ENIL has submitted a complaint to the European Commission over the use of EU funds to support the construction of a new residential institution for persons with disabilities in Anderlecht, Brussels.
The project — Centre Tisser — is co-funded under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 2021–2027, with approximately €750,000 of EU money. It will accommodate up to 25 persons with disabilities in a collective residential setting.
Let us be clear: this is institutionalisation.
At a time when the European Union has committed to independent living and the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), EU funds are still being used to build segregated settings. This is not a grey area. It is a direct contradiction of EU law and policy.
Institutionalisation is not defined by the size of a building. As clarified by the CRPD Committee, it is defined by segregation, lack of choice, and the imposition of collective living arrangements. Replacing large institutions with smaller ones does not change their nature — it only makes them less visible.
This project will group persons with disabilities in one place, organise their daily lives within that setting, and separate them from the community. This is exactly what Article 19 of the CRPD seeks to end.
The European Commission has clear obligations. Under the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Common Provisions Regulation governing EU funds, it must ensure that EU money is not used to support discrimination or segregation. It must also ensure that all investments promote independent living and community inclusion.
Yet, once again, EU funds are being channelled into institutional models instead of being used to develop community-based services, personal assistance, and real alternatives that enable people to live their lives with choice and control.
This is not an isolated case. It reflects a broader, systemic failure to align EU funding with human rights obligations.
ENIL calls on the European Commission to act immediately — to stop this investment, to enforce its own rules, and to ensure that EU funds are used to support independent living, not segregation.
We will continue to challenge the misuse of EU funds wherever it occurs.
Because institutionalisation — in any form — has no place in Europe.
