Main developments:
We learned the move of the Disability Unit within the European Commission from the Employment and Social Affairs Directorate General (EMPL) to the Justice and Consumers Directorate General (JUST), except for employment-related issues which remain at EMPL. It is a good sign that disability is now more clearly labelled a matter of equality in the architecture of the Commission, although it remains to be seen if and how this change will affect policy-making.
In the European Commission’s work programme for 2025, noteworthy are the post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework proposals in the third quarter of the year. It is feared that in the next EU budget, the amount of future Cohesion programmes is reduced, impacting disability policies and funding under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme. See the European Disability Forum statement. We have asked our members in the EU to lobby their governments against such risk.
Also resulting from the Commission’s work programme for 2025 is the decision to drop the proposal for a horizontal Equal Treatment Directive. See the EDF statement. Our members in the EU were asked to lobby their governments, to try and obtain that the Council take decisive action on this file within the next 6 months, before the Commission’s decision is effective.
The update of the EU Disability Strategy 2021-2030 for its second half is not mentioned in the work programme 2025: possibly because this will be decided only in 2026 after publication of a progress report and subsequent consultations?
Events:
On 18 February we held a cocktail reception at the European Parliament in Brussels, with the kind sponsorship of Finnish MEP and Chair of the Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) Committee, Li Andersson, labelled “Stand with the European Blind Union for Visually Impaired People Inclusive EU Policies”. The aim of this event was to make contact for EBU and its members with MEPs in the new assembly, to incite them to join the re-established Disability Intergroup, and to sensitise the latter on our key issues for the new legislature, against the background of our “Statement on European Elections 2024”. Four issues very topical to visually impaired people were highlighted: accessibility of household appliances, EU implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty, promotion of audio description, and acoustic alert (AVAS) for silent cars. We issued a press release after the event.
Campaigning:
Following contacts during and around the EBU cocktail event, Maria Ohisalo, Finnish MEP member of the EMPL Committee expressed interest to receive a suggested text for a parliamentary question, for written reply by the Commission, about our accessible household appliances issue of our future campaign. We have provided this. Meanwhile, after discussions within the steering committee of our Advocacy Committee, the concept note for the campaign was finalised and is ready to be submitted to the Board, for approval.
Advocacy (miscellaneous):
We delivered a statement at the informal meeting with civil society organisations of the taskforce for the review of the EU by UN CRPD Committee. Complementary to the European Disability Forum’s own statement and alternative report and in coordination with them and other organisations, we focused on the default of the EU Directive implementing the Marrakesh Treaty, the gaps of the European Accessibility Act (including household appliances), and the insufficiency of the provision on accessibility in the Audiovisual Media Services Directive.
We continued our desk research toward a report on the “Disability Benefits Trap” issue, in relation to access to employment.
Our members started to exchange information on an initiative to promote braille as UNESCO world heritage.
Consultations:
We responded to a bilateral consultation by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Energy, on making energy efficiency labels accessible.