stating that some 38 million people in Europe, accounting for 10% of the population, have a disability. Despite significant progress in removing obstacles to equal treatment – the most notable recent example of legislation in this area is the new equal treatment framework Directive (2000/78/EC), adopted on 27 November 2000 (EU0102295F), which obliges Member States to outlaw discrimination at the workplace on a number of grounds, including disability – the Commission states that more needs to be done to remove obstacles to gaining access to the workplace and ensuring fair treatment once people are in the workplace.
The first event to be organised by the Commission will be 'Get on Board', a specially designed bus which will, from January 2003, travel from Athens through the 15 Member States. It will be accompanied by disabled children and disability organisations in each country will organise events along the route.