91996E2591

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2591/96 by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) to the Council (16 October 1996)

Subject: Disabled

The disabled account for 10% of the population in the European Union, but the Maastricht Treaty makes no specific reference to disability and the forms of social, cultural, occupational, and economic discrimination arising from it. Bearing in mind that the Intergovernmental Conference to revise the Treaties is now in progress, will the Council ensure that:

1. the Maastricht Treaty harmonizes economic and financial matters in the narrow sense by laying down a provision aimed first and foremost at upgrading social policies, especially for more vulnerable groups, the necessary basis for which already exists in Article 2 of the Agreement on social policy annexed to the Treaty;

2. the Treaty is amended with a view to guaranteeing equal opportunities by means of specific references to the disabled in the relevant legislation, especially as regards to the right to care, work, rehabilitation, and reintegration into society;

3. the Agreement on social policy is incorporated into the body of the Treaty in order to enhance the credibility of the European institutions and create an appropriate social climate for European integration and economic development?

Answer (13 February 1997)

The Council attaches the greatest importance to the problem raised by the Honourable Member.

The Council cannot however comment on the discussions under way in the Intergovernmental Conference, in which it is not a participant.