Europe and Me

Giving us equal rights? The European Union

Disabled Access

Anna can hardly wait for the concert…

She phones her friends to see if they want to go with her…

They travel across the border into the country next door.

It is not easy being in a wheelchair there…

There is no disabled transport available

Wheelchair access is right at the top…

How can we make things more equal?

Percentage of GDP spending on disability benefits Source: Eurostat

Did you know? In 1998 the Minister for Sport in the UK Government produced guidelines on numbers of wheelchair spaces at football stadiums. Ten years later, in 2008, the Sun newspaper reported that eighteen out of 20 Premier League clubs were still providing too few places for wheelchair fans. The Sun drew up a disabled places league listing the best providers. The top three were: Hull City Blackburn Rovers Arsenal

Did you know? There are over 50 million disabled people in the European Union. This represents about 10% of the population, the equivalent of the total populations of Belgium, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary and the Netherlands together Disabled people in the EU are two to three times more likely to be unemployed than non-disabled people One third of the disabled population of the EU has never travelled abroad or even gone on a day excursion to another country.

Did you know? At the moment, policy on disabled people in the EU is left up to the Member States. But the EU has taken a number of measures to defend the rights of people with disabilities – including: the Employment Equality Directive which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities and others in the labour market and in the workplace setting up a High Level Group on Disability, made up of Member States and NGO representatives, to act as a forum for discussion and cooperation forum. setting up a Disability Unit to make sure that disability issues are considered in all EU policy and law making, i.e., disability mainstreaming held a European Year of People with Disabilities in 2003.

Did you know? The European Disability Forum is an independent body that represents the interests of over 50 million disabled citizens in Europe. Its mission is to make sure that disabled people have full access to fundamental and human rights across Europe It does this by trying to influence EU disability law and policy proposals It has collected over one million signatures across the EU in favour of bringing in EU-wide laws to give disabled people equality with non- disabled people.

Did you know? The EU has taken a number of measures to increase gender equality – including: separate laws on sex discrimination prohibiting unequal pay for men and women gender mainstreaming, i.e., making sure that gender equality is built into all the work of the EU.

Did you know? The European Convention on Human Rights is a list of human rights and fundamental freedoms established by the Council of Europe It was inspired by the UN Declaration of Human Rights and was signed in Rome in 1950 Citizens of countries that have signed up to the Convention may bring cases against their own governments in the Court of Human Rights if they think their human rights under the Convention have been breached All EU Member States and applicant countries have signed the Convention.