An action plan aimed at promoting equal opportunities and social and labour market integration for people with disabilities was issued by the European Commission in October 2003. The plan, which will run from 2004 to 2010, hopes to build on the progress made by the 2003 European Year of People with Disabilities.
On 30 October 2003 the European Commission presented a new action plan aimed at promoting equal opportunities for people with disabilities across the enlarged European Union, in the form of a Commission Communication (COM(2003) 650 final). The action plan will run from 2004 to 2010 and is designed as a concrete follow-up to the designation of 2003 as European Year of People with Disabilities (EU0209201N). It states that a crucial issue for the success of the European Year is whether it will produce sustainable results beyond 2003.
Thus, the core of the new action plan is to develop concrete actions to improve the economic and social integration of people with disabilities. It aims to build on the achievements of the European Year of People with Disabilities and also to ensure that the recent Directive on equal treatment in employment and occupation (2000/78/EC) (EU0102295F), which covers disability discrimination and must be transposed by Member States by 2 December 2003, is implemented correctly.
Overall aims
The Commission hopes that the action plan will provide a reference point and a framework for ensuring that disability rights and issues are fully taken on board in all relevant EU policies. It therefore intends to publish a report every two years on the overall situation of people with disabilities in the EU. The first of these reports will be published in 2005, aiming to 'stimulate debate with the Member States and all interested parties, including NGOs [non-governmental organisations] representing people with disabilities, on best practice and new priorities for the subsequent phases of the action plan'.
In general terms, the goal of the action plan is to boost equal opportunities for people with disabilities. The Commission recognises that most actions in the field of disability are principally the responsibility of individual Member States and are therefore dealt with most effectively at national level. It therefore concentrates on setting out three 'complementary and mutually supportive operational objectives', as follows:
- achieving full application of the Directive on equal treatment in employment and occupation and launching the debate on future strategy to combat discrimination. The Commission intends to launch a Green Paper in the spring of 2004 on such a strategy;
- successful mainstreaming of disability issues in relevant Community policies and existing processes. The mainstreaming strategy implies the integration of a certain perspective - in this case disability - into every stage of policy processes, from design and implementation to monitoring and evaluation. This process has been in place with regard to equality between men and women for a number of years; and
- improving accessibility for all. This includes accessibility to goods, services and the built environment to people with disabilities and also to all EU citizens.
Focus of the first two years of the plan
The plan will consist of three two-year phases, the first of which will run from 2004 to 2006 and focus on creating the conditions for people with disabilities to access the mainstream labour market. It will be geared to four employment-related priority actions, as follows:
- access to and retention in employment, including the fight against discrimination. To this end, the Commission will support awareness-raising over the Directive on equal treatment in employment and occupation and will monitor the implementation of the European employment strategy with respect to people with disabilities. It will also deepen the dialogue with the social partners at European level on this issue and encourage them to ensure the concrete application of the recommendations made in their 20 January 2003 declaration on equal opportunities and access to employment for people with disabilities;
- lifelong learning to support and increase employability, adaptability, personal development and 'active citizenship'. To this end, the Commission will focus on a range of EU education, training and youth policies and programmes;
- new technologies to empower people with disabilities and therefore facilitate access to employment. To this end, the Commission will undertake a number of actions, including the establishment of an international dialogue on accessibility concerns and guidelines in this area. It will also make funds available to support research in this area; and
- accessibility to the public of buildings in order to improve participation in the workplace and integration into the economy and society. To this end, the Commission will undertake a range of initiatives, including the promotion of the inclusion of accessibility provisions in public procurement policies, and initiate studies and research in this area.
Commentary
The new action plan is seen as an important step in continuing the good work undertaken by the European Year of People with Disabilities. Anna Diamantopoulou, the Commissioner for employment and social affairs, stated that: 'The European Year of People with Disabilities is a starting point, not a one-off event. This action plan will ensure that the results and momentum of the European Year will be maintained in years to come.'
By using a range of tools, including research, monitoring of the implementation of EU legislation and the encouragement of social dialogue at European level, this action plan hopes to promote and encourage the inclusion of people with disabilities in EU society and the EU labour market. It is hoped that making it easier for people with disabilities to find and keep jobs will both improve the quality of life for people in this category and also serve towards building a more inclusive society, which will have the consequence of increasing employment levels in the EU. This will contribute to the achieving the goal of an average EU employment rate of 70% by 2010, set by the Lisbon strategy agreed in 2000 (EU0004241F). (Andrea Broughton, IRS)