ENIL’s “EU Funds for Our Rights” Campaign continues in 2018, with awareness raising and capacity building activities for NGOs, and meetings with MEPs and the European Commission. In this article, you can read about our recent and upcoming events and learn how you can get involved in the campaign.
We met with a number of MEPs recently, including Mr Guillaume Balas (Committee on Employment and Social Affairs), Ms Julie Ward (Committee on Culture and Education), Mr Pascal Durand (Intergroup on disability) and Ms Tanja Fajon (Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs). We discussed challenges and concerns in relation to the use of European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds) in their respective countries, when it comes to disabled people and independent living.
Three MEPs – Ms Miriam Dalli, Ms Julie Ward and Mr Pascal Durand – made a video in support of our Campaign. You can access the videos by clicking on their names.
We are currently preparing a briefing setting out concerns about the use of ESI Funds in the Member States, in relation to the transition from institutional care to community living. The briefing will discuss concerns raised during our regional events in Vilnius, Brussels and Bucharest, where we had civil society organisations from 18 Member States taking part.
On 6th April, we are co-organising a Conference on Independent Living and UNCRPD in Paris, France. We are working together with CHA : Coordination Handicap et Autonomie – Vie autonome France, Gré à Gré and COVIAM, and are supported by ILI (Independent Living Institute) and CNCDH: Commission Nationale Consultative des Droits de l’Homme. The conference is also supported by MEP Pascal Durand, a member of the Disability Intergoup. For more details, please check the Facebook event (the agenda will be available soon).
If you wish to take part in the Paris event, please, fill in this form. Please note that the working language will be French.
To support our Campaign, please like our Facebook page. We also encourage you to report any cases where you believe ESI Funds are not used to support independent living, but to maintain institutional care, or where the Government is not complying with their obligation to involve civil society organisation in all stages of ESI Funds use.
If you would like to take part in the Campaign, or wish to know more about the Paris conference or other activities, please contact the Campaign Coordinator Natasa Kokic at natasa.kokic@enil.eu.
