Sittings · Document
DRAFT OPINION (2025/2057(INI)) 2025-05-07
On the EU strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities post-2024
Committee on Petitions · Rapporteur: Pál Szekeres
AMENDMENTS
The Committee on Petitions submits the following to the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, as the committee responsible:
Amendment 1
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| – having regard to the concluding observations of 21 March 2025 of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the UNCRPD, |
Or. en
Amendment 2
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| – having regard to standard EN 17210:2021 – ’Accessibility and usability of the built environment - Functional requirements’, published by the technical body CEN-CLC/JTC 11 of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) with the aim of describing basic, common minimum functional requirements and recommendations, applicable across the full spectrum of the built environment, for an accessible and usable built environment, following the Design for All/Universal Design principles devised to facilitate equitable and safe use for a wide range of users, including persons with disabilities, |
Or. en
Amendment 3
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| Ba. whereas information stemming from petitions submitted to Parliament by persons with disabilities or on disability issues can serve as a source of information concerning gaps in the implementation of EU law and the UNCRPD at both national and EU level, and can contribute to the shaping of legislation in all policy areas; |
Or. en
Amendment 4
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| Bb. whereas petitioners’ most common concerns regarding disabilities centre around equal treatment in employment and education, accessibility, social protection and the right to live independently in the community; |
Or. en
Amendment 5
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| C. whereas, as recognised in the Commission communication on the Union of Skills, persons with disabilities face persistent challenges in access to quality work and training, with existing programmes often falling short on adequately addressing their needs or ensuring accessibility; | C. whereas, as recognised in the Commission communication on the Union of Skills, persons with disabilities face persistent challenges in access to quality work and training, with existing programmes often falling short on adequately addressing their needs or ensuring accessibility; whereas petitions submitted to Parliament highlight widespread discrimination in education and employment and the need for stronger enforcement of equal treatment obligations under current EU legislation; |
Or. en
Amendment 6
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| D. whereas the employment rate of young persons with disabilities in the EU is particularly low, at only 47.4 %; whereas there is a 21.5 percentage point gap between the employment rates of young people with and without disabilities; | D. whereas the employment rate of young persons with disabilities in the EU is particularly low, at only 47.4 %; whereas there is a 21.5 percentage point gap between the employment rates of young people with and without disabilities; whereas petitions submitted to Parliament have repeatedly highlighted that persons with disabilities continue to be disproportionately affected by unemployment and call for proactive legislative and policy measures to support the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the open labour market; |
Or. en
Amendment 7
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 2. Notes that the Commission has completed six out of seven flagship initiatives; | 2. Notes that, according to the Commission, it has completed six out of seven flagship initiatives; |
Or. en
Amendment 8
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 7a. Notes with regret that many persons with disabilities lack equal access to information and communication due to limited availability of accessible formats, and that national sign languages (NSLs) are not considered part of the EU’s multilingualism policy; |
Or. en
Amendment 9
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 10a. Regrets that the standardisation process seems to be extremely protracted, since built infrastructure standard EN 17210:2021 – ’Accessibility and usability of the built environment - Functional requirements’ was only adopted in 2021; |
Or. en
Amendment 10
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 11a. Underlines that petitions submitted to Parliament regarding the equality of persons with disabilities repeatedly call for improved accessibility and social protection, along with employment rights and the right to live independently in the community; calls, therefore, for the full implementation and continuous monitoring of all accessibility-related legislation, in order to effectively and definitively remove and prevent barriers in the built environment for persons with disabilities, and to improve and ensure the availability of accessible services and the suitability of the conditions under which these services are provided; |
Or. en
Amendment 11
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 14a. Calls for revisions of the EU institutions’ rules of procedure in order to reflect the rights of deaf persons, recognise the 29 NSLs of the EU as official EU languages and increase the availability of information in easy-to-read format, in line with the recent concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the UNCRPD; |
Or. en
Amendment 12
