For the last 40 years, the European Parliament’s Disability Intergroup has been a key ally in advancing our rights. This has been no different during the 9th legislative term, which started in 2019 and ends in June 2024.
This article summarises the Intergroup’s key achievements over the last five years, from the start of the term in 2019 to its end in 2024.
Top 10 achievements
The Disability Intergroup played an integral part in the significant progress of disability rights in the EU. We want to highlight:
- Thanks to the Intergroup, the EU adopted an ambitious Directive on the European Disability Card and European Parking Card in record time. Intergroup members were key in ensuring that the Card could be used during mobility programmes and that it will be issued free of charge.
- The Intergroup’s called the European Commission to develop an ambitious European Disability Rights Strategy 2021-2030 and projects like the AccessibleEU Centre.
- It ensured that the European Parliament became more inclusive and accessible, through events like the 5th European Parliament of Persons with Disabilities or reports on equal rights for persons with disabilities.
- It supported the first-ever European Parliament’s Disability Rights Week.
- It has been extremely active in advancing the right to political participation of persons with disabilities. In 2023, Members included provisions that persons with disabilities should be able to vote “regardless of legal capacity” in reports about the right to vote of mobile citizens and on the European Parliament proposal for a new Electoral Law in 2022..
- The Intergroup members actively guaranteed that Structural Funds ensure disability inclusion.
- The new standards on equality bodies and the adopted directive on combatting violence against women include the need to ensure accessible services, reasonable accommodation and specialised support for persons with disabilities.
- Despite intense pressure from Member States and some private sector stakeholders, the AI Act includes some requirements on accessibility.
- The Intergroup was essential in advancing the Mental Health agenda, especially through a resolution in 2023.
- Soon after the COVID-19 pandemic appeared, the Intergroup organized the first meeting with the European Commission on its impact to persons with disabilities, ensured the accessibility of the COVID-digital passes and called for the creation of an enquiry committee in the Parliament.
Achievements in 2024
During 2024, the Intergroup focused on the adoption of the European Disability Card and guaranteeing that legislation such as the AI Act, the directives on standards for equality bodies or the directive to combat violence against women – among others – included disability rights.
The Intergroup also reflected on the political participation of persons with disabilities, and its members committed to strong advocacy to re-establish the Intergroup for the 10th parliamentary term.
A highlight of the Intergroup work was the meeting with the European Disability Forum’s executive Committee and the following reception, at which the pledge for candidates for the EU Elections was launched.
Achievements in 2023
2023 saw a flurry of activity by the Intergroup, as it discussed numerous legislative texts relevant to persons with disabilities.
Importantly, the European Parliament hosted its first-ever Disability Rights Week thanks to Intergroup members, from 27 November to 4 December 2023.
The most notable political achievement was the extremely ambitious report on the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card, which supported most of the disability movement’s demand. We also note the Parliament’s commitment to ban forced sterilisation of persons with disabilities, which sadly was not achieved due to the Council of the EU.
Read “Disability Intergroup: Achievements of 2023”
Achievements in 2022
In 2022, the Intergroup was an active player in ensuring an ambitious plan for the AccessibleEU Centre and advocated for provisions on disability in several contentious files, such as the Directive on adequate minimum wages, and – crucially – the proposal for a new EU Electoral law that is still under discussion.
Read “Disability Intergroup: achievements of 2022”
Achievements in 2021
During 2021, the Intergroup was still very active in trying to protect persons with disabilities from COVID-19 and its effects, while also advancing disability rights in other areas. Back in 2021, theIntergroup managed to incorporate an amendment to the Regulation setting out the COVID-19 Digital Pass to ensure it will be accessible to persons with disabilities, for example.
But it also included provisions related to non-discrimination, accessibility and independent living for persons with disabilities in the new Structural Funds Regulation.
And it also supported the adoption of a revised Rail Passengers Rights regulation which reduced the pre-notification to request assistance to 24 hours.
Read “Disability Intergroup: a retrospective of the 2021 intergroup achievements on disability rights”
Achievements in 2019 and 2020
Despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic, some of the main successes of the Disability Intergroup in 2020 were the adoption of a strong resolution calling the Commission to prepare the next Disability Strategy post-2020 (which became the European Disability Rights Strategy 2021-2030), the first high level discussion with the European Commission on the impact of COVID-19 to persons with disabilities and the inclusion of the demands of the disability movement in the resolution for an EU coordinated response to this crisis.
Read “Taking stock of the Disability Intergroup work in 2019 and 2020”