Cohesion Policy from the Disability Perspective ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... October 23th 2019 Catherine Naughton

The EU and all of its member states have ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) The EU budget should be a tool to implement the CRPD, and should not support actions which are in conflict with it

EDF approach to the MFF Analysing all aspects of the budget from the point of view of persons with disabilities and the CRPD Common position of the European Disability Movement and our allies to outline our priorities and expectations in relation to EU funding. Meeting with key EU decision makers Cooperation with our partners (like EEG, IDDC, Social Platform, anti-discrimination networks, Lumos, Hope and homes, UNICEF)

Horizontal principles UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and promoting human rights and women’s rights Sustainable Development Goals.  Accessibility Independent living for persons with disabilities- including transition from institutional to community based services (DI) Social Inclusion Promoting inclusive civic dialogue and partnership Building the capacity and meaningfully engaging with representative organisations of persons with disabilities. Accountability, data and indicators  

Priority budget headings Single Market, Innovation & Digital Cohesion & Values Migrations and border management Neighbourhood and the World (NDICI)

Our approach to Cohesion Funds The funds in the current funding period have been a key means to push for independent living and the transition from institutional to community based services. We want this to continue, with more clarity to avoid misinterpretation and continued investment into institutional settings. There are more than 80 million people with disabilities in the EU. We want the relevant regulations to be clear that investment in inaccessible infrastructure or technology cannot be accepted.

Our approach to Cohesion Funds We need persons with disabilities and their representative bodies to be involved in governance and monitoring committees, to raise a red flag when in-accessible or institutional operations are calling for funding. Crucially, we need a clear link between all Cohesion Fund programmes and the CRPD, ratified by the EU and all Member States.

EDF’s Focus on Cohesion Policy Common Provisions Regulation (CPR) European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

EDF priorities for CPR References to the CRPD strengthened across the Regulations CRPD included in the Regulation’s legal basis Reinsertion of Article 7 on the Promotion of equality between men and women and non-discrimination Clear mention of accessibility for persons with disabilities as criteria for selection of operations (Article 67).

EDF priorities for CPR Accessible process, materials and reasonable accommodation for participation of persons with disabilities and DPOs in the partnership and multi-level governance (Article 6) Clear reference to the inclusion of persons with disabilities and DPOs in monitoring committees (Article 34)

EDF priorities for ESF+ CRPD must be maintained and strengthened throughout ESF+ CRPD should appear in the Regulation’s legal basis Clear mention of inclusion of persons with disabilities in actions targeting the most marginalised (Articles 4 and 6 and Recitals 13, 16, 18 and 26)

EDF priorities for ESF+ Funds should not be invested in inaccessible infrastructure, products or services (Articles 6 and 23), Inclusive, accessible and meaningful involvement of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations should be guaranteed (Articles 8 and 23). A clear link with the Pillar of Social Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals throughout.

EDF priorities for ERDF References to the CRPD maintained and strengthened across the regulation CRPD included in the Regulation’s legal basis Clear mention that no Regional Development funds should be invested in inaccessible infrastructure, products or services

EDF priorities for ERDF The transition from institutional to community-based care should be restored as an investment priority; It should be possible to invest in accessible housing, using the ERDF, in the same way as it is possible to fund energy efficient housing.

ERASMUS+ Definitions used in the regulation to be in line with the CRPD Reasonable accommodation Making sure the online tools comply with the EU Web Accessibility Directive

ERASMUS+ Ensure cost of inclusion by itself cannot be the reason to deny someone the opportunity to participate Encourage National Agencies to support and select projects where the main actors are people with fewer opportunities.

Solidarity Corps Definitions used in the regulation to be in line with the CRPD Reasonable accommodation Making sure the online tools comply with the EU Web Accessibility Directive Ensure that the cost of inclusion by itself cannot be the reason to deny someone the opportunity to participate

Rights Values and Justice Programme Maintain focus on CRPD Provide adequate financial resources to address new priorities and focus areas Reinstate the Gender equality strand which existed in the Rights Equality and Citizenship programme

Horizon Europe Align with CRPD Reasonable accommodation for researchers with disabilities Ensuring accessibility of all EU funded projects Switch the medical focus of Research on disability to a Human Rights based approach

Connecting Europe Facility Increased funding for accessibility of transport infrastructure priority to projects that improve accessibility (e.g. to implement TSI-PRM on rail accessibility) No inaccessible projects shall receive funding Better monitoring of the rules by introducing a specific indicator on accessibility

NDICI (neighbourhood and development) Our priorities have been established in collaboration with the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC): Mainstreaming disability, with particular attention to women and girls. Guaranteeing that EU funding on Development Cooperation respect and fulfil the principle of aid effectiveness for ODA-eligible actions Including a disability policy marker to measure the implementation and monitoring

NDICI Including data disaggregation by disability Ensuring that any EU investments in infrastructure and services will be allowed only if they lead to fully accessible outcomes Freezing EU funds when they have breached human rights until adequate policy reforms take place. Check out IDDC/EDF paper on our website.

IPA-III EDF priorities have been established in collaboration with Hope and Homes, LUMOS, Inclusion Europe and UNICEF IPA III should place the best interest of the child at the heart of all of its investments and explicitly reference the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

IPA-III IPA III should prioritise the prevention of institutionalisation and separation of children from their families IPA III should explicitly support the transition from institutional to family and community-based care for all children, including children with disabilities. IPA III should explicitly prohibit any form of investment in institutions.

IPA-III IPA III should ensure that civil society organisations, including  disabled persons, children and their representative organisations (DPOs), are involved meaningfully in all stages of the design, programming and implementation of the IPA III

IPA-III IPA III should mirror the approach taken under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) by ensuring the link between investments and relevant policy frameworks. This includes the use and implementation of performance indicators, which are disaggregated by disability, in order to track where and how funding is spent.

Questions or comments? More information: http://www.edf-feph.org/eu-budget-post-2020

Thank you!