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 15a. Highlights, despite the fact that the UNCRPD does not mention autism or autistic persons, the ongoing challenges faced by autistic persons, in particular children, as reported in numerous petitions submitted to Parliament outlining that the disparities in autism diagnoses across the Member States, and the differing methods and outcomes of national disability assessment systems, create significant barriers for autistic persons and their families, preventing them from fully exercising their right to freedom of movement within the EU; underlines that this situation poses obstacles for individuals with disabilities when relocating to another Member State for purposes such as work, study or other reasons, while also hindering their access to essential support services; points out that such inconsistencies have a direct and negative impact on the lives and life choices of autistic individuals, limiting their mobility, inclusion and access to necessary resources; calls on the Member States to step up their efforts to facilitate access to autism diagnoses for children and adults and emphasises the need for a simplified and expedited issuance of diagnostic certificates; recommends that an autism diagnosis, in accordance with available scientific evidence, should provide disability recognition to ensure equal access to rights and services in all areas of life; |
Or. en
Amendment 13
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 16a. Highlights that information stemming from petitions submitted to Parliament on disability-related issues demonstrates that work-related discrimination against persons with disabilities is interrelated with a lack of inclusive education and vocational training, as well as the segregation and discrimination present in housing and healthcare, and the lack of accessibility in transport and other services and products; stresses the importance of inclusive education and vocational training as prerequisites for full participation in society and the labour market, based on the provision of reasonable accommodation in accordance with EU law; outlines the importance of providing support to persons with disabilities so that they can live independently and equally with others in their community, regardless of their type of impairment, on the basis of available and reasonable accommodation and the expressed needs of the affected person; calls on the Commission to better recognise the importance of accessible and quality support services and systems for independent living based on individuals’ need to live in freedom and their social needs; |
Or. en
Amendment 14
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 17. Calls on the Commission to establish an EU-funded employment and skills guarantee for persons with disabilities, without age restrictions, aimed at facilitating access to employment, training and further education, and to ensure that all programmes are fully accessible and designed to support the transition from sheltered employment to regular employment, including reasonable accommodation measures where relevant; | 17. Calls on the Commission to establish an EU-funded programme to develop reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities to achieve a higher level of employment and skills, without age restrictions, aimed at facilitating access to employment, training and further education, and to ensure that all programmes are fully accessible on the basis of reasonable accommodation and designed to support the transition from sheltered employment to regular employment, including reasonable accommodation measures where relevant; |
Or. en
Amendment 15
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 22a. Notes that petitions submitted to Parliament by or on behalf of women and girls with disabilities draw attention to persistent discrimination, barriers to accessibility and a lack of adequate support in areas such as healthcare, education, employment and protection from gender-based violence; underlines that these petitions highlight the urgency of mainstreaming the protection of women and girls with disabilities in all relevant EU and national policies; |
Or. en
Amendment 16
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 29. Recalls that, according to the strategy, EU institutions should make selection, recruitment, employment and retention processes disability-inclusive, and should improve the accessibility of buildings and communication technology; | 29. Recalls that, according to the strategy, EU institutions should make selection, recruitment, employment and retention processes disability-inclusive, and should improve the accessibility of buildings and communication technology, while providing reasonable accommodation for their employees, especially in respect of communication-related accessibility (captioning, sign languages) regarding languages used in the EU institutions; |
Or. en
Amendment 17
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 30a. Stresses that petitions received by Parliament are a valuable tool for identifying critical, possible and justifiable shortcomings in the implementation of the UNCRPD or legislation relating to the rights of persons with disabilities; calls, therefore, on the Commission and the Member States to systematically take into account the findings and concerns raised through petitions when monitoring and reviewing disability-related legislation and funding programmes; |
Or. en
ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR FOR OPINION HAS RECEIVED INPUT
The rapporteur for opinion declares under his exclusive responsibility that he did not receive input from any entity or person to be mentioned in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.