20.11.2010   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 316/1

1.

Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union establishing that the Union is founded, inter alia, on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities and that these values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail;

2.

Article 19 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, according to which the Council, after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament, may take appropriate action to combat discrimination, including discrimination based on disability;

3.

Article 10 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, according to which, in defining and implementing its policies and activities, the Union shall aim to combat discrimination, including discrimination based on disability;

4.

the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (1), which reaffirms the right of non-discrimination, and the principle of integration of persons with disabilities;

5.

the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2) the UN Convention and its Optional Protocol, adopted on 13 December 2006 by the General Assembly of the United Nations;

6.

the Council Decision of 26 November 2009 concerning the conclusion, by the European Community, of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (3), including the appendix to the Annex which lists Community Acts which refer to matters governed by the Convention. These Acts include, among others, Council Directive 2000/78/EC (4) as well as Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (5), Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6) and Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7);

7.

the Council conclusions on the follow-up of the European Year of People with Disabilities, adopted in December 2003 (8), and the Disability Action Plan 2003-2010 (9) of the European Commission;

8.

the European Parliament Resolution of 19 January 2006 on disability and development (10);

9.

the two informal meetings of Ministers responsible for disability policies, held under the German Presidency on 11 June 2007 and under the Slovenian Presidency on 22 May 2008, where the Ministers focused on the implementation of the UN Convention and on its inclusion among the priorities of the Disability Action Plan and where they recognised the importance of cooperation between the Member States and the European Union to strengthen the approach to disability based on human rights;

10.

the Presidency conclusions of the third informal meeting of Ministers responsible for disability policies and the Conference on disability and personal autonomy, held under the Spanish Presidency from 19 to 21 May 2010, in favour of persons with disabilities. Ministers and participants of the conference reviewed the state of play of the implementation of the UN Convention, consolidating the approach to disability based on human rights, and stressed the importance of cooperation both, among the Member States and with people with disabilities and their representative organisations;

11.

the Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 17 March 2010 (11) on ‘People with disabilities: employment and accessibility by stages’, according to which there is a need to advance in European legislation, policies and appropriate funding for people with disabilities through the adoption of new instruments,

12.

the commitments and progress made by the Member States and the European Union, that will be completed by the respective ratification or formal confirmation and full implementation of the UN Convention;

13.

the recognition, in the Commission's communication on the Europe 2020 Strategy (12), of disability issues as a European and national priority in the major field of combating poverty; the communication states that the Commission will work to design and implement programmes to promote the social inclusion of the most vulnerable, in particular by providing innovative education, training and employment opportunities, and fighting discrimination against persons with disabilities; it also urges the Member States to define and implement, taking into account national responsibilities, measures addressing the specific circumstances of groups at particular risk, including persons with disabilities;

14.

the Resolution of the Council of the European Union and the representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council of 17 March 2008 on the situation of persons with disabilities in the European Union (13);

15.

the new Autonomous Agreement between the European social partners on Inclusive Labour Markets of December 2009 (14),

16.

the achievement of a socially sustainable and cohesive Europe should be based on the principle of ‘nothing about people with disabilities without people with disabilities’, and that this is only possible through their inclusion and participation;

17.

access to employment, goods and services, and education, and to social and public life, among other spheres, is a prerequisite for the full inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities in society;

18.

strengthening private sector involvement helps to enable persons with disabilities to lead an independent life and participate fully in all spheres of life;

19.

social inclusion and non-discrimination advance participation of persons with disabilities in society and bring economic returns to society as a whole (15);

20.

persons with disabilities demand high quality and diverse and individualised community-based services. The demand for social services is expanding and may boost the creation of new jobs, including those for people with disabilities;

21.

there is a need to foster new jobs and to promote accessibility and universal design; these developments provide an opportunity to enhance quality and sustainable employment for persons with disabilities;

22.

women with disabilities often face double discrimination. Gender mainstreaming across all relevant disability policies is a tool in the hands of governments to remedy this situation,

23.

to support the effective implementation of the UN Convention by the Member States and the European Union Institutions;

24.

to prepare, in cooperation with the Member States, persons with disabilities and their representative organisations and other relevant stakeholders, a new European Disability Strategy building on the values enshrined in the European Treaties, the Europe 2020 Strategy and the UN Convention;

25.

to promote and improve accessibility by establishing an annual European award for accessible cities;

26.

to strengthen the mechanisms of collaboration and participation of persons with disabilities and their families as well as their representative organisations in order to ensure the implementation of Article 4 of the UN Convention,

27.

The general policy framework:

28.

Education:

29.

Accessibility:

30.

Employment and Social issues:

31.

International issues:

32.

to continue efforts to guarantee equal treatment and opportunities for all persons with disabilities, setting an example and encouraging an increase in the number of workers with disabilities employed by them and by other EU bodies, by improving the accessibility of their own buildings, facilities and information and communication technologies, including computer systems and the internet and its applications, thus showing a real commitment to persons with disabilities and the effective enforcement of the obligations of the EU institutions under the UN Convention and the applicable legislation,

33.

to continue their work as civil society representatives, conveying their needs and proposals to the European Union institutions and to the national authorities.

34.

to continue to strengthen the European perspective on the human rights of persons with disabilities, promoting full social inclusion and the full achievement of equal opportunities and non-discrimination, ensuring the adequate participation of all stakeholders;

35.

to support the holding of informal meetings of Ministers responsible for disability policies on a regular basis;

36.

to make full use of coordination and advisory groups, such as the High-Level Group on Disability, to facilitate the application of the provisions of the UN Convention and the implementation of the forthcoming European Disability Strategy;

37.

to promote the European Union's approach to disability based on the values as set out in the Treaty on European Union and reflected in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.