EUFunds4IL Coalition adopts amendments on the EU-Budget

Will the EU be investing more money into Independent Living services or will the miss-investments continue?


To support a positive outcome, the EUFunds4IL Coalition has adopted various sets of amendments to the long-term EU-Budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework. to three Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) Regulations:¹ 1. The National Regional Partnership Plan Regulation (NRP-R), 2. The Budgetary Tracking and Performance Framework, 3. Global Europe.

Now, all amendments are available in one document which can be downloaded in pdf here and in word here.

What are our key demands?

The NRP-R

The National and Regional Partnership Plans should make an active contribution to the implementation of the adopted legislation, especially the UN CRPD.

We recommend for example:

• Amending Article 7(1)(c new) on Horizontal principles stating that “Member States shall design the NRP Plan … in a way that ensures respect of … (c new) the norms and principles set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the authoritative documents issued by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”.
  
  

• Amending Article 8(1)(1a new) on Respect for the Charter of Fundamental Rights stating that “Member States shall put in place and maintain effective mechanisms to ensure compliance … with the relevant provisions of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and authoritative documents issued by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”.
  
  

• Amending article 10(5) on Budget by 1. Increasing the envelope for spending on the Union`s social objectives from 14% to 25%, 2. Adding that this spending is also available for “equal treatment and fundamental rights objectives” and that “At least 10% of the Unions’ social spending shall be dedicated to the implementation of the UN CRPD in the EU.”
  
  
  

The Budgetary Tracking and Performance Framework

EU disability policy is suffering from an insufficient evidence base. We recommend initiating regular data collection for example on:

1. The amount of EU Funds going into institutions and the number of people in institutions
   
   
2. The amount of EU Funds going into personal assistance, personal budgets and Centres for Independent Living and the amount of users of these services
   
   
3. The amount of EU Funds going into housing that is affordable and accessible for persons with disabilities and the amount of people benefiting from affordable and accessible housing
   
   
4. The amount of EU Funds going into supported employment and the amount of people benefiting from such measures
   
   
   

The Global Europe programme

We recommend for example:

• Amend article 4, 1b “Objectives of the instrument” and include the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD). Article 4, 1b states that Global Europe should contribute to the promotion of multilateralism and lists various international agreements the EU has concluded and whose implementation the programme should support. The UN CRPD is not listed. That is a missed opportunity which should be corrected.
  
  
  

• Amend Article 9 (4) “General Principles” and list “equal treatment and social inclusion”, “Independent Living”, “personal assistance” and “deinstitutionalisation” as actions to be promoted
  
  

Amend articles 9 – General Principles – 5 and 6 by stating that “the instrument shall promote gender equality and girls` and women´s empowerment with a particular focus on the equal treatment of women with disabilities”

1. https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/eu-budget/long-term-eu-budget/eu-budget-2028-2034_en ↩︎