European Day of People with Disabilities 2007

People with disabilities: Active players in the Internal Market

The conference was opened by Belinda Pyke, DG Employment and Social Affairs and Equal Opps (DG is the European Commission term similar to Ministry of..). She reminded us that in 2007 we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of Article 13 of the Treaty of Amsterdam which outlaws discrimination on the grounds of disability. Work has commenced on formulating new EU legislation to be presented in June 2008 covering:-

1. Free movement of people and families
2. Mainstreaming goods and infrastructure
3. Services for all

• Should people not get continual access to social security when moving countries?
• What about students following an Erasmus programme?
• Could we exclude the free movement of inaccessible goods?

Keen followers of the project will remember the name Pr Gerrard Quinn from the event in Dublin last month. His speech in Brussels was very different to that delivered in Ireland. He saw the positive role of the internal market but cautioned that this market must be based on trust, and that the trust had to be earned. “Why wait for aid when trade can do the job”? He clearly sees the right to participate and be economically active as a fundamental civil right “Disability is not about lacking and need, it is about belonging and involvement” he said.

Wallis Goelen chaired the next panel and debate looking at free movement of disabled people and their families. There were so many issues that came out here particularly with respect to social security. In Germany you have to be a citizen for 5 years to qualify for benefits, in Italy it is 15 years. What about the definition of disability? You could qualify for a disability benefit in one country and not even be classed as disabled in another. Another barrier is the lack of transferability of funds such as our Access to Work; could someone move from the UK to Latvia and get a funded support worker as they have always had? The more this debate went on the more complex the issues became and the more it seemed that for many disabled people free movement is not an option and this cannot be right.

After lunch the topic switched to the mainstreaming of goods and infrastructures. Axel Leblois, Exec Director of Global Initiative for Inclusive ICT, talked about accessible ICT products, not just computers but mobile phones, PDA’s etc. He explained how the EU could legislate in a similar manner to the USA when it introduced Section 508 mandating federal agencies to procure only accessible ICT equipment. “The future can’t wait – lets turn words into deeds” said Rodolfo Cattani of the European Blind Union. Chiara Giovannini, of the European Consumer Voice in Standardisation, hit on a brilliant solution; why not simply build accessibility issues into EU standards in the same way that we do for health and safety features? By a combination of standardisation and legislation it would be possible for state regulation of the free market, not two things that often role from the tongue together.

Day 1 was closed by our friend Richard Howitt MEP. It was re-assuring to hear Richard using the UK language “Disabled People” as opposed to the EU “People with Disabilities”; I was beginning to think I’d lost the plot! Richard pointed out that, at present, EU law on disability only covers employment so many member states have no rights to access good and services, education, transport etc. Then came a term I hadn’t heard since last year here at the Charlemagne Centre; “Flexicurity”. Remember that one? the combination of the flexibility of job content and employment security? Clearly this has become a common term in Europe over the last 12 months but Richard said that, for disabled people, the balance is not always right. He ended on a high note with a commitment to “mainstreaming disability at the European Union level better than we’ve ever done before”.

While the majority of delegates headed off to a grand gala dinner Margie (who had been up since 4am to catch the train to Belgium) and I opted for a quiet bite to eat in the hotel to reflect on this, our final event as your Disability Champions project workers and the wonderful times we have had over what is now 5 years for me. We agreed it was going to be fun spotting the victims of a nights free indulgence over breakfast but everyone seemed to be fine and off we went once more through the car park that is Brussels traffic for the final session.

Wallis took the Chair for the start of the session on “Services for All” along with Carlotta Besozzi of the EDF. Jérôme Vignon, DG Employment Social Affairs and =Opps, said that for disabled people to have genuine access to services their must be an inclusive labour market, fair access to qualifications and accessible social services. Wasilios Katsioulis, German Anti-Discrimination League, talked about issues around insurance. Little research has been done into the actual risks posed by disabled people, the result? Insurance companies air way on the side of caution and disabled people a lumbered with huge premiums. Jan Willern Dreteler represented Dutch bank SNS. He talked about their journey making ATMs and other banking services more accessible for more people and the knock positive effect this has had for non disabled customers. Was it Complicated? No. Was it difficult? No. Was it costly? No. Was it inspiring? Yes. Was it motivating? Yes – and above all it was good for the brand. You can't attend a European Conference and avoid a bit of corporate cheese!!!

In the final debate we heard how Finland’s 400 municipalities are obliged to provide basic services (adjustments) for disabled people and how the Finns were clear the “Mainstreamining is the right way to go”. We heard about the work of the Centre of Excellence for Design for All in Ireland. Henri Lourdelle of the ETUC talked about the trade union link with the EDF over the last 10 years. Taking a predictable union line Henri was not confident that the market alone would deliver equality stating that it was “important to define certain rules which guarantee the efficiency of social services".

Conference was closed by Donnata Vivanti and Idália Monez from Portugal (who currently hold the presidency of the EU) with final words from Nikolaus van der Pas of the EU Commission. He thanked delegates, speakers, organisers and interpreters then gave particular thanks to Wallis Goelen who, in accordance with EU policy, is moving on from the disability DG after 5 years service.

So that was that, lots to think about and mull over as Margie headed for the Eurostar and I headed for the airport as the curtain begins to fall on this 5 year project. Of course this is not the end of Disability Champions@Work, it is a big boy now and old enough to leave the nest as part of the Unionlearn education programme for reps. After the steering group meeting in the new year we will be able to let you know how your network will continue to be supported and to build on our wonderful achievements.

It was great to meet with many of the friends I made in Washington DC last year; Jaap, Lydia, Knut, Ingmar, Elisabeth and Wallis. Hopefully there will be further opportunites for us to work together in the future.

Dave Parr.
Project Worker, Disability Champions. 11th December 2007