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 Public Health · Rapporteur: Giorgos Georgiou

AMENDMENTS

The Committee on Public Health submits the following to the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, as the committee responsible:

Amendment 1

Motion for a resolution

Citation 4

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
– having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which entered into force for the EU on 22 January 2011 in accordance with Council Decision 2010/48/EC of 26 November 2009 concerning the conclusion, by the European Community, of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities1,	– having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which entered into force for the EU on 22 January 2011 in accordance with Council Decision 2010/48/EC of 26 November 2009 concerning the conclusion, by the European Community, of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities1, in particular Article 25 UNCRPD, which sets out the parameters for disability-inclusive healthcare and requires that persons with disabilities have the right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination on the basis of disability,
__________________	__________________
1 OJ L 23, 27.01.2010, p. 35, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2010/48(1)/oj.	1 OJ L 23, 27.01.2010, p. 35, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2010/48(1)/oj.

Or. en

Amendment 2

Motion for a resolution

Citation 10 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	– having regard to Directive (EU) 2011/24 of the European Parliament and of the Council on 9 March 2011 on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare1a, ______________ 1a OJ L 88, 4.4.2011, p. 45, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2011/24/oj.

Or. en

Amendment 3

Motion for a resolution

Recital A a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	Aa. whereas the needs of persons with disabilities should be fully addressed throughout all stages of life;

Or. en

Amendment 4

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 disability-sensitive training for healthcare professionals could improve healthcare provision and reduce discrimination;

Or. en

Amendment 5

Motion for a resolution

Recital E

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
E. whereas 28.4 % of persons with disabilities live in or are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, compared to 18.4 % of persons without disabilities;	E. whereas 28.4 % of persons with disabilities live in or are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, compared to 18.4 % of persons without disabilities; whereas persons with disabilities face a greater risk of poor health and have a higher need for both preventive and curative medical care;

Or. en

Amendment 6

Motion for a resolution

Recital E a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	Ea. whereas health should be guaranteed as a fundamental human right and a public social good equally accessible to all; whereas, however, access to healthcare varies significantly both across countries and within them;

Or. en

Amendment 7

Motion for a resolution

Recital E b (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	Eb. whereas persons with disabilities face a range of challenges in accessing healthcare, including financial, attitudinal, legal and physical; whereas persons with disabilities are less likely to have access to preventive healthcare and screening programmes (e.g. for cancer or diabetes) due to physical or informational barriers or discrimination;

Or. en

Amendment 8

Motion for a resolution

Recital F a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	Fa. whereas persons with disabilities, especially women and minors, face obstacles in exercising their sexual and reproductive rights and lack access to the related healthcare and health information; whereas this discriminatory practice not only deprives persons with disabilities of their fundamental rights but also puts them at risk of sexual abuse;

Or. en

Amendment 9

Motion for a resolution

Recital F b (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	Fb. whereas the UNCRPD and the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, both ratified by the EU, clearly state that persons with disabilities should enjoy the same sexual rights and retain their fertility on an equal basis with others; whereas only nine EU countries criminalise forced sterilisation as a distinct offence, while 13 allow it to be performed on persons with disabilities and in three of those countries this includes minors; whereas forced sterilisation breaches the right to human dignity, the right to integrity of the person, the prohibition of torture or degrading treatment, and the right to private and family life; whereas these rights are enshrined in international treaties and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union;

Or. en

Amendment 10

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 11 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	11a. Insists that the EU should support Member States with the implementation of the pending Commission guidelines on improving access to healthcare for persons with disabilities, expected for the end of 2025;

Or. en

Amendment 11

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 11 b (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	11b. Calls for the EU to support Member States financially and exchange best practice to improve access to rehabilitation for persons with disabilities, and adopt an action plan for affordable and accessible rehabilitation across the lifespan, in line with the World Health Organization’s Rehabilitation 2030 initiative;

Or. en

Amendment 12

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 12

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
12. Calls for the development of new technologies to ensure accessibility, and for the participation of persons with disabilities in all phases of design, development and implementation of technologies, in order to mitigate any risk of discrimination;	12. Calls for the development of new technologies, including medical devices, to ensure accessibility, and for the participation of persons with disabilities in all phases of research, design, development and implementation of technologies, in order to mitigate any risk of discrimination; highlights the significant under-representation of persons with disabilities in clinical research; notes that clinical trials often include disability-related exclusion criteria, the vast majority of which are relative, meaning that they are not essential to the integrity or safety of the trial; welcomes the European Health and Digital Executive Agency’s ‘HEALTH’ study on access to cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment and clinical trials for persons with disabilities enabled by the EU4Health programme 2021-2027; calls on the Commission to further develop recommendations and frameworks for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in clinical research and to fund training programmes for researchers and clinical trial organisers on adaptive study design, accessibility and ethical considerations;

Or. en

Amendment 13

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 14

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
14. Highlights the need to revise existing EU legislation on the accessibility of transport infrastructure and vehicles such as trains, buses, planes and boats;	14. Highlights the need to revise existing EU legislation on the accessibility of transport infrastructure and vehicles such as trains, buses, planes and boats, including as regards medical transport; calls on the Member States to ensure that all national health screening and prevention programmes are fully accessible and inclusive;

Or. en

Amendment 14

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 14 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	14a. Welcomes the EU Global Health Strategy: Better Health for All in a Changing World and its inclusion of the rights of persons with disabilities; calls on the Commission and the Member States to liaise with representative organisations of persons with disabilities to ensure that the preparedness strategy, including risk, disaster and emergency management, takes the needs of persons with disabilities fully into account;

Or. en

Amendment 15

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 15 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	15a. Urges the Commission to consider a revision of Directive 2011/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2011 on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare1a and Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems1b in order to ensure the reimbursement of disability-related additional costs and accessibility in situations of cross-border healthcare; ______________ 1a OJ L 88, 4.4.2011, p. 45, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2011/24/oj. 1b OJ L 200, 7.6.2004, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2004/883/corrigendum/2004-06-07/oj.

