European Year of People with Disabilities 2003 did not meet potential

2.11.20pm GMT Mon 17th Nov 2003

Anna Diamantoupoulou

Speaking in advance of a statement by European Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou in the European Parliament on the European Year of People with Disabilities 2003 this evening, West Midlands MEP Liz Lynne said:

"The European Year has raised the awareness that disabled people have rights, but is depressingly weak on positive outcomes - at both the UK and European level - which was exactly what I tried to avoid when writing the original report that established it.

"After a year of discussion, we could not be clearer about what the Commission and the governments of Member States need to do - but then we were before the year even began. The Commission's six year action plan on improving equal opportunities for people with disabilities is committed to little more than enforcing already existing legislation and ensuring issues arising from the needs of disabled people get dealt with on an ad hoc basis. Only the European Parliament, directly elected by the people, has risen to the challenge.

The European Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou will be addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg

"Anna Diamantopoulou still has a chance to turn things around. All she has to do is ensure that the employment directive to outlaw discrimination on the grounds of disability in the workplace in each member state is fully implemented and declare an intention to introduce an EU-wide Disability Directive as soon as possible. This needn't even require much work - the European Disability Forum has already produced a draft.

"If she does not do this however, then the European Year could be written off by many disabled people across the EU as little more than a PR exercise."

Liz Lynne was the Rapporteur for the European Year of People with Disabilities 2003, and was similarly successful earlier this year in getting the European Parliament to adopt her report supporting the establishment of a UN Convention on the rights and dignity of disabled people. As part of this report, the European Parliament also committed itself to supporting a Disability Directive, guaranteeing disabled people equal access to goods, services and civic society across the EU. It is however, up to the European Commission to prepare draft legislation and put it on the agenda.

Liz will be speaking in the debate this evening.

Related Links:

European Year of People with Disabilities 2003.

European Commission.