Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-11-30-Speech-4-027"
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"en.20061130.5.4-027"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I should like to thank Parliament and in particular the rapporteur, Mrs Lynne, for including this important issue on the agenda of today's plenary session. I am pleased that Parliament and the Commission have very similar opinions on the issue of disability. I should especially like to thank Parliament for its support in developing and implementing the European strategy for the disabled.
This is not solely about providing disabled people with the opportunity to exercise their rights, the right to human dignity, to equal treatment, to freedom from dependence on others and to full integration in the community. Disabled people must be given the chance to develop their skills, to take part in the life of the community and to be economically active. The Commission action plan for equal opportunities for the disabled provides a strategic framework for establishing current priorities. As Mrs Lynne’s report emphasises, the Community’s policies and activities influence the situation of the disabled in a variety of ways. In 2003 the Council therefore recommended to the Member States that they comply in full with the action plan when drawing up their policies.
At the end of 2005, I attended a meeting on equal opportunities for the disabled, which launched the second phase of the EU action plan for the disabled 2006-7 and which is addressed in the Lynne report.
First let us look at where things currently stand. The figures available to the Commission tell their own story. There are 44.6 million people of working age – that is to say, every sixth EU citizen – with a long-term health problem or disability, according to their own assessment. Employment among the disabled is no more than 40%, as opposed to 64.2% among those without a disability. Even among those with disabilities that are relatively less serious, the employment rate is less than 50%. It has been established that the 43.7% of disabled people could work if they were given adequate assistance. The Commission’s programme for 2006-7 seeks to address this situation. On a practical level, resources must be created to enable the disabled to exercise their rights, to have the same chances to vote as those without a disability, to make decisions on their own lives, to take part in the economic activities of life, to fulfil their potential in their personal and working life and to perform their duties just like any other citizen.
Against this backdrop, four priority areas have been established for 2006-7. In its spring 2006 meeting, the Council also prioritised higher rates of employment and working activities for the disabled. The key point of next year’s European Action Plan must be access for the disabled to high-quality, affordable services. Disabled access to material values and services is absolutely vital to ensuring that they exercise their rights as citizens and to guaranteeing their independence. The Union must be capable of better analysing and identifying the development of factors influencing the situation of the disabled. This Action Plan has already yielded positive results. The first European legislation specifically relating to the disabled has been adopted. This law on the rights and obligations of the disabled in the area of air transport has been mentioned by the rapporteur. Legislation relating to the new structural funds guarantees the rights of the disabled to access to Community-funded projects and lays down that the principle of access must be upheld at all stages of the fund’s activity.
The adoption of the UN Convention on the rights of the disabled is an event of historical significance. The European Community has for the first time in history signed up to the Convention. With this Convention the fundamental principles of the EU’s strategy on the disabled – namely, non-discrimination, equal opportunities and active measures aimed at social integration – have gained solid foundations."@en1
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