Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-04-03-Speech-2-289"
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".
Mr President, I should like to offer my special congratulations to Mrs Hermange on her very comprehensive report. I note that, like many of her fellow members, she has identified two basic aspects to the problem. The first is preconception and relates to cultural and political change and the second is the need for equal opportunities and equal access to all types of activity. This second objective of equal access means specific policies for 12% of Europe’s citizens. To give you a clear idea of the numbers involved, 37 million people with disabilities equate to about 9 countries the size of Denmark. And the Commission communication, like Mrs Hermange’s report, emphasizes the need for a horizontal approach to the issue of disability, i.e. the need to approach all policies and to take account of this aspect in all types of decision, which is why the communication also specifically refers to the need for access to buildings, the architectural dimension, employment, transport, research, technology, education and health.
I should like to point out that we have had three interesting examples of this in the short interval between the Commission communication and the report. First, the endeavour concerning the rights of airline passengers. This consultation at European level, which is now ready for signing, involved the airlines and the Commission, as well as groups of people with disabilities, the aim being to agree on specific, binding undertakings to safeguard the rights of all passengers and people with disabilities. The second interesting example is the e-EUROPE initiative, which incorporates five different specific lines of approach defining the needs of people with disabilities as regards access to all the new technologies and IT systems. Finally, the third example is the programme for research and technology announced recently, which again includes both specific commitments to special technologies for aids and appliances to assist people with disabilities and social research and studies.
Honourable members, as you have rightly pointed out, we need specific action and, of course, we need to take account of the fact that, at European level, there is the potential to add value to the policies of the Member States, given that this sector still comes almost entirely within the jurisdiction of the Member States. Nonetheless, I think that there are several specific issues worth mentioning here, such as legislation. Thanks to the catalytic role of the European Parliament, we recently managed to adopt the directive banning discrimination against people with disabilities in the workplace in record time. This directive represents a truly historic decision by the institutions of the European Union and the challenge now is to ensure that it is applied correctly. In addition, all the action programmes currently being developed and announced by the Commission contain specific reference to and a commitment towards people with disabilities; this applies to the EQUAL initiative, the programmes against discrimination and exclusion and the fifth women’s programme. I also think employment policy and strategy are worth mentioning. Last year, at Parliament’s suggestion, the Commission agreed that our objective should be to include persons with disabilities in training and the employment strategy, an objective which was not, however, accepted by the Council of Ministers. We shall come back to this again this year, in a bid to set specific quantitative targets at European and national level for the participation of people with disabilities in the employment strategy programme, be it in the form of training, lifelong learning, access to new technologies or subsidised jobs. This will be one of our priorities over coming years. I should also mention that the Commission is preparing a communication on companies’ social responsibilities. This communication will take particular account – and we are already working on this with special networks of companies – of the fact that each company is personally and specifically responsible for applying social policies and policies to integrate people with disabilities.
I recently visited the companies which received Commission awards last year for incorporating people with disabilities in their workforce and it was a most pleasant surprise to see practical examples of small and medium-sized companies increasing their profits by making use of the exceptionally well-honed talents of people with disabilities. I should also like to mention the specific problem of transferring benefits to other countries; this problem will be very hard to resolve due to the huge differences in both how the systems are organised and the level of benefits. Regulation 1408/71 does not in fact make provision for transfers or for discussing the question of disability benefits. And, of course, there is currently considerable reaction on the part of numerous countries to benefit transfers, due to the huge financial costs involved.
Finally, I must say that 2003 will really be a big challenge. At present we are discussing the political framework for 2003. Of course, we shall be discussing the matter with Parliament before we draft our overall proposal, but 2003 will be a huge challenge for all of us, because we shall need to show that we are capable of action, not just words."@en1
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