Or. en

Amendment 16

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 16

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
16. Recognises that persons with disabilities encounter obstacles in accessing education and employment, and calls for the Union of Skills to enable greater investment in inclusive education, adaptations and accessibility in digital and vocational training, as well as to provide support in the transition to employment through adapted training and reasonable accommodation in the workplace;	16. Recognises that persons with disabilities encounter obstacles in accessing education, employment and healthcare services, and calls for the Union of Skills to enable greater investment in public healthcare services, inclusive education, adaptations and accessibility in digital and vocational training, as well as to provide support in the transition to employment through adapted training and reasonable accommodation in the workplace;

Or. en

Amendment 17

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 17 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	17a. Stresses that persons with disabilities face health inequalities that may lead to a greater risk of preventable chronic illnesses, additional secondary health conditions, avoidable hospital stays and higher rates of early-onset illness; notes that many physicians report feeling unprepared, uncertain and lacking proper training when treating persons with disabilities; calls on the Member States to implement disability awareness training as a mandatory element of both medical education and ongoing professional training across the EU; calls on the Commission to establish a platform for sharing best practice for disability-inclusive healthcare across Member States;

Or. en

Amendment 18

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 21

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
21. Considers that access to quality affordable and accessible housing represents a challenge in the EU, in particular for persons with disabilities, and calls, therefore, for support for housing including by using existing support for renovation, and for the establishment of a fund within the framework of EU cohesion policy to support accessible and disability-inclusive social housing;	21. Considers that access to quality affordable and accessible housing represents a challenge in the EU, in particular for persons with disabilities, and calls, therefore, for support for housing including by using existing support for renovation, and for the establishment of a fund within the framework of EU cohesion policy to support accessible and disability-inclusive social housing; recalls that inclusive, autonomous and healthy housing is a core preventive measure to safeguard healthy ageing for persons with disabilities and calls on the Commission to take into account the needs of persons with disabilities in its housing policies;

Or. en

Amendment 19

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 22 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	22a. Recalls that the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked economic and social havoc globally and even more so on persons with disabilities; recalls, further, that a key lesson from this experience is that there is a need to invest in medical research and in the resilience of public health systems in the EU in order to ensure health as a public good for all and raise citizens’ quality of life; calls for stronger support in the next multiannual financial framework (MFF) for human-centred healthcare taking into account the needs of persons with disabilities;

Or. en

Amendment 20

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 22 b (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	22b. Regrets the EUR 1 billion budget cut to the EU4Health programme, representing a 20 % reduction in its budget; underlines that the EU must invest more in strengthening healthcare systems by increasing the budget for the EU4Health programme in order to eradicate health inequalities, especially for persons with disabilities; insists that more must be done in the next MFF to support Member States with the transition of persons with disabilities from living in institutions to independent living and using community-based services, to provide personalised training support for workers in line with the UNCRPD, to strengthen the service provision sector for persons with disabilities, and to support the families of persons with disabilities by ensuring that they can be offered more in-home support;

Or. en

Amendment 21

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 23 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	23a. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to ensure that all sexual and reproductive health services, including gynaecological, obstetric and breast cancer screening services, as well as family planning, are available and accessible to persons with disabilities;

Or. en

Amendment 22

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 23 b (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	23b. Calls on the Commission to assess urgently whether forced or undesired sterilisation is sufficiently criminalised in the Member States with a view to ending this practice in line with Treaty obligations relating to non-discrimination; calls for the adoption of measures to end and criminalise forced sterilisation, ensure equal access to sexual and reproductive rights, and ensure access to justice, including reporting, as well as adequate criminal sanctions and compensation for victims;

Or. en

Amendment 23

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 24

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
24. Calls on the Commission to address, at EU level, the barriers to accessing healthcare for women in all their diversity, including barriers faced by women and girls with disabilities;	24. Calls on the Commission to address, at EU level, the barriers to accessing healthcare and reproductive rights for women in all their diversity, including barriers faced by women and girls with disabilities and harmful practices such as forced sterilisation and forced abortions; recalls that barriers to access to healthcare facilities are discriminatory and profoundly hinder access to medical care for persons with disabilities; calls for more uniform enforcement of the European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882);

Or. en

Amendment 24

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 29 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	29a. Recalls that persons with disabilities have more complex needs as regards medicines and often require orphan medicines, which may significantly improve their quality of life by reducing symptoms, extending life expectancy and offering previously unavailable treatment options; calls on the Commission and the Member States, therefore, to put forward an EU strategy ensuring equal access to orphan medicines and to innovative treatments across Europe;

Or. en

Amendment 25

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 30

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
30. Asks the Commission to include Parliament at a political level in the Disability Platform and to establish an interinstitutional structured dialogue to follow up on, monitor and evaluate the inclusion of persons with disabilities in Member States in all areas and in all policies, sharing best practice and providing recommendations;	30. Asks the Commission to include Parliament at a political level in the Disability Platform and to establish an interinstitutional structured dialogue to follow up on, monitor and evaluate the inclusion of persons with disabilities in Member States in all areas and in all policies, sharing best practice and providing recommendations; stresses that persons with disabilities and their representative organisations should be actively included in designing and evaluating healthcare policy at all levels of governance;

Or. en