Today the hearing of the Commissioner designate for Preparedness, Crisis Management and Equality, Hadja Lahbib, took place in the European Parliament.
Over the pasts months the absence of any mention of disability in the Political Guidelines of Commission President von der Leyen and the merging of the Equality portfolio with other topics had caused disquiet among organisations.
During the hearing Lahbib expressed her commitment to be a Commissioner working “100% on preparedness and crisis management and 100% on equality”. The Commissioner designate expressed her support for the adoption of the equal treatment directive and acknowledged that the employment of disabled people and deinstitutionalisation are important topics. It is to be welcomed that these things were said.
There are several points which warrant criticism.
The hearing in the European Parliament lasted more than three hours and only one question was asked about disability by the Members of the European Parliament. To our knowledge there has been no reaction from president Von der Leyen to the complaints brought forward by the European Disability Forum about the absence of disability from the political guidelines and the merging of the equality portfolio. In Lahbibs´ mission letter only one brief paragraph was dedicated to the rights of disabled people.
The lack of expressions of support from the European Commission’s political leadership creates the impression that within the European Union disability is increasingly sidelined as a topic.
Without political support at the highest level, there is a risk that the EU will not be able to deliver its commitments expressed in the European Strategy on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and on the implementation of the United Nations Strategy on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Because disability was barely mentioned it is unclear what the EU will do going forward. What will be done to stop the funding going into services that segregate? Will there be more resources to expand community-based services and implement the 15 pillars on Independent Living? Will the EU go ahead with the regulation on the protection of vulnerable adults, which calls into question key aspects of the UN CRPD?
The European Network on Independent Living calls on:
The European Commission
- To reverse their current course and grant the rights of disabled people the highest political priority.
- Despite the absence of political declarations, to give their support to ambitious legislative projects to create alignment with the UN CRPD
The European Parliament
- To increase their public support for disability rights to show that the EU is still serious about this essential topic
ENIL is open to dialogue with all stakeholders and to lend its expertise.
