European Commission presents new initiatives.

At the beginning of May, the European Commission presented a communication on the further development of the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities until 2030. The original strategy entered into force in March 2021 and aims to strengthen equal opportunities, self-determination, and inclusion of people with disabilities in Europe by 2030. However, many of the measures announced at that time had already been initiated or implemented by the end of 2024. The new communication therefore, focuses primarily on providing momentum for the remaining four years of the strategy.

Flagship initiatives of the communication

The communication on further development contains eight new flagship initiatives in the areas of rights, participation, and inclusion. Among other things, measures are planned concerning assistive technologies and AI applications, improving accessibility in transport, and the further implementation of the package of measures for the employment of people with disabilities. Additional priorities include independent living, inclusive education, inclusive crisis management, and the barrier-free reconstruction of Ukraine.

In addition, the European Commission aims to strengthen the participation of people with disabilities in standardisation processes and to place greater focus on access to healthcare. The specific occupational safety and health risks faced by employees with disabilities are also to be taken into account in the planned Quality Jobs Act.

Criticism from the EDF

The communication has drawn criticism from the European Disability Forum (EDF). The association particularly condemns the lack of new legislative initiatives and what it sees as the European Commission’s overall lack of ambition. Instead of introducing new binding regulations, the communication mainly focuses on studies, preparatory work, and measures that had already been announced. Proposals put forward by the EDF, such as the establishment of a European Accessibility Agency, an EU guarantee for employment and training, or a legal framework for affordable assistive technologies, had not been sufficiently addressed.

Better labour market integration

Despite the progress already achieved, the European Commission still sees a need for improvement in the practical application of existing instruments. In particular, the Disability Employment Package is to be implemented more strongly in future in order to improve access to the labour market for people with disabilities and increase the use of existing support instruments by Member States. In addition, the Commission, together with the OECD, plans to carry out a cost-benefit analysis on increasing the employment of people with disabilities.