European Disability Forum: European disability movement calls for reestablishment of the Disability Intergroup of the European Parliament
Representatives of disability organisations active across the European Union approved a resolution calling for the reestablishment of the Intergroup following the European Elections. The resolution was approved during the European Disability Forum’s General Assembly, that took place on 1-2 June. The resolution reads:
Calling for the re-establishment of the Disability Intergroup of the European Parliament
Stressing that there are 80 million persons with disabilities in the EU, representing 15% of the total population of whom the European Parliament must represent and pass legislation that fully takes them into consideration;
Bearing in mind that the European Union (EU) as a regional organisation has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD), and therefore its institutions and its policies are bound by the obligations enshrined in this Convention;
Recalling that the Disability Intergroup of the European Parliament has been a driving force for disability rights in the European Parliament for the past 40 years, being one of the oldest intergroups in the Parliament with the greatest number of members;
Highlighting the importance of the Disability Intergroup in coordinating political action from different political groups to ensure that the Parliament fully lives up to the UN CRPD and the expectations of persons with disabilities across the EU;
Underlining its role in raising awareness about the situation of persons with disabilities in the EU among other EU policy makers,
Recognising the fruitful cooperation of the European disability movement with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) at the Disability Intergroup, and in particular that the Secretariat of this Intergroup has been successfully managed by the European Disability Forum since 1999 forging a strong alliance between the disability movement and our elected MEPs;
Recalling that 520 candidates to become MEPs, including 85 elected MEPs and four leading candidates to become President of the European Commission have stated their support to the re-establishment of a new Disability Intergroup;
Stressing the many challenges faced by persons with disabilities in their everyday lives in which the EU must swiftly take action regarding equal opportunities, independent living, social, economic and political rights, and accessibility, to name a few;
Highlighting the policy priorities in the EDF Manifesto adopted by the 4th European Parliament of Persons with Disabilities in December 2017 which must be addressed in the coming years by the European Parliament as the representative institution of EU citizens, including persons with disabilities.
The European Disability Forum calls on the political groups in the European Parliament and the newly elected Members of the European Parliament:
- To support the re-establishment of the Disability Intergroup, constituted MEPs from all Member States and from all pro-European political forces.
- To ensure that this Disability Intergroup is committed to actively mainstream the rights of persons with disabilities, including women and girls with disabilities, in the work of the European Parliament, and that the Parliament itself becomes a more inclusive and accessible institution to all persons with disabilities- including staff, visitors, elected representatives and all EU residents.
- To ensure that the European Disability Forum continues to provide the secretariat for the Disability Intergroup, in line with article 4.3 of the UN CRPD and the motto of the disability movement “nothing about us, without us”, ensuring a strong ongoing collaboration between organisations of persons with disabilities and Disability Intergroup members.
