The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the European Disability Strategy (EDS) 2010-2020, which is the EU’s main policy document in the field of disability. It sets out objectives and actions for implementing disability policy at the EU level.
EDS will end in 2020, which is why the European Commission is now evaluating its implementation. This public consultation aims to collect evidence and views from different stakeholders “in order to assess the strategy’s relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, and EU added value”. Individuals or organisations do not need to have any prior knowledge about EDS to participate in this consultation.
EDS identifies 8 specific areas of action, on which the questionnaire is focused: accessibility, participation, equality, employment, education and training, social protection, health, and external action (which is about promoting the rights of disabled people outside of the EU).
The questionnaire is available in all official EU languages, in both standard and easy-to-read versions, and it will be open until October 23rd. It has 48 questions (most of them multiple choice), which take around 20-30 minutes on average to complete.
To answer the questionnaire about EDS, you need to set up an account on the Commission’s website (there is also the possibility to login with your social media account). At the beginning, you will be asked a couple of basic questions about your background and if you are responding as an individual or representing an organisation, company etc, but you are given the option of anonymity and data protection. In the end, you can also attach some supporting documents if you wish.
You can access the questionnaire here until 23rd October 2019